Mar
02
AXA Cooperative Insurance Company given Saudi Arabian business license
Posted on Mar 02, 2010 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has licensed AXA Cooperative insurance Company to carry out its cooperative insurance and reinsurance business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (license number TMN/25/20101). AXA Cooperative Insurance Company, a Saudi joint stock company, will be AXA Group's first Cooperative insurance company globally. AXA Cooperative Insurance Company's initial public offering in Saudi Arabia mid 2009, was 5 times over subscribed; the company currently has a market capitalization of SAR 574,000 (approximately US$153000). AXA Cooperative Insurance Company has already received approval to sell its motor and health insurance in Saudi Arabia and is developing new insurance plans for both individuals and businesses. Under SAMA's Cooperative Insurance Regulations, insurance products must be tendered on a "cooperative basis" in a manner consistent both with Islamic Shari'ah and the principles espoused by the articles of association of Tawuniya (previously the National Company for Cooperative Insurance or NCCI). Prior to the enactment and implementation of the Cooperative Insurance Regulations, The National Company for Cooperative Insurance, now Tawuniya was the only insurance company registered to operate in Saudi Arabia. The cooperative insurance guidelines result in two concrete obligations that AXA Cooperative Insurance Company must conform to, namely that separate bank accounts must be kept for policyholders and shareholders; and that a certain amount of the net surplus from running the insurance operations must be distributed amongst the policyholders. Companies mentioned: AXA Group Headquartered in Paris, France AXA was originally founded in 1816 as Mutuelle de L'assurance contre L'incendie, after acquiring the Drouot Group in 1982 it took on the name AXA. Since that time it has grown into an international insurance business encompassing life & savings, property & casualty, asset management, international insurance and other financial services with over 80 million customers worldwide.