Huge growth potential in medical insurance seen

Q-Life & Medical, a new Qatar-based insurance firm, sees ‘tremendous growth potential’ in the country where life and medical insurance remains largely untapped. Initially, the wholly owned unit of Qatar Insurance Company would provide life and group medical coverage to corporate customers. The company, with an initial capital of QR100mn, plans to get into the retail segment at a later stage, said Ewen J. McRobbie, Adviser to QIC Group President & CEO.Q-Life & Medical was granted its licence by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority in June this year. McRobbie said Q-Life & Medical would take over from QIC the provision of group medical coverage to corporate customers. Currently, Q-Life & Medical has some 32 staff members, all previously employed by Qatar Insurance Company, and who have considerable ‘medical expenses and life insurance expertise’. Heading the team will be Dr Galal El-Din Rashwan, who has considerable experience in underwriting medical insurance. “We realise that many people require private medical cover today and with the government planning a national health insurance scheme in Qatar, Q-Life & Medical will be fully equipped to meet the needs of citizens as well as residents,” McRobbie told Gulf Times yesterday.

Ali al-Mannai cutting a ribbon to mark the the soft launch of Q-Life & Medical at the QIC corporate office

The rationale behind establishing the company is that Qatar requires a specialised medical insurance company for launching new products since the country is on the fast track of development, McRobbie said.Dr Rashwan said he saw a ‘great potential’ to develop the company business as life and medical insurance market remained largely untapped in Qatar.“Only about 10% of the population has adequate medical coverage in the country. This will obviously grow as more awareness is created about the benefits of medical coverage,” Dr Rashwan said.Q-Life & Medical was soft launched at a ceremony held at the QIC corporate office in West Bay yesterday. Ali al-Mannai – QIC Doha chief executive officer and other senior executives were present.Q-Life & Medical would operate from the 5th floor of QIC’c corporate office.Established in 1964, QIC is Qatar’s oldest and largest insurer.

More than 200,000 have health insurance

The number of persons having health insurance in the country is more than 200,000 and the total value of the premiums paid by them exceeds QR400mn. This represents a 100% increase over what it was two years ago. And this calls for a matching increase in the medical facilities in terms of hospitals and health care centres so as to reduce the pressure on the existing facilities, a report in a local Arabic daily Saud.In an opinion survey on the status of health insurance business in Qatar the Arabic daily said firms and business establishments are eager to provide health insurance coverage for their employees even before it becomes mandatory under a law, which is expected to be promulgated soon. However, the volume of business in the other categories of insurance including life, travel and properties is very negligible in the local market. Managers of insurance firms have cautioned about the risks involved in the health insurance sector. The deputy CEO of al-Khaleej Group for Integrated Insurance, Emad Abu Rizq said that normally health insurance should be a part of the life insurance policy. Offering it as a separate policy increases the responsibilities and commitments on the part of the insurance firms.