10 March 2014 Insurance

DNIR posts solid growth; warns on price wars

The Dubai National Insurance and Reinsurance company (DNIR) has reported strong growth and increased profits in its 2013 but its chairman has also warned of vicious price wars among insurers and hardening reinsurance rates.

The company reported a 30 percent increase in its 2013 gross written premiums to Dh166.6 million ($45.4 million) in 2013 compared with Dh128.2 million ($34.9 million) in 2012. The reinsurance share of the business equalled Dh101.7 million ($27.7 million) in 2013 compared with Dh79.6 million ($21.7 million) in 2012.

Net premiums for DNIR reached Dh64.9 million ($17.7 million) for the year compared with Dh48.6 ($13.2 million) in 2012.

Net profit for the year reached Dh30.2 million ($8.2 million) compared with Dh29.1 million ($7.9 million) in 2012 while underwriting income in 2013 was Dh33.5 million ($9.1 million) compared with Dh33 million ($9 million) in 2012.

“The development of economic, construction and social activities in the country will have a positive impact on the insurance sector,” said chairman of the board of directors, Khalaf Ahmed Al Habtoor.

“High demand for medical insurance and accident insurance promises huge growth prospects for the industry due to the emergence of low premium or customised insurance products in these segments. However, vicious price wars among insurers, hardening reinsurance market and over reliance on investment profits rather than technical underwriting profits are pitfalls which insurance companies should steer clear of in the forthcoming years,”

He also assured the company’s shareholders that the DNIR remained “well position to focus on growth opportunities”.

“The cautious and prudent underwriting approach of constantly balancing risk with profitibaili8ty that has been a hallmark of your company’s strategy will continue to ensure steady growth and maximising shareholder returns in the years to come,” he added.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Elliot Field at efield@newtonmedia.co.uk or Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk