Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The Middle East's insurance market is set to witness high growth levels in 2008, as increased demand for private health insurance, a rise in the availability of Takaful (Islamic compliant) insurance, and ongoing expansion in awareness of the importance of life insurance combine to create a "perfect storm" for the industry.
Historically, the Middle East has represented only a small proportion of the global insurance market, but new demographic, social and economic factors are radically reshaping the industry's regional potential, according to the Mahmoud Nodjoumi, international vice-president of the Chartered Insurance Institute.
A report from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services points out that, provided the world average insurance premium of $550 per capita is achieved, the GCC insurance market could be worth up to $20 billion.
