Pockets of growth continue to emerge in several Arab insurance markets, providing players with opportunities to expand their business despite geopolitical challenges. However, more needs to be done to ensure long-term sustainable development.
Speakers shared these insights at a webinar organised by the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) on 17 September. As part of its virtual events, GAIF organised the webinar—the 15th in the series— with the theme "Insurance in the Arab World by 2030". Participants discussed the most significant trends in the sector, including the uneven pace of growth across different markets and the challenges impeding the sector’s development.
GAIF secretary-general Chakib Abouzaid said that the Arab region abounds with promising opportunities—including a growing middle class, increased interest in health and microinsurance, and digitisation—which open up new horizons for the insurance sector to grow. “However, our markets face numerous challenges, most notably, the geopolitical situation, societal culture around insurance, limited product innovation, and emerging risks such as natural disasters, cyber threats, and a growing elderly population, which poses a challenge to healthcare systems,” said Mr Abouzaid.
He also noted that takaful contributes 40% of the region's total premiums, mainly because of the cooperative model adopted in the Saudi market.
Promising outlook
Several senior executives in the Arab insurance industry contributed to the webinar.
Saudi Reinsurance Company (Saudi Re) shared the findings of a recent survey that attracted responses from 35 CEOs from 11 Arab countries.
Explaining the results of the survey, Saudi Re CEO Ahmed Al-Jabr said that the most significant finding is that the future outlook for the sector is optimistic, with approximately 75% of the survey respondents expecting growth of life and savings products. All respondents underscored the importance of technological advances to meeting the evolving needs of customers.
In Egypt, the insurance market is witnessing significant development and growth in premiums, said the chairman of the Insurers Federation of Egypt, Mr Alaa El-Zoheiry. He noted that premium volume in the market amounted to EGP22bn ($457m) in 2017, and is estimated to have reached EGP95bn in 2024.
He added that the Egyptian insurance sector is expected to continue growing, thanks to the Unified Insurance Law, which was enacted in July 2024. “This law allows for the expansion of compulsory insurance and microinsurance, which represents a significant opportunity for market growth due to low issuance costs and reliance on digitalisation.”
Oman Reinsurance Company (Oman Re) CEO and vice chairman of the Oman Insurance Association, Mr Romel Tabaja, emphasised that for the Arab market to narrow the insurance gap, attention must be paid to developing human resources, not only in insurance operations but also in all supporting technical specialties (actuarial, technology, etc.).
He called for greater regional collaboration, including cross-border exchange of expertise, and the establishment of international partnerships.
In addition, he stressed that it is necessary to encourage mergers and acquisitions in Arab markets to create large entities to build a stronger, more resilient insurance sector.
GAIF initiative: Statistics book
The chairman of the Arab Actuaries Association and chief actuary at Shielders, Mr Wassim Al-Tabbah, said that the differences in accounting standards adopted by Arab countries were amongst the biggest challenges facing the working group that prepared the statistical book issued last April by the GAIF in cooperation with Shielders, titled “Arab Insurance Statistics Book 2017-2023”.
The book contains statistics for the Arab region over the period from 2017 to 2023, including data on non-life insurance branches. The data provided covered retention rates, penetration rates, insurance density and loss ratios, with a forecast of the volume of premiums until 2030, in addition to statistics on takaful in the region.
Mr Al-Tabbah said that the methodology used to forecast insurance premiums in the Arab region relied on a United Nations report containing forecasts of GDP growth for Arab countries. “However, it is expected that the projected figures will change due to the political and economic conditions experienced by some countries in the region”, he said.
Conclusion
The webinar concluded with several recommendations from participants to drive the Arab insurance sector forward:
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Establish unified data systems across Arab countries. Regulatory authorities must prioritise collecting data and statistics to create a scientific database for future planning
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Integrate insurance and its development in the national economic vision
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Establish regional insurance pools to address major risks such as natural disasters
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Adopt standardised insurance terms and conditions to promote certain specialised products, such as agricultural and natural disaster insurance
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Strengthen domestic reinsurance capacity that is essential to maintain market sustainability
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Unifying Arab regulatory frameworks, particularly with regard to corporate financial solvency, capital adequacy, and accounting disclosure standards.
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Expand compulsory insurance.
Organised by GAIF, the webinar was attended by over 300 participants.