The announcement on 7 April of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran marks a critical moment of de-escalation of the intense geopolitical tension in recent weeks that brought the region to the brink of a wider conflict, according to Mr Hani Kurdi, Vice President - Marine at APEX.
While listed insurers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have delivered improved profitability, regional geopolitical tensions are affecting certain lines of business and investment portfolios, according to AM Best.
The escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz due to Israeli and US attacks on Iran indicate that the insurance sector has become one of the main actors in classifying the nature of conflict from an operational perspective.
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 Zurich Insurance Senior Executive Officer for Commercial Insurance Middle East Peter Englund.
The Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF) has released a working paper titled "Implications of the War on Iran for the Jordan Insurance Sector", outlining the risks and challenges associated with the war in the Gulf, and proposed responses to them.
Shipowners are reluctant to risk crossing the Hormuz Strait even with insurance because of the high cost of the assets, according to Mr Mohamed Mahran, the CEO of Misr Insurance Company, the biggest general insurer in Egypt.
The exposure of Jeddah-headquartered Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) to regions affected by the ongoing war in the Middle East remains limited and is also mitigated through reinsurance, according to S&P Global Ratings (S&P).
Oil prices plunged below $100/bbl after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on 7 April, easing fears of prolonged supply disruption. Brent fell as much as 16% before trading around $94/bbl, according to ING Think, ING Global Markets Research.
The impact of the Iran-Israel-US war in the Middle East has yet to be felt by the Taiwanese life insurance sector.
Bahrain-based reinsurer Hannover ReTakaful's (HRT) war-related exposures are either highly reinsured or subject to war exclusions, and should therefore be manageable, even though it is too early to assess the potential impact of the conflict on HRT's business, says S&P Global Ratings (S&P).