Manama, Bahrain, 19 January 2016:
The convener of the 12-year Middle East Insurance Forum (MEIF) - Middle
East Global Advisors - is set to reveal cutting-edge insights on the
outlook of the Middle East’s insurance industry in the second in a
series of groundbreaking reports. The “Finance Forward Middle East
Insurance Outlook Report 2016” will be launched at the region’s leading
insurance platform this February 2nd at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain.
Speaking ahead of the
presentation of the report Dr. Sayd Farook, Vice Chairman and CEO of
Middle East Global Advisors, shared: “The Outlook Report is expected to
serve as a definitive guide helping leaders in the industry make key
strategic decisions and capitalize on emerging opportunities.”
The uniqueness of the
report, he continued, is that it combines meaningful insights from
insurance leaders - gathered from an extensive survey of practitioners’
sentiment – with robust analysis of the impact of the global economy on
the Middle East’s insurance markets as well as comparative analysis of
markets in the GCC and Levant.
According to the
report, the outlook for the insurance industry in the short term is of
modest growth or stagnation in premiums, particularly on the commercial
side. Growth in the personal lines (19.6 % in 2014 as compared to 6.6%
for commercial lines) has been supported by regulations making motor and
health insurance mandatory in several markets and as the penetration of
these lines increases, the growth rate in premiums is likely to slow.
Even though personal line growth is expected to slow, survey respondents
were more optimistic about revenue growth over the medium term in
personal lines than in commercial lines.
Survey results of the
Outlook Report highlighted that portfolio allocation is largely a result
of long-term recognition of overexposure to the real estate sector at
the expense of more diversified investments across the fixed income
market.
Speaking about the
importance of this observation, Blake Goud, Chief Research Officer at
Middle East Global Advisors added that “Insurers are expecting to
continue to invest in investment-grade fixed income, which includes US
Treasury bonds. As regulatory requirements are updated, there is
greater impetus not just for higher investment grade fixed income
allocations but also more local market fixed income (particularly home
country debt).”
Technology is a major
force shaping the outlook of the industry and Blake shared that,
“Changing consumer behavior due to advancements in technology which
provides easy access to information is one the most disruptive trends
that insurance providers perceive to be important over the coming
years.”
The “Finance Forward Middle East Insurance Outlook Report 2016” will be launched at MEIF 2016 on 2nd February 2016.
MEIF 2016 is a two-day gathering of the insurance industry's leaders taking place on the 2nd and 3rd of February at the Gulf Hotel in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. For more information, visit www.meif2016.com. 