In a recent report, rating agency AM Best has maintained its negative outlook on the GCC insurance markets for many reasons. International rating agency AM Best is maintaining a negative outlook on the insurance markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the...
Moody’s latest analysis on takaful markets represents the positive nature of the market trends for this type of insurance. A Premium report. Despite the pandemic-driven weakening in operating environments across the globe, Islamic financial markets continued to expand in 2020 as demand for Shari’ah-compliant products remained resilient, states latest research...
Cigna highlights an improvement in the UAE’s health and well-being index compared to the global average. Cigna Corporation has released the fifth edition of its Cigna COVID-19 Global Impact Study which aims to better understand the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s health and well-being. The last phase...
The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2021 looks at enhancing resilience, drawing from the lessons of the pandemic as well as other risk analysis. A Premium report. Owing to the far reaching effects of COVID-19, job losses, a widening digital divide, disrupted social interactions, and abrupt shifts in markets...
The industry can expect more of economic and investment risks, which would be posing a greater challenge to insurers operating across the region rather than direct underwriting losses, a recent webinar by AM Best discussed. A Premium report. A webinar organised by international ratings agency AM Best discussed the outlook...
Insurers in the GCC countries are exposed to sizeable levels of receivables, putting them at risk of added provisioning and pressurising their profitability, states Moody’s Investors Service in a report. Insurance companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will need to accustom themselves to increased provisioning and heightened pressure on...
The insurance sector in Kuwait has positive medium term prospects, according to a report by S&P Global Ratings. Supported by relatively low product risk, wherein most insurers predominantly retain short-tail motor and medical business, and therefore have predictable claim settlements, the P/C and health sector in Kuwait remains more or...
The region’s reinsurance market has been characterised by competitive pricing pressures, overcapacity and increased incidence of large losses, with the additional fallout from COVID-19 and volatile oil prices, according to an AM Best report. The composition of the region’s reinsurance market is beginning to stabilise following turbulence in recent years....
Zurich’s 2017-2019 claims data highlights some of the top health risks in the region. The number of claims on life insurance and critical illness claims are on the rise, according to Zurich Middle East claims data, amounting to about USD110 million paid over the period 2017-2019. According to the 2020...
S&P Global Ratings highlights some key risks that could affect GCC insurers’ earnings and credit conditions in 2020. While economic growth in most Gulf countries is expected to pick up in 2020, this may not translate to premium growth, according to a report titled ‘Competition, Asset Risk And Regulation: The...
