MENA region holds growth potential
A combination of low insurance penetration and rapidly growing energy, infrastructure and healthcare sectors mean the region comprising of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) holds many opportunities for insurers and reinsurers, as well as specialist brokers.
That is the view of Bilal El-Hoss, senior executive officer at Guy Carpenter (Middle East), who will spearhead a fresh expansion in the region by the broker. The firm recently opened its first office in the Middle East and has received a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate as an insurance intermediary in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
“There are numerous opportunities for growth in the local insurance market in the MENA region given the relatively low levels of insurance penetration in the territory. Our aim is to work with local insurers to help them optimise their treaty structures and to also identify the most effective areas in which to employ facultative reinsurance strategies,” El-Hoss said.
“The energy, infrastructure and healthcare sectors in the MENA region are among the fastest growing in the world, and Guy Carpenter already provides extensive treaty and facultative support to a number of cedants in these sectors through our dedicated specialist teams in power/energy, oil and gas, engineering/construction, property, liability and marine.”
El-Hoss joins Guy Carpenter from Nasco Karaoglan France where he worked for 21 years, most recently as head of the marine, energy and aviation department. He will be joined by industry veteran Ramnik Rajguru in the position of senior vice president. Rajguru transfers from GC Fac’s London office where he worked as senior broker within the on-shore energy and property team, and will be permanently located in Dubai.
El-Hoss adds that the newly formed operation will look to leverage all of Guy Carpenter’s expertise to help clients structure suitable reinsurance programmes.
“We will provide both our extensive reinsurance broking expertise and the full range of market-leading capabilities provided by GC Analytics which, through tools such as MetaRisk, has helped clients enhance the overall efficiency of their reinsurance programmes, conduct detailed profitability analysis and accurately model reserves,” he said.
Massimo Reina, head of GC Fac International & EMEA, added: “The opening of this office will bring us closer to our clients, insurance companies and captives across the Middle East. We look forward to delivering them our full range of reinsurance services under the stewardship of Bilal El-Hoss who is a highly respected and experienced professional with strong relationships across the region.”
