Algeria’s biggest insurance company, the state-owned National Insurance Company intends to expand its operations abroad.
Bahrain’s insurance market saw a growth of 3.1% during the first half of this year, with insurance premiums reaching BHD151.49m ($401.89m), compared to BHD146.86m in the corresponding period of 2022, according to data from the Central Bank of Bahrain.
A senior insurance executive has proposed a minimum price for natural disaster insurance so that the price of the basic insurance policy, to which Nat CAT cover is attached, would remain unaffected.
Following the earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria in February and Morocco in September, the government in Jordan is directing efforts to prepare the country to deal with any natural disaster.
Oman’s Capital Market Authority has issued a decision to adopt regulations covering online insurance operations.
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has announced that it aims to regulate insurance policy price comparison sites service providers in the country.
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has launched a public consultation exercise on draft amendments to the comprehensive motor insurance rules.
He indicated that this low take-up rate to date is due to global doldrums.
Less than 8% of farmers are insured in Tunisia, according to Tunisian Federation of Insurance Companies (FTUSA) president Hassène Feki.
Reinsurance premiums have been raised due to the increasing natural disasters all over the world, which include the 6 February Kahramanmaras earthquake in Türkiye, according to Mapfre Sigorta general manager Erdinç Yurtseven. The increases will also be reflected in policy premiums in 2024.
Two-thirds (65%) of residential properties in Istanbul, making up approximately 4.15m homes, have taken up mandatory earthquake insurance, according to data released data by the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP).
Motor insurers are adhering to a circular issued last month by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), which warned them not to sell auto insurance policies at premium rates lower than the minimum limits stipulated in the unified motor insurance policy.
Global
Economic uncertainty is high, with recession and inflation risks still elevated, an environment which underlines the importance of scenario planning for insurance and reinsurance providers, according to a recent Swiss Re Institute report.
Finalisation of the Insurance Capital Standard (ICS), a new global solvency standard for international insurance groups, is likely to be the most significant regulatory development for global insurers in 2024, according to a new Fitch Ratings report.
According to global rankings updated recently by Insuramore, and across life/annuity, health and P&C (nonlife) business combined, 638 insurer groups worldwide were ‘insurer billionaires’ in 2022 having achieved gross direct premiums for the year of more than $1bn. Insuramore found that 100 of these insurer groups controlled almost 61% of the global total gross direct premiums in 2022.
Takaful
The extension of a deadline and incentives provided by new rules on spin-off requirements for conventional insurers’ takaful windows will support the development of Indonesia’s takaful sector in the long term said Fitch Ratings in a recent release.
Last October, Great Eastern Holdings (GEH) announced that its Malaysia subsidiaries, Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) (GELM) and Great Eastern Takaful (GETB), have entered into an implementation agreement with AMAB Holdings (AMAB) and MetLife International Holdings (MetLife), to acquire two of its insurance operations in the country.
TPL Insurance window takaful operation (WTO) has announced a strategic collaboration with HBL Islamic Banking, the largest bank in Pakistan.