The event, sponsored by Zurich Insurance Company (ZIC), attracted executives and professionals from within the sector and throughout the UAE.

Founded in November 2010 by Laura Mellstrom, a solicitor at international insurance law firm Kennedys, the association has grown from six members to 50 in four months.  It includes a broad spectrum of professionals from within both the public and private sectors representing the UAE’s business community including the healthcare, energy, construction, life and financial services sectors. Aimed at professional women, the association offers its members the opportunity to meet and network with likeminded women from across the insurance industry.

“March 8 was the first in a series of proposed quarterly events which will be held throughout the year and we very much hope to include professional speakers to talk about a host of topical issues. Another priority is to look at creative ways of supporting local women’s charities,” Laura said in a statement.

The agreement was signed by Khalid Al Sheikh Mubarak, Deputy Director General of the DHA and Carl J. Sardegna CEO of Green Crescent Insurance Company.

Mubarak highlighted the importance of this agreement which reflects DHA’s commitment to foster public-private partnerships, “At the DHA, it is our mission to provide the best possible health services to the people living and working in Dubai as well as visitors who come to the UAE. Our facilities provide expert and specialised care especially in certain medical fields like maternity and child care and we are glad to extend our services to the members of Green Crescent Insurance Company.”

Sardegna explained, “Our philosophy is to offer our members choice and by adding such outstanding and well-regarded facilities offered by DHA hospitals, we will enhance our product offerings.”

With the agreement, the extended warranty on all vehicles financed by KFH-Bahrain will come with five years and will cover all mechanical and electrical components thus enhancing the residual value of the vehicle, said a press statement.

Gapcorpprovides a basket of products and services in each of the GCC markets, Europe, South East Asia and the Americas. The extended warranty will be a duplicate of the manufacturers’ warranty for electrical and mechanical components and will cover the vehicles during the most crucial time required – after the expiry of the original manufacturers’ warranty.

Gapcorp already has a joint venture with Zuellig Group, one of the largest privately-held companies in South East Asia covering Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia under Asia Warranty Services and in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries under GapGulf and in Europe through its European arm, the UK-based Euro Warranty.
Gapcorp subsidiary Latin American Extended Services has a joint venture with Mexican conglomerate Qualitas Insurance and Mexbrit and in North America.

Under the mutual partnership, ADCB and Adnic will provide high quality customer service and value to ensure that both their customers have consistent support and positive experience with their banking and insurance services.

ADCB will provide Adnic with an array of services to include medical claim payments, collections of premiums, detailed reporting and management of post-dated checks. Adnic will have access to all services on ADCB’sInternet banking as well as host-to-host channels.Adnic offers its bank assurance products through ADCB SME franchise.

Adnic CEO WalidSidanisaid: “Adnic is looking forward to this mutually strategic partnership with ADCB as we always seek to better serve our customers and provide them with excellent customer care. This partnership is aligned with Adnic’s strategic pillar of being “customer centric” to provide better services to our valued customers.”

The next phase of the market’s evolution will be driven by the next steps of the new Insurance Authority.

Market size
The UAE insurance market, totalling AED18.3bn in premium, is notable for its size, not only compared to its smaller neighbours, but also other Arab countries across the MENA region.

Property and casualty gross written premiums grew by 31 per cent to AED15.6bn in 2008, while underwriting premiums for life insurance and accumulation of funds operations amounted to AED2.7bn.

The total shareholders’ equity in the national insurance companies amounted to AED12.3bn (2008), while the total invested funds were AED21.6bn, 45 per cent of which was in the form of shares and bonds, followed by 34.2 per cent as deposits.

The number of employees in the insurance companies operating in the UAE in 2008 was 6,687 – out of which there were 412 UAE nationals.

Competitive conditions
The UAE is served by 29 national insurance companies and 27 foreign insurance companies. Of the AED2.7bn in total life premium in the market, national companies only accounted for 32.8 per cent of the pie while foreign companies (such as ALICO) accounted for 67.2 per cent. In contrast, national companies took a 77.4 per cent of the property and casualty premium in the market (valued at AED15.6bn), compared to a 22.6 per cent share for foreign companies.

The emirate of Dubai and the emirate of Abu Dhabi are the key markets in the UAE and are quite distinct in terms of competitive conditions. With its base in Dubai, Oman Insurance Company (OIC) is the country’s leading insurer by premium volume (commanding a market share of nearly 15 per cent) and profitability. Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) is the dominant player in Abu Dhabi. Other major UAE players include Al Ain Ahlia and Arab Orient. Foreign companies with a strong presence in the underpenetrated personal lines segments include RSA and Axa. The government-backed National Health Insurance Co (Daman) dominates the burdgeoning health insurance market in Abu Dhabi. It is unclear whether Dubai will eventually implement a similar compulsory health insurance scheme to the one in place in Abu Dhabi.

New market entrants over the past two years have tended to be takaful operators. Established players such as Abu Dhabi National Takaful and Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance (AMAN) have recently been joined by Noor Takaful, Takaful House, Al Hilal Takaful and Methaq Takaful. For now, the registration and licensing of new insurance companies has been suspended by the new Insurance Authority (IA) of the UAE.

Recent developments
After an incubation period since it was established in 2007, the IA is set to flex its supervisory muscles and implement a range of new codes and regulations in 2010. The IA will soon begin collecting annual fees from insurance companies calculated on the basis of a percentage of the annual premium written, less local reinsurance premiums. Insurers are expected to submit their premium details for the period June 29, 2009, to December 31, 2009, before the end of January 2010 to allow the authority to calculate the fee payable for the first period.

Looking ahead, the IA has listed on its website a number of “professional”, “technical” and “financial” regulations that are under consideration, dealing with:
. The share capital of insurance companies
. The calculation of technical reserves
. Solvency margins
. Regulations regarding the principles of investment of policyholder’s rights
. Anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations
. Insurance company records
. Accounting requirements

Regulatory overview
Insurance regulator: Insurance Authority
Governing legislation: Federal Law No 6 of 2007.
Capital requirements: Branch and locally domiciled insurer – currently AED50m (US$14m) but recently increased to AED100m (US$28m) for insurers and AED250m (US$70m) for reinsurers – existing re/insurers have 3 years to comply. Insurance Authority guarantee of between AED2m and AED6m required.
Foreign ownership restrictions: Branch – 100 per cent foreign ownership permitted.

Locally domiciled insurer – foreign ownership limited to 25 per cent. Insurers must be registered with the Insurance Authority to underwrite direct insurance of UAE-based risks. There is no restriction on foreign companies writing reinsurance of UAE cedants.

A UAE insurer can undertake either “general insurance” or “life insurance” in the UAE. Composite insurance is no longer permitted. There are no separate regulations for takaful business. An indefinite moratorium on processing all new insurance and broker licence applications is in place.

The market is limited to insurers and brokers already licensed by the Insurance Authority. The UAE Insurance Authority has recently started issuing new regulations under Law 6 of 2007 and further regulations are expected in 2010.

Regulatory overview provided by Clyde & Co