QIC’s Turki Al Subaey highlights ‘de-risking success’ in results

Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) sees growth despite two of the “costliest back-to-back years on record” for the global insurance industry, according to its group president and CEO Khalifa Abdulla Turki Al Subaey.

Year end results showed gross written premiums for the company grew to $3.5 billion in 2018 up from $3.2 billion the year before, with net profit rising to $182 million in 2018 up from $116 million in 2017.

Its combined ratio reduced to 101.3 percent in 2018, representing an improvement from 105.8 percent the year before.

Turki Al Subaey said: “For the global insurance industry, 2017 and 2018 were the costliest back-to-back years on record. Insurers and reinsurers had to digest catastrophe losses close to $230 billion. Still, rate increases remain elusive as the growth of alternative capital with lower return hurdles places secular and not just cyclical pressure on (re)insurance margins in the low frequency high severity space. Against this backdrop, our strategic decision, taken more than a year ago, to shift the underwriting focus to a lower volatility segment has proven right.

“This comprehensive de-risking was successfully completed towards the end of 2018 and we should be able to reap the fruit of this effort in 2019 and beyond. At the same time, as Qatar’s dominant insurer and a leading regional operator and investor, our group is set to benefit from Qatar’s impressive recovery from the economic blockade that was imposed on the nation by some of its neighbouring countries in June 2017. For these reasons, we are cautiously optimistic for the remainder of the year even though global economic and industry uncertainties continue to loom large.”