News
Dubai Set To Become Insurance Capital
| February 23, 2010 by Rob Morris
The emirate will be the hub for insurance activity in the Middle East, insurer claims.
Dubai is primed to take centre stage as the insurance capital of the Middle East, fuelled by demand from the oil and gas sector and steady growth in market resilient companies, a leading insurer has claimed.
Marsh, a global insurance group, made the prediction after reporting strong growth in this region. The company’s revenue climbed 28% in 2009 and by more than 20% in the previous two years.
The purchase of HSBC Insurance Brokers, which Marsh agreed last December, will further increase the company’s Middle East and Asia presence.
Speaking to The National, Marsh’s chairman and chief executive, Dan Glaser, said “We’ve identified this part of the world as very important to our future. Maybe mid-sized companies in the past just hoped for the best, but insurance has certainly been growing as an industry in the Middle East in general.”
Glaser added that the local market had the potential to become a global insurance centre on a par with Singapore or London.
The UAE has led steady premium growth across the region in recent years, with further expansion expected. On the back of the premium rise, several law firms and accountants have moved to the Middle East.
Further growth will be fuelled by energy companies that need insurance cover for risks, uncertain levels of oil consumption, climate change and scarcity in supplies, Marsh told The National.
