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Abbas Al Brahim (Chedid Re)
تأمين
Awareness for insurance is increasing year after year in the Arab world
driven primarily by compulsory insurance lines
Abbas Al Brahim, Chedid Re’s KSA Chairman talked in his
interview with Al Bayan Magazine about the purpose
behind organizing a workshop in Beirut to the Saudi Market.
He proclaimed that the interest shown from insurers in the
workshop exceeded their expectations and this added value to
the workshop by sharing different expertise from different operations.
Al Brahim said that the insurance sector in the Arab
world remains in its initial stages compared to saturated
advanced markets but it is showing consistent growth year on
year. Below is the Q & A.
* We notice Chedid Re organized a
workshop in Beirut to the Saudi
Market. What is the purpose of organizing
such workshop?
- The workshop aims to bring together
cedants from Saudi Arabia and
Reinsurers who are supporting the market
in order to collaborate together for the
best interest of the sector. The workshop
is titled MINDS an acronym for “Mission
for Insurance Development in Saudi
Arabia” ; in which we are trying, as a company
dedicated to service the clients in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to help in
enhancing the sector.
* Was the interest shown by the
Insurers in these forums up to your
expectations ?
- To be frank the interest shown from
insurers did exceed our expectations 26
companies attended out of 33 companies
operating in Saudi Arabia. Delegates
totaled 55 having different expertise in
underwriting, reinsurance and sales a mix
which added value to the workshop by
sharing different expertise from different
operations.
* Could you tell us briefly who are the
Lecturers who made the presentations
at those forums and what were the
subjects discussed ?
- We thank the lecturers who came from
globally reputable firms having a wide
range of expertise and know–how; which
was shared with delegates from the
Saudi Market; their presence highlights
the importance of the insurance market in
Saudi Arabia being one of the biggest
markets in the region and at the same
time having huge potential growth which
is guided by the appreciated actions of
SAMA. The lectures were as follows:
1- Mr. Gunter Vergult, Director-Reinsurance,
and Mr. Leo Monse, Director-Head of Risk
Engineering Europe, from Swiss Re. They
discussed Property.
2- Mr. Gilles Soigneux, Senior Property
Underwriter-Europe & Asia from Partner
Re. He discussed Business Interruption.
3- Mr. Michael Froehlingsdorf, Senior
Underwriter Casualty – Cedent
Facultative Services from Scor Global
P&C. He discussed Public and Product
liability.
4- Mr. Andrew Hudchinson, Associate
Director, from ASL. He discussed Financial
Institutions Professional Indemnity (FIPI).
5- Mr. Christian Bendel, Senior Underwriter
– Facultative Engineering from Munich Re
Group. He discussed Engineering.
6- Mr. Tariq Al-Salihi, head of Crisis
Management Class Underwriter - Political
Violence, War & Terrorism from Advent
Syndicate. He discussed Political Violence.
7- Mr. Dominik Bark, Head of Financial
Lines – Middle East and Africa from
Zurich Insurance. He discussed Directors
& Officers’ Liability.
8- Mr. Eddie Wattenbach, Director –
International Specialty Liability from Globe
Underwriting. He discussed Professional
Indemnity (PI) Architects and Engineers.
* How do you compare the level of
insurance in the Arab world with that
of the advanced insurance markets of
the world ?
- No doubt that the insurance sector in
our region remains in its initial stages
compared to saturated advanced markets,
however; with the absence of
growth in other markets our region is
showing consistent growth year on year
which was only affected by the Arab
Spring incidents. Awareness for insurance
is increasing year after year in the
Arab world driven primarily by compulsory
insurance lines; unfortunately results in
some lines of business might not be
today attractive, it is simply a matter of
time before prices adjust as this is crucial
to all parties involved. We as Chedid Re
are confident of the growth and success
of the industry and remain focused on
providing the best support needed for our
clients to achieve their goals.
* We notice the number of international
reinsurance brokers is on the rise.
Is there enough business in the region
to justify this rush towards the Arab
markets ?
- International reinsurance brokers are
definitely looking closely to the region and
some of them setting up offices; if the
business in the region justifies there presence
or not depends on the model that
they want to incorporate and the lines of
business they intend to focus on. We as
Chedid Re believe that there are
untapped opportunities in the market
which we are targeting in line with our
regional strategy.
١٤١ AL BAYAN ECONOMIC MAG - ISSUE 500 - AUGUST 2013