Bahrain fast growing as ‘insurance hub’

Manama : Bahrain is fast becoming a hub for major regional and international reinsurance and retakaful firms, said a top CBB official yesterday. 

Citing the industry’s strong performance during the past five years, Abdul Rahman Al Baker, Executive Director, Financial Institutions Supervision at the CBB, said, “Bahrain’s insurance sectors hold tremendous promise for growth.”

“We expect the insurance sector to continue its growth in the coming years, mainly due to the increase in the public awareness on the importance of the insurance products in general, as well as due to the soundness of regulatory and supervisory framework of the insurance sector in Bahrain,” added Al Baker.

By end of 2016, Bahrain’s domestic insurance market comprised of 25 Locally Incorporated Firms and 11 Overseas Insurance Firms (branches of foreign companies) carrying out Insurance, Reinsurance, Takaful, Retakaful and Captives business in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

The locally incorporated firms consisted of 14 Conventional Insurance Firms, 6 Takaful Firms, 2 Reinsurance Firms, 2 Retakaful Firms and 1 Captive, while Overseas Insurance Firms consists of 8 Conventional Insurance Firms and 3 Reinsurance Firms. In addition, there are a substantial number of firms restricted to carry out business outside Bahrain and insurance ancillary services.

There were five conventional Reinsurance Firms and two Retakaful Firms in Bahrain, by end of 2016, . The gross premiums/contributions of Reinsurance and Retakaful Firms reached BD 378.97 million in 2016.