The Insurance Authority issues the annual report of the activity of the insurance sector in the country for 2018

Abu Dhabi 06-07-2019 / WAM
The UAE’s Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Board of Insurance said that the growth opportunities of the insurance sector in the United Arab Emirates are great. He pointed out that the UAE insurance market is expected to witness a significant increase in the coming years as a result of sustainable economic development.
“The great potential of the UAE and the GCC helps the insurance sector play a major and leading role in the Arab region,” he said in his speech at the top of the UAE Insurance Industry Annual Report 2018. Pointing out that the volume of premiums written for all branches of insurance during the year 2018 amounted to “43.7” billion dirhams.
He added that the importance of this sector and its vital role for the national economy is the volume of funds invested in it, which reached at the end of 2018 worth 63.6 billion dirhams, 38% of which are concentrated in shares and bonds and 28% in deposits. The shareholders’ equity of the national insurance companies is AED 20.5 billion.
The Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Insurance Authority said that the Authority worked during 2018 to complete the issuance of legislation governing the sector in its efforts and to strengthen the legislative base to regulate the UAE insurance sector and develop the performance of the local insurance market and entities operating on the basis of legal and technical and financial solid and increase the competitiveness of the sector on Regional and international levels in accordance with the best practices prevailing worldwide.
For his part, the Director General of the Insurance Authority said that the continuous efforts of the Insurance Authority support the growth opportunities of the insurance sector in the country and stimulate them significantly. He also stressed the continued completion of the issuance of laws that strengthen the legislative rule to regulate the insurance sector and develop the performance of the local insurance market and the entities operating therein on legal grounds And technical and financial solid.
He added that the Authority is currently working on several projects aimed at strengthening the role of the insurance sector and its development in accordance with the mechanisms of regulatory technology, including the transition to the next generation of control of the insurance sector through the preparation of digital supervision platform and electronic connectivity with insurance companies and related professions.
He pointed out that the UAE market tops the markets of Arab countries and North Africa – “MENA” in terms of premiums written during the previous 10 years .. Referring to the global reports that indicate a remarkable improvement in the ranking of the country globally over the past five years in terms of gross premiums (36) in 2017 compared to (44) in 2013 .. The ranking of the country in terms of the spread of insurance to the rank of “42” in 2017 compared to the rank “64” in 2013.
He pointed to the growing role of the Takaful sector in the insurance industry in the country. The total premiums written by all Takaful insurance companies operating in the country amounted to 4.4 billion dirhams in 2018, an increase of 4% over 2017. The percentage of premiums written by all companies Takaful insurance “16%” to the total premiums written by the national traditional insurance companies in 2018.
The annual report of the insurance industry in the UAE in 2018 reviews the aspects of the insurance market in the UAE with more transparency and transparency. It highlights the important achievements of this sector and the development it achieved during 2018, making it an important reference for researchers and those interested in insurance affairs inside and outside the country.
The data showed that the sector of financial activities and insurance together achieved a contribution rate of 9.2% in GDP at current prices in 2018 at a growth rate of 4.5% over 2017.
At the end of 2018, premiums per share amounted to AED 4570, compared to AED 4,753 in 2017 and AED 2346 in 2007.
Total premiums written in all property and liability insurance branches amounted to AED 15.1 billion, of which the share of national companies amounted to AED 11.3 billion (74.6 per cent) and foreign companies (3.8 per cent), or 25.4 per cent.