The Dubai Marine Insurance Conference, the region's unique event focussing on the regional and global maritime insurance sector
DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2018) The Dubai Marine Insurance Conference, the region's unique event focussing on the regional and global maritime insurance sector, has concluded its activities on Wednesday, with a call for establishing a GCC or even a Gulf-Asian insurance group that specialises in insurance and reinsurance operations in the maritime sector, including ships, vessels, cargo operations, transport of goods, oil and petrochemicals to and from the region.
The call comes within efforts to reinforce stability in the levels of insurance prices and to retain the largest share of insurance premiums locally or in the Gulf regionally.
The conference, which kicked off on Tuesday, and led by Khamis Buamim, CEO of Gulf Navigation Holding, and organised by Anchor Marine - one of the region’s leading providers of shipping services - focussed on factors affecting maritime trade security, marine and equipment, cargo shipping and risk management insurance, and marine electronic risk management and insurance.
More than 440 marine business experts and marine insurance experts, participated in the two-day event focussing on the marine sector issues and on the latest regulations of marine Insurance.
During his keynote speech Buamim said, "As a critical engine for the national economy, the marine insurance sector needs to be addressed more frequently to make sure that it adapts with the rapid developments of the marine industry, the objective that has been achieved successfully by Dubai Marine Insurance Conference."
Buamim stated, "More than 90 percent of marine insurance operations are carried out outside the region through non-local insurers, which means a significant loss of premiums. Moreover, the situation does not reflect the strength and reality of the national economy and active trading movement."
At the conference a partnership was announced between International Institute of Marine Surveying, IIMS, UAE branch, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in November 2019, and Maritime Sky that specialises in marketing and media strategy, to support the IIMS 6th biennial conference in Dubai that draws attention to the UAE as a leading maritime hub.
Khaled Meftah, Director of Business Development at the Dubai Maritime City Authority, disclosed that the total marine insurance premium in the UAE insurance market rose to a whopping AED1.1 billion in 2017, higher by 10 percent over the previous year. It also represented a 3.5 percent increase in the total property and liability insurance premiums during the same period.
He added that the market share of the national insurance companies accounts for a remarkable 71 percent of the local marine insurance market against 29 per cent for foreign companies, providing once again its importance in the progress of both the domestic maritime industry and the country’s entire national economy.
Capt. Gamal Fekry, the Managing Director of MC Ship Management in Dubai said the maritime insurance landscape witnesses a lot of changes, as more and more shipping and oil vessels companies are focussing on proactive actions to reduce the high cost of marine insurance, by adopting risk management systems that would minimise the faults leading to risks in the earlier stages.
He added that the volume of marine insurance in the Gulf region accounts for US$26 billion annually.
