Total value of insurance market in Arab countries is more than $40.9bn

Muscat: Activities of the 34th General Arab Insurance Federation Conference kicked off at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday.

The event is titled “For a more sustainable and inclusive Arab insurance industry: How Arab companies can join the artificial intelligence revolution”.

The three-day conference is organised by Oman Insurance Association and the Secretariat General of the Arab Insurance Federation.

The opening ceremony was held under the auspices of HH Sayyid Dr. Kamil bin Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Secretary General at the Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers.

In emerging markets, the real value of insurance premiums between 2010 and 2019 grew by 7.3 percent, compared to 1.8 percent in developed markets, said Ahmed Ali al-Maamari, Vice President for Insurance Sector atthe Capital Market Authority (CMA).

He added that, in 2022, the sector’s growth rate ratio in the two markets was 4.7% to 3%.

In his turn, Mustafa Ahmed Salman, member of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Chamber’s Finance and Insurance Committee, said that steps are underway to develop laws, decisions and regulations related to the insurance sector, monitor its challenges and submit proposals and visions to address these challenges.

He added that, in recent years, the Arab insurance sector saw sound growth that kept pace with the developments taking place in Arab economies.

The total value of the insurance market in Arab countries stood at more than $40.9 billion by the end of 2021, posting a growth of 1.8 percent over the previous year, according to estimates of the Arab Monetary Fund.

For his part, Chakib Abuzaid,Secretary General of the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF), said that the insurance industry fell below the expectations of the GAIF at a time all insurance premiums did not exceed $45 billion, constituting just 1.66 percent of the gross Arab national product.

The gross Arab national product represents 3.49 percent of the global GDP, said Chakib Abuzaid, noting that “the disasters that struck our Arab region in 2023 proved the weakness of insurance coverage”.

The conference elaborates on insurance technologies that rely on artificial intelligence and considers the reshaping of the Arab insurance sector, with special emphasis on sustainability, comprehensiveness and sustainable insurance practices.

It studies scopes for developing national and regional solutions for insurance to secure the sector against natural disasters. It also looks into drafting regulatory frameworks for the use of artificial intelligence in the sector and honing the skills of its personnel so that they could keep abreast of technological developments in the region.

The opening of the conference was attended by ministers, undersecretaries and representatives of insurance companies from Oman and abroad, a total of more than 2,200 participants.