Potential growth for captives in the Middle East insurance market

Captive insurance has been used globally since the 1960s. By 2003, there were approximately 5,000 captives worldwide holding assets worth $130 billion and writing over $25 billion in gross premiums.

Captives are often used by large group companies to complement the services and coverages that are provided by traditional insurers and reinsurers in order to provide their owners with specific financial and strategic benefits, often as a key component of an overall corporate risk management framework. Some of these benefits include lower insurance costs, greater coverage flexibility, improved price stability, and potential investment returns.

Captives can take several forms, varying on the basis of their number of parents (single parent vs. multi-parent), risk diversity (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous), and type of ownership and/or management (3rd party vs. self managed and/or owned). A feasibility study is typically required to analyse the benefits and structures that may apply to a particular organization.

Ensurion is the first licensed insurance management firm in the Middle East receiving its license from the Central Bank of Bahrain in 2004 with a view to developing the outsourcing industry necessary to allow the smooth operation of the regional captive industry. It provides a wide range of captive insurance and risk management services. Ensurion, together with leading cooling company, Tabreed, are the Captives Partners of the 4th Annual Middle East Insurance Forum and will address the latest developments and provide case study insights into Captives at the conference, which will be held in Bahrain on the 8th and 9th of May 2007.

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) is the single regulatory body responsible for the entire financial services sector in Bahrain, overseeing banks, insurance firms, and capital markets. With over 30 years of track record in regulating and supervising financial firms, the CBB provides a sound and market-friendly regulatory environment for the insurance industry, including captive insurance companies.