Alpen Capital, optimistic growth forecasts for insurance in the Middle East

The latest Alpen Capital report has indicated that the average annual growth rate of premiums in the Gulf region will be of 20% over the next four years. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are the two most important markets and will both account for 75% of premiums in 2015.

The study also includes Qatar as the country where insurance is set to report the highest rate of average annual growth with 30% between 2011 and 2015.

The penetration rate of non-life insurance will reach 1.81% for the entire region in comparison with 1.12% in 2011. Non-life premiums will account for 86% of the market in 2015. According to Alpen, islamic insurance will significantly contribute to this development. The average annual growth rate of islamic insurance was 45% between 2004 and 2009.