(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Massive infrastructure projects strong economic recovery to drive industry
the continental group sustained robust growth during the past year and is confident of bright prospects for the insurance industry in the coming years due to massive infrastructure developments being planned for world expo 2020 and a strong recovery on the economic front its top official says.
the leading insurance intermediary and financial services solutions provider in the gcc plans to expand its business portfolio after posting a significant rise in premiums from the insurance and investments segments which surged 42 and 80 per cent respectively last year.
“the insurance market is set to grow very strongly in the coming years. we have seen the downside the recovery and now are witnesses to the growth. the uae especially is in a very strong position with the developments planned and the expected benefits to the economy from hosting expo 2020” ashok sardana founder and managing director of the continental group told khaleej times in an interview.
the uae is the largest insurance market in the gcc and has one of the most developed life insurance markets in the region. the global financial crisis had a substantial impact on the property and motor insurance industries; however with the economy strengthening it brings significant potential to the personal and commercial markets.
as investments in the real estate sector continue to rise it boosts the need for insurance coverage. motor insurance is also thriving in the uae due to the high levels of vehicle ownership and continued growth in the automobile sector.
growth potential
sardana an industry veteran said the group has seen a rise in the life insurance and employee benefits segments over the last few years as more and more people in the region are aware of the advantages of financial planning. he said people tend to focus on insurances that are compulsory or mandatory for example motor insurance. nevertheless there is a growing awareness for other insurances that are available in the market here.
to a question about region’s insurance industry maturity he said: “in terms of rating insurance and financial planning in the region are still very young compared to the more mature markets. however we see the movement towards creating a world-class infrastructure that will serve the interest of both the companies and clients.”
about the growth potential in various segments of insurance industry he said the uniqueness of “our industry is the fact that we have a consistent flow of individuals families and companies entering the market and one thing that has changed from the past is that these individuals and families are staying for much longer periods”.
sardana said the penetration levels of life insurance is low when compared to the more mature markets however awareness has been steadily increasing over the years.
“with medical insurance becoming mandatory in dubai over the next couple of years we will see the employee benefits segment witness strong growth. along with medical insurance growing we also expect to see an increased focus on benefits such as pensions and retirement planning.”
on the general insurance side sardana said motor home and travel insurance are segments that will continue to grow.
“we also expect in the coming few years with the uae’s business environment growing the other commercial lines [will] develop. the islamic insurance market or takaful market is also expected to be an important part of the region’s insurance sector” he said.
“2013 was a very good year for us we managed to do very well. our life insurance premiums grew by 42 per cent and our investments portfolio grew 80 per cent. in the general insurance segment we saw marginal growth” he said.
bright days ahead
regarding the outlook for 2014 sardana said the continental group is confident to sustain the growth and expand its business portfolio this year.
“we want to carry forward the success from last year into 2014 and continue to expand the business portfolio. our family of clients enabled us to grow extensively in 2013 by driving growth in almost every area of our business.”
elaborating he said there are a few developments that “we are excited about especially the new mandatory health insurance policy introduced in dubai which signals a big potential for us in business. additionally with the new insurance authority laws being put into place we expect to see consolidation in the industry”.
“apart from our business growth objectives the continental group also plans on expanding our operations and increasing our workforce. we continue to strive and build an organisation that will deliver a world class service experience for our clients” he added.
to a question about strong areas of growth for the continental group he said potential exists in all segments of the industry and the group believes in the delivery of world-class service experience.
“while the potential is there in all lines of our business our core focus for the coming year is to develop our service proposition for our clients” he said.
“we are overhauling our technology platform and have committed significant investments into it developments. we are developing our infrastructure to empower our clients and our employees so that the experience of dealing with continental is a truly remarkable one” he added.
about the feedback on continental’s education plan he said it received an overwhelming response from customers and is expected to record further gains in coming days as awareness for early saving plans is on the rise among wide section of society.
“we launched one education plan and the portfolio is performing well. clients have been encouraged by the concept and understand the fact they need to save early.”
“we see definite potential for these plans developing in popularity in the future as we continue to see steady growth. we do have various education plans on offer to our clients these are typically medium to long-term saving plans ranging from 10-18 years” sardana concluded.
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