Insurance
From The Report: Oman 2014
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With a steady stream of new entrants in the past decade and growth from a small base, Oman’s insurance market is a competitive one. Several factors are boosting the industry, with sharia-compliant lines of insurance looking set to enhance the sector’s potential and automobile coverage boosted by record vehicle sales. Further to this, the sultanate’s infrastructure spending is combining with job growth to present an opportunity significant enough to attract multiple new entrants the market, further adding to competition. However, as the government considers mandating health coverage, there is still potential in the market.
This chapter contains an interview with Lloyd East, CEO, Al Ahlia Insurance and Board Member, Oman Insurance

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

A positive trajectory: Mapping the challenge of balancing rising competition with efficiency
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With a steady stream of new entrants in the past decade and growth from a small base, Oman’s insurance market is a competitive one. A new set of entrants is set to arrive in 2014 following the approval of a legal framework for firms offering takaful (Islamic insurance), which will bring sharia-compliant alternatives to conventional insurance. Overall potential for the market remains high thanks to the sector being at an early stage of development and on account of Oman’s strong economic growth.…

Interview

OBG talks to Lloyd East, CEO, Al Ahlia Insurance; and Board Member, Oman Insurance Association
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Interview:Lloyd East As fronting and insurance fraud grows in Oman, to what extent can assessing international trends help create a workable solution to these issues? LLOYD EAST: Fronting is the name given when the majority of a given risk or group of risks is not retained within an insurance company but rather passed on to a second reinsurer. Smaller insurance companies often depend largely on commission from reinsurance and a large portion of the business is not retained within Oman because…

Analysis

Rules of the road: Government sets focus on data collection following rising vehicle sales
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The largest segment of Oman’s insurance sector, auto policies account for two-fifths of premium income. This line of business is arguably the most important one in the sector and has been singled out for extra attention under the effort of government agencies to improve road safety and reduce risk for insurers. This includes more data collection and data sharing, strong oversight of the market as it evolves, and the pursuit of more sophisticated pricing for insurance policies. Third-party liability…

Analysis

Enhanced choice: Legal and regulatory changes to bring takaful products to the market
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Legislation is likely to drive development in Oman’s insurance sector in 2014 and beyond. A new insurance law will update the existing legislation, with the biggest impacts expected to come from a new minimum requirement for paid-up capital that could trigger consolidation in the sector and also from a rule mandating that any new licensee must sell shares on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM), the Omani bourse. Additionally, a new law for takaful (Islamic insurance) will bring a new type of competitor…

Analysis

A healthier future: Medical coverage and takaful offer significant long-term potential
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With the introduction of Islamic financial products, regarded as allowing the sultanate to retain valuable investment dollars, the emergence of new takaful (Islamic insurance) firms raises the question of how new insurance providers can thrive in a small market. Oman’s insurance sector has become crowded in recent years, with local and global players competing for a limited number of customers. However, the successful initial public offerings (IPOs) of two new takaful companies in late 2013 and…