Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Aviva Setting Up Locally Compliant UAE International Health Insurance

UK-based Aviva is moving to build a network in the United Arab Emirates to provide international health insurance products to expatriates situated on the Arabian Peninsula.

Many countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are facing rising costs of healthcare, often due to a rising number of instances of lifestyle related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Abu-Dhabi alone spends approximately AED1 billion (US$272 million) every year on healthcare costs associated with treating young diabetics at risk of suffering heart disease in the future.

Abu Dhabi is not alone in this, with GCC compatriot Saudi Arabia having similar problems. The rise of sedentary lifestyles in the region has pushed the levels of obesity up alongside diabetes and related diseases. As many countries in the GCC pay for a large proportion of healthcare in their countries, this rising tide of costly chronic and lifestyle-related health problems is becoming an increasingly large problem.

The GCC healthcare market is expected to grow by approximately 11 percent a year, from an estimated AED94 billion (US$25.6 billion) in 2010 to AED161 billion (US$43.9 billion) in 2015. Given that much of this expenditure on healthcare is paid for by governments, many in the region are looking at health measures to ameliorate the trend lifestyle diseases, as well as possible health insurance mandates.

Abu Dhabi has led the way in this regard, initially requiring mandatory health insurance policies originally for expatriates to get a visa, and later expanding that program to the point where mandatory health insurance is now a requirement for most citizens and residents in the country. While other countries in the region may be debating similar requirements, some health insurance companies are working proactively to provide products that offer customers quality products while fulfilling any governmental health insurance requirements.

International health insurance company Aviva has recently been working with Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Insurance Company to build up a UAE health insurance network. Their efforts have paid off, resulting in the creation of Emirates’ International Solutions product line, a group of 4 benefit plans designed especially for the UAE region which will be available after March 1^st, 2012.

In being designed for the local region, international health insurance products that are to be available from Aviva will comply with local regulation. This means that any expats who live in Abu Dhabi will be able to take out one of the Emirates’ International Solutions products and have it satisfy the visa requirement for compulsory local insurance, allowing them to simply have one plan to cover them in Abu Dhabi and internationally.

In commenting on the recent news, the International Business Lead for Aviva, UK Health, Teresa Rogers noted that “Offering health provision in the UAE is complex due to different legislative requirements across each of the Emirates. We’ve worked with a specialist international law firm to help us develop bespoke solutions for our customers based in the UAE and we believe that our four products will enable us to respond to changes in legislation and customer needs both now and in the future.”

Company Mentioned

Aviva

Europe’s fourth largest insurance company, with more than 300 years of experience in the global insurance industry, Aviva is committed to the safety and satisfaction of its customers. They sell a broad range of insurance products including motor and property insurance, protection and health insurance, business insurance, life insurance and pensions.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Arab Spring Could Affect Regional Insurance Markets

The ongoing civil strife and revolutions occurring throughout the Middle East and North Africa could have a negative impact on the further development of insurance markets in the region, according to a new special report published this week by AM Best.

2011 will forever be known as a year of mass social unrest and political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where revolutions in certain countries have not only taken a considerable human toll on local populations but have also affected the region’s financial risk systems and overall business environments for potentially years to come. In ‘Protests Alter Forecasts for Premium Growth in MENA,’ worldwide insurance information and credit ratings agency AM Best examines the financial impact of the Arab Spring protest movement, country by country, and how it has altered the international insurance industry’s prospects in the region.

In general, periods of sociopolitical unrest and upheaval will pose considerable problems to a nation’s insurance industry, disrupting business patterns and affecting liquidity, according to AM Best. For the insurers themselves, premium levels can often stagnate due to business days lost due to unrest and other prolonged inabilities to collect on policies. In addition, while claims directly resulting from revolution and civil war are typically excluded, the incidence rates of claims overall can be higher in the aftermath and firms will have to find ways to absorb these losses. Moreover, if wide scale changes to a country’s government occur, insurance regulations could follow suit and the performance of previously prominent state-backed companies could be affected. Alternatively, the rating agency noted, certain business lines can in fact benefit from these tumultuous times, with premium levels for cargo and marine cover due to rise in tow with expected oil prices, as well as reinsurance opportunities arising from reconstruction efforts and government infrastructure spending.

Overall, AM Best reiterates that premium growth will continue to be closely linked to economic activity. “Specifically, a country’s growth in inflation-adjusted insurance premiums is determined, at least partially, by the overall level of real economic activity in that country. Nominal gross domestic product growth historically is highly correlated with insurance premium growth,” the ratings agency noted. Thus political turbulence which fosters business uncertainty could affect the development of the region’s insurance markets going forward.

Although the political situations in several MENA countries are still far from resolved, AM Best was able to use the most recently revised economic growth data provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to forecast how the region’s insurers may expect to perform in the near future. In September, the IMF downgraded the economic growth projections of 8 MENA region countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia, and raised the forecast for 7 others. Although Syria is the only country expected to slip into a formal recession, the IMF noted that the unrest is expected to negatively impact the economies of many MENA nations in 2011, with growth rates generally returning to their original pre-crisis path by around 2013 or 2014. The IMF held the potential long-term disruptions in key business sectors of MENA economies, chiefly, tourism, private financing (particularly foreign direct investment) and the oil industry, accountable for the reductions in GDP projections. Tourism and investment activity, in particular, are highly dependent on consumer and investor confidence, and have been shaken by the pervasive turbulence of the Arab Spring. Equity markets across the MENA region have been down 16 percent on average since the start of 2011, ranging from the full rebound in the Qatar exchange to a massive 41 percent drop on the Egyptian exchange.

Using the IMF’s updated forecast, AM Best found that the Arab Spring protests will affect the insurance industries of each country in different ways, although the projected impact on premiums overall in the region is not expected to be too severe, owing primarily to the relative immaturity of the MENA insurance sector in general. According to AM Best’s calculations, the impact the widespread unrest will have on markets ranges from Syria’s projected insurance premiums in 2015 being around 14 percent lower than they would have been before the protests, up to Turkey’s projected premiums in 2015 being in fact 1 percent higher. Of the 16 countries surveyed in the MENA region, 10 are expected to post lower premium growth in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, namely, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria and Tunisia, with Egypt and Syria experiencing the largest expected declines in growth due to unrest. Relative to country risk metrics, with the exception of Tunisia, all of these markets where the impact from the Arab Spring is judged greatest were already classified in AM Best’s highest country risk tier. Meanwhile, 5 MENA countries are projected to remain unaffected or experience modest gains, with more than US$2 billion in projected premiums in 2015. These countries are Israel, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE.

While these findings could indicate a significant shift in the MENA insurance industry, premium levels for the whole region are projected to only be 0.7 percent lower in 2015 than they otherwise would have been without the protests. “Thus, while the overall effect of the protests in the short-to-medium run is negative, it will be relatively minor on the regional insurance industry,” AM Best noted. The rating agency’s findings leave us with two profound conclusions, one is that political upheaval does not necessarily destroy a domestic insurance industry, and the other is that there is still considerable opportunity for foreign investors to build the insurance trade in the MENA region.

Rating Agency Mentioned

A.M Best

A.M. Best Company was founded in 1899 and is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to servicing the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Dubai Shelves Mandatory Health Insurance Scheme

Dubai’s upcoming national health insurance system, designed to cover every employee in the Emirate, has been delayed for at least two years. Those who have found themselves priced out of private health insurance policies now face a longer wait for treatment options.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced on Tuesday that they had officially postponed the implementation of compulsory health insurance requirements for local employers for two more years. In Dubai at present, there are some private sector employers that provide insurance for their staff or negotiate directly with hospitals over treatment plans, but many workers are still left without insurance and struggle with medical costs. The new insurance system, which would make healthcare a required benefit for every worker in the Emirate, has been in development for quite a while. Laila Al Jassmi, DHA chief executive of health policy and strategy, told local media that moving the start date for national health insurance requirements in Dubai was made necessary due to the structural and economic challenges now facing the local labour market. “We have the models. But what we need to do is revise the model towards the existing status of the people and businesses in Dubai,” Laila Al Jassmi told the National, adding that “If you look at the emirate now, most of the private sector provides some kind of health insurance coverage. However the blue-collar workers are a major segment who is mostly not covered. The new policy will be a complete policy that will cover everyone.”

The growing number of uninsured residents has become a significant issue in Dubai, particularly amongst the emirate’s sizeable expatriate workforce. According to the most recent Dubai Household Health survey, around three-quarters of all Indian, Asian and Arab expatriates had no health insurance cover in 2010. This issue has been further exacerbated by the rising costs of public healthcare. Dubai residents who do not have employee-sponsored private coverage can apply for health cards that are supposed to grant them access to public health facilities at a discounted rate. However, with the rising costs of treatment, those health cards effectively offer no discounts now. Treatment costs in government hospitals have risen to roughly the same as those of private hospitals, with a consultation costing between Dh250 to Dh400 (US$75 to US$120), and a one night stay in the Intensive Care Unit costing around Dh3100 (US$845). Many uninsured workers struggle with these medical bills and thus often skip vital consultations and medical treatment until it’s too late. Maintaining affordable access to necessary services like healthcare remains an issue for many expatriates in Dubai.

The DHA’s original plan called for a tax on local businesses that chose not to cover their staff with a private health insurance policy. The law would require that employers pay the Dubai government between Dh500 (US$136) and Dh800 (US$218) a year per employee. These employees would then be made register with a licensed outpatient clinic and become eligible for basic healthcare services. Since 2005, Abu Dhabi has had a similar law in place, and this has helped the emirate cover around 98 percent of its workers. The Abu Dhabi Health Insurance Law states that active employers or sponsors in the Emirate must provide some form of health insurance for job-related illness to employees and their family members. This includes cover for an employee’s spouse as well as insurance for up three children aged 18 or lower as long as they are in the Emirate. Since last year, those failing to comply with the ruling would be subject to a fine of at least Dh300 (US$82) per employee per month. It must be said however that proper enforcement for Abu Dhabi’s policy was only introduced in the past week.

Dubai’s compulsory health insurance scheme was originally scheduled to come into effect in January 2009 but the aftermath of the global financial crisis on Dubai’s private sector and property market necessitated a delay. After the financial crisis, some multinational companies decided to pare down their employee cover, while others began to share premium costs with the employees. Labor costs may have to adjust further so that employers can afford to adequately pay and give benefits to their staff.The official deadline for the introduction of compulsory health insurance is now 2013.

Moving the launch date for the health insurance scheme back a couple years puts it in line with the government’s 2011-2013 three-year plan, which includes several other initiatives tasked with improving the Emirate’s healthcare system. Among them is a national strategy to improve healthcare funding. To accomplish this, the DHA is developing a National Health Account that will monitor Dubai’s overall healthcare expenditure and compare them to investment priorities in the other Emirates. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the UAE as a collective spends 2.5 per cent of its GDP on healthcare. Comparatively, this is much lower than many Western countries. However, since the UAE is a tax-free country, as healthcare costs rise they become more difficult for the government to carry entirely on their own.

The National Health Account is also designed to support greater private sector development in the local healthcare industry. Public healthcare facilities in Dubai currently account for 39 percent of all outpatient services, with the rest provided by the private sector. The DHA wants the number and quality of private hospitals and clinics in Dubai to expand further and lift the burden off the public treasury. This will be necessary to not only maintain a sustainable national healthcare system but also to give impetus towards growing the local medical tourism industry.

In addition to healthcare budgeting and insurance reform, the Dubai government’s three-year plan calls for an improved national medical information database, taking advantage of modern mobile network technology to guarantee transparent business practices. The DHA believes the public will be better served if they have access to data which adequately compares service quality and productivity of local hospitals. The Emirate also has plans to train and retain a high quality medical workforce through an improved screening process over education and credentials, in addition to funding continuous education programs, which will keep staff up to date with the latest advances in international medicine.

Organization Mentioned

Dubai Health Authority

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is a government organization tasked with overseeing the healthcare sector of the Emirate of Dubai. The DHA was created in 2007 under the directive of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. Medical care services throughout Dubai can be provided through DHA medical facilities including hospitals (Al Wasl, Dubai and Rashid), specialty centers (The Joslin Diabetes Center) and numerous primary health centers.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Abu Dhabi Enforce Health Insurance Cover

Health officials from Abu Dhabi have reissued a warning to all residents in the Emirate to maintain an up-to-date health insurance policy or else face a stiff penalty.

At a conference held yesterday, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) unveiled a new media awareness campaign that aims to publicize the activation of the Health Insurance Law No. 23 of 2005 and to further educate Gulf residents about the tremendous importance of having valid health coverage in the Emirates at all times. The HAAD wants all companies and UAE nationals who have workers under their sponsorship to be aware of the national health insurance requirement as well as the new mechanisms now in place to enforce it.

Abu Dhabi’s Health Insurance Law states that active employers or sponsors in the Emirate must provide some form of health insurance to all employees and their family members, including an employee’s spouse as well as cover for three children aged 18 or lower. The law also applies to laborers at construction companies, one of the largest sources of migrant work in the region. If an employer or UAE sponsor fails to adhere to this responsibility and either does not subscribe to a basic health insurance scheme or fails to renew their policy they will be subject to a minimum fine of Dh300 (US$82) per employee, worker or dependent, per month. Consistent violation of the law could also resort in an employer’s trade license in the Emirate being revoked. Anyone who reregisters after their policy expires will be treated as a new applicant.

Speaking at the conference Monday, Marwan Al Nabulsi, Head of the Enrolment and Inspection at HAAD, told attendees that their organization was prepared to do even more to ensure that all Abu Dhabi residents and workers hold adequate health cover. The HAAD introduced a new option in January this year that extends insurance eligibility, giving employers and sponsors the ability to secure a valid insurance card for their employees for up to three years at a time. “People will know the value of having an insurance card when somebody gets sick and they go to a hospital and they will have to pay the bill. If they don’t have insurance, they have to come up with the money to pay the bill,” Al Nabulsi said.

While these health insurance requirements have been in place since the law was issued in 2005, fines for non-compliance were not enforced until the middle of last year. Speaking at the conference, Dr Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Head of Customer Service and Corporate Communications at HAAD explained that the necessary infrastructure for collecting and administrating fines could only be realized by the health authority in May 2010. This was followed immediately by a mandated grace period by order of Sheikh Khalifa, which gave offenders the necessary time to adjust to the new system in place. Due to the larger than expected volume of offending claims however, more moves were soon required by the HAAD to ensure the health insurance scheme could be properly maintained and enforced. “We spent four months under that order and then we decided to establish a committee within the health authority to look into all appeals that are presented through customer service and the committee,” Dr Al Kaabi explained.

In September 2010, HAAD established the Appeal Committee for Insurance Fines as their new subsidiary tasked with reviewing all health insurance appeals in the Emirate. Individuals looking to file an objection are charged a Dh100 (US$27) appeal fee before fines can be cancelled, while employers must pay Dh2000 (US$545) to have their case heard. According to recently released HAAD statistics, these appeal fees have not deterred many people from filing a complaint. Since the health insurance requirements have come into force, the Appeal Committee for Insurance Fines has received over 42,000 appeals. Of these appeals, HAAD notes that 27,895 have come from individuals looking to cancel their fines, 6,677 have been group appeals, while 6,319 have come from small companies and 1,262 from larger companies.

Despite this considerable appeal traffic, Dr Al Kaabi was confident that considerable progress had already been made and that the new health insurance scheme was already achieving desired results. “Activating the Health Insurance list of penalties is aimed at letting the sponsors/employers provide health insurance cover to all their workers/employees and not to collect violation fees. The HAAD has decreased the percentage of violations through this and sometimes it has made exemptions in order to allow everyone easier access to health insurance,” Dr Al Kaabi said.

The number of registered health insurance complaints has already dropped this year. According to HAAD statistics, 693 formal complaints have been filed since the start of this year, compared with over 2,300 complaints through the same period in 2010. A further 64 complaints have been moved onto the courts for final resolution. As it stands now, 97 percent of all workers and residents of Abu Dhabi are insured to some degree. The HAAD hopes to achieve 100 percent compliance in the near future. Insurance penetration and density in the UAE is at the highest levels in the Gulf region, and an increase in both native and expatriate populations is expected to only improve upon this trend. Al Kaabi concluded the conference saying that his organization hopes to attain this goal not through fees and appeal courts but from a deep mutual understanding of the importance of universal health insurance coverage and adherence to the law in Abu Dhabi. “We are not looking into collecting fines, what we are doing actually is we want everybody to be in compliance with the insurance law,” Dr Al Kaabi asserted.

Organizations Mentioned

HAAD

The Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) is the chief regulatory body overseeing the healthcare sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The HAAD is tasked with monitoring the health of the local population and the overall performance of the health system. In addition, HAAD defines an overall strategy for the health system, works to enforce standards, maintain performance targets and increase awareness of and encourage healthy living practices amongst Abu Dhabi residents.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

UAE Steps Up Medical Screening on Expats

The United Arab Emirates’ large expatriate workforce will soon be subject to a comprehensive medical screening process before being admitted into the country as part of the government’s plan to stop the spread of contagious diseases amongst migrant workers in the Arab state. The new system will also curb the number of workers who slip into the UAE with fake certificates by mandating re-tests once they arrive in the UAE.

Starting on October 1 2011, expatriate workers from Indonesia and Sri Lanka will undergo preliminary screening for 16 medical conditions, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B, HIV/Aids and malaria, in their respective countries of origin before they can be approved for a visa to live or work in the UAE. Some specific categories of expatriates will also be further checked for additional non-infectious health issues such as diabetes, cancer and renal failure. Those who test positive for a specified illness at any of the 220 medical centers throughout Asia that are part of the Gulf Approved Medical Centers Association (GAMCA) will be refused entry into the Emirates. Migrant workers who pass the first screening will then be re-tested in the UAE upon their arrival to confirm results. These same tests will also become applicable for residence visa renewal. Visitors entering the UAE on tourist or visit visas however will be exempt from these new health requirements for now.

The screening process being implemented in the UAE is the first phase of the Gulf Co-operative Council’s (GCC) Expatriate Worker Medical Examination Program, which began in 1995 as a medical fitness system to track the spread of communicable diseases across the Gulf region. This standardized healthcare exam is currently used by Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and includes tests for HIV/Aids, pulmonary tuberculosis, leprosy and syphilis. All GCC visa applicants must also be up-to-date on all their vaccines, including Hepatitis A and B, influenza and the Rubella virus. The UAE is now the final GCC member country to put this program into action, a state that sees almost 1.7 million new expatriate workers head to the state every year. Now, in collaboration with the region’s leading physician’s advisory group, the GCC technical committee, routine checks will be held internationally to ensure that the highest health reporting standards are maintained and that all newcomers in UAE have genuine accreditation and are free of infectious diseases.

Indonesia and Sri Lanka were chosen as the first two countries to undergo the medical screening system after the GCC technical committee conducted a thorough inspection of their healthcare facilities. These two countries will serve as very useful pilot subjects, as there are currently an estimated 250,000 Sri Lankan and 100,000 Indonesian expatriates working in the UAE. After a three-to-six month evaluation period, the program will be extended towards migrant labor from at least eight other Asian and African countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Egypt, Sudan and the Philippines.

Health officials have long expressed concern about the spread of infectious disease among migrant workers in the Gulf, and in particular tuberculosis. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that new strains of tuberculosis and other drug resistance diseases have increased globally over the past few years, with new cases occurring most prominently in South Asia, a region that supplies the Gulf with many of its workers. According to the UAE Ministry of Health’s 2009 data, over 21 percent of all Asian expatriates screened for visa renewal tested positive for TB while in the country.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health explained in a statement that the new testing regime was necessary to both prevent the spread of disease and keep adequate records of migrant labor in the Emirates. “The new procedures will positively affect public health and eliminate diseases among newcomers to the UAE who are either coming for work or residence…The most important reason for the implementation of the program in the country of origin is to discover diseases in a suitable time. This achieves the highest protection grades.” The UAE’s previous immigration rules called for similar medical checks for expatriates before securing a visa. However, immigrants were allowed to enter the country and wait for up to a month before the screening process and this could’ve contributed to the spread of communicable diseases in the UAE before the diagnosis was made.

According to the Ministry of Health, instituting a thorough double check process by both the home country and UAE will work to curtail fraud and will lessen the stress and expenses on the UAE healthcare system, which has to treat all patients with communicable diseases at great cost before deporting them. Many of these sickly immigrants would not have been able to fulfill their job commitments in their present condition anyway. The number of people waiting to get tested is also expected to drop as expatriate workers will be deterred from trying to get into the country with faked test results. As part of the GCC’s regional expatriate testing initiative, all screening centers, embassies and consulates are connected through a computer system to ensure transparency and improve security. Health centers found issuing fraudulent health certificates and medical reports will have their license revoked and be fined thousands of dollars.

“Double-testing will positively affect public health and eliminate diseases brought in,” said Salem Darmaki, Acting Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, at a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday, concluding that “We hope these procedures have a positive impact on public health in society to eliminate diseases among newcomers to the UAE, and reduce the psychological and financial burden in case they fail to obtain a residency visa.”

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Middle East Insurance Slowdown Sees Development of New Products

A number of financial reports released by Qatari insurance companies on Monday indicate that the country’s insurance sector may be poised to experience a significant slowdown. Five Qatari insurance companies, operating mainly in the non-life insurance market, have indicated that the sector’s total net profits have risen by only 2 percent during 2011, compared to 9 percent for the same period in 2010.

The companies, which include Qatar Islamic Insurance, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Al Khaleej Takaful, Qatar Insurance, and Doha Insurance, saw the sector’s net profit for January – June 2011 reach QR 545.96 million (US$ 149.91 million), compared to the QR 537.11 million (US$ 147.48 million) in profits seen for the same reporting period in 2010. The data on the general profitability of these five Qatari insurance companies was released by Qatar Exchange data.

One of the primary reasons cited by the insurers with regards to the lower than expected profits in the first half of 2011 is due to the rise in premiums yielded to reinsurance companies. Reinsurance premium yielding has risen by 8 percent for Qatar’s insurance companies in 2011, with three companies actually yielding more than 55 percent of total written premiums to reinsurers. With the levels of premiums being yielded to reinsurers outstripping the total growth in premium revenue for the market, profits have inevitably come in at lower than expected levels.

Profit growth for the first half of 2011 for the five companies, compared to the same period in 2010, stood at:

Qatar Islamic Insurance: 1.83 percent growth in 2011, up from 0.43 percent in 2010.

Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance: 1.83 percent growth in 2011, up from -7.31 percent in 2010.

Al Khaleej Takaful: 11.29 percent growth in 2011, down from 46.85 percent in 2010.

Qatar Insurance: 10.74 percent growth in 2011, down from 65.77 percent in 2010.

Doha Insurance: -8.80 percent growth in 2011, down from 60.55 percent in 2010.

While the slowdown of the non-life insurance sector in Qatar does not pose major concerns at present, it has highlighted the need to create innovative policies with which to cover underserved segments of the Middle Eastern insurance market.

One company taking notice from the Qatari slowdown is the Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company, also known as Aman, which is headquartered in Dubai, UAE. Aman’s CEO, Hussein Al Meeza, announced the creation of two new types of protection policy which would focus on affording medical cover to Indian expatriates working in the United Arab Emirates.

The Indian Expatriate Medical Insurance plans from Aman are being run in conjunction with ICICI Lombard, one of India’s leading insurance companies. On creating the plans, Hussein Al Meeza said;

“If you check the structure of the population in the UAE and what relation it has with Emiratis, they are our partners; they are our brothers. They are also the people who (are) behind all the work that has been done here. The relationship that we have with the Indian population was not (built) today or yesterday. Also, we have (an agreement) with ICICI Lombard, which is one of the top names in the Indian market.”

Mr Hussein went on to say;

“Europeans already have the culture of insurance. They have very advanced products. We are looking to see where the opportunities are to provide services. We are looking at the Arab world, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Filipinos. It needs a background from the countries, because India has a platform for service providers… The Indian (expatriate population) is a big market and there are a lot of opportunities. Also, we got the right partner for the products.”

The policies, named “Rishtey” and “Health on Return,” aims to give Indian expatriates in the UAE a wider choice with regards to their medical cover than they have previously been afforded. The Rishtey plan would see UAE expatriate workers obtain medical insurance cover for their families in India, while the Health on Return policy would provide health insurance protection to those same expatriate workers in the event that they return to India for a short stay. Additionally, the Health on Return plan also offers the expatriate Indian workers the option of having retirement health insurance cover, creating a far more flexible and comprehensive health insurance product than any which currently cater to this niche market segment.

While a slowdown in Qatar’s general insurance market may pose a concern for the region, industry analysts are aware that there exists significant potential with regards to developing ever more unique products for the GCC insurance sector.

Insurance Companies Mentioned

Qatar Islamic Insurance

Founded in 1995, Qatar Islamic Insurance, also known as QIIC, operates a number of lines of insurance coverage. Offering insurance based on Islamic principles QIIC offers coverage for all risks from Aviation to personal protection.

Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance

Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance was founded in 1979, and is a Qatari national company. Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance offers both individual and business insurance products in Qatar.

Al Khaleej Takaful

Founded in 1978, Al Khaleej Takaful operates primarily in the general insurance and reinsurance markets. Covering risks including Property, Engineering, Liability, General Accident, Marine Transit, and Marine Hull, Al  Khaleej has proven time and again to be an innovative insurer.

Qatar Insurance Company

Founded in 1964, Qatar Insurance Company, also known as QIC, is Qatar’s oldest insurance provider. Operating a number of personal and business insurance products across the GCC, QIC is one of the most established insurers in Qatar.

Doha Insurance

One of the younger insurance providers in Qatar, Doha Insurance was founded in 2000. Establishing a Takaful products company in 2006, under the name Doha Takaful Insurance, Doha Insurance company offers a range of general insurance products.

Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company

Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company, also known as AMAN, was established in 2002 to provide comprehensive Islamic insurance products to residents of the UAE. Offering Motor, Home, and Medical Islamic insurance products, AMAN is one of the leading insurance providers in the UAE.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Gulf Insurance Industry Set to Take Off

A new report released this week by investment banking firm Alpen Capital LLC has highlighted the tremendous potential for growth within the Gulf insurance industry due to the relatively low insurance penetration levels, positive demographic trends and pronounced infrastructure development occurring throughout the region.

According to the GCC Insurance Industry report, insurance business in the Gulf region is set to grow 20 percent annually on average over the next 5 years, moving from US$18 billion in gross premiums in 2011 to over US$37 billion by 2015. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will continue to be the two largest insurance markets in the region, with Alpen projecting a 75 percent market share between them by 2015, however Qatar is forecast to be the biggest mover, with a 30 percent compound annual growth rate over the next 5 years.

The Gulf’s insurance industry is undergoing an important transitional period, according to Alpen. These countries are comprised of predominantly small, youthful populations, including in them a high proportion of expatriates, with a high per-capita income and substantial government spending and involvement throughout most business sectors. However, despite their small and relatively affluent population base, the insurance penetration and density level in the region has remained lower than that of their global peers from both emerging and mature market economies.

Alpen Capital believes that the Gulf markets have now reached critical volume and the discrepancy between a rising GDP and stagnant insurance growth will correct itself quickly in the coming years. As the economies in the region mature it will then be incumbent on insurers to better prepare themselves to capitalize on this business opportunity and become competitive on a global scale. “The confluence of economic and structural factors have created an environment conducive for steady growth of the insurance sector,” Alpen Capital surmised.

Each GCC member was broken down and assigned a specific forecast by Alpen. Although the region at large is poised for substantial insurance growth, some countries are more prepared to expand than others.

Bahrain’s insurance industry covers a small, well regulated market that is forecast to expand by 16 percent from 2011-15. The penetration rate in 2010 for both life and non-life insurance policies have remained high in comparison to other GCC countries. The kingdom is also developing a mandatory national health insurance policy for all expatriates, which when completed in 2013 could play a substantial role in driving the growth of the domestic insurance sector. Unlike most other countries in the region, Bahrain has no native citizen employment quotas for business. This will give Bahrain a competitive advantage in attracting business from foreign insurers.

According to the report, Kuwait’s insurance sector is poised to grow by a considerable 17 percent in the next 5 years, in line with a similar double digit rise anticipated in the nation’s GDP over the same period. Kuwait’s insurance industry hasn’t progressed as quickly as others in the region, with the lowest non-life insurance penetration recorded at 0.4 percent. However, recent moves made by the national government to promote takaful, or Shariah-compliant Islamic insurance, is expected to boost growth in this sector considerably. The growing acceptance of Islamic insurance and compulsory motor insurance laws in the country will compliment each other to facilitate demand. The life insurance sector is not expected to progress as quickly, given the extensive social security system available to citizens in Kuwait. Overall, Alpen expects the life insurance industry to grow by 13 percent in Kuwait while the non-life sector expands by 18 percent.

Oman’s insurance industry is the smallest in the region but is forecast to grow by 18 percent in the coming years. By 2015 the total contribution from premiums is expected to reach US$1.7 billion. In 2010 cyclone Phet hit the country’s north coast and drove up awareness and demand for cover. The Oman government is now taking similar steps to others in the region to encourage insurance as a valuable savings tool for its citizens. A compulsory medical insurance scheme is being discussed for expatriates, which could further contribute to industry growth. The country’s demographics also present distinct opportunities. Oman’s median age is 18.8 years old, one of the lowest averages in the region, and this will be beneficial to the domestic insurance sector because a younger population will more likely become aware of and/or purchase insurance policies in the future.

Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the GCC and one that has developed substantially since insurance business was first permitted in the 1990s. The total written premium in the insurance sector is forecast by Alpen to reach US$9.24 billion by 2015 at an 18 percent combined annual growth rate. Due to an ageing population and regulatory initiatives, Saudi Arabia will be the only GCC market in which sales of new life insurance policies are expected to grow faster than that for non-life products. Takaful insurance companies also have a significant presence in the country, and their continued development will help develop awareness and acceptance towards other lines of insurance in the region. Increased participation from the private sector will yield positive additional positive returns.

The UAE insurance sector is already the most developed in the GCC and is forecast by Alpen to grow by 19 percent annually, totalling US$18.3 billion in combined premium by 2015. Insurance penetration and density in the UAE is at the highest levels in the gulf region, and an increase in both native and expatriate populations is expected to only improve upon this trend. Over the past few years, the local insurance and financial markets have been made more open. This has reduced the presence of entrenched national insurance companies and enabled more foreign competitors to operate in the country and rejuvenate the market. Another key factor driving the expansion of the insurance industry has been the massive UAE government-funded infrastructure projects, which were previously stalled or cancelled due to the 2008 global economic crisis. Many of those projects are now underway again and their success could boost the local economy and insurance sales along with it.

Alpen Capital singled out Qatar’s insurance industry as the fastest growing in the region, with total written premiums expected to grow by 30 percent in the next 5 years. This remarkable growth is being driven predominantly by the country’s continued economic expansion, combined with a concerted attempt by the government to diversify Qatar’s industry away from only hydrocarbon extraction and export into real estate, tourism and other commercial endeavours. In diversifying their economic activity Qatar creates a significant demand for an expanded scope of new insurance product lines in the region. Similar to other GCC countries, an increased focus on promoting takaful as well as a potential compulsory health insurance law for expatriates is thought to contribute to demand in the short term future as well. Alpen Capital also points out that Qatar GDP per capita is both the highest in the GCC region and among the highest in the world. This considerable level of consumer spending presents not only opportunity for insurers but for Qatar itself to become a leading regional hub for insurance and investment businesses.

Companies Mentioned

Alpen Capital Group

Alpen Capital Group is an investment banking firm that provides financial consulting services. The firm’s advisory services focus on equity and debt capital markets, credit ratings, debt syndications, and mergers and acquisition consulting, amongst others. Alpen Capital was founded in 2008 and is based out of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Mashreq Qatar Announce Tie-Up with MetLife Alico

Mashreq Qatar, the Doha-based arm of one of the MENA region’s leading financial institutions, has this week launched a new critical illness cover policy, titled Wealthcare Insurance, in partnership with MetLife Alico. With the local economy set to continue growing, Mashreq Qatar has been committed to providing enhanced wealth management services for clients in the Emirates and this new insurance proposition follows a slew of additional savings and protection plans, mutual funds, fixed income securities and treasury product based solutions.

The continued advances of research and development in modern medicine has given citizens from all around the world a greater opportunity to be treated for, and overcome previously critical medical conditions. However, with these increased chances in broad survivability have been the rising overall costs of healthcare and pharmaceuticals, which has now left many patients shouldered with significant financial burden. Healthcare consumers worldwide are now demanding more cost-effective treatment plans. MetLife Alico and other international insurers have been working hard with local institutions to address these concerns and have now developed insurance protection in Qatar that offers payment upon diagnosis with worldwide coverage combined with a promise to return the entire premium if there is no claim at the end of the policy term. This joint-venture operation follows similar moves made by other insurers already this summer, including SEIB Insurance’s new contract with Qatar Telecom, the AXA Gulf global health insurance plan ‘Now Health International’, and Agility GHS’ partnership with the Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Co. (known as AMAN Insurance).

Mashreq’s new Wealthcare insurance product has been designed to protect one or more customers in the event they are later diagnosed with any of the following health conditions: cancer, heart attack, stroke, coronary disease, heart valve failure, pulmonary hypertension or a benign brain tumor. Customers can pay their premiums either on a monthly or an annual basis with a deductible (sum assured against) of up to US$100,000.

If a policyholder is diagnosed or succumbs to sudden death from one of the above covered illnesses, MetLife Alico will compensate the beneficiary in a lump sum payment after a 120 day waiting period. Mashreq Qatar is confident this arrangement would enable their insured customers to meet all committed expenses, including rent, lost income, and another unforeseen expenses not likely covered by traditional medical insurance during this tenuous period.

Mashreq Qatar noted further that if a policyholder were to remain healthy throughout their coverage period, the insured would then be entitled to a full 100 percent refund on the cumulative premiums paid to MetLife Alico. In the case of death due to an illness or medical condition not covered by the policy, the beneficiary could also be grated a complete refund.

Howard Kitson, country head of Mashreq Qatar, told reporters at the launch of the wealthcare scheme, that their bank would be the sole distributor of this innovative new insurance product in Qatar for the time being. Mr. Kitson was confident that this partnership MetLife Alico would further ensure both the health and economic wellbeing of their customers.

“Our aim is that our customers should be able to afford the best healthcare services while being at peace about the financial well being of their family and loved ones. We have developed this product, with the aim to protect our customers and offer an attractive, convenient and value-added product,” he said to local media on Tuesday.

This launch comes on the back of a productive year for Mashreq. In July, the banking conglomerate reported a 22 percent increase in net profit to AED551.6 million (US$150.2 million), compared to AED453 million (US$123.35 million) for the same six-month period in 2010, all on solid operating income of AED2.2 billion (US$600 million). Mashreq Qatar, in specific, now expects revenues for the rest of the year to increase by more than 40 percent to QAR350 million (US$96.20 million) due to its treasury operations and strong deposit growth. By 2012, Mashreq Qatar expect revenues to top QAR400 million (US$110 million). Despite an economic slowdown following the political turmoil in nearby MENA countries, Qatar’s capital markets and treasury operations have moved on and are becoming a more important contributor to Mashreq’s business.

Furthermore, Mashreq expects Qatar’s economy to continue to grow and benefit in particular from FIFA’s decision to award the 2018 World Cup to the country, as an influx of professionals and contractors will boost deposit growth as well as attract new financing business to the area. The bank has estimated that the Qatari private sector could see around US$120 billion worth of new contracts as business rush to upgrade and expand the Emirate’s infrastructure in time for the soccer tournament. As more wealth is created in the region, an emerging middle class will demand more insurance services.

For MetLife, a deal to enter Qatar’s insurance market marks the latest move the leading US life insurer has made to expand its international exposure and distribution platform following its purchase of American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) from AIG for US$15.5 billion in 2010. The acquisition of Alico has given MetLife quick access to new Asian, European and Latin American insurance markets and they been rewarded already as the international segment reported operating earnings had increased by US$507 million from US$142 million in the year-ago quarter. This influx of new international business, led by the ALICO deal, has helped MetLife’s premiums grow a remarkable 41.2 percent year over year to US$9.3 billion. As the global economic order subtly changes in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, multinational insurers such as MetLife have found value in re-positioning their activities to ensure that they have greater access to the emerging markets which are now providing all insurers with the most profound sales and earnings growth opportunities.

Companies Mentioned

ALICO

The American Life Insurance Company, known as Alico, provides a broad, innovative range of insurance and savings products for individual customers, corporate customers and high net worth clients. Their products include; health insurance, life insurance, savings plans, accident insurance, retirement planning and travel insurance among others services.

Mashreq

Mashreq is one of the UAE’s leading financial institutions. Mashreq provides global mutual funds, insurance products, treasury products and fixed income securities. Founded in 1967 as then the Bank of Oman, the bank has played a pioneering role in the regional industry, particularly in the retail banking sector.

MetLife Inc.

Possessing over 140 years of insurance expertise, MetLife aims to be an innovator in the field of international Life insurance. Globally, MetLife is able to offer its clients accident and health insurance, life insurance, disability income protection, and retirement and savings products.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Gulf Insurance Restructuring Continues

The United Arab Emirates is working hard to revise many of its regulatory policies to better conform to GCC laws, applicable through its membership in the Gulf Union. This restructuring effort could involve the adjustment and merger of some of the nation’s legislative and regulatory institutions, most notably the dissolution of the UAE Insurance Authority.

The insurance sector has continued to develop admirably in the United Arab Emirates. The Insurance Authority’s most recent report revealed that the total volume of underwritten insurance premiums in the UAE was AED22 billion (US$6 billion) for 2010, a 10 percent increase over the AED 20.1 billion (USD 5.5 billion) recorded in 2009. The total invested funds in the insurance sector meanwhile topped AED 27.6 billion, with national companies enjoying more of the windfall than ever before.

The UAE, long known as a broker market, has retained an institutional distinction between banking and investment services. Banking has been supervised by the UAE Central Bank, while insurance services are regulated through the UAE Insurance Authority. This has unfortunately resulted in numerous grey areas whereby regulators have been unable to properly apply and monitor their market reforms. Reorganizing the relationship between the Central Bank and Insurance Authority will hopefully produce a standard set of regulations across the UAE to properly address risk and guarantee the necessary consumer protections now required in a global economy.

Sources close to the situation have confirmed that the UAE Insurance Authority will likely be dissolved later in the year. The institution was first established in 2007 to oversee and pass legislation governing the regulation of the insurance industry in the UAE, including accreditation for both local and foreign registered insurance entities. In the wake of the global economic downturn, the Insurance Authority began tightening its regulatory efforts to closely match their regulatory frameworks in line with best industry practices elsewhere. The Insurance Authority was among many regulators in the Gulf at the time seeking to better police the insurance industry, particularly the intermediary sector. These businesses were failing to comply with the new capital requirements first set for brokers in December 2006. Last year, the Insurance Authority singled out and removed almost sixty firms, now leaving around 145 brokers still standing in the region. These efforts have lead to the institution extending its supervision to insurers already regulated by other bodies in the region, such as the Dubai Financial Services Authority, which also created perhaps an oversight redundancy.

To date the UAE Insurance Authority has issued nine licenses to insurers who wish to operate in the Emirates insurance industry. In March, the institution put forth draft resolutions aimed at better controlling investments within the country’s insurance market. The proposal would both set maximum limits on funds invested as well as minimum cash reserves held by active insurance firms that would be proportional to their standing capital. The Insurance Authority has also recently embarked on a process of unifying its electronic database across all insurance companies in order to soon provide a one-stop location for those interested in UAE motor vehicle insurance online, with the option ready to extend its services into other countries in the region as well. It is hoped that efforts likes this will gradually lead to either a harmonization of requirements across the region, or reciprocal arrangements between the various countries, and ultimately allow for better cross-border provision of services

Similar to other Middle Eastern states, the UAE authorities have also expressed concerns about the dominance of the expatriate workforce in the local insurance sector. Fatima Mohammed Ishaq Al Awadhi, deputy director of the Insurance Authority, intimated that the UAE may not give approval for another insurance firm to operate in the country unless it employed a sufficient number of Emirate citizens. Out of 7,271 employees currently working for insurance companies in the UAE, only 397 are citizens, an ‘Emiratization’ rate of 5.5 per cent.

The regulatory tasks and responsibilities of the Insurance Authority will be redistributed to other organizations as the institution is phased out during the year, including the issuance of new licenses for insurance, financial and investment companies looking to set up business in the country. More specifically, responsibilities for the license accreditation of UAE investment companies will be removed from the jurisdiction of the Security and Commodities Authority (SCA) and bestowed upon the Central Bank, while licenses involving insurance companies and brokerages (previously the Insurance Authority’s responsibility) will be now reassigned to the SCA. The SCA has also been authorized to monitor and process the licenses of all brokerages in the financial sector as well. These consolidation moves have been made to make domestic regulatory authorities better adhere to international best practices.

The increased involvement by the Central Bank in the insurance sector comes as the UAE considers setting up a system to guarantee small bank deposits of below AED1.5 million (US$410,000). Similar insurance plans were approved for larger deposits earlier in the year as part of a strategy to better ensure long-term financial stability in the region. The amount insured would either be carried by the banks or jointly by both banks and depositors as it is in financial systems in other countries. Many bankers in the region have thus far rejected the proposal citing unnecessary costs and the UAE banking sector’s strong capital position as a guarantee of stability.

Other countries in the Gulf region have also been busy updating their regulatory infrastructure and implementing social reforms to address institutional difficulties. This week, the Kuwaiti government signed an insurance contract worth GBP 1.8 million (US$2.8 million) with BUPA to provide private health insurance for all Kuwaiti students currently pursuing higher education in the United Kingdom.

BUPA currently serves over 2,000 students in the UK, and provides the necessary experience to ensure Kuwaiti expatriates will be well protected while abroad. The insurance policy with BUPA will include treatment for most medical and dental services available in both private and public hospitals and clinics. While visiting the United Kingdom it is important to have health coverage. The British government has renewed efforts to clamp down on the abuse of its NHS services by foreign nationals.

Kuwait Health Minister Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer told reporters that this deal demonstrated Kuwait’s intentions to provide the best services for its students to help them better learn and compete with their counterparts from other countries on more equal footing. The Ministry also planned to raise allocations for foreign medical treatment across the rest of Europe and the US. This policy was important as it would enable Kuwaiti expatriates to better adjust to high standards of living in European countries, the minister added.

Insurance Companies Mentioned

Bupa

Bupa was established more than 60 years ago in the UK and now has ten million customers in over 190 countries, and over 52,000 employees around the world. Bupa is a leading international healthcare provider, offering personal and corporate health insurance, workplace health services and health assessments. As a provident association Bupa has no shareholders, because of this it uses its profits to invest in healthcare and medical facilities around the world. Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the US, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Lloyds moves into Saudi Arabia with RFIB

RFIB Group, the international Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance broker, has been approved for an intermediary license by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to commence its insurance and reinsurance operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

RFIB had been active in the Saudi Arabia insurance market for nearly three decades, but renewed regulatory efforts initiated by SAMA last year have required all foreign brokers operating in the Kingdom to attain a license.

Upon the successful receipt of the license, RFIB has now established a branch office in the Saudi capitol city, Riyadh. SAMA also required RFIB Group to select a Saudi Arabian business partner to set up its Riyadh unit. The company has partnered with Bassam Al-Dhabaan, which now owns 40 percent of the local business.

This move follows RFIB’s entrance into the Russian market earlier this year, with the establishment of new Moscow-based retail broker Anglo Russian Insurance Broker (AnRu). AnRu operates as both an insurance broker and an agent targeting corporate retail business. AnRu already has several agency contracts signed with leading local insurance companies, and is expected to rapidly develop in 2011, according to RFIB.

At the outset, RFIB’s new Saudi office will handle reinsurance business, but after its first year of operation the company intends to explore further opportunities in more specialized retail insurance businesses. The Saudi subsidiary will be headed by Anthony Harris, a former British Ambassador to the UAE who been working for RFIB in the Middle East since February 2006.

On the establishment of the new RFIB unit, Anthony Harris said in a statement: “RFIB has been handling reinsurance risks from the Saudi market for nearly 30 years, but our new insurance and reinsurance broking license is the final stage in our establishing a domestic presence in this important and growing market and we would like to thank SAMA for their help in working with us to achieve this license.”

RFIB have also appointed Naji Tamimi, a Saudi national previously at local firm Malath Cooperative Insurance & Reinsurance Company, as the new office’s deputy general manager. Currently the RFIB offices have four full-time staff members and will soon look to ramp up recruitment efforts. The company eventually intends to have at least 50 percent of its staff be comprised of Saudi nationals.

Adrian Spooner, RFIB’s managing director in the Middle East, commented on the company’s expansion strategy: “Naji’s appointment as Deputy General Manager has been invaluable in establishing our new office in Riyadh. His long experience in the market and extensive contacts will be crucial in growing our business in the Kingdom. We now intend to seek further recruits from the local market, working closely with our international team in London to aid staff training and development.”

Saudi Arabia’s labor market has become a sensitive political matter in the Kingdom. In the midst of regional unrest and a considerable 10.5 percent unemployment rate, creating job opportunities for Saudi nationals has become a priority. Various schemes are being discussed by the government that will evaluate the employment of native Saudis by private companies and differentiate between those that have achieved high ‘Saudization’ rates, and others who have not; with stricter limits on foreign work-permits a real possibility going forward. Saudi Arabia employs around 8 million expatriate workers, 6 million of whom work in the private sector.

While foreign employees may not necessarily be in demand, outside capital certainly is becoming more welcome in the MENA region. Insurance House, a recently launched Abu Dhabi based insurance company, agreed at a shareholders meeting to raise the limit on foreign ownership of the business to 25 percent of the company’s paid up equity share capital. The move comes just days after Insurance House’s public listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Insurance House provides insurance services to Gulf businesses and individuals from its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, and branch offices in Dubai and Sharjah. It has a listed paid-up capital of Dh120 million (US$32.7 million). Last month the insurer raised an additional Dh66 million (US$18 million) as it sold 55 percent of shares to the public. The share issue was available exclusively to UAE nationals at a minimum subscription of 25,000 shares per investor.

Mohammed Alqubaisi, chairman of Insurance House, spoke admirably of the company’s development. “[The IPO] is another milestone for Insurance House. We will always strive for excellence and will endeavor constantly to create value for our existing shareholders. Additionally, we will give an opportunity to foreign investors to participate in our promising venture by building a successful and established relation with them,” he said in a statement.

The Insurance House’s decision comes after a similar vote last week by First Gulf Bank, UAE’s second largest bank by market capitalization, to increase foreign ownership limits from 15 to 25 percent. UAE firms are seeking an upgrade to “emerging-market” status from “frontier market” by international index provider MSCI.

The MSCI cited the UAE’s tight limits on foreign ownership of listed companies as one of the key barriers currently preventing an upgrade to the market’s status. An upgrade to emerging-market status could drive an increase in international investment in companies throughout the Emirates. The limit for foreign ownership of listed companies in the UAE is 49 percent.

At present, non-Gulf foreigners ownership accounts for 8.5 percent of equities listed on the UAE markets, with holdings of Dh12.4 billion (US$3.37 billion). UAE citizens hold around 91 percent of all equities and the remainder is made up by other Gulf nationals.

Opening up further foreign investment opportunities in Gulf companies is expected to continue, according to market analysts. As more firms go public on local indexes they will need to amplify the visibility of their stock and increasing outside ownership limits is an effective way to get more attention.

Companies Mentioned

RFIB

RFIB Group is an international Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance broker. The company provides insurance for a variety of risks associated with both facilities and personal casualty. In addition, RFIB offers an assortment of reinsurance products; and acts as broker and consultant to other direct and reinsurance brokers. The company’s clients include corporations, banks, insurance and reinsurance companies, captives, groups and individuals. RFIB was founded in 1980 and is based in London, the United Kingdom with branches worldwide.

Insurance House

Insurance House was launched in May 2011. The company provides a wide variety of insurance products and services to businesses, groups and individuals from its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, in addition to branches in Dubai and Sharjah.