By Satish Kanady
DOHA: The Qatar-based Reinsurance Company, Qatar Re, has ranked top among Mena Reinsurers with a whopping $535.9m gross written premium (GWP) last year. Qatar Re’s net written premiums stood at $178.2m during the year.
Insurance markets in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region have grown significantly over the past decade. Mena insurance premiums surpassed $50bn in 2014, credit ratings and financial data provider A.M.Best has revealed.
According to data compiled by A.M.Best, with $444.9m, the Trust Re (Trust International Insurance & Reins Co) ranks the second topper in terms of GWP and Mill Re ( Mill Reassurance Turk Anonim Sirketi), with $412m, ranked third in GWP.
Many Mena markets, such as those of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, are allowing reinsurers to establish geographically diverse underwriting portfolios without exposing themselves to increased earnings volatility. Despite this, the influx of reinsurance capacity in the Mena region and the prevailing competitive market conditions that have grown ever fiercer over the past three years have begun to place pressure on the technical performance of regional reinsurers.
During the first half of 2015, Qatar Re increased its gross written premiums to $463.6m, up 42 percent from $326.7m for the same period in 2014. Gross underwriting income for the first half-year 2015 was $40.4m, against $28.1m for the same period in 2014. Net profit came in at $13.4m, compared with half year net income of $16m.
A significant contributor to premium growth in the region’s primary market has stemmed from the expansion of ‘big ticket’ commercial and industrial risks.
Earlier this month, the Company announced its intention to move its domicile from the Qatar Financial Centre to Bermuda , in order to consolidate capital, further enhance its international scope of business and strengthen its organisation.
Currently, Qatar Re writes about 50 percent of its business in Europe. The Americas account for 28 percent of the book, Asia for another 20 percent and the Middle East and Africa for the remainder.
Qatar Re expects that the current trading conditions, characterised by excess capacity and low interest rates, will persist in the coming renewals.
The company will continue to drive forward its diversification strategy by line of business and geography. It will further de-emphasize standard property & casualty risks and sharpen its focus on knowledge-intensive specialty business.
Qatar Re is looking to strengthen its presence in Asia and in the Americas, while maintaining its footprint in Europe and the Middle East. Overall, the Company will offer more capacity per line and lead quotations on important large placements.
The Peninsula
