Qatar Insurance Group (QIC Group) has reported premium growth of 18.5% to US$3.2 billion for the financial year ended 31 December 2017, compared to 2016.
The group’s key growth engines were Qatar Re, Antares and QIC Group Europe Limited (QEL) which now account for approximately 75% of the total GWP.
Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of QIC Group, said 2017 was a challenging year for the global insurance industry due to the exceptional natural catastrophe events impacting the US, namely Harvey, Irma and Maria (HIM) windstorms.
Another major event that adversely impacted insurers operating in the UK insurance market, where QIC Group also had exposure through its international operations, was the sharp and unexpected reduction of the Ogden discount rate in the UK in the first quarter in 2017 which forced insurers to increase their loss reserves. The industry-wide impact of Ogden is estimated to be a $10-billion increase in loss reserves. The unprecedented losses are well within QIC’s risk appetite and tolerance limits.
However, the combined impact was only an earnings event and did not affect QIC Group’s solvency from a regulatory, ratings or internal capital adequacy point of view.
Against this adverse backdrop, QIC Group generated a net underwriting result of $32 million in 2017, down by 86.2% y-o-y. Its consolidated net profit for the full year 2017 reached $115 million, compared to $284 million for 2016.
Despite ongoing political strife and other unrelated economic turbulence in the Middle East, the Group’s net investment gains amounted to $248 million in 2017, up 11.2% y-o-y.
As of 31 December 2017, its total assets grew by 20.3% to $9.5 billion, while shareholders’ equity remained flat at $2.2 billion. M