Sector takes out cover for future growth

Insurance is all about correctly measuring and managing risk, but – like almost every corner of the financial industry – the Gulf’s insurance sector has been thumped by the credit crisis.

The spreading economic malaise has affected premium growth and made international insurers wary, while the local industry contends with drooping capital adequacy rates and tumbling investment portfolios – which have largely been placed in local stock markets and property.

This has resulted in a harsh comedown after ebullient growth in recent years both for local insurers and international companies.