Coping with the revolution and its side-effects
Political risk remains high
UIC Yemen: Moving to takaful
YQI targeting the top ranks
Malaysia: Competition pushes operators to be different
Malaysia: Gearing up for growth
Malaysia: Bank Negara targets niche players for future takaful growth
Talbot strikes out on its own
Microinsurance must fulfill the needs of women
Microinsurance: MENA spells good potential for microinsurance
Microinsurance: Close co-operation needed to achieve financial inclusion
Microtakaful – Time to make a real difference to people’s livelihoods
MENA & GCC : More GCC employers offer flexible benefits
Insurance for SMEs: The growing pains of family businesses
Agriculture: Agricultural insurance to help improve food security
Online auction to salvage resale cars
Tunisia: Industry to move with region’s new norms
UAE: Sharjah to provide social and health insurance for all citizens
MENA & GCC : MENA premiums up 17% to US$31.4 bln in 2011
MENA & GCC : Beirut now the most expensive city in MENA
MENA & GCC : GCC’s end of service benefit to hit US$75 bln by 2020
MENA & GCC : MENA women want financial freedom
MENA & GCC : GCC’s top 30 insurers see falling profitability
MENA & GCC : GCC to see strong growth in 2012 despite regional risks
Iran: Iranian insurers ready to cover foreign oil tankers
Jordan: Federation adopts electronic traffic accidents reporting system
Jordan: Premiums grew 9.5% to US$288 mln in May
Hong Kong-based fund pays US$130 mln for Jordan Dubai Capital
Lebanon: Bank Audi completes LIA Insurance divestment
Libya: Clyde & Co opens office in Libya
QFCRA signs information exchange deal with IAIS
UAE: DHA launches second phase of e-claims project
UAE’s new oil pipeline to reduce shipping and insurance costs
UAE: Half of investors have no life and critical illness cover
UAE: OIC and National Bank of Fujairah ink bancassurance deal
UAE: Green Crescent trims first-quarter net loss to US$2.3 mln
UAE: Pacific Prime partners InterGlobal to offer direct settlement in Dubai
UAE: Zurich unveils new travel products for UAE residents
CAT losses cost insurers US$12 bln in 1H12
Piracy falls sharply in first half of the year
It’s “AIG” again
Global commerce to bypass the West as emerging market intra-trade increases
Bahrain: Takaful Int’l launches mobile app
Malaysia: New test for takaful agents vexes operators
Takaful Malaysia looks to Labuan for SPV
Oman: Takaful regulation expected by end-3Q
Pakistan: Regulator formalises windows
Pakistan: Centre of Excellence for Islamic microfinance formed
Saudi Arabia: Long-awaited mortgage law to be passed
UAE: National Bonds launches family financial protection plans
UAE: Standard Chartered unveils Islamic wealth products for HNWIs
UAE: Dar Al Takaful launches travel products
Risk management to assume greater role for Islamic institutions: Deloitte
S&P launches Shariah index with the OIC
Islamic Development Bank prices US$800 mln five-year sukuk
West Africa moves closer to Islamic financial services
Though most of the damages from the civil unrest were excluded as being outside SRCC classification, insurers are still finding it hard to grow amidst a tough environment.
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Ms Zaineb Al-Assam of Exclusive Analysis looks at the delicate security situation in Yemen six months after its new government was installed.
United Insurance Co (UIC) plans to change its operations to takaful as majority of its clients are converting accounts to the Shariah-compliant formula, says General Manager Tarek Hayel Saeed. By Osama Noor
As a new entrant, Yemeni Qatari Insurance (YQI) plans to expand by tapping on bancassurance, says Mr Mujib Radman, General Manager. By Osama Noor
With the increased governance standards imposed by the regulator, Islamic insurers are competing on an even higher level than before.
We look at recent highlights and upcoming plans of several takaful operators in the market.
Malaysia’s proposed economic transformation demands an expanded role for takaful operators in mitigating commercial risks as well as serving a wider spectrum of consumer needs.
Talbot Underwriting (MENA) Ltd might have ended its JV alliance with ADNIC, but it will continue to build its presence in the region under the leadership of new CEO Matthew Warren. By Cynthia Ang
While women form 70% of the world’s poor, microinsurance structures often overlook the specific needs of women causing them to fall through the cracks. To best serve the low-income, it is essential that product design and delivery take into account women’s unique needs.
Insurers should actively shape the market through engaging policymakers and leverage on local initiatives to construct a broad and consistent microinsurance programme.
A successful microinsurance framework requires that insurers and microfinance institutions co-operate and complement each other on a technical basis as well as in providing the right products and delivery channels.
Takaful providers can build successful businesses on the basis of solidarity by tapping on the experience of mutuals in microinsurance.
The number of GCC companies offering flexible benefits is on the rise as firms recognise that employees appreciate the right to choose from tailor-made packages that fit their individual needs, said global HR consulting firm Mercer in a survey.
Family controlled businesses increasingly need a comprehensive risk management programme as part of its succession plan.
Effective policy framework and innovative risk transfer measures can assist to balance agricultural productivity with demand and reduce income volatility.
Insurers are adopting online auctions to resell salvaged autos in a bid to stay profitable.
Insurers are urged to adjust their strategies to cope with the political and demographic transformation in the region.
The Ruler of Sharjah announced that social and health insurance would soon cover the citizens with limited income as part of the key priorities to provide social security and medical welfare to the Emiratis in Sharjah.
Total premiums generated by 13 MENA markets grew 17.1% y-o-y to US$31.4 billion in 2011, accounting for 0.7% of global premiums, said Swiss Re’s latest sigma report.
Reduced cost of living in the Middle East, mainly driven by falling rents, has helped to drive down the region’s ranking in Mercer’s 2012 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey.
The combined liabilities of all GCC employers for End Of Service Benefits (EOSB) is now around US$16 billion and is projected to increase to $75 billion by 2020, said a new report by Insight Discovery, highlighting there is a critical need to restructure the region’s EOSB system.
Working women in the region are motivated mostly by monetary prospects, and 65% of them believe that women in mixed-gender workplaces receive no special benefits, said a survey conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site and YouGov, a research and consulting organisation.
Insurance profitability across top 30 conventional insurers in the GCC dropped over the last four years from 28% in 2007 to 9% in 2011, said a report by global management consultancy A.T.
Despite heightened regional geopolitical risks, four out of six GCC countries and the UAE in particular, are poised to witness robust economic growth this year in comparison to the previous year, said a report by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).
Two Iranian insurers, Central Insurance Co and Kish Protection & Indemnity Club (Kish P&I), have reported that they are ready to provide insurance coverage for tankers carrying Iranian oil.
ordan Insurance Federation (JOIF) signed a co-operation agreement with Jordan Public Security Directorate (PSD) in July to launch electronic reporting of traffic accidents via GPS and satellite GPRS, with the aim of improving the process of solving cases of material damages caused by car accidents.
Gross premiums in Jordan grew by 9.5% to US$288.1 million at the end of May compared to the $263.1 million recorded in the same period of 2011, said the Insurance Commission of Jordan (IC) in a report.
HPF Private Investment Fund Co, a Hong Kong-based investor has acquired the entire share capital of Amman-based investment company, Jordan Dubai Capital (JD Capital) for JOD92 million (US$129.7 million) from Dubai International Capital and other shareholders.
Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group and Saham Finances jointly announced that they have completed the sale by Bank Audi and certain individual sellers of 81% of the share capital of LIA Insurance sal on 27 June, within the expected timeframe after receipt of the required regulatory approvals.
International law firm Clyde & Co has opened an office in Tripoli on 1 August, its fifth in the MENA region, headed by Libyan lawyer Albudery Sharih, the former General Counsel of the Libyan Investment Authority.
The QFC Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) has become a signatory to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU).
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has embarked on the second phase of its project for electronic health insurance claims to be implemented across all clinics and hospitals in the Emirate, as it seeks to further minimise insurance fraud, said media reports.
The UAE has inaugurated a much-anticipated overland oil pipeline that has the potential to export more than 1.5 million barrels a day (bpd) through the seafront of Fujairah.
UAE investors are failing to take appropriate professional financial advice when planning their investments, said the latest Friends Provident International (FPI) Investor Attitudes Report.
The National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) has signed an agreement with Oman Insurance Co (OIC) that would see the bank distribute a suite of general and life insurance products through its distribution network.
Health insurer Green Crescent Insurance Co (GCIC) reduced its loss to AED8.6 million (US$2.3 million) in the first quarter of 2012, compared to a loss of AED14.5 million in the same period last year.
Hong Kong-based Pacific Prime Insurance Brokers has negotiated an exclusive arrangement with InterGlobal in the Middle East to provide direct billing services for policyholders in Dubai as part of its initiatives to meet the demands of a growing individual client base in the UAE.
Zurich has launched a range of travel insurance products in the UAE ahead of a wider regional rollout in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman.
The first half of 2012 saw US$26 billion in catastrophe-related economic losses, of which $12 billion were insured by the industry, indicating that the losses were relatively moderate, said Munich Re in a report.
The number of pirate attacks fell to 177 in the first half of 2012, down from 266 in the same period last year, led by a drop in Somali piracy, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in its global piracy report.
American International Group’s (AIG) global P&C business, renamed Chartis in 2009, will revert to the AIG name this autumn, reinforcing the brand power of a name.
Rapidly accelerating growth and increased intra-trading across South America, Africa, Asia and Middle East (SAAAME) is leading to a radical shake-up in the competitive environment for financial services businesses, according to PwC.
Bahrain-based Takaful International has launched a new mobile application for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating system devices, enabling instant access to its products, starting with motor takaful policies.
The new testing standards for takaful agents in Malaysia, introduced in April this year, is causing concern for takaful operators as the average passing rate for those taking the Takaful Basic Examination (TBE) has plummeted to around 10%, disrupting the plans of many takaful companies to grow their agency force amid keen competition, said...
Syarikat Takaful Malaysia will set up a wholly-owned subsidiary as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) in Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) to invest and hold its overseas property investment, according to local news reports attributing Group Managing Director Dato’ Hassan Kamil.
Legislation covering takaful and sukuk in Oman is expected to be finalised by the end of the third quarter this year, according to a senior official from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) who spoke to Reuters recently.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has formalised new rules allowing takaful windows to be set-up when it launched its “Takaful Rules” 2012.
A centre for excellence in Islamic microfinance has been established in Pakistan, providing microfinance institutions with a wide variety of training and capacity building programmes as well as guidance on Shariah law.
Saudi officials have approved a draft law to facilitate mortgage transactions in the Kingdom which would help ease the concerns of banks previously discouraged from lending due to unclear regulation.
National Bonds Corporation, the leading Shariah-compliant saving scheme in the UAE, has launched a diverse range of Islamic insurance plans starting from 50 fils a day.
Standard Chartered Private Bank has introduced a suite of Islamic wealth management products aimed at high net worth clients across its offices in Dubai, Geneva, London and Jersey.
Dubai-based Dar Al Takaful has launched a new suite of travel insurance products named “Terhal”, with comprehensive benefits that extend to even cover sports activities as well as terrorism.
The governance and risk management of Islamic financial institutions will have to evolve in line with global regulatory trends, with risk officers playing an increasingly important role in coordinating between boards and Shariah supervisory board as well as other business units, said Deloitte in its recent report: “Empowering Risk...
Standard & Poor’s has released an index measuring the performance of 50 of the largest Shariah-compliant companies from the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), each with a minimum three-month average daily value traded (ADVT) of US$1 million.
Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has priced a US$800 million sukuk in its first public debt issuance in over a year, according to media reports.
The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) has taken a major step towards introducing Islamic financial services later this year, following a review of the entire region’s financial sector and regulations pertaining to banking, insurance, microfinance, and securities and capital markets.