The ongoing military confrontation in the Middle East reinforces the position that war risk is a dynamic exposure, not a static extension, said Mr Hani Al-Kurdi, Vice President, Marine, at Apex Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers.
The key challenge facing (re)insurance players is uncertainty, he told Middle East Insurance Review. “Insurers must make underwriting and claims decisions in a rapidly evolving geopolitical environment, where risk conditions can change overnight. Managing client expectations, reinsurer requirements, policy wordings, and accumulation exposure simultaneously is becoming increasingly complex, especially in marine where operational risks are directly linked to geopolitical developments.”
In their turn, insureds and cedants in the region will need to adopt more proactive risk management, clearer policy structures, and closer coordination with brokers and reinsurers.
He added that the market continues to function, but with a much higher degree of caution and discipline because the war in the Gulf are testing the resilience of the insurance and reinsurance markets, particularly in a region that sits at the heart of global energy and trade flows.
“For the insurance industry, this is not just a claims-driven event—it is a real-time stress test of underwriting discipline, risk assessment, and market adaptability. Nowhere is this more evident than in marine insurance, where geopolitical developments translate immediately into operational and financial risk,” said Mr Al-Kurdi.
If claims rise in scale, the industry can expect further tightening of capacity and repricing, particularly for Gulf-related exposures, he said. “Reinsurers will likely reassess accumulation and event definitions, which may impact treaty structures and facultative support. However, the global reinsurance market remains well-capitalised, so while discipline will increase, capacity is not expected to withdraw entirely unless the conflict escalates significantly.”