Abstract
Qatar’s insurance sector has seen good growth in the past few years,
particularly in terms of gross
premiums. Qatar sees itself as becoming the
Gulf region’s leading insurance centre, aiming to provide
access for
the global insurance and reinsurance industry and it has the potential to be
one of the region
key markets in non-life and life insurance. Overall, the
regional has a tiny share of world’s insurance, at
less than 1%, but
it is showing significant growth and is set to become a much more significant
market for
global insurers and reinsurers in the future. The countries
five main insurance companies are likely to
increase their foreign
operations significantly in the coming years.
Although the sector should
continue to grow reasonably strongly through our 2007-2013 forecast
period,
it is, nonetheless, facing a number of challenges. Claims and
expenses have been surging along with
premium growth, and overall profit
growth has not kept pace with the rise in premiums. Other challenges
include increasing competition from foreign groups who, like AIG, are
attracted to the Qatar Financial
Centre (QFC). Several insurance firms,
including Marsh and HSBC has been authorised by the QFC in
2008. The QFC
is also facing competition from its peers in other nearby countries (such as
Bahrain’s
Financial Harbour and the Dubai International Finance
Centre).
It is also worth noting that Qatar is likely to weather the
current economic crisis better than many other
nations. Business
confidence remains stable and the government is committed to ensuring the
economy
stays buoyant, while the economy itself is expected to remain
relatively resilient in the face of a global
downturn.
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