(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Sachin Kumar | The Peninsula
Qatar's insurance sector has exhibited an impressive growth in the past five years with value and number of premiums growing substantially.
The value of written premium grew by over 150 percent to QR13.45bn in 2016 from QR5.3bn in 2012, according to Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics data. The number of insurance policies jumped by around 55 percent to over 1 million in 2016 from 707,840 in 2012.
When it comes to number of policies, Qatar insurance market is dominated by car insurance. Out of the total 1 million policies, around 963,000 policies were related to car insurance.
'Qatar is a car loving nation, so it natural to see car insurance dominating the insurance industry but if you look at in terms of value of written premiums then cargo insurance is also a major category, said a senior official of insurance company. 'Car insurance will continue to play a dominating role in country's insurance sector in coming years. However, cargo insurance share will increase further with increase in cargo movement helped by opening of Hamad Port, he said.
After the car insurance, cargo and fire and theft insurance are another major contributors to Qatar insurance industry. Number of car insurance policies have increased by 62 percent to 963,000 policies in 2016 from 593,868 policies in 2012. Cargo insurance policies issued last year were 25,361 while policies for fire and theft were 9,863.
There are 18 insurance companies currently working in Qatar. In recent years Qatar's insurance sector has expanded swiftly, on the back of government spending, economic development and steadily increasing awareness of the benefits of coverage among the nation's rapidly growing population.
Between 2005 and the end of 2015 the industry posted a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 percent, according to data from Moody's. By the end of 2014, Qatar was the third-largest insurance market in the region, accounting for around 10 percent of premiums written in the GCC, noted Oxford Business Group.
Experts say that insurance activity will further get a boost by ongoing infrastructure projects related to the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The ongoing illegal blockage imposed by the siege countries will not have any impact on Qatar's insurance sector.
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