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Spurred by regulatory reforms, the UAE insurance market sustained strong growth momentum in 2017 and returned exceptional profits, according to data released at the second Dubai World Insurance Congress, which opened on Tuesday.
In 2017, aggregate underwriting profits for UAE-listed insurers grew by an exceptional 69.8 per cent to reach Dh1.7 billion. At the same time, net profits rose 47.4 per cent to Dh1.3 billion, a special report by A.M. Best said.
Overall, listed insurers generated combined gross written premiums of Dh21.8 billion during 2017, representing a growth of 15.5 per cent from 2016. "Mandatory business lines of motor and medical insurance are the two key drivers of growth, which can be attributed to regulatory reforms," said Salman Siddiqui, analyst at Best.
"The results appear all the more impressive given the volatile economic backdrop of low oil prices and reduced government spending," said Siddiqui.
Although regulatory reforms, first introduced in 2015, led to short-term upheaval, their long-term impact has been positive. "In particular, the requirements on actuarial pricing and reserving have been critical to improvements in underwriting discipline and the resulting abatement in price-led competition. This has resulted in overall rate increases on the key business lines of medical and motor insurance, with positive consequences for premium and profit growth," said the report.
In motor insurance, carriers benefited from the introduction of the Unified Motor Policy for third-party cover, which has reduced price-led competition and allowed for more realistic rates. For comprehensive motor policies, there have been strong increases in prices as insurers became increasingly compliant with the regulator's requirement for actuarial-led pricing. Medical insurance has also benefited from requirements on actuarial-led pricing. Additionally, the continued roll-out in 2017 of mandatory health insurance requirements by the Dubai Health Authority led to increased volumes being written, said the report.
Moody's expects infrastructure spending, including events such as Expo 2020 and 2022 World Cup, will support premium growth over the next five years.
"We expect continued expansion of compulsory medical cover across the region, as well as rising motor and property insurance prices, to support premium growth for the next 12 - 18 months," said Mohammed Londe, assistant vice president at Moody's.
The two-day Dubai World Insurance Congress, brought together regional and global industry experts who discussed the risks and opportunities in the evolving insurance sector through topics such as artificial intelligence, the digital world and InsurTech.
Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of DIFC Authority, said DIFC's insurance community includes start-ups and disruptive entrepreneurs as well as world's leading firms, and DWIC is just one of the initiatives to support the significant growth in this sector.
"In the past decade, technological advances from artificial intelligence to blockchain have transformed business models in every sector and insurance is no exception. Dubai World Insurance Congress embraced the future of the industry with insights from the sector's most established and innovative leaders," he said. - issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
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