Emerging markets offer glimmer of hope for global economy
Accelerating growth
Building on a strong base
Democratising insurance
Climate Risk
Mercury rising: Insuring a highly volatile future
Parametric insurance offers respite in Africa
The importance of ESG in a changing climate
Dubai
Consolidation is inevitable
Listed Insurers' Performance - Taking stock of the GCC listed insurers
Bancassurance
Customer-first tech strategy the way to go
Regulatory trends in the GCC
Healthcare
Beyond compulsion: Towards a bigger role for private voluntary health insurance
Farid Chedid on grooming young talent
The potential of blockchain in takaful
UAE takaful operators catching up with conventional peers
Fidelity United celebrates newly-forged identity, partnership
MAPFRE ASISTENCIA: Next steps in insurance innovation
FAIR: Picking up the pace
DWIC 2019: Finding better solutions
MENA
6th Middle East Insurance Industry Awards open for entries
Middle East: UAE and Saudi Arabia have unsustainable number of health insurers - Fitch
Region's insurance mart to outpace mature markets in growth
Africa: Nominations open for African Insurance Awards 2019
Bahrain: Regulator to issue licences for digital insurance services providers
Bahrain: FAIR Oil & Energy Insurance Syndicate reported continued profit in 2018
Egypt: Brokers unhappy about non-insurance agents
Egypt: Four new players enter market
Egypt: GIG Insurance Brokerage expands into Ethiopia
Jordan: Insurers sue doctors for setting up health admin scheme
Jordan: Insurance sector's 2018 net profit more than 6 times 2017 gains
Jordan: AqabaConf 2019 Research Award attracts 35 entries
Kuwait: Lawmakers pass Bill mandating foreign visitors to buy health insurance
Lebanon: Saradar Group expands into insurance arena with Assurex acquisition
Morocco: Wafa Assurance anticipates lowest net profit since 2015
Oman: National reinsurer posts second consecutive annual profit
Palestine: Listed insurers' combined profits fell by 35% to $16.4m in 2018
Palestine: Insurance payouts grew by almost 12% to $173m in 2018
Saudi Arabia: Regulator issues guidelines for insurance consumers
Saudi Arabia: Regulator mulls five-fold increase in minimum capital
Tunisia: Agents up in arms over draft of new insurance law
Tunisia: Govt to require businesses to acquire Nat CAT cover
Tunisia: Tunis Re's total premiums increased 13.6% to $45m in 2018
Turkey: Insurance agencies pool resources to cut costs
UAE: Premiums forecast to reach $16.3bn this year
UAE: Health insurance market needs consolidation, says DHA official
UAE: Insurance body looks at building liability & marine insurance and reinsurance
UAE: Insurers continue bid to resolve VAT issue
UAE: OIC partners with Landmark Group for its retail loyalty programme
UAE: Govt calls for establishing services benefits funds
Global
UAE, Oman and Bermuda among the latest added to EU tax haven blacklist
InsurTech investments peak, more startups developing tools to manage cyber risk
Insurance M&A in APAC up 40%, leading global growth
CII exams can now be taken at home
Takaful
Malaysia: Takaful growth forecast to be slower this year
Malaysia: Etiqa aims to stay ahead despite challenging environment
Malaysia: Zurich Takaful appoints new CEO
Morocco: Takaful market could make debut with 2 operators
Oman: Regulator may issue takaful rules this year
Tunisia: Sale of Zitouna Takaful worth $121m
UAE: Takaful Emarat posted net profit of $3.8m for 2018
People on the move
MARKET PROFILE - Dubai
COVER STORY - Climate Risk
The insurance sector is being called to the front line to assess the most sustainable way forward to keep assets insurable and balance sheets healthy in the face of climate change.
FEATURE
While the listed insurers on the seven stock exchanges across the GCC delivered a mixed bag of results for 2018, Qatar Insurance Company remains the crème de la crème in terms of profits and premiums amid a tough environment.
It’s April – the month that you see all the pieces fitting into a nice, clear picture for the year. But this time the buzzword seems to be on global warming where everything seems to be out of season. So will the pieces of April fit?
The global economy is less resilient now compared to 10 years ago. However, emerging Asia is a bright spot and potential remains for the MENA region, especially with some countries forging ambitious national visions and benefiting from technology as...
Buy Now
Backed by its strong brand and the region’s encouraging demographics, Cigna is confident of growing significantly and making a difference in the MENA markets, says its Middle East CEO Jerome Droesch.
ACE Reinsurance Brokers (ACE Re) aims to expand the group’s reinsurance reach worldwide and explore new growth opportunities from its newly established base at the DIFC, says its SEO Yolla El-Khoury, who is also the executive group vice...
A parametric drought and livestock insurance programme in Kenya that leverages data from satellites have helped farmers cope with the impact of extreme weather conditions. While still in its infancy, the model could be replicated across the world to...
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are coming under increasing scrutiny as investors develop more sophisticated sustainable investment policies. They are increasingly recognising that ESG factors can affect a company’s ability...
The profitability of the sector is holding up for the third year in a row. However, with the ongoing market competition and fragmentation, M&A is necessary for the sector to grow and sustain a healthy performance.
While technology alignment is critical for a better collaboration between banks and insurers, working with like-minded partners who put the customer first is just as important, says Mr Bharath Venepally of RSA.
Bancassurance in the GCC has an enormous potential for growth as long as regulators strike a balance between protecting the consumer and not hindering insurers and banks from seeking wider distribution of their products and sourcing new avenues of...
There is a broad consensus that private health insurance is preferable to out-of-pocket spending, which can have potentially catastrophic financial implications for households. If properly regulated, private voluntary health insurance can make an...
The chairman & group CEO of Chedid Re believes that the industry should focus on the acquisition and development of fresh talent to instil a culture of top performance.
Blockchain technology – with its ability to provide complete accountability, transparency and security – can help insurers overcome today’s challenges. Takaful operators too should be willing to innovate and adopt this technology...
Despite operating in a highly competitive market, the takaful segment in the UAE registered higher growth than its conventional peers in 2018 though its market share remains comparatively small, say Ms Emily Thompson and Mr Salman Siddiqui of A.M....
United Insurance Company and Fidelity Assurance and Reinsurance celebrated their new partnership at a ceremony recently, with members of the board of directors and representatives of prominent insurance players in the market gracing the event.
MAPFRE ASISTENCIA Middle East attended the 3rd Insurance Innovation Summit as an associate partner held in Dubai on 13-14 March 2019.
Speakers at the 2nd FAIR Marketing Conference stressed the importance of harnessing digital marketing for insurers to reach new social segments.
In its third edition, the Dubai World Insurance Congress (DWIC) 2019 was an opportunity for industry participants to glean updates on global reinsurance trends and the sector’s status in the MENA market, and discuss issues plaguing the region.
Middle East Insurance Review (MEIR) is proud to announce the launch of its sixth annual Middle East Insurance Industry Awards (MIIA) 2019 on 15 April. The Awards this year features a new ‘Woman Leader of the Year’ category to recognise...
The UAE and Saudi Arabian health insurance markets – the two largest in the Middle East – have an unsustainable number of providers, according to Fitch Ratings.
Growth in the MENA insurance markets remains higher in comparison with most mature markets, with the region remaining attractive to investors, said A.M. Best in its special report ‘Middle East and North Africa Insurance Ratings:...