T’azur’s acting CEO, Mr. Samer Al Hamra, answered in this interview our questions in regards of the IFRS 17 standard and he confirmed that his company is working with the statutory auditors to be ready to implement it when applied.
He also highlighted the fact that he believes that insurance companies will eventually move into a phase of ‘risk to return’ based underwriting, with the help of the reinsurers and the loyalty of the customers.
* The new accounting standard, IFRS 17, is facing the insurance sector globally and regionally…
– Are there any specific drawbacks and observations about this new standard?
– As a company, where are you from applying it?
We do believe, standardization in Accounting and reporting within the insurance sector has always been a challenge owing to the nuisances inherent to the nature of the insurance business. We strongly believe that global expertise has brought in the best practices into the new accounting standards that will significantly impact how insurance companies have been managing their business. T’azur is closely working with the statutory auditors in complying with the new standards as and when applied.
*Technology has strongly invaded the insurance world, as well as other service and production sectors.
– What are the new transformations that the technology brought into this sector?
Technology has brought in sweeping changes in the underwriting philosophy and claims handling, by providing accurate details and statistics to the underwriters. Insurance companies are coming with their own unique selling proposition to seamlessly and digitally conduct insurance business with the clients using micro office concept, thanks to technology.
* Do you think that the difficult economic conditions coupled with several financial, technological and technical challenges… may lead to mergers between insurance companies in the region? And the withdrawal of some of the markets?
No, I see neither a merger phase on the cards nor a withdrawal symptom existing in the market, on the other hand, the market is still indicative of untapped business potential and so we can now expect quality and risk selection to prevail in the market in this tough situation.
*While reinsurance companies are talking about the return of price increases and the tightening in the conditions… the regional markets are witnessing fierce competition that leads often to a decline in prices…
– What’s your opinion in this regards?
Yes, we do agree the reinsurance companies suffered a lot due to claims and huge claims in the region that will lead to an increase in price. However, we do believe that the insurance companies will eventually move into a phase of ‘risk to return’ based underwriting with the help from reinsurers while on the other hand, the customers would align themselves to differentiating the insurance companies based on service levels and professional transparency
* How do you assess the legislations, circulars and laws issued by the relevant regulatory bodies in your country? Does it serve its purpose in promoting the reality of this sector?
A revamp in the legislation commensurate with the changing business demands is much awaited. Recently the regulatory authority has come with draft changes to the insurance legislations and also would want to move the controlling authority. We are quite positive that the changes would assist the insurance companies to organize themselves in providing the professional services to its respective customers.
* What are your company’s achievements in 2019 at all levels?
Overall t’azur’s performance has been good. While we achieved the targets, we simultaneously could streamline and resize the portfolio and introduce more channel partners. We are working towards customer service with a view to being one of the most preferred insurance providers.
