Middle East - Bahrain: Insurers lobby for priority in large projects
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2016
The Bahrain Insurance Association (BIA) has submitted a petition to the Central Bank of Bahrain, seeking priority for local insurance companies in the award of insurance contracts for large projects instead of tenders being offered to foreign insurance companies.
Mr Younis Jamal, CEO of Takaful International and a former president of the BIA, called for a formula which gives the first bite to local insurance companies in the award of insurance in large public-sector projects.
He said that “most large projects are insured outside the scope of Bahraini insurers to the benefit of international foreign insurers and brokers”, according to the Al Ayam newspaper. This means insurance premiums are transferred outside the Bahraini insurance market, he said.
He indicated that there is a need for diversification, saying that insurance companies in Bahrain suffer from operational losses due to high claims and the concentration of activities in motor and health insurance.
Citing an example, he pointed out that the insurance contract for the billion-dollar train project in Doha was distributed mainly among Qatar’s insurers when the Qatari government intervened to support the economy.