Insurance
From The Report: Qatar 2025
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Outperforming regional peers in both underwriting and return on equity, Qatar’s insurance sector is now reaping the rewards of ongoing economic and population growth. While the market remains competitive and relatively low in penetration, ongoing product innovation and improved sector governance could help unlock growth opportunities. Insurers and takaful (Islamic insurance) operators are seeing the benefit of strong government support, with a range of policies and programmes in place seeking to strengthen and deepen the local market. Recent changes to medical and health insurance – including mandatory visitor coverage – are also having a gradual impact on Qatar’s less-developed life, family takaful and private medical insurers.

This chapter contains interviews with Nasser Al Misnad, CEO, Damaan Islamic Insurance Company (Beema); and Jassim Al Moftah, CEO, Doha Insurance Group.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Lines of growth: Regulatory changes and strong fundamentals underpin the sector’s expansion, with new offerings in the pipeline
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Outperforming regional peers in both underwriting and return on equity, Qatar’s insurance sector is now reaping the rewards of ongoing economic and population growth. While the market remains competitive and relatively low in penetration, ongoing product innovation and improved sector governance could help unlock growth opportunities. Insurers and takaful (Islamic insurance) operators are seeing the benefit of strong government support, with a range of policies and programmes in place seeking to strengthen and deepen the local market. Recent changes to medical and health insurance – including mandatory visitor coverage – are also having…

Analysis

Innovative solutions: Qatari insurance providers are bridging legacy and innovation, driving digital transformation across the space
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In February 2025, the Doha headquarters of Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), the country’s oldest and largest insurer, hosted a strategic meeting that underscored a key trend in the region’s financial services. QIC CEO Salem Al Mannai met with leaders of three of the GCC’s most dynamic insurance technology (insurtech) start-ups: Jaguar Transit, MIC Global and Digital Petroleum. The outcome was a regional partnership aimed at delivering smart insurance solutions across the GCC. This collaboration illustrates the growing convergence of legacy institutions and agile technology firms – a pattern becoming increasingly common across Qatar’s…

Analysis

Change ahead: Emerging markets implement changes in line with updates to international accounting standards
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Insurance companies worldwide have been preparing for the most significant change in global accounting standards in almost two decades. On January 1, 2023 the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17 came into effect. Replacing the previous standard, IFRS 4, which was issued in 2004, IFRS 17 aims to standardise insurance accounting globally through a uniform approach in order to improve comparability and increase transparency. This is expected to help those in the industry better understand individual insurers’ financial positions, performance and risk exposure. The updated standard marks the first time a single IFRS accounting…

Interview

Enhanced coverage: Nasser Al Misnad, CEO, Damaan Islamic Insurance Company (Beema), on how regulatory frameworks and digital tools can influence local penetration and risk management
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Interview: Nasser Al Misnad, CEO, Damaan Islamic Insurance Company (Beema), on how regulatory frameworks and digital tools can influence local penetration and risk management What is the outlook for the insurance industry, and how are companies adapting to emerging market segments and evolving demand patterns? NASSER AL MISNAD: The insurance industry is expected to remain stable, with moderate growth. The market is limited, with few significant drivers for expansion after the 2022 FIFA World Cup,…

Interview

Growth measures: Jassim Al Moftah, CEO, Doha Insurance Group (DIG), on helping companies increase their resilience to economic shocks
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Interview: Jassim Al Moftah, CEO, Doha Insurance Group (DIG), on helping companies increase their resilience to economic shocks To what extent will the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics influence risk assessment and underwriting practices? JASSIM AL MOFTAH: AI and big data analytics are poised to have a significant impact on the Qatari insurance market. We have already seen how AI can shorten processes such as claims handling and policy issuance down to hours instead…