Reinsurance companies will reduce their capacity in addition to increasing premium rates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Mr Zuhair Al Atout, CEO of Jordan-headquartered Apex Reinsurance Brokers.
He told Al Mal that during the current year, Europe raised its prices by more than 30%, especially in lines like fire insurance, and the Arab region will follow suit next year.
Small reinsurers in the region face threat of closure
Mr Al Atout said that small reinsurers in the region face the threat of closure, unless premium rates are increased and premium collections are received in a timely manner.
He said unless premiums were collected promptly, insurance contracts would be terminated and there would be no insurance coverage for the client.
Commenting on the development of regional reinsurers, he said that they started out by providing fire, theft and engineering insurance, then developed cover for terrorism and liability. They will go on to provide cyber-attack coverage for institutions and then eventually to everyone.