Investment in insurance education can reap rich rewards

Being a dynamic science, the methods and processes of insurance are always changing. To be successful, insurance professionals constantly need to look for ways to increase their knowledge and skills.

This is where investment in insurance education can make a big impact by creating a pool of skilled professionals from the young and upcoming national graduates to exploit the increasing potential in the sector.

Since the industry is outside strict regulation in most places, there are no reliable statistics on the number of companies operating in the region and the number of people employed by them. However, it is known from compilations made by industry representatives that there are some 250 insurance companies, half a dozen reinsurance companies and more than 300 registered brokers operating in the GCC and together they are estimated to provide direct employment to over 8,500 people.

Surprisingly, however, the number of employees in the insurance sector with professional qualifications is very limited. Even within the broker community, who are supposed to be experts in risk analysis and efficient market placement, the number of qualified professionals is at a 'premium'.

The governments in the GCC countries have set up regulatory bodies with the objective of monitoring and regulating the operations of insurance companies, reinsurance companies and brokers, but it is not sure whether the persons employed in these institutions have the requisite level of knowhow and technical infrastructure to perform their job to the highest standards.

It is high time the authorities and industry leaders gave some serious thought to investing in insurance education so as to offer a qualified local population capable of effectively managing this sector.

There is also scope for training institutions to develop insurance regulatory programmes, which will verify that a candidate has achieved elevated standards of expertise in subject areas deemed critical for a regulator in today's insurance marketplace, such as financial analysis and examinations or market conduct and analysis.

The recent opening up of a new chapter by Chartered Insurance Institute in DIFC is a bold initiative, but we need more of such institutions in the region.

- The writer is Deputy General Manager with Al Rajhi Company For Cooperative Insurance, Riyadh. The views expressed herein are his own and not necessarily subscribed to by his employers.