As UAE insurers increase exposure to bonds, more out-of-the-box solutions will need to be created to meet return requirements, writes Mohammed Al Hashemi. Regulations encouraging UAE insurance companies to make greater investment allocations to bonds will bring the industry more in line with global peers, but creative solutions will be...
Telematics is a game changer set to shake up the long-standing business model of auto insurance in the Middle East region and globally, writes Eelco Van Keimpema. The introduction of Dubai’s much anticipated air taxi service has been slightly delayed from this summer to the fourth quarter of 2017. Unlike...
Uncertainty persists as to when precisely Value Added Tax (VAT) will be introduced in the GCC. The introduction of taxation seems inevitable in the region and could cause short-term cash-flow issues for insurers, according to A.M. Best. The GCC member states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab...
David Anthony looks at some of the factors that are giving rise to accusations of ‘commoditised’ reinsurance in the MENA region. It is no secret that reinsurance markets have been ‘softening’ since late 2013. Indeed, perhaps thanks to the establishment of a considerable number of well-capitalised regional reinsurers in the...
Peter Hodgins and Tom Bicknell review the changes in the insurance industry impacted by the upcoming regulatory activity in the market. Ostensibly driven by a rise in consumer complaints, all three of the UAE’s financial services regulators, the Insurance Authority, the Emirates Securities & Commodities Authority and, most recently, the...
Attacks such as the WannaCry ransomware—globally coordinated and likely more far reaching—may become more the norm rather than the exception, according A.M. Best. The global insurance industry has been reluctantly waiting for an event like the WannaCry ransomware attack, which has hit more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries across...
A new area, but one that is getting exceeding amounts of interest from the industry, cyber risk is affecting all lines of business. A Premium report. Cyber incidents are becoming increasingly frequent and widespread. The recent WannaCry ransomware attacks are a prime example. The DIFC Insurance Association held a talk...
Various events held in the region captured various trends in the market as well as highlighted challenges and opportunities. A Premium report. Legal and insurance experts convened to discuss the risks and challenges for property insurers in the context of high-rise building fires in the Middle East, an event organised...
Neil Haskins examines the Hyperloop technology from a cyber risk perspective. There are many examples today where a cyber-attack has real world implications. The public first started identifying with these control system hacks in 2010, when the stuxnet worm infected the Iranian nuclear facilities. As operational technology becomes more deeply...
Joby Beretta takes a look at the potential issues surrounding the Hyperloop technology transport system. Being innovative and nascent technology, the legal issues and regulatory framework applicable to the Hyperloop are, to some extent, speculative. This article considers some of the potential issues such as intellectual property, investment, the regulatory...
