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| This month in the Middle East Insurance Review |
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Interviews - Trust Renews Commitments with New Brand
Trust Group has evolved to a point where it has to communicate better with its clientele, and to be able to hold its own in a very competitive market environment, it needs a brand that people can warm up to and feel that it is their own, says Mr Fadi Abu Nahl, Chairman of Trust International Cyprus and CEO of Trust Re Bahrain.
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Interviews - Aviva Eyes the Booming Middle East Market
With the life and asset management businesses in the Middle East growing rapidly, Aviva, the fifth-largest global insurer, has joined the ranks of the big players which are checking out the business potential in the region.
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MENA CEO Summit - Calls for Self Appraisal to Move Beyond with Real Action
The need for integration and joint efforts in building the MENA insurance industry was a key emphasis at the 2nd MENA CEO Insurance Summit, held in Dubai in June under the theme: “Managing Expectations and Nourishing Aspirations”. The Summit, with its stress on nurturing leadership and talent and ensuring sustainability of the business on all fronts, was a success with the 140-odd delegates from 20 countries taking away insights into the problems holding back the region from realising its full potential. There was a greater emphasis for actual action rather than mere exchange of platitudes.
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Country Profile - Jordan: Racing Towards Best Practice
Tough competition from the large number of players fighting over a relatively small but promising pie has not prevented the Jordanian market from progressing. However, with 29 insurers and gross premium income of less than half a billion dollars last year, new strategies are needed to grow the market. So far, the measures seem to be working, as the promising 1Q08 results have shown.
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Country Profile : Jordan - Rising Stars on the Jordanian Scene
Given the crowded marketplace, relatively high minimum capital requirements, and the rising professionalism, newcomers seem to face an uphill task. Here, we look at the three newest operators each with their unique strategy to targeting their respective niches- First Insurance with plans to change the shape of the takaful map in Jordan; Darkom with a special focus on the housing credit industry; and Medgulf, as one of the largest pan-Arab regional players.
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Special Feature: Captives - Luring Captives to the Middle East
The formation of captives is still in its infancy in the MENA region with only two reported captive insurers, Al Koot Insurance & Reinsurance Co and Tabreed Captive Insurance Co, in Qatar and Bahrain, respectively. However, the phenomenon is certainly gaining momentum, thanks to regulatory initiatives. We speak to the authorities and brokers to find out what is being done to harness the region's potential and attract more captives to set up on its shores.
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Special Feature: Captives - Why the Captive Option Makes Sense
As a curtain raiser for the Asia Pacific Captive Rendezvous in Singapore, we bring you an article by Mr Stephen May of Heritage looking at how organisations in the Middle East can benefit from incorporating a captive insurance company into their risk-management strategies.
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Takaful Feature: MicroTakaful - The Missing Link in Takaful
While the development of the global takaful industry has been widely reported, its focus has mainly been on the middle to high income groups, with many of the world's poor still missing out on its benefits. We look at the approach behind providing low-cost takaful to poor Muslim communities, and what has been practised so far in this aspect.
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MIR Special - The Rising Ranks of Women
The role of women in the Middle East is changing, and this is apparent as more of them move up the career ladder in the insurance arena, including at the regulatory level. However, gender gaps in economic and political participation remain substantial.
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Personality Profile - An Industry All-Rounder
Mr Hadj Mohamed Seba, Chairman & General Manager of Compagnie Centrale de Reassurance of Algeria, once the youngest regulator of the country, draws the best from both worlds in having served in both the private and public sectors.
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Conference Feature - Bancassurance: Complementing Partners Vital for Success
Some 20 expert speakers at MIR’s 2nd Middle East Conference on Bancassurance & Alternative Distribution Channels in Bahrain, sparked off discussions and debate on how to draw banks to become more involved in boosting insurance sales, and which was the best model for success in Bancassurance. We bring you a quick wrap-up of the two-day conference which underscored bancassurance as a powerful distribution tool to help grow the insurance business in the Middle East in both the life and non-life sectors.
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News - Global Insurance Leaders Want Quicker Reform Survey
CEOs of some of the world’s largest insurers and reinsurers expect increased regulation as a result of the credit crisis, but many are unsatisfied with the direction and speed of proposed accounting reforms, a survey by The Geneva Association has shown.
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News - Algeria: Many Uninsured Against Nat Cats - Survey
A survey commissioned by Algeria’s National Insurance Council (CNA) indicated that only 10.3% of Algerian household are insured against natural disasters, due to a shortage in financial resources, absence of information and lack of credibility in insurance firms.
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News - Bahrain Sees More Joining the Insurance Industry
The insurance industry gained 25.8% more staff in 2007, with insurance firms employing a total of 1,529 people, compared with 1,215 in 2006. Bahrainis working in the insurance sector grew 16.6% to 915, from 785 in 2006, with women representing 35.8%.
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News - Bahrain: Arig Hosts Life Reinsurance Workshop
Arab Insurance Group (Arig) held its first life reinsurance workshop from 2 to 4 June in Bahrain, covering all core functions from marketing and pricing principles to underwriting techniques and claims handling. Twenty-six delegates from 24 companies participated in the workshop. Feedback from delegates was very positive, and those leaving the workshop did so with enhanced knowledge and skills from what is rapidly becoming the premier life reinsurer in the region.
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News - Cyprus: Benfield to Sell Stake in Alliance Re
Reinsurance broker Benfield Group said its subsidiary Crawley Warren Group has entered into an agreement to sell its entire shareholding in Cypriot underwriter Alliance International Reinsurance Public Co to Flagstone Reassurance Suisse, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, for about €2.51 million (US$3.89 million) in cash.
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News - Cyprus: Aspis Eyes Stake in Greek Insurer
Cyprus-headquartered Aspis Holdings has joined a group of international and Greek suitors looking at bidding for a majority stake in Greece-based Agrotiki Insurance SA, a member of Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATEbank). The deal is reportedly valued at €150 million (US$231.4 million).
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News - Jordan Passes Bancassurance Regulations
The Insurance Commission of Jordan (IC) has issued new instructions to regulate the bancassurance business, aimed at developing bancassurance, enhancing the quality of products and services, and strengthening the co-operation between the banking and insurance sectors.
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News - Jordan: Darkom Signs Agreement with Capital Bank
Darkom, Jordan’s first housing loan insurance company, has signed an agreement with Capital Bank, providing the latter with housing loan insurance products offering Jordanians of all income levels the opportunity to apply for higher-lending-ratio housing loans that are paid out in longer repayment periods and with competitive interest rates.
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News - Qatar: Al Koot May Obtain Credit Rating
Gulf International Services (GIS) is expecting Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance Co to obtain a credit rating which would allow it to offer insurance and risk management services to third parties outside of Qatar Petroleum (QP) Group, according GIS’ statement on the Doha Securities Market.
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News - Turkey: ING to Acquire Oyak Emeklilik for €110 Mln
ING has reached an agreement with OYAK Group to acquire 100% of the shares in the voluntary pension fund Oyak Emeklilik for €110 million (US$170.3 million). The transaction provides ING with the opportunity to enter the fast-growing Turkish pension market and gives further impetus to its recently acquired retail banking operations in the country.
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Takaful News - Egypt Gets New Takaful Co
Amlak Finance, the largest real-estate financier in the Middle East, has signed an MoU with Arab Orient Insurance and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) to launch a new joint-venture takaful company.
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Takaful News - Malta Mulls Over Regulations for Islamic Finance
The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has released a public consultation paper on the introduction of Islamic finance in the republic, and plans to issue similar documents on sukuk and Shariah-compliant insurance by the end of 2008 and early 2009, respectively.
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Takaful News - Saudi Arabia: Insurance Premiums Up 24%
The insurance market witnessed a substantial growth of 24% to SAR8.6 billion (US$2.3 billion) at the end of last year from SAR6.9 billion in 2006, according to data released by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).
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Takaful News - Syria - AMAN Sets Up Takaful Unit
Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Company (AMAN) has obtained approval from the Syrian Insurance Supervision Authority to operate in Syria under the name Aman Syria for Takaful Insurance.
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