Abu Dhabi: The UAE Insurance Authority has discussed a proposal to establish a nationwide life insurance company with assets of Dh1.5 billion.
During a session attended by insurance companies leaders, Ebrahem Obaid Al Zaabi, director-general of the Insurance Commission, said that establishing a nationwide life insurance company would enhance cooperation between national companies in the highly competitive local market. He said that market competitiveness should not only be about revenue, but about maintaining assets and providing state of art services. He said that competitiveness should not pose an obstacle to cooperation.
The company would be considered a key pillar for the national insurance market and will enter the Gulf insurance market three years after it begins operations.
The proposal aims to establish a nationwide life insurance company with the participation of licensed national life insurance companies that will also be members of its board of director. Simply, it will be will be a role model in life insurance sector in the region, Al Zaabi added.
Al Zaabi said that the proposal is part of the authority’s efforts to develop a mature insurance sector, which can promote the UAE as a regional and international insurance hub.
Al Zaabi said that currently the volume of life insurance policies is in excess of Dh8 billion, with National companies representing 19 per cent of the market while foreign companies represent 81 per cent. The number of licensed life insurance companies in the UAE is 27 Takaful (Islamic) insurance companies, 17 national companies and 10 foreign companies.
