QIC sees net profit rise but combined ratio still above 100%

Qatar Insurance Group (QIC), an insurer in Qatar and the Middle East North African (MENA) region, reported an increase in net profit for the nine months to September, but its combined ratio remained above 100 percent.

QIC reported net profit of $137 million for the period, up from $130 million for the same period a year earlier. However, this figure was boosted by its investment division. Investment income was $168 million, slightly down on $169 million a year earlier. The company’s combined ratio was 101.5 percent, compared with 102% in the previous year. Excluding the impact of reserve developments as a result of changes to the Ogden discount rate in the UK, the underlying combined ratio for the first nine months of 2019 was 99.3%.

Khalifa Abdulla Turki Al Subaey, group president and chief executive, said: “We continue to execute on our strategic shift towards lower volatility segments of the international markets. QIC’s stable underwriting profitability testifies to the attractive economics of this business, with relatively stable and predictable margins.

He added: “The Group’s near-term outlook remains cautiously optimistic. Our exposure to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and the vagaries of global re/insurance pricing is relatively moderate. As QIC does not underwrite the market but focuses on bespoke, innovative and expertise-based transactions we continue to be shielded from a number of major risk scenarios presented by the political and economic environment.”

Gross written premiums (GWP) for the period edged up to $2.69 billion, from $2.62 billion. The Group’s international carriers namely Qatar Re, Antares, QIC Europe Limited (QEL) and its Gibraltar based carriers account for approximately 76 percent of the Group’s total GWP.

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