Affordability and value-based pricing are driving innovative payment schemes in the regional healthcare insurance sector, as governments in MENA introduce mandatory health insurance and encourage funding from the private sector.
The most favourable demographic dividend period for MENA is between now and 2040, when an unprecedentedly large proportion of its population will transition into their most productive years and the dependency ratio is predicted to be the lowest.
Mr Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina has taken over the duties as the new secretary general of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), succeeding Ms Prisca Soares who will continue with the organisation as an adviser.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has required insurers to provide motor policyholders with original vehicle spare parts for their damaged vehicles in the event that they cannot provide used spare parts that are in good condition.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has granted five insurance licences since the beginning of this year until mid-August.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has in mid-August issued final directives for online insurance platforms, also known as insurance aggregators.
Insurance pools should be established for the oil and aviation sectors to be contributed by all non-life companies so that no one player monopolises these two classes of business, especially as the degree of risk is high and losses are huge, suggested a senior executive of Delta Insurance.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced on 1 September that the new comprehensive health insurance system has started in the coastal governorate of Port Said, to offer better health services to citizens.
The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has approved the inclusion of two more insurers – Tharwa and AXA Property Insurance – in the compulsory motor insurance pool, bringing the total number of members to 18.
The Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF) said insurers have, after a two-month hiatus, resumed granting a 15% discount on premiums for vehicles with a clean traffic record in the previous year.
The Jordanian insurance market posted higher technical profits for the first half of 2019 compared to the corresponding half last year despite a dip in written premiums.
Kuwait Re posted a 49.5% surge in net profit to KWD2.87m ($9.4m) for the first half of 2019, mainly contributed by the increase in net earned premiums and investment income. Gross premiums amounted to KWD41.31m in 1H2019, up 23.3% from the same period a year ago.
The government has approved a decree setting out a list of professions in the healthcare field, which will be covered in the first phase of the compulsory basic health insurance scheme and which will be included in a pension system for professionals, the self-employed and non-wage earning individuals working in the private sector.
The mandatory health insurance scheme for private-sector local employees, foreign workers and visitors to the Sultanate, is almost ready for implementation, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has announced.
Oman Re reported a net profit of OMR2.87m ($7.5m) for 1H2019, up 110% compared to the same period a year ago, mainly driven by solid growth in investment income which grew by 68.6% to OMR6.83m during the period.
A merger of Saudi insurers should preferably involve more than two insurers, said Mr Adel Al-Issa, a spokesman for insurance companies in Saudi Arabia.
Thirty two insurers listed on the Saudi stock market reported an aggregate net profit of SAR517.3m ($138m) for the first six months of this year, 17.1% lower compared to SAR624m for the corresponding period in 2018.
King Salman has issued a decree to establish an AI centre in the kingdom to drive innovation and digital transformation, according to Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr Abdullah Al-Sawaha.
Tunis Re posted a net profit of TND6.1m ($2.1m) for the first half of this year, compared to TND15.2m for the corresponding period last year.
Turkish auto sales plummeted after tax incentives expired on 30 June, in a stark display of how dependent the market has become on government life support, according to a Bloomberg report.
The credit quality of the Turkish insurance sector may continue to weaken given the macro-economic pressure on the quality of insurers’ assets, said Fitch Ratings in a recent report. Asset quality is likely to remain the key rating weakness for Turkish insurers in the medium term.
The first half of 2019 saw favourable results for the UAE insurance sector, with healthy premium income growth of 9% and profit growth of 2%, said Badri Management Consultancy in a report.
Efforts are continuing in the local insurance sector to increase the Emiratisation rate that currently stands at less than 15% due to several reasons including less attractive remuneration offered in the insurance sector compared to the government sector and lack of competence and experience among locals.
Online motor insurer Beema has launched a pay-per-km auto insurance scheme that gives cashbacks to eligible policyholders.
Three in four (75%) respondents said that they are not interested in purchasing home insurance, while 18% were not sure, according to findings from a survey on user knowledge and habits regarding home insurance conducted by a major UAE online property platform, dubizzle Property.
The UAE Insurance Authority (IA) is working to apply a vehicle technology system to monitor the behaviour of drivers and to guide them so as to avoid traffic violations.
Less than 3% of the budgets of health insurers in general are invested in technology and innovation, according to Dr Saif Al Jaibeji, co-founder and chairman of Sehteq, which operates a technology-driven platform that allows consumers to choose their health insurance plans.
The third edition of DIFC FinTech Hive’s accelerator programme has received an overwhelming response of over 425 applications from across the world, including Asia, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
The Ajman Free Zone has signed an MoU and associated documents with Dubai Insurance Company (DIC) to provide insurance services to workers employed by organisations operating within the free zone.
Global
Hurricane Dorian was edging slowly up the east coast of the US after devastating the Bahamas – causing multiple deaths and at least $3bn worth of damage – while the world’s reinsurance community gathered in the balmy sunshine of Monte Carlo for Les Rendez-Vous de Septembre.
Global commercial insurance prices rose by 6% in the second quarter of 2019, nearly twice the increase observed in the first quarter, according to Marsh’s Global Insurance Market Index. The increase in the second quarter signifies the largest increase since 2012, with the market recording increased pricing in all major geographic regions and across multiple products.
Aon recently released its report titled ‘Lloyd’s Update – Redefining the Future’, which highlights that the UK institution is at a pivotal moment in its evolution.
RMS has estimated that insured losses to the Caribbean from Hurricane Dorian will be between $3.5bn and $6.5bn. This estimate represents insured losses associated with wind-and-storm damage across the Caribbean region, most notably in the Bahamas, which was the most severely impacted country.
Takaful
State-run Misr Insurance Holding plans to establish a new unit for life takaful activities by mid-2020, the company’s chairman and managing director Mr Basel El Hini said.
Contributions collected by Egyptian takaful operators surged by 141% y-o-y during the first half of the year, said the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA).
The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has discussed with takaful operators the need to determine the proportion of contributions to be levied as a fee on policyholders by takaful operators operating under the agency system.
Top officials of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) met with executives of takaful operators to discuss the issue of compliance with new regulations issued this year which aim to improve transparency and efficiency in the Islamic insurance segment.
The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is planning to introduce central supervision of the Islamic finance sector to ensure consistent standards across the market.
The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya) has received approval from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) to sign a contract with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to provide insurance services for foreign pilgrims.
Takaful in Turkey posted contributions of TRY1.92bn ($337.3m) in the first seven months of this year, representing a growth of 56.5%.
Takaful products developed for a particular country/region should not be simply implemented in another, said Mr Muhammad Zubair Mughal, CEO, AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) which recently organised a conference on Islamic insurance held in Dubai.
Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company (ADNTC) benefits from a solid reputation as one of the most successful takaful operators in the market, which is complemented by its strong relationships with local Islamic banks, said AM Best.