MENA reinsurers remain ‘resilient’ in tough market conditions: report

The MENA reinsurance industry remains resilient despite challenging market conditions, borne out of unabating pressure on pricing, overcapacity, and a higher-than-expected number of large losses in recent years, ratings agency AM Best said in a recent report.

“Market conditions for MENA reinsurers are extremely challenging, with pressures on underwriting compounded by economic and political uncertainties," said Aneela Mather-Khan, financial analyst, AM Best.

"This, in turn, increases the desire for reinsurers to seek diversification and reduce potential volatility in earnings. In our view, the long-term trends in credit quality are likely to be dependent on reinsurers’ ability to successfully execute growth strategies in a highly competitive market.”

With the economic outlook for MENA countries is set to benefit from recent increases to hydrocarbon prices, insurance premiums will follow gross domestic product growth over the next few years.

“The MENA markets still represent robust levels of insurance growth, although this is predominantly linked to mandatory health care," said Mahesh Mistry, senior director, analytics, AM Best.

"Many MENA markets, particularly non-GCC countries, are being encouraged by world governing bodies to adopt further liberalization and there remains the perception that the region has a low exposure to natural catastrophe risk. These elements continue to entice reinsurers to the MENA region, despite challenging pricing conditions.”

The impact of the competitive landscape has been more keenly felt amongst regional reinsurers that lack the scale and diversification of their foreign counterparts, coupled with following market practices that restrict their ability to dictate terms, the report said.

Nevertheless, larger established regional reinsurers continue to weather the storm, focusing on bottom-line profitability and portfolio optimization, it noted.

Meanwhile, AM Best said the MENA region offers attractive growth prospects, with underlying insurance market growth and low penetration rates remaining key drivers.

"The influx of reinsurance capacity will maintain competitive pressures over the medium term and any movement in market dynamics would only stem from a change in attitude from the international reinsurance market," it added.