Dubai International Financial Centre celebrates strong growth in reinsurance

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, has revealed solid growth in its reinsurance sector last year – as it makes a bid to become recognised as the industry’s main hub in the region.

The sector grew by 17.4 percent in 2019, representing the highest volume of premiums ever written in the market. The DIFC said that gross written premiums (GWP) for Q1 2020 reached $472 million, on par with the same period during Q1 2019.

The premiums cover different lines including marine, aviation, transport, health, property damage and liability, alongside other sectors. It claimed the growth was characterised by reinsurers, coverholders, managing general agents, and reinsurance brokers prioritising DIFC’s business environment over other global financial centres to gain access to the MEASA region.

DIFC is now home to more than 100 registered insurance, reinsurance, captive firms and insurance-related entities serving the market, including three of the top five global insurance companies.

Arif Amiri, CEO, DIFC Authority, said: “Our strong performance in reinsurance sector in Q1 2020 and throughout 2019 stems from our long standing commitment to the sector. Whilst providing the most proven legal and regulatory frameworks for insurance and reinsurance leaders in the region, our approach also allows InsurTech start-ups to collaborate with top reinsurance leaders in DIFC to address tomorrow’s requirements.

“As part of our focus on shaping the future of finance, we are embracing digitalisation, collaboration and talent which can deliver large-scale changes in the sector and create the next generation of financial services professionals. This is especially important as the insurance sector continues to evolve which requires us to be in a position to meet the industry’s evolving requirements, underlining our commitment to leading reinsurance sector growth in the region.”