Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), a leading insurer across Qatar, the Middle East and North African region and parent company to reinsurer Qatar Re and Lloyd’s specialist Antares, said that third-quarter catastrophe impacts are limited to its earnings.
Mr. Khalifa Abdulla Turki Al Subaey, Group President & CEO of QIC Group, explained; “The financial results for the first nine months of 2017 demonstrate QIC Group’s resilience under conditions of severe market stress. In view of our significant global footprint and exposure as well as the ongoing diplomatic and economic concerns in the Gulf region, our financial performance is robust.
“The Group’s well-diversified franchise has proven able to tackle the challenges of the marketplace. The adverse impact of these events will be limited to our earnings, with QIC Group’s strong capital position remaining unscathed.”
QIC recorded premium growth of 16% GWP to USD 2.46 billion for the first nine months of 2017 and despite the major catastrophe event impacts and cost of the Ogden rate change, the company reported a net profit of USD 84 million for the first nine months of 2017, compared with USD 195 million for the same period of the previous year.
Al Subaey continued; “In the wake of the third quarter’s natural disasters, our well-capitalised international operations are poised to benefit from the expected upward market revision in (re)insurance premium rates. Meanwhile, we conduct ‘business as usual’ in our Qatari home market and in other Middle Eastern countries, despite the geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges in the region.”
QIC’s premium growth has been driven by further expansion of its Bermuda-domiciled reinsurance subsidiary Qatar Re, specialty insurer Antares headquartered in London and Malta-based subsidiary QIC Europe Limited (QEL).
Their combined gross written premiums grew by an impressive 25% during the first nine months of 2017.
The catastrophe events did drive the underwriting result to a loss though, with QIC Group’s net underwriting result a loss of USD 28 million for the first nine months of 2017.
Through reinsurer Qatar Re and Antares’ Lloyd’s syndicate 1274, QIC had a sizeable impact from recent hurricanes and earthquake events, causing net losses of about USD 174 million. The three hurricanes alone have added 10% to QIC Group’s combined ratio and eroded 6.5% of the Group’s total equity.
However, the company said its losses are within its net appetite for risk and the expected range of losses from events of this size.
As a result the company only expects an earnings impact, with its solvency capital intact.
