UAE: Orient Insurance to set up life operations
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2015
Dubai-headquartered Orient Insurance is planning to set up a life insurance company, said Mr Omer Elamin, President of the company.
Mr Elamin told the Al Khaleej newspaper that Orient Insurance has submitted an application to the Insurance Authority (IA) to establish a life insurer with a capital of AED100 million (US$27.2 million). The company had carried out a study of the local market and saw a need for a specialised life company.
According to Mr Elamin, one main reason why local insurers have not been dominant in the UAE life sector is that they cannot afford to wait for four or five years to make a profit.
He also revealed Orient Insurance’s plans to establish a company in Algeria, where it has finalised the official paperwork. The new insurer will have a capital of US$22.5 million.
Apart from the UAE, Orient Insurance currently has operations in Egypt, Oman, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey.
For the first quarter of 2014, Orient Insurance recorded a 44% y-o-y growth in premium income to AED583.4 million and a 10% y-o-y rise in net profit to AED120.3 million.
AED1 = US$0.27