As the climate of political discontent spreads across North Africa and the Middle East, insurers are reviewing their coverage capabilities against such situations. According to a new report issued by global insurance broker Willis Group, companies operating in volatile parts of the world may soon be unable to provide sufficient insurance coverage for their staff and assets. These firms may also find that their existing policies do not necessarily provide cover against the turmoil being felt in these regions.

During the third Saudi Labor Market Exhibition at the Jeddah Exhibitions and Conferences Center, Zuhair Ibrahim Maghrabi, the chief HR officer from Bupa Arabia, announced that Bupa Arabia has reached a Saudisation level of 52 percent, which means that 52 percent of the Bupa Arabia workforce is currently made up of Saudi nationals. Bupa Arabia is a subsidiary of Bupa, and specializes in providing health…

The Indian insurance industry will continue to outpace the country's economic growth and is projected to reach US$ 350 to 400 billion in premium income by 2020. These figures will put India amongst the top three life insurance and top fifteen non-life markets in the world within the next nine years, according to a new report. At present, the insurance sector in India comprises of 23 different life…

AETNA, one of the world's oldest insurance companies, has partnered with Huatai Insurance in the People's Republic of China in order to provide a comprehensive individual international private medical insurance policy within the Chinese insurance market. The AETNA offering is thought to be extremely similar to the company's existing individual international health insurance products, and is designed…

It has emerged within international private medical insurance industry that A+ International Insurance may not offer policyholders the option of renewing their medical insurance policies in the future. A+ International Insurance's decision to not offer clients a renewal on their IPMI policies may be due to Cigna's purchase of Van Breda International;…

Speaking last week at the All-Russian Forum of Medical Workers, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed the country's continued health care problems and outlined the substantial investments required in the health system to improve outcomes. The crisis in Russia's healthcare system has been a persistent problem for many years. Despite an elaborate hospital network and an ample staff of trained…

Brazil's insurance industry has been experiencing healthy growth as a result of improving economic conditions and the loosening of market regulations in the country. The Brazilian economy grew by 7.5 percent in 2010. Domestic insurers have benefited from the strong level of economic activity, higher availability of credit, and growth in employment; all factors that have driven strong internal demand…

Last Saturday at the sixth Annual World Takaful Conference in Dubai, Ernst and Young predicted that the worldwide Takaful insurance market would reach a value of $12 billion USD in 2011; the prediction was announced in the Ernst and Young World Takaful Report 2011: Transforming Operating Performance, and represents an increase of 31 percent from $9.15 billion in 2010. Takaful, an…

The insurance industry in North Africa is in its infancy, and while that is unlikely to change due to political unrest in the short term, analysts project that with many of the appropriate foundations already established within the past decade, the North African insurance sector could be set for pronounced long term growth and development opportunities in the region. A new research document from Standard…

On April 3rd, 2011, Qatar unveiled their ambitious National Health Strategy 2011-16 (NHS). The six year plan is designed to transform Qatar’s existing medical infrastructure into a comprehensive and integrated world-class healthcare system, accessible to all, that will generate the positive health outcomes set about in the development plan named Qatar National Vision 2030. The strategy was the result…