Oman hosts seminar on expanding insurance coverage in MENA
MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is hosting the third Regional Joint Seminar on the theme, "Expanding Insurance in the Middle East and North Africa: Key Challenges and Market Development Opportunities." The two-day forum, which began at the W Hotel Muscat, is also supported by the Insurance and Social Welfare Supervisory Authority of Morocco and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
The seminar brings together leading figures in regulatory bodies, insurance companies, and industry experts from the Arab world and beyond. The seminar is a key platform for promoting regional cooperation, exchanging experience, and debating the emerging challenges and opportunities for the insurance sector amidst rapid economic and technological change.
The programme consists of a series of panel sessions and expert workshops, with priorities being strengthening regulatory frameworks to remain in line with international developments, broadening the actuarial function to foster financial stability, and examining opportunities for digital innovation to drive sectorial development.
Ahmed bin Ali al Maamari, FSA Vice President – Insurance, commented: "Legislators and regulators from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region met today with international organisations to discuss the region's most pressing challenges, including climate change, cyber security, and geopolitical tensions."
Al Maamari added: "The meeting aims to foster cooperation and develop pragmatic solutions, with a specific focus on the insurance sector's role in the management of emerging risks. Issues under consideration include the creation of new insurance products to support economic resilience and social stability, and fostering technology initiatives while inserting regulatory and societal safeguards.'
Ahmed bin Salim al Harassi, Director General of the Market Regulation and Development Unit stated, "This regional conference is being organized to address the key regulatory challenges facing authorities across the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular focus on the challenge of climate change and the increasing frequency of natural disasters in the Sultanate of Oman.".
The event also highlights the growing need for effective post-disaster financial response mechanisms, which renders the insurance sector a key industry in the provision of financial protection. The discussions also surround the digitalization of insurance services, both the potential and cyber security risk it brings," Al Harassi added.
"Regulators are also figuring out how to align domestic frameworks with international standards, balancing compliance with the need to foster innovation. As part of this, the uptake of risk-based supervision is being promoted — intensifying oversight where risks are great, while offering flexibility in less risky domains to foster growth and innovation," he concluded.
Siham Ramli, Director of International Relations and Communication at Morocco's Insurance and Social Welfare Supervisory Authority, said, "Previously perceived as a sheer financial support tool, the insurance sector has developed into a pillar of social protection and inclusive economic development. It is now leading in covering an extensive array of society's risks — environmental, health, digital, and economic," she said.
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