Lloyd’s finds vast scope for risk cover in Doha

Beale with QIC senior officials and other delegates at MultaQa. QIC is a partner sponsor of the global insurance summit.By Santhosh V Perumal/Business ReporterGlobal insurance major Lloyd’s, which has traditionally been covering the US and Europe, has now set its eye in the ‘high-growth’ Qatari market, its top official said yesterday.The 327-year-old Lloyd’s, which currently writes annual premium of around $70mn in Qatar, is keen to do more business in Doha, where it finds vast scope for risk cover, especially in the non-oil and renewable sectors, Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale said.“What we are trying to do now is to capture those markets where Lloyd’s hasn’t traditionally been strong, which are those in the high-growth. We see Qatar as a high-growth market with the insurance sector in the (Gulf) region expected to grow 18% in the future,” she said on the sidelines of MultaQa, which will conclude today.She said the North American and European markets accounted 40% each of Lloyd’s underwriting business.Lloyd’s Qatar portfolio are mainly across the marine, energy and property classes, while it also cover other classes as construction, political risk, trade credit, casualty, professional risks, aviation and contingency.Highlighting the strength of Qatar Lloyd’s relationship, she said in June last year, Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) had acquired Antares Holding, a specialist insurance and reinsurance group operating in the Lloyd’s market. Moreover, Qatar Re, the reinsurance arm of QIC, had announced it would provide capital support to Pioneer Underwritings’ Lloyd’s syndicate through a strategic quota share agreement.“We want Lloyd’s to have a globally diverse capital base, bringing in new specialist business and people from around the world,” she said.Against a backdrop of slow economic growth, economic power is shifting away from western economies to high-growth regions such as Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, Beale said.Qatar’s burgeoning international reputation is underpinned by its very strong economic growth in recent years and this trend is forecast to continue over the foreseeable future, Beale said, highlighting Doha’s second position in a global index of countries with the greatest potential for investment in infrastructure. “International events such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup preparations only form a relatively minor element of this — transport projects such as airports, seaports, trams, metro and rail systems are a major driver of this investment,” she said.Underwriting platformto be opened in Dubaifor cyber attack coverLloyd’s, which will soon open a new specialist underwriting platform in Dubai, finds promising potential for managing risk cover against cyber attack in Qatar and the wider Gulf region.“With the strong growth of the economy in Qatar and those across the region more widely, the risk of cyber attack is unfortunately growing here too,” Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale told the ninth MultaQa conference.In this regard, she cited the reported cyber attack in RasGas, one of the world’s largest producers of liquefied natural gas. Fortunately, production was not affected but employees’ computers were taken offline and e-mail and web systems were forced to shut down, she added.Saudi Aramco, which was attacked by the virus ‘shamoon’, suffered losses to tune of around $15mn.There have also been high-profile attacks on banks across the region, including the theft of $45mn over two months by a gang of cyber criminals in attacks on RAK Bank and Bank Muscat. “Lloyd’s can play an integral role in helping businesses in the region to understand the potential new dangers that cyber risk poses and how to manage them appropriately,” she said.As businesses look to expand domestically or abroad and buy into foreign firms, Beale said, they need to make sure they understand and are protected against both natural risks like hurricanes and earthquakes as well as emerging risks like climate change and cyber attacks.Deloitte and Symantec research had found organisations in the Middle East are underestimating the risk of cyber attacks, with more than two-third saying that they lack the internal capabilities to protect against such attacks, she said.On the Dubai office, the platform will initially comprise seven syndicate service writing especially energy, renewables, marine, construction, political risks and trade credit as there is vast scope in the Gulf region, whose non-life insurance is expected to grow strongly at 18% in the future.“This will enhance Lloyd’s presence in the area, bringing us even closer to brokers and clients, allowing us to build stronger relationships and deeper risk insights as we respond to market needs in the region, including in Qatar,” she said.The level of investment in wider infrastructure are “phenomenal” with more than $1tn awarded in the Gulf in the last ten years and another estimated $2trn anticipated over the next ten years, Beale said.Finding that the economic growth picture across the wider Gulf region as “impressive”, she said it is estimated that $73bn of natural gas developments are currently in the tendering process.The Gulf region also holds potential in the renewable energy, especially solar power, she said, noting that Qatar Solar Technologies has entered into agreement with Qatar Rail to explore the feasibility of using solar power on the country’s rail network. If viable, up to 80MW of solar energy could be installed into Qatar’s multi-billion dollar railway development, she said.