Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (Adnic) is planning to expand into GCC region and Northern Emirates and target aerospace industry as the company sets higher goals as part of its growth strategy.

Speaking to Gulf News, on the sidelines of opening a new office in Musaffah in Abu Dhabi, its chief executive, Walid Sidani, said that one of the fundamental pillars of the company is expansion.

“Adnic has taken a very moderate and balanced approach to expansion by splitting strategy into organic as well as overseas regional expansion,” he said.

“Today we have opened an office in Musaffah keeping in mind the strategy of local expansion. Musaffah is a growing area with a combination of industrial zones and Small and Medium Enterprises. It has malls, educational institutions and accommodations. This area offers a lot of opportunities for insurance.”

Through the branch, he said that they are going to serve the population in motor fleet insurance and SME solutions through their safe plus products that are geared and tailored for SME segment.

“This segment is growing in Musaffah. The other element is on the consumer individual insurance. People here need travel insurance for personal accident protection and normal routine motor insurance solutions.”

He said they are planning to grow their network by opening new branches in Dubai and Northern Emirates and outside in UAE in later part of this year and next year.

“We are aiming to have presence outside the UAE in terms of alliances and physical presence outside the UAE. Our strategy is that Adnic is constantly accessible and its products are accessible to the population that we serve,” he said.

Sidani said regional expansion takes a little longer than local expansion because of the different jurisdiction and complicated licensing procedures.

“We are targeting some select markets in North Africa and the Middle East. With the political turmoil that is happening now, targets have reduced. We want to make sure that regions where are entering are fertile and stable for growth. There are some pockets that are very stable, offer a lot of economic growth opportunities. That’s the one we are going to be capturing.”

Cooperation

According to him, GCC offers a perfect place for growth. “We want to take a structured systemic view of growth. Starting with areas that are common in language, culture and co-operation and GCC is perfect for that kind of cooperation.”

He said that they are looking at aerospace industry in the next ten years. “If you se what’s happening in Dubai in the next ten years, it’s going to be space exploration. There’s going to be first Arab satellite, manufactured and made in the UAE and launched some place in the region. This is where Adnic has to be. It has to be part of that amazing journey as a national insurance company of the UAE. It’s our mandate and mission to be following in the footsteps and anticipate the needs of the market.”

He said that an Adnic mobile application to provide services to customers will be launched next month. “The mobile app will have multiple lines of insurance accessible to consumers. For example, in medical insurance the client will be able to see where the individual claim is, the status, what pharmacy or hospital they attended and what is the treatment obtained. This is to prevent abuse and fraud. There will be a number of features to help customers.”

Musaffah branch that was inaugurated on Wednesday will become the sixth in Adnic’s UAE network, along with 9 sales and service centres across the country.

The company recorded a growth of 8 per cent in the second quarter of this year. The net profit increased to Dh104 million compared to Dh97 million during the same period last year.