Orient Insurance: Sustaining leadership position
Union Insurance: Moving up the ranks
Dubai Health Authority: A perfect prescription for tourism, healthcare and coverage
Political Risk & Terrorism
Reaching a tipping point
Qatar
New windows of opportunities
Employee Benefits
Growth opportunities galore
The valuable talent retention tool
Legal & Technology
Navigating the pitfalls of Big Data mining
Cyber
Say it in certain terms
VAT on insurance
Map and realign before VAT goes live
Oil & Energy
Riding the oil-price roller coaster
Distribution
Balancing innovation and distribution
MENA
MENA: Oil & Energy Insurance Syndicate becomes the first FAIR pool to be rated
Middle East: A.M. Best assigns stable ICR outlook to 81% of insurers
GCC: Economic growth to pick up for most states
Algeria: Regulator directs insurers to carry out audit of technical provisions
Algeria: 2016 results mirrors 2015's performance
Algeria: SAA and CASH sign sector's first cooperation pact
Bahrain: Arig swings back to net profit of $9.2 mln in 2016
Egypt: Total market premiums hit $1-bln mark in FY2015-16
Egypt's regulator reviewing proposed hike in minimum capital requirement
Iran: Insurers to adopt IFRS in financial statements
Iran: First standalone life insurer starts operations
Iran: General insurers could be barred from accepting reinsurance business
Jordan: Premiums up 6% to $824 mln in 2016
Lebanon: Nasco Insurance Group acquires majority stake in insurer
Morocco: Wafa Assurance eyeing English-speaking African markets
Oman: At least 7 insurers have to launch IPOs before August
Oman: Progress made in developing farm insurance
Palestine: New insurance licences unlikely in crowded market
Qatar: QIC posts 19% rise in GWP, maintains profits in tough market
Qatar: Finance academy in alliance with Arab Insurance Institute
Tunisia: Call for an independent high-level road safety committee
Turkey: New Eurasia Tunnel insured for $650 mln
Turkey: Insurance market sees 30% surge in premiums in 2016
UAE: Regulator to review newly introduced auto insurance rules
UAE: ADNIC back in the black with $56-mln net profit in 2016
UAE: Orient to pay Emaar $332 mln in The Address fire claim
UAE: MEDGULF secures licence from Abu Dhabi health authority
UAE: StarStone joins forces with specialist MGA to establish hub
UAE: Revised fire safety code takes effect
UAE: Daman adopts new measure to confirm members' eligibility
UAE: Union Insurance partners with Hansard to launch savings and investment plan
UAE: More insurance regulations to be issued this year
UAE: OIC posts 12% premium growth in 2016
UAE: All Dubai residents must have health insurance by 31 March
UAE: Residents willing to pay more for critical illness protection
Global
Soft market conditions to continue for non-life insurers: IAIS Market Report
Insurance CEOs ready to embrace disruption: PwC survey
Takaful
Algeria: Feasibility study to be conducted on takaful
Indonesia: Structural demand to boost takaful's market share
Securities Commission Malaysia unveils 5-year plan to grow Islamic capital mart
Takaful Malaysia's operating revenue grows 13% to $452 mln
ACR completes full acquisitions of ACR Malaysia and ACR ReTakaful
Morocco: First draft takaful rules likely to be issued in March
Qatar: Doha Insurance to set up full-fledged takaful company
Saudi Arabia: Motor insurers to localise almost 100% by early July
UAE: Abu Dhabi National Takaful posts strongest results to date
UAE: Takaful Emarat net profit up 47% to $4.1 mln in 2016
UAE: Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies launches programme to develop takaful
People on the move
COVER STORY - Political Risk & Terrorism
Buy Now
INSIGHTS - Cyber
When it comes to claims settlement in cyber risk insurance, ambiguity in wordings and exclusions often result in rejections and disputes. Mr Amar Shah of Risk Exchange says insurers should use the same words to define risks and good practices which...
INSIGHTS - VAT on insurance
Insurance companies in the GCC need to be VAT-ready and will need to map and realign their business transactions, supply chains and IT systems to make them effective on introduction of 5% tax from January 2018.
INSIGHTS - Legal & Technology
The insurance industry’s appetite to see how Big Data might be mined to price products more accurately attuned to individual consumer behaviour is growing. Messrs Dino Wilkinson and Tyler Dillard of Norton Rose Fulbright caution insurers to...
What a difference this March is without the Multaqa Qatar. Suddenly, after a faithful decade of being a star draw in getting the internationals to come to the region, there is no Rendezvous in Doha this March. The scene seems to have shifted to...
Orient Insurance is retaining its leadership position in the UAE and achieving promising results in other markets. Introducing new services the market needs, adopting a diversified strategy, and the new takaful venture have all contributed to...
Union Insurance Co has been able to grow impressively in the past year despite the competitive market conditions and will continue to roll out products and digital initiatives that match customers’ needs, says Mr Abdul Muttaleb Al Jaedi, MD...
Insurers from outside the UAE will have an opportunity to play a role and benefit as the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is promoting Dubai as a hub for medical tourism on the regional and international levels, says Dr Layla Mohamed Al Marzouqi,...
The terrorism insurance market in the Middle East has seen a sustained period of softening in line with the global trend despite an increasingly complicated socio-political environment. With more capacity coming on board regionally and...
Public spending and infrastructure projects have always fuelled growth in Qatar’s insurance industry. But today with the stressed oil prices and the overall challenging economic trends, insurers are urged to think out of the box to stay ahead...
New regulations, increasing medical costs and shifting consumer preferences mean that growth opportunities are plentiful for companies that can adapt to the many changes in employee benefits, says Mr George Dimitriou of MetLife.
The Gulf region’s transient and fiercely competitive job market makes both identifying and retaining skilled employees quite a challenge, particularly in industries that face a shortage of qualified professionals. And employee benefits can act...
With much of its growth stemming from energy-related projects, the Middle East insurance market needs to work harder to maintain past levels of revenue and identify new growth opportunities to ride out the prolonged downturn and the expected...
The large grey area between product innovation and distribution is where the problem of dysfunctional growth lies in family takaful industry, though product proposition and distribution channels remain the key drivers to increase penetration. Mr...
A.M. Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of B (Fair) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bb+” to Bahrain-based FAIR Oil & Energy Insurance Syndicate (FOEIS), one of the four reinsurance vehicles formed by the...
Insurers and reinsurers operating in the Middle East are well-capitalised, although fiscal budget pressures and political instability overshadow strong balance sheets, according to a recent report from A.M. Best.
Growth is expected to improve this year across the GCC states, except in Oman and Bahrain, according to a global and regional economic outlook and sector analysis of Coface, a provider of trade credit management solutions and risk information...