Insurance and Reinsurance: The International Approach of the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

When the Global Insurance sector is enquired rarely more than few lines are dedicated to exploring the insurance market in the Gulf region. The aim of this paper is to provide some key elements to better understand the recent development and more importantly the possible future paths of this sector focusing more specifically toward the insurance market of the United Arab Emirates. This exploration will start with an analysis of the recent trends among the global sector for both the advanced and emerging markets. Then moving toward the UAE specifically with first a macroeconomic overview and after detailing the specificity of the insurance business in this country that recently has implemented in Dubai mandatory health insurance. The focus will be given also toward the Gulf region’s key characteristics particularly related to a type of insurance product called Takaful, specifically designed to be compliant with Sharia laws. The macroeconomic analysis of aggregate figures will be also followed by a discussion of the current insurance legislation within the UAE onshore and offshore markets, the last one particularly favorable for international reinsurance companies. In the last chapter also a comparison with Singapore is made to help the reader to better frame the distinctiveness of the Dubai International Financial Center.