Interviews

Insurance Talk

Policy talks to Alaa El-Zoheiry, CEO of Arab Misr Insurance Group (AMIG) about the Egyptian insurance market.

What is the outlook for the Egyptian insurance market in 2010?
The Egyptian insurance market has seen newcomers towards the end of 2009, especially in the takaful area. We do, therefore, expect to see more competition in the market, but what we hope is to see more in the products side, which I believe the market is in need of now. The 2009 outward R/I treaties for most of the companies weren’t really that good and therefore we believe that 2010 renewals might see some major changes in terms of capacity as well as R/I commissions. We believe that 2010 will witness a greater role for the insurance brokers companies following the changes in the law which allows them to work in Egypt.

What will fuel growth in 2010? What do you see as new growth areas?
The growth will mainly come from the personal lines such as motor, PA, medical, travel etc. We also expect to see more reduction in the life insurance and the marine cargo due to the financial crisis, which looks likely to continue. The Egyptian market has already seen growth during 2009 mainly coming from the P&C and we do expect to see more reductions in the premium for the current portfolio and therefore the growth would mainly come from the personal lines.

What is the most important change/reform you think the insurance regulator should implement?
We have seen during 2009 very positive changes in the insurance regulator side such as the separation of the composite portfolio of both life and non-life , the introduction of the rules of having brokers companies not only individuals… etc. We would like to see more changes in two main areas; the first one is the insurance taxation – we hope to see more reduction in the taxation which will help to grow the market more. The other is the introduction of the code of ethics among the different parties of the insurance sector.

What new developments can we expect from AMIG in 2010? (eg expansion, new product, new partnership etc)
AMIG is the fastest-growing insurance company in Egypt. We introduced new products by the end of 2009 and our plans of growth will mainly come from the marketing of these new products. We are working very hard with our mother company, Gulf Insurance Company (Kuwait), in having a new life company in Egypt and this is most likely to happen during 2010. We are also expanding locally by having two more branches focusing in upper Egypt where the government is giving more attention to the development in this area.