Interviews

Making His Mark

Fareed Lutfi of the Emirates Insurance Association and the GCC Commission for Insurance and Reinsurance Companies.

One of the most recognisable and respected figures in the Middle East insurance industry, Fareed Lutfi has left his mark across all facets of the sector from reinsurance to takaful. His extraordinarily varied career has taken him from the Arab Beirut
University in Lebanon (where he was evacuated by the UAE government with the outbreak of the civil war in 1975) to his current roles with the Emirates Insurance Association and the GCC Commission for Insurance and Reinsurance Companies.

Lutfi took his first step into the insurance profession when he joined the newly formed Arab Insurance Group (Arig) in 1981 as part of the first batch of 10 graduate trainees from the region. Established by the governments of Kuwait, Libya and the UAE, Arig presented exciting career opportunities which Lutfi enthusiastically embraced as he became the first Emirati national to stay the course and make insurance his life-long career choice.

The Arig years
Lutfi spent 17 years with Arig and fondly recalls the early travel experiences afforded to him and the other graduates, who trained with national companies in their home countries before spending a term at the College of Insurance in New York. Lutfi was sent to London to train with the broking house CT Bowring (now Marsh), before being seconded to Arig’s new London contact office in 1982.

The liaison office served as Arig’s marketing arm for the European and Scandinavian countries, while also having responsibility for the company’s entry in the African market. “This was a big challenge and it was exciting for me to leave my comfort zone and see the rest of the world. It was a great learning experience to explore the insurance industry in all the various countries. I made many life-long contacts in the insurance industry throughout this period. These friendships and acquaintances are still highly valued to me still today,’’ Lutfi said.

Four years later – having attended a two-month course at the Swiss Insurance Training Centre in Switzerland – he was transferred back to the Arig head office in Bahrain to take up an underwriting treaty business for the Middle East region. Despite overtures from companies in the UAE, Lutfi remained with the company for a further 11 years, having been with the pioneering Arab reinsurer since its inception.

Return to the UAE
The lure of a return to the UAE proved hard to resist for Lutfi and his young family in 1996 when he joined Alliance, a national company based in Dubai. He worked with Alliance Insurance for five years as director and CEO. Commenting on his stint, Lutfi said: “This was an exciting experience as Alliance was the only national company in the UAE that wrote individual life insurance business, which provided many insights into this aspect to which I had not previously been exposed. This company had been my former client with Arig, which had provided reinsurance, and which to my knowledge is still providing.’’

When Dubai announced its presence in the international financial arena with the creation of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Lutfi was handpicked by the government as a member of the board of directors, on behalf of the insurance sector. “As a founding board member, representing the insurance pillar, I was able to call on my established contacts with the global industry that culminated in worldwide interest in this financial hub which offers a place for reinsurance companies, brokers, captives and other service providers ancillary to insurance and reinsurance activities, enabling them to establish their regional operations in a single business base in Dubai,’’ Lutfi said.

The takaful years
During this period, Lutfi was asked to take on the task of establishing Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company (AMAN), which was founded by the Dubai Islamic Bank and the Investment Office of the Dubai Government.

Recounting those days, he said: “I started in a one-man cubicle detailing and outlining all the steps necessary to start up a company of this magnitude. I eventually hired the core group of IT, underwriting and administrative professionals and led this team to the completion of the project which was the establishment of AMAN in 2002.’’

Lutfi was then hired to manage the company for the first couple of years. Once it was firmly established, he stayed on in an advisory role until April 2006.

At the same time, he was also sought out by various local entities to provide consulting advice on other industry projects.

Emirates Insurance Association
At the age of 50, and with more than 25 years’ experience in insurance, Lutfi was asked in 2006 to take on the role of secretary general of both the Emirates Insurance Association and the GCC Commission for Insurance and Reinsurance Companies. Lutfi said: “This opportunity allows me to work with my esteemed peers across the UAE and the GCC, many of whom I have had long and amicable relationships.’’ For Lutfi, working in an industry association brings into play diplomacy to bridge the gap between the commercial and governmental sides of the industry.

“I work hard to present a consistent and unified stance with regard to commercial corporate needs as well as the evolution of governmental regulatory parameters. It is a navigational challenge at times, but one I carry with pride and determination. To be in a position to contribute to my country’s growth and development, in an industry to which I have devoted my professional life, is a most honorable undertaking and one I take on with absolute pride,’ he said.

Today and tomorrow
In February 2007, yet another facet of Lutfi’s career was called into play when he began work with Dubai Financial Group as managing director and oversaw the establishment of the Dubai Insurance Group. Among a number of global insurance investments and acquisitions, Lutfi participated in establishing the first captive cells in the DIFC for Dubai Holding and was appointed chairman of the board of Dubai Holding Insurance Services (DHIS) as well as its senior executive officer. Today, Lutfi is working with Dubai Holding as their director (insurance services).

Looking back on his remarkable career, Lutfi said: “I have had the advantage of being able to look at the industry from many aspects: starting with being a graduate trainee all the way through to executive management. You could certainly say that I worked my way up through the trenches of the industry and so I feel I have particular experience at each rung on the ladder. It is this insight that I have and the experience that I have gained that afford me the ability to understand the industry at all levels, whether they be from a junior employee’s, a middle-level manager’s, a top executive’s or a governmental viewpoint, not to mention a client’s view, since I am an insurance consumer as well!’’

With his unique career background, amiable persona and infectious enthusiasm, Lutfi is the right man to help steer the Middle East insurance industry through the next phase of its evolution. He anticipates many challenges ahead in the industry’s quest for higher standards and professionalism, but on a personal level, his primary goal lies closer to home. “I would have to say that educating my three children is probably my most ardent goal at present. In my personal stride, I continue to pursue honesty, integrity and simplicity in all aspects of my life, both professional and personal.”