Qatar Re premiums grew by 60% in 2014
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2015
Qatar Re increased its GWP in 2014 by 60% y-o-y to US$536 million, while net income rose by $0.5 million to $16 million, and investment income grew 40% to $27 million, the company said in a statement.
The net underwriting result more than doubled to $27 million for 2014, compared with $11 million in the previous year. The technical margin on its net premiums written, after significant intra-group cessions, increased from 8% in 2013 to 15% during the year. The portfolio’s diversification continued to improve, with the combined share of the three largest classes — motor/ casualty, property and agriculture — falling from 75% to 61%.
Mr Gunther Saacke, Qatar Re’s CEO, said: “In 2014 we firmly established ourselves as a Top 50 global reinsurer. Our strong financial performance testifies to our accomplishments in building a resilient book of business, growing our client franchise, improving our systems and establishing a powerful team of acknowledged reinsurance professionals. After significant upfront investments in staffing and infrastructure, we are now starting to see attractive earnings coming through.”
He added: “In 2015, we will maintain our momentum. The January renewals generated premium growth of 25% on our renewable book. Qatar Re will further grow and diversify, both in terms of geographies and in lines of business.”
In the past year, Qatar Re’s North American business has grown considerably as the company’s Bermuda branch became fully operational. The Americas now account for 24% of the total portfolio, up from 14%. By contrast, European business decreased in share from 52% to 48%.
Qatar Re recently received regulatory approval to establish a representative office in Singapore that will initially focus on exploring business opportunities in the Asian region. Mr Micky Lee has been appointed as the Singapore office’s representative, joining from Asia Capital Re where he last served as Chief Underwriting Officer Treaty.