For the fourth time in six years, MetLife has clinched the Life Insurance Company of the Year award, in recognition of its efforts to constantly strive to improve the overall customer experience and to enhance the image of insurance in society.

As a global leading provider of life, accident and health insurance and retirement savings products, MetLife’s strong presence in the Gulf dates back to over 65 years. It now serves around 10m people.

MetLife’s top priority is customer centricity and it is deeply embedded in the company’s core values. In order to deliver value and address the market’s needs today, MetLife believes it must focus on what truly never changes – putting people first to create customer value. For example, in the Gulf where the population continues to age and with 43% (UAE statistic) of them unsure about their future finances, MetLife ensures that its products deliver more features that reassure policyholders that they will be covered, no matter what.

To provide better claims management experience, MetLife Gulf has launched a new payment system that provides more visibility and control for the claims team. As a result, the speed of paying out claims has significantly increased due to a more streamlined, efficient and simplified process. The insurer has also recently worked on product harmonisation and simplification where it enhanced the definition of critical illness and harmonised it across the policies and riders to ease customer understanding of its products and solutions and to provide an easier claims process.

On 14 February 2019, MetLife Gulf launched its LinkedIn Page and its posts revolve largely around protection and customer well-being, achieving high engagement ratios of 15% and above, peaking at 71% during special campaigns such the company’s sponsored Dubai World Cup Event.

As part of its efforts to boost the image of insurance, MetLife Gulf has rolled out its ‘Protection’ campaign, the first advertising campaign in its history aimed at driving awareness for protection and educating consumers about the importance of protection insurance.

Kuwait’s Gulf Insurance Group KSCP (gig) has scooped the General Insurance Company of the Year for the first time since the award was launched in 2014, for its dynamic leadership and ability to meet the growing business demands.

As one of the largest and most diversified insurance groups in the MENA region, gig has created a competitive edge in its markets through the implementation of a comprehensive approach involving the use of the latest and superior IT services, product innovation, customer relations management, enterprise risk management, corporate governance, prudent underwriting practices and digitalisation.

gig’s capitalisation and usage of the latest technologies has immensely contributed to the company’s operational efficiency, customer service satisfaction, and profitability. Its state-of-the art web-based IT applications has linked all its operations and that of its subsidiaries in one unified system. A comprehensive database of clients has been built over the years, allowing improved customer relationship management, customer service and support and cross-selling, all of which are crucial elements in customer retention.

The insurer has implemented and seamlessly integrated a document archival solution with core insurance systems. In addition to eliminating a huge volume of physical documents, the solution has transformed various back-office functions, including claims auditing and approval, to become more efficient and productive.

In an effort to keep pace with the technology changes and the changing business demands, gig has successfully implemented Server Virtualization using VMware on the latest range of HP Blade Servers and HP Storage. It has also put into operations the latest core switch, firewalls, VoIP for call-centre and intrusion prevention systems to enhance its network and security infrastructure.

gig, which has always been recognised for its professional excellency, continues to train and support its human resources to develop the technical and administrative capabilities within its group of companies.

Cigna Insurance Middle East has clinched the Health Insurance Company of the Year for its proactive, holistic approach to supporting health and well-being – not just when it comes to its clients and members, but the community as a whole.

Cigna’s yearly 360° health and well-being surveys evaluate consumer sentiment across five key metrics – mental health, physical health, workplace wellness, old age and financial health. Based on the findings of the survey, Cigna creates tailor-made offerings for its clients and members and embarks on national campaigns to increase awareness of health issues in the communities it serves.

Cigna’s International employee assistance programme (EAP) is an invaluable tool that helps employees resolve personal problems and reduce attrition through face-to-face counselling sessions and work-life support. Its target risk assessment (TRA) is a highly personalised report focusing on four key areas such as sleep, stress, nutrition and physical activity. Cigna customers also have access to telehealth and a chronic case management programme to help individuals manage their condition through health coaching.

Its website offers advanced tools to make it easy for employees and employers to access resources they need. The claims process is made easy through this Cigna Envoy website. Its new, personalised health and wellness app revolves around three pillars: access to care, manage care and change lifestyle. It contains recommended programmes to fit personal needs, motivational and instructional videos.

With a presence in the Middle East for over 17 years, Cigna has built a strong foundation while adapting to the changing requirements of consumers in the region. It has a team of over 300 employees servicing the Middle East business and a dedicated clinical team of doctors and nurses based in the region to support members with their healthcare requirements.

For the fourth consecutive year, NEXtCARE has claimed the title of TPA of the Year for its ability to harness technology to provide efficient, cost-effective and innovative healthcare solutions that respond to the needs of the market. 

As part of the Allianz group, NEXtCARE has adapted international standards for compliance, code of ethics and AML, and is globally connected to a larger team of more than 141,000 staff worldwide. With presence in 10 countries and 12 offices across the MEA region, its operational platform is manned by more than 800 medically qualified staff. NEXtCARE works with over 120 payers, serves around 4m insured members and manages about 9m medical cases annually.

As part of its customer-centric approach, NEXtCARE constantly seeks to improve services and review processes by following the online satisfaction surveys targeted at both its partners and customers with the objective of diagnosing pain points and insights of the customers. It also conducts monthly client activities, eg, product training for partners and wellness programmes such as check-ups and fitness centre offers.

To keep pace with rising healthcare costs, NEXtCARE has undertaken various initiatives to keep costs contained through procurement and audit, case management, approvals, adjudication, and field doctors.

In terms of its digital capabilities, NEXtCARE has demonstrated clear evidence of harnessing technology and solutions to create efficiencies in service levels such as digitising the entire client/customer journey, gaining competitive edge through AI, and integrating electronic data interface with payers, regulators and providers in the UAE, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. It is also highly invested in digitalisation and has introduced solutions that help create robust platforms.

With the belief that having a great working environment leads to happy employees and clients, NEXtCARE strives to increase employee satisfaction and invests in retaining and developing talent through a series of initiatives while relying on various means such as wellness and well-being activities, learning and development programmes and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Abu Dhabi National Takaful Co (ADNTC) has been named Takaful Company of the Year for the third consecutive year. Its excellent financial performance has demonstrated its continuous effort to grow while implementing and maintaining measured underwriting discipline.

In 2018, its underwriting profit to gross premium ratio was 16% – the highest in the UAE – and it ranked fourth place for underwriting profit of AED60.9m. The company has an average combined ratio of 71.3% over the last four years.

Its combined net profit increased by 33% compared to 2017, reaching AED86m. Shareholders net profit reached AED68.3m compared to AED59m the previous year, recording an impressive increase of 16%. ADNTC distributed surplus of AED4.4m to its family takaful policyholders. It was among a handful of takaful operators in the region to provide surplus share to its policyholders.

In 1Q2019, ADNTC achieved a combined net profit of AED36.7m, recording a significant growth of 37% in premiums compared to the corresponding period in 2018. Its underwriting profit increased by 21% to AED28.3m.

Apart from its stellar financial performance, ADNTC has also embraced the digital journey by forming an innovation centre comprising young professionals who are tasked to explore new technologies to incorporate into its business model. Some of the company’s recent innovative initiatives include: medical virtual consultation, which provides telemedicine and virtual consultation services 24/7 via phone, video or mobile app; nano health, which will enhance medical coding and provide a comprehensive reference tool for disease profile and clinical conditions, symptom checker, medical calculator and diagnostic tests; and mobile app, which provides users the convenience of buying products online and managing the entire experience in a seamless manner.

ADNTC strives to boost the image of takaful and has proven that the concept of takaful is a great success and an attractive model for policyholders, shareholders and investors.

Marsh Middle East & Africa has clinched the title in this category for its ‘build-your-own’ graduate programme which it started back in 2016 to address the top concerns of the industry – the lack of new talent and an ageing workforce.

Now in its fourth year, the programme has grown from strength to strength. This year will see Marsh in MENA hire 37 graduates from across the region’s best universities. Marsh has a focus on developing local talent – in line with the vision of many countries in the Gulf. The graduate programme this year will recruit 14 nationals from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE.

Marsh’s graduate development programme in MENA provides final-year students and recent graduates with an excellent opportunity to join the world’s leading insurance broker and risk adviser. The programme is an intensive 18-month course designed to enhance the participant’s skills while exposing them to various business units and specialty areas. Graduates are supported by the larger Marsh network and every graduate is assigned a mentor to guide them throughout the programme. The purpose of this programme is not only to provide job opportunities, but to also establish a fruitful and rewarding career in insurance for the graduates. From day one, the graduates are assigned a role in a specific department that is challenging as well as stimulating. They get to work on real projects for real clients.

Marsh has developed a strong relationship with Zayed University and has provided financial support to a number of graduates over the years who have wanted to build rewarding careers in the industry.

Marsh believes in developing future leaders and nurturing local talent. It believes in making a difference in the moments that matter in people’s lives and giving back to the communities in which it operates.

It is the second year in a row that telehealth provider Health at Hand has received the Innovation of the Year award, a testimony to its excellent business model that focuses on improving access to healthcare services and ensuring the sustainability of the healthcare system.

With full integration of insurance workflows within the telehealth app, Health at Hand provides the solution for both insurers and TPAs to increase benefits for their members while decreasing costs. Its goal is to balance the distribution of resources by leveraging technology to provide members with cost-effective access to medical attention, wherever they are. Furthermore, Health at Hand’s compliance with eclaims, eprescriptions, and ereferrals makes it the ideal addition to any policy.

Within four months of its launch, Health at Hand managed to bag major telehealth contracts in the region with one of the largest global insurers and the largest TPA in the Middle East. Since then, the monthly analyses performed by Health at Hand and verified by the clients have consistently shown that 89% of cases received by Health at Hand are managed in-house with no need for a referral. This has a direct impact on claims costs with unnecessary consultations, referrals, lab tests and prescriptions. It is on track to demonstrate year-end net savings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for its clients.

As most insurers and other businesses in general have their own mobile apps these days, Health at Hand recognises that it is counter-productive to have members download two apps and switch between them to avail all services. With this in mind, it has developed industry-leading software development kits (SDKs) that allow clients to integrate the service within their own apps. No other regional provider offers this service.

In response to the alarming rate of growth in chronic conditions in the Middle East, Health at Hand has launched a full-service chronic disease management programme. In addition to screening and education, the programme also includes an advanced set of Bluetooth health monitors, which allows its doctors to continuously monitor patients and intervene only when needed.

In recognition of its role as a leading industry innovator in the application of online services and digital tools for the benefit of both its internal business processes and overall customer experience, Now Health International has been named the winner of the Digital Initiative of the Year.

As part of its ongoing efforts to embrace technology, in 2018 Now Health International Group became one of the first specialist IPMI providers in the Middle East (and worldwide) to launch a mobile pass membership card.

Developed in partnership with leading mobile wallet technology company PassKit, the mobile pass is fully integrated with the company’s smartphone app and secure online portfolio, enabling members to click through to these tools to submit a claim, find a medical provider and more. In the Middle East, the mobile pass also displays a photographic ID of the member in order to meet certain compliance requirements in some markets.

One of the key development criteria of the mobile pass is the ability for medical providers to validate a member’s coverage, to provide reassurance to both the member and the providers in the network. Medical facilities worldwide can use a bespoke app to scan the unique barcode on the member’s mobile pass and instantly see whether the patient’s cover is valid, as well as other information such as if the member is entitled to direct billing. For the Middle East, when members use the service in Dubai, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA)-compliant e-claims and e-pharmacy services are used.

The mobile pass also helps to combat fraud as the information presented on the platform is drawn from the ‘live’ database, and once a member’s plan expires, the mobile pass appears blank. This provides greater certainty to providers than a printed card which may become outdated, or which members may continue to use to access direct billing even after they have cancelled their plan.

The launch of the mobile pass membership card is central to Now Health’s ‘Go Green’ strategy to reduce the need for printed membership cards across the business – helping to reduce the impact on the environment and achieve significant cost savings.

KPMG Lower Gulf has clinched the Service Provider of the Year award for the first time in six years. Its strong international and local presence has earned the company a client list comprising top players in the insurance industry. KPMG services its clients in the MENA region from its offices in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Its team of dedicated professionals offers services in external and internal audit, compliance and risk management, tax, strategy and governance, forensic, process risk identification and improvement, and M&A, among others.

The firm has enjoyed the largest market share of clients with regard to the new IFRS 17 projects, in collaboration with a local actuarial firm. It has among its list of clients leading insurance entities in the UAE and Oman such as Islamic Insurance Company, Takaful Emarat, Daman, GIC Re, Al Madina Takaful and Oman United. KPMG UAE is working with KPMG in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon and Jordan on these IFRS 17 projects and helping to disseminate the understanding of the accounting standard.

As part of its risk assessment engagements, the firm ensures the utilisation of various innovative tools and techniques such as data analytics, industrial benchmarking, fraud risk assessments and sharing thought leadership on leading trends and practices.

During FY2018/2019, KPMG has continued its focus on the regulator arena, not only through its regular engagement in dialogue with the regulators and the industry, but also through its development of tools and solutions to help its clients navigate and comply with the vast amount of regulation that impacts them. The firm also addresses client issues and hot industry topics through regular breakfast seminars with CEOs in the industry.

As chief risk officer at Al-Etihad Cooperative Insurance, Mr Mahmoud has been instrumental in improving the risk management culture at all levels in the company, which consequently has reflected on the performance of the company.

At the board level, he has improved the governance of the risk committee – comprising the board of directors – by restructuring the risk committee charter and enhancing the communication channels between the committee and executive management. As a member and secretary of the executive management committee, he has supported the performance of the committee and improved the output of the meetings by applying and spreading the concept of risk management, which has led to better-informed decisions by the team. He has been relentless in his effort to raise awareness of risk management practices company-wide.

Mr Mahmoud has also made a significant contribution to the company’s strategic plan by integrating risk management in its digital transformation goal. As a chairman of the cyber security committee, he has contributed to building a strong governance model for cyber security. He has also raised awareness of cyber security at the workplace.

Mr Mahmoud also played a part in reviewing and evaluating the company’s performance in customer service. He created new evaluation tools to enhance the service level and developed guidelines for handling claims by phone, which has shortened the claims process. Overall, the quality of service has improved and as a result, the number of complaints has gone down.

This is the second time that HFW has bagged the Law Firm of the Year award, a testament to the significant achievement and development the company has made in the last 12 months.

With over 28 years of experience in the Middle East, HFW advises on all aspects of insurance and reinsurance operations across the region. More specifically, it continues to advise its clients in relation to sanctions matters, as well as contemporary issues such as VAT, the EU’s GDPR, UAE Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 on the Use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the health sector, and IA’s BOD Decision No. 23 of 2019 Concerning Instructions Organizing Reinsurance Operations.

Whilst HFW continues to work with and develop working relations with local, regional and global (re)insurance clients, its counsel is increasingly being sought by sovereign wealth funds, banks and government entities.

Outside of the claims and contentious work HFW performs, many of the (re)insurance engagements involve delivering social projects to the region, eg, health and life insurance programmes. In addition, HFW serves to promote the regional insurance opportunities to established markets by identifying capacity and opportunities for inward regional investment, eg, in relation to cyber covers (for one major insurer) and MOHRE projects.

HFW has been active particularly in the medical health area, advising policyholders on their group health programmes such as one involving 7,000 employees, government entities on their procurement activities with TPAs and local cedants on their outward reinsurance arrangements.

HFW has hosted and actively participated in events to develop the regional insurance industry. Its own workshops have covered topics such as reinsurance issues; sanctions; financiers’ clauses; claims control, claims cooperation and follow the settlement; CAR policies (damage and design defect issues, LEG and DE clauses) and cyber risks. It also educates the London (re)insurance market to ensure that all parties fully understand the risks of the region and promote the smooth flow of (re)insurance capital between the regions.

Marsh Middle East & Africa has been awarded Broker of the Year as a result of having invested heavily in its talent acquisition strategy over the past 12 months in its aim to become more client-centric.

The formation of Marsh JLT Specialty builds on an already formidable strength of talent and resources. The right focus on reinforcing client engagement, unrivalled talent and enhanced external visibility have led to a period of strong growth.

Its investment in creating an unrivalled talent pool ensures that the teams are delivering consistently and to a high standard. Marsh has built a client engagement model that is robust, insightful, scalable and measurable – breaking down each step of the broking process and standardising its protocols. As a result, its client retention rate has shown a positive turnaround year on year.

A key part of its journey to becoming more client-centric includes aligning its business to meet the needs of its clients. Marsh has achieved this by organising its teams by client segments such as risk management, mid-market and consumer & commercial. The company is now in the advance stages of this client segmentation process and is currently establishing client-centric delivery frameworks and running segment specific workshops where the results have included the redefining of roles and responsibilities for senior relationship officers and client executives, looking at both the renewal and service cycle, identifying future training needs and wants, as well as technology.

Marsh has also set up the Marsh Client Operations team – a centralised function focusing on delivering administratively heavy but vital tasks such as processing and issuance of all invoicing and Know Your Client documents. With improvements in its operational effectiveness, its client executives have more time to spend on sharing intellectual capital with clients and improving the company’s visibility in the marketplace.

Chedid Re’s success is attributed to its deep-rooted understanding of the markets, its diversified and specialised talent pool and its willingness to constantly learn, and when necessary, unlearn to grow further.

Its risk social committee, in prioritising partners’ needs, is continuously evaluating, assessing and controlling each capacity provider. It has been behind the company’s bullet-proof risk management strategies and frameworks.

Chedid Re’s treaty team has acquired a leading market position and cemented its credibility with cedants and reinsurers, innovated and delivered on its data analytics and modelling capabilities and excelled in offering future-proof and structured reinsurance solutions.

Chedid Corporate Solutions (CCS), created as an entity to support all its group companies, offers risk management, compliance, corporate governance, internal audit on services and results and market research. CCS assesses risks across the company’s territories of operation to ensure each part of the business chain is monitored for the protection of its stakeholders. This undertaking has been challenging, but the company has constantly focused on upgrading its resources and systems to match requirements.

This framework has established the company’s position as a trusted partner of choice. Moreover, its market research capabilities, prioritised by its top management as an anchor to its business growth, are fronted by specialists with a deep-rooted, data-rich understanding of its markets.

The company’s top directors have been actively involved in all small and big business growth initiatives. Their wide-ranging experience has served as an edge for the company’s risk management and market research capabilities. Its rich market intelligence is complemented by cutting-edge database software that guides the company’s decision-making process and service development.

Chedid Re has built a business centred on people, powered by data and backed by technology.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has won the Reinsurance Company of the Year award for its efforts to develop in-depth strategic relationships with cedants to support and develop their business in MENA, and to keep up with changing market demands.

The Dubai branch of AGCS’ wholly-owned subsidiary is Allianz Risk Transfer AG, which covers the Middle East region, providing facultative reinsurance for corporate, industrial and specialty risks. It is widely recognised as an industry leader for corporate & specialty insurance with in-depth local expertise. Over the past year, the team has grown to service all lines of business written out of Dubai, and now includes specialist engineers performing risk consulting services with expertise in property, construction, power and energy.

Over the last 12 months, AGCS has secured the lead position on the two largest construction projects in the Middle East with a sophisticated multi-line offering (BAPCO / DUQM). AGCS undertook in-depth discussions with the stakeholders of both projects to understand their needs and provide tailor-made solutions which included construction Advance Loss of Profit (ALOP) and liability covers.

To have a good understanding of market needs and demands, AGCS regularly conducts joint exploration of growth market opportunities with local cedants and hosts a number of events for the industry to come together to discuss emerging risks and potential solutions. Allianz Dubai continues to promote MENA as a centre of underwriting excellence by investing in expertise and exploring geographic expansion. It has experienced success with growth in Turkey.

In terms of embracing technology, AGCS has grown a network of partnerships to boost capabilities in data analytics and technologies and also aims to provide customers with easy access to its products through online portals that allow for real-time self-services.

AGCS is an active member and contributor to the DIFC Insurance Association and a contributor to industry conferences and events throughout the region. It is also committed to operating as a responsible business, taking into account the impact of its activities on society and the environment.

Ms Louise O’Donnell is EVP, head of strategy, international operations, legal & compliance at Oman Insurance Company (OIC). She plays a critical role in leading strategic dialogue with key industry stakeholders, including regulators, rating agencies and the company’s CEO and board of directors.

She started her insurance career with AIG over a decade ago before joining OIC to head the internal audit and enterprise risk management team in 2013, where she was instrumental in structuring the team and implementing its functional framework. Under her leadership, OIC achieved full compliance with the International Standards of the Institute of Internal Auditors in 2017 – the first insurance company in the UAE to do so.

Since then, Ms O’Donnell has played a critical role in a number of other successful initiatives such as taking the lead to set up the anti-fraud & investigations team, being involved in the company’s mentorship programme and being a key member of the employee engagement initiative.

Today, as a critical member of the executive committee at OIC, Ms O’Donnell leads a large, gender-balanced team towards the company’s vision and mission. Her passion and tenacity to promote and mentor women at the workplace as part of OIC’s ‘HiPo Programme’ has led her to playing a key role in launching OIC’s very own women’s network in 1Q2019. Heading a team of ambitious women and drawing from a pool of innovative recommendations put together since the launch, the team now looks to provide mentorship programmes and a number of training modules aimed to empower and enable women to take the next step upwards in their careers.

Mr Idris is the overwhelming favourite to win the Personality of the Year award for his contribution and dedication to propel Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) to greater heights over the past five years as CEO. He continues to be the driving force behind the company’s various achievements.

Mr Idris has extensive management and leadership experience, having worked in the insurance industry for over 40 years. Known for his professionalism and commitment to quality, his proven leadership abilities have made him a veteran in developing and motivating others to achieve their goals. In his role, he is responsible for leading, developing and executing the company’s strategy.

While Mr Idris assumed the role of CEO in 2014, he has previously had an illustrious career at ADNIC, which spanned over two decades. He started his career at Kuwait Insurance Company in 1977.

With his wealth of knowledge and industry experience, he is one of the most influential thought leaders in the industry and has also won several regional and international awards for his leadership. ADNIC has also won several prestigious industry awards and has registered steady financial growth under his watch.

One of Mr Idris’ key highlights was steering ADNIC back to profitability shortly after being appointed CEO. In 2016, the composite insurer achieved a net profit of AED205m, compared to a net loss of AED334.5m for 2015. It was ADNIC first annual profit in three years, following its decision to put in place a robust, clear and pragmatic underwriting strategy, as well as proper controls to ensure disciplined underwriting, prudent pricing and prudent risk selection.

Under his leadership, ADNIC has kept exploring how technology can be better used to serve its customers in line with their changing needs and expectations. Over the past few years, ADNIC has invested heavily in digital product development and partnerships that ensure the company is making use of the latest technology to provide unrivalled services to its customers. It will continuously seek to expand its product offering to deliver innovative insurance solutions to individual customers, as well as corporations.