In this edition of the MEIR Dialogue, we speak to Norton Rose Fulbright's Partner and Head of Middle East Insurance Shabnam Karim on the far-reaching impact of the current conflict in the Middle East on the regional and global (re)insurance industry. The ongoing hostilities have created an extraordinarily complex risk environment, and insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and policyholders alike are grappling with a range of coverage, claims, and regulatory challenges that extend well beyond traditional war and terrorism exposures.
In this edition of the MEIR Dialogue, we speak to Moody's Vice President - Senior Analyst Mohammed Ali Londe and Vice President - Senior Credit Officer Brandan Holmes on how the (re)insurance industry will adapt to the ongoing conflict in the long run.
Airlines have adapted their operations through longer routings and revised scheduling since the Iran war began on 28 February. These moves have contributed to increased flight times, fuel consumption and overall operating costs.
New estimates by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) suggest the military escalation in the Middle East may cost economies in the region from 3.7 to 6.0 % of their collective Gross Domestic Product.
Middle East Insurance Review (MEIR), in solidarity with the insurance market, has started a special series named "Middle East Conflict: The MEIR Dialogue" to discuss the insurance impact of the armed confrontation across MENA as well as globally. The series continues with an interview with Chedid Re Deputy CEO of Global Operations Joe Asmar.
S&P Global Ratings (S&P) has projected that GCC insurers will sustain underwriting profitability in 2026 at a similar level to that in 2025, despite the ongoing Middle East military confrontation.
Most rated insurers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have sufficiently robust capital buffers to absorb a potential increase in capital market volatility and any war-related claims, as these are either heavily reinsured or subject to exclusion clauses, according to S&P Global Ratings (S&P) in a report on the credit outlook of GCC insurers in the wake of the military confrontation in the Middle East.
Escalating hostilities in the Middle East have halted shipping transits, grounded flights across major regional hubs, and raised the risk of missile strikes on commercial infrastructure, increasing underwriting uncertainty across multiple insurance lines, said Mr Fareed Lutfi, Secretary-General of the Emirates Insurance Association.
Global trade credit insurance company, Atradius, says that Qatar is the country among the six GCC states that is most exposed to the on-going military escalation in the Middle East.
The combined net profit of 75 listed GCC insurers remained steady at $1.7bn in the first nine months of this year (9M2025), with mirroring trends from the first half of the year, according to a report by research and consulting firm Insurance Monitor and Lux Actuaries and Consultants.