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.
Businesses like insurance and financial services are expected to see an increase in costs as a direct effect of Bahrain’s proposed doubling of the value-added tax (VAT) rate from 5% to 10%, an expert has said.
The Egyptian Parliament is expected to finish debating the revised insurance Bill by the first quarter of next year, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) vice chairman Reda Abdel Moaty has said.
The aggregate profits of 19 insurance companies operating in the Jordanian market plummeted by 42.2% to JOD11.45m ($16.15m) for the first nine months of 2021, compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the financial statements that they lodged with the Amman bourse.
The Gulf Insurance Group (gig) has received the approval of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) for its prospectus related to the issuance of bonds with a value not exceeding KWD60m ($199m) in a private placement, the company said in a statement with Boursa Kuwait.
The total GWP of 46 licensed insurance companies in Lebanon reached $928.8m in 1H 2021, up 12.1% from $828.8m in the same period of 2020, according to figures released by the Insurance Control Commission.
Qatar’s Ministry of Justice has published in the official gazette on 4 November a new law covering health insurance services, including compulsory medical insurance for foreign workers. The law takes effect six months later on 4 May 2022, following its publication in the official gazette.
Tunisia’s National Agricultural Bank (BNA) has increased its interest in local insurer AMI Assurances from 26% to more than 50%. The bank thus becomes AMI’s main shareholder.
The head of Turkey’s Insurance and Private Pension Regulatory and Supervisory Agency (SEDDK) has said that the regulator aims to develop the most suitable model of compulsory third-party liability (CTPL) motor insurance for the country.
The UAE insurance market is able to absorb tighter conditions expected to be imposed by international reinsurers in next year’s renewals thanks to its absorption of reinsurance price increases over the past four years, as well as the positive financial results achieved by the main players in the local market.
Many employees in the UAE are reluctant to use health and wellbeing benefits offered by their employers, for fear of being judged and worries about how management will react if they find out. This was according to recent survey conducted by Aetna International which polled over 1,000 workers in the UAE.
Dubai Insurance (DIN) and RETL, group entity of AJMS Global, announced the integration of ‘DIGI-Comply’, a proprietary sanction screening and risk assessment tool, with their core insurance software.
Global
The global market is expected to exceed $7tn in premium terms for the first time by mid-2022, projected Swiss Re Institute’s sigma study noting that this growth will be taking place sooner than it has estimated in July.
Globally, D&O pricing has risen in almost every country during 2021, with increases between 30% and 100% reported in countries worldwide according to a report launched by Legal network Global Insurance Law Connect (GILC). The report had input from insurance lawyers in 20 countries.
After witnessing significant catastrophe and earning losses in the third quarter, the reinsurance industry is finding silver linings in the de-risking of their portfolios and the prospects for future rate hikes, said S&P Market Intelligence in a statement.
Takaful
Gross written contributions for takaful providers in Egypt dropped by more than 34% in the first eight months of 2021 reaching EGP2.9bn ($184.8m) against EGP4.4bn generated in the same period of the preceding year. Paid claims for the same period grew by 50% to EGP1.1bn from EGP1.6bn, according to the Financial Regulatory Authority’s monthly publication.
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has announced the approval of Arabian Shield Insurance Cooperative’s (Arabian Shield) request to increase its capital as part of the merger process with Alahli Takaful (Alahli) through a securities exchange offer.
There is a need to conduct a comprehensive review of the takaful sector in Sudan to enhance its contribution to the national economy and expand its role in the country’s development plans, said speakers at a conference held in Khartoum last month.
Orient Insurance (Orient) announced that it will submit an offer to acquire non-owned shares of Orient UNB Takaful (OUTFL), sum of 16.09% of the company’s shares, after obtaining the necessary approvals to begin the acquisition process from the regulators, a statement on the Dubai Financial Market website has said.
Islamic finance has achieved notable growth in recent years driven mainly by the significant increase in the size of Islamic banking sector, according to the 15th summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), held in Saudi Arabia last month.“The Islamic financial industry has witnessed remarkable developments globally to reach about $2.7tn over the past year from about $2.44tn in 2019,” said Saudi Central Bank governor Fahad Al-Mubarak, at the opening of the summit.