Is there a doctor in the house?
Scenarios for the future development of the Arab insurance industry 2020-2030
General
Saudi insurers' profitability at risk
End-of-service benefits require flexibility
Supply chain vulnerability to cyber attack
View from India - Indian insurance at a tipping point
Life & health
Strategies for turning obstacles into opportunities
Looking to London for A&H
Closing the retirement savings gap
Kuwait
Regulatory overhaul offers radical solution
Becoming the preferred reinsurer
Untapped potential in life
Regulatory developments positive for insurers
Overhaul of the old insurance law
Capacity is here to stay
Blockchain: The next big step for takaful?
Insurers must innovate and adapt to stay relevant
Navigating board-level awareness of cyber risk insurance
MENA ripe for insurance M&A activity
MENA
MENA: 2022 reinsurance renewals expected to see higher prices - GAIF
MENA: GlobeMed ranks again as biggest TPA in the region
Algeria: Insurers take longer to settle motor claims
Bahrain: New VAT rate to hit insurance sector
Egypt: Regulatory officials give update on progress of legislative work on new insurance law
Jordan: Insurance industry shows weaker profits
Kuwait: Gulf Insurance Group receives approval for private bond placement prospectus
Lebanon: Insurers see GWP rise by 12% to $929m in 1H 2021
Qatar: Health insurance law to come into effect in May 2022
Tunisia: National Agricultural Bank doubles equity stake in insurer
Turkey: Insurance regulator seeks most suitable compulsory motor insurance model
UAE: Insurance market seen as able to cope with reinsurance premium hikes
UAE: Fear of stigma stops employees from taking advantage of health and wellbeing benefits
UAE: Dubai Insurance and RETL collaborate on regulatory platform
Global
Global: Insurance industry to cross $7tn by mid-2022
Global: D&O pricing increases 30-100% across the globe
Global: Reinsurers hit by Nat CAT in 3Q look to higher rates in 2022
Takaful
Egypt: Sharp decline in contributions and significant increase in paid claims
Saudi Arabia: CMA approves Arabian Shield capital increase request
Sudan: Regulator considers revising the takaful law
UAE: Orient to acquire non-owned shares at Orient UNB Takaful
Global: Takaful assets account for 1% of global Islamic financial assets
Multinationals underestimate the social risks they are exposed to
Insurers face near-term $100bn-plus Nat CAT loss per year
Good progress to date on TCFD adoption
APAC natural hazard risk 16x North America and Europe
ESG framework launched to help SME customers
Over 200m may face climate-induced internal migration risk by 2050
Lack of security controls put organisations at risk
UK: Cyber budgets of enterprises shrank during the pandemic
US insurers see the need to adapt to ESG demands
Philippines: Climate-smart insurance for micro and SMEs
Product bites
People on the move
NOTEBOOK
MARKET PROFILE - Kuwait
The insurance sector in Kuwait lacked modern and sophisticated regulatory oversight until the establishment of the Insurance Regulatory Unit in February 2020. We spoke to the unit’s Messrs Mohammad Sulaiman Al-Otaibi and Abdullah Nabil...
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REINSURANCE
At a recent webinar organised by the Federation of Afro-Asian Insurers & Reinsurers, players from the region discussed projections for the upcoming renewals and the chances of seeing capacity withdrawal from MENA.
INSURANCE - Life & health
International risk carriers have played only a minor role in the Middle East’s personal accident and health insurance markets for the past several years. That’s because local insurers have matured. Now, with their reinsurers, they are...
Health, healthcare and health insurance look like they might be the next in line for significant disruption.
The status quo of the Arab insurance markets is not up to the professional’s expectations, where stakeholders should forge ambitious long-term growth plans in order to upgrade the region’s insurance industry. The General Arab Insurance...
Twenty-seven out of the 29 Tadawul-listed insurance companies disclosed their 9M 2021 financial results within the specified time. We analysed these Saudi listed insurers’ performance by net profit and GWP including a focus on companies with...
Zurich Workplace Solutions’ Mr Sajeev Nair explains why defined contributions may shape the future of end-of-service benefits for the region’s expatriate professionals.
TT Club's Mr Abdul Fahl looks at how susceptible operators in the MENA region are to cyber attack and how they should prepare to combat the threat.
As the reinsurance market continues to harden and undergo an accelerating shift, Kuwait Re’s Mr Dawoud Al Duwaisan says the focus remains on strengthening its ties with the core markets and becoming the sought-after partner in risk management.
Life insurance business in Kuwait has not been developing at the same pace as neighbouring markets. Nonetheless, the country possesses the necessary ingredients to create a vibrant life insurance industry.
With its ability to store data securely and transparently on a publicly-accessible distributed ledger, blockchain technology could potentially be the missing piece of the puzzle that helps takaful really take off.
The economic slowdown from COVID-19 also impacted the insurance sector and insurers in the region must adapt to the changes and innovate to stay relevant and competitive, say KA Pandit Consultants & Actuaries’ Mses Suruchi Bhargava and...
Cyber security is undoubtedly a strategic imperative for organisations, with increased focus globally onprotecting sensitive information in the wake of high-profile data breaches and cyber attacks, says Proofpoint’s Mr Emile Abou Saleh. TT...
The M&A landscape in MENA is changing rapidly with the region witnessing a number of high-profile deals in the insurance segment over the past few years. The momentum is expected to continue in future, said panellists at a virtual M&A...
Reinsurance prices are expected to increase next year due to challenges facing the industry, such as climate change, according to SCOR CUO, P&C reinsurance, Middle East and Africa Hedi Hachicha.
For the third consecutive year, GlobeMed has claimed the top spot in the latest TPA companies ranking in the MENA region.
The motor branch of the Algerian insurance sector is in serious crisis, struggling to compensate policyholders in a timely manner, while the number of road accidents continues to increase.
Not enough global companies are giving the desired attention to the human rights risks they are exposed to, in countries where they have operations or in commercial hubs according to global risk and strategic consulting company Verisk Maplecroft.
Nat CAT losses are likely to cost the insurers an average of around $106bn annually in the short term. This compares with $75bn Nat CAT losses a year during the past decade.
The number of companies reporting in line with recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) increased more between 2019 and 2020 than in any other year.