Insurance
From The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2014
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Although the business environment for insurers is challenging, Brunei Darussalam’s small insurance industry continues to expand gradually. Increasingly high court awards to accident victims have affected the profitability of mandatory automotive and workers’ compensation lines, while the government’s local business development policies and support for sharia-compliant insurers are squeezing conventional players. The sector should get a boost from investment growth in industrial segments and planned government expenditure on infrastructure. However, it will continue to be difficult for the sector to accelerate significantly given the high level of economic security enjoyed by Bruneian citizens and the limited ability of local insurers to serve the economy’s dominant economic sector.

This chapter contains an interview with Osman Jair, Chairman, Brunei Insurance and Takaful Association, and Managing Director, Insurance Islam TAIB.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Competition is intense as takaful firms gain on conventional insurers
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Although the business environment for insurers is challenging, Brunei Darussalam’s small insurance industry continues to expand gradually. Increasingly high court awards to accident victims have impacted the profitability of mandatory automotive and workers’ compensation insurance, while the government’s local business development policies as well as strong support for takaful (sharia-compliant insurance) are squeezing conventional players. These issues add to long-standing factors that have…

Analysis

The creation of a new industry organisation is expected to help resolve long-standing issues
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The launch of the Brunei Insurance and Takaful Association (BITA) in November 2013 was a major event for the insurance industry and a highly anticipated one since plans for its formation were agreed upon in 2011. Bringing for the first time conventional and takaful insurers under one group, BITA is expected to unify the industry, especially in its relations with regulators. Until 2013, conventional insurers were grouped under the General Insurance Association of Brunei (GIAB), while takaful insurers…

Interview

OBG talks to Osman Jair, Chairman, Brunei Insurance and Takaful Association (BITA), and Managing Director, Insurans Islam TAIB
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Interview:Osman Jair What impact will the launch of BITA have on insurance sector in the Sultanate? OSMAN JAIR: BITA was formalised and launched in November 2013 as a new trade body that serves to unite all of the Sultanate’s insurance operators, both conventional insurers and takaful operators. The predecessor of BITA was the General Insurance Association of Brunei Darussalam, which consisted only of conventional insurers. Thus, takaful operators had not previously been members of this…