GCC insurance market ‘to see rapid premium growth’

The GCC insurance market has been one of the fastest growing regions for insurers, with average annual revenue growth of 16.8 percent over the past six years, and will see significant further growth over the near to medium term, the new Moody’s Investors Service report on Monday said. Together, the 2012 premiums of these six countries equated to $16.3 billion, broadly similar to the size of the Portuguese insurance market and more than doubling from $6.4 billion in 2006, the report noted, according to Saudi Gazette. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8 percent over this six year period, although growth in each market varies, ranging from 19.7 percent CAGR in Saudi Arabia to 7.9 percent CAGR in Kuwait. Moody’s expects that the region will continue to grow at similarly strong rates over the near to medium term. Growth will be driven primarily by increased economic wealth in the region, together with an increase in insurance penetration levels (as measured by insurance premiums as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).