Managing risk in insurance and takaful GCC companies given insight in first of its kind seminar

"The seminar, presented by Standard & Poor's, was the first of its kind to cover the Rating Agency process for Insurance companies and to introduce Solvency II - ERM (Enterprise Risk Management) by Deloitte," said Angela Bryant, ERM Senior Manager at Deloitte Middle East Enterprise Risk Services (ERS). "Solvency II helps companies not only manage risks, but also earn greater rewards for the risks they take."

Jointly hosted by Deloitte and Standard & Poor's, in association with the Emirates Insurance Association, the seminar provided a platform for a discussion of insurance industry best practices and how these can be applied to the UAE/GCC insurance sector. Claus Brinkmann, partner in actuarial insurance services from the Deloitte Munich office, was among the speakers. He shared insight on the complexity involved in implementing Solvency II in the Europe market and issues faced while implementing it. Other topics discussed during the event included the rating agency process and why ERM is given weight by rating agencies.

"ERM for insurance and takaful companies is important as they are risk-taking entities by nature," said Fadi Sidani, partner in charge for Enterprise Risk Services (ERS) at Deloitte in the Middle East. "Thus an effective ERM helps them to identify risks, manage those risks and ensure that the risks undertaken are within the risk tolerance limits of the company. For insurance companies it is very important to ensure they remain solvent and have adequate assets to fulfill the future claims which could be payable in anything from a one-month to 20-year period, depending on the nature of insurance. Thus demonstrating solvency is vital to ensure policyholders come to them to ensure their risks. ERM is an important tool which helps insurance companies demonstrate that they view the risks seriously, understand the risks they face and are managing the risks within their tolerance limits."