Joe Azar, Chief Executive Officer of NASCO Re (the reinsurance broking arm of Nasco Insurance Group) has over 40 years experience in the industry. He started his career with SNA Allianz in 1977 where he spent 13 years as Head of the International department.
In 1990, he moved to Arab Insurance Group as Treaty Underwriter, before taking responsibility for the Business development Division. He joined NASCO France in 1992 as Director for Treaty and became Chief operating officer in 2013 and member of the NASCO Insurance Group executive board.
Joe Azar is based in Paris, France and he looks after all the Nasco Reinsurance broking offices.
His dynamism made him one of the key figures of the industry and a leading force in the NASCO Insurance Group.
Nasco Insurance Group was Founded in Lebanon in 1969. NASCO currently operates in Lebanon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Iraq, Tunisia, Nigeria, Egypt and France.
NASCO France is the leading reinsurance broker of the MENA region and is one of the Top 3 reinsurance Brokers in France. The company was founded in 1976 in France. NASCO Re manages a large reinsurance book with a turnover of $1 billion in transacted premiums and serves clients in more than 60 countries. The company enjoys a strong reputation and image with recognized skills and abilities.
NASCO France is the trade name and the corporate power behind an experienced multinational team with extensive market knowledge and a business strategy that focuses exclusively on clients’ needs. Rather than seek a global presence, resources are dedicated to the consistent strengthening of business relationships. NASCO France operates also as a direct insurance broker, offering highly dedicated and personalized service to individuals and corporations seeking tailor-made insurance covers, asset protection or worldwide assistance.
In June 2012, NASCO France introduced a new look as part of a wider revamping of the NASCO Insurance Group's identity. The new logo serves as symbolic commitment to the continued evolution of the brand in better suiting the needs of clients as well as that of the market.
In an exclusive interview, Joe Azar says that RVS 2018 tackled innovative technology, block chain, mergers and acquisition and a lot of industry matters. He reveals his forthcoming plans for NASCO Re and gives his own opinion on the reinsurance industry. Joe Azar believes that the principal value of a business broker is the strength of their team. Reinsurance is a business of people and that is why companies should now invest in both people and technology.
BL: What is your impression on this year's Rendez-Vous de Septembre?
Joe Azar: I have been attending Monte Carlo's event for the past twenty-seven years. Monte Carlo is a unique gathering of insurance professionals in a very beautiful environment. Here, we can interact with most reinsurers and a large number of our clients; it offers the opportunity to share views regarding the trends for the renewal season. Few leading reinsurers believe the time of cycles is over and talking about trends is no longer realistic. At the same time, we hear that many capacity providers are under pressure to restore profitability notably Lloyds who is putting order in the house and trying to monitor more closely underwriting. We are also seeing mergers and acquisitions coming back. AXA and XL Group deal for $15-bn merger. AIG completed the acquisition of Validus for $5.5 Billion and many other mergers are in the pipeline. Other essential and hot topics such as Technology , Data mining and cyber remain naturally part of every discussion.
BL: Japan was previously hit by natural disasters and now it is going to happen again for the United States, what is your take on that? Do you think it is going to affect the insurance and reinsurance market and your customers?
Joe Azar: The Japanese earthquake which struck Hokkaido region and Typhoon Jebi which hit Osaka early Sept are estimated to cause insured losses in region of USD 6 bn. In the USA, Hurricane Florence is no doubt very mild when compared to 2017 devastating losses known as HIM . The estimate for Florence insured losses is now at 5bn while HIM total cost exceeded 92 bn . The overall cat losses recorded in 2018 to-date indicate a significant decline as opposed to 2017 .
It is also established losses of such magnitude do not reflect a level of severity which warrants hardening of reinsurance terms. Considering the capacity available including that of capital markets, we would need a mega cat loss in hundreds of billions to witness a serious contraction of capacity.
Believe it is difficult to link reinsurance terms in the MENA region, to severe cat events in other continents. We shall concentrate on the cat events occurring in our own region such as the recent Mekunu Cyclone in Oman last May. These tend to put, in few occasions, serious pressure on results without however impacting the huge appetite and abundant capacity available for the business in the region .
BL: Consolidation globally is happening probably in more mature markets than in the MENA region, don't you believe that probably consolidation is not something that is going to be trending soon in the MENA region?
Joe Azar: We know in few markets, regulators are pushing towards more consolidation. The Saudi Arabia market appears to lead this move by encouraging rapid consolidation, and SAMA has been pressing a number of companies to join forces . In other markets, the industry is still too fragmented and will inevitably need to go through the same consolidation process if we are keen to create better market conditions and identify in the days ahead possible solutions for the Companies witnessing difficulties.
BL: We talked about places where the market is fragmented like Lebanon and the UAE perhaps. Lebanon's economy is fragile, unsustainable and needs the state to enact reforms, a senior World Bank official said recently. Do you think that this fragile economy will push the insurance industry to consolidation, to find new avenues for profit generation?
Joe Azar:. The whole area is going through economic turbulences. Now, there have been some attempts to privilege consolidation on the insurance level. I hope this will continue, because it will give our operators more strength so they are prepared to compete with big players and international companies. Reforms in Lebanon will no doubt permit the acceleration of the recovery of our fragile economy .
BL: Saying the above, probably, some people are waiting for Syria to clear out. There is a construction drive that people are waiting to do business there. What are your comments?
Joe Azar: The insurance and reinsurance markets are getting ready to benefit from the construction boom likely to take place in Syria very soon. When stability returns to Syria and Iraq, the whole region will reap the benefit resulting in tangible growth in the economy of both countries and that of neighboring territories. Lebanon is definitely well positioned to participate actively in this rebuilding process. This will translate no doubt in the growth of the insurance sector across the region.
BL: How does the instability of the region translate and how does it impact the big reinsurers? Is that driving prices North?
Joe Azar: Political instability and economic headwinds will have no doubt their impact on the insurance industry, However the Mena region low insurance penetration continues to leave room for continued growth fueled by compulsory insurances. The GCC remains the main hub with the largest premium volume and the UAE leads in 2017 with USD 13,5 bn thanks to a growth as high as 13 percent. Turkey recorded a decline of 8 pct as a result of the devaluation of the Turkish lira.
Pricing levels are also being impacted by those conditions, which give concerns at least to tier(1) Reinsurers.
The political unrest in Syria, Iraq and Libya in addition to sanctions in Iran make the landscape in these markets extremely difficult and challenging for Most Reinsurers who prefer for the time being to refrain from transacting in these territories.
It is however hoped, when hostilities and sanctions come to an end, reinsurers will regain interest and recommit support
Accordingly, we need to adapt and learn how to live with the political volatility of our part of the world
BL: When we talk about the Middle East and North Africa, we are talking of course about oil and gas. Now that the price of oil is going up, do you think that this is going to have an effect directly or indirectly on the insurance industry and the economy in general?
Joe Azar: Definitely, when the oil prices went down, the whole area witnessed a painful recession. Arab oil exporting economies will now benefit from the increase in prices to boost exports, in attempt to bridge the gap resulting from the drop in Iran exports. This will translate into extra liquidity to reduce deficit and inject more money into infrastructure and other investments. We expect this move to stimulate growth in the economies and benefit the insurance industry.
BL: Is there any change in your management? Is there any change in your operations and focus?
Joe Azar: NASCO, like any other large operator in the industry, is trying to look at the future by preparing the infrastructure to integrate more technology across all processes whether underwriting, claims or distribution. We are preparing the next generation of talents who will cope successfully with the new challenges and trends and preserve at the same time Nasco core values.
On the operational level, Nasco re has moved away from a centralized hub and established regional offices in many key markets notably Beirut, Istanbul, Dubai and Jeddah. This proximity to clients is vital to enhance our services and remains supported by dedicated centers of excellence, specialized by line of Business. Whilst we shall continue to grow our regional presence in the emerging markets, Paris will always be the heart of Nasco Re operations.
On the side of our Reinsurance broking operations, Nasco Re has always been active on the Reinsurance underwriting front. This essential pillar of our activity is now being consolidated further in the form of stronger partnerships with a number of leading reinsurers.
This represents to Nasco and the underwriters, an opportunity to enhance distribution and reach out to customers with concrete solutions to their needs
BL: What do you do in NASCO to make sure that your customers are well-informed that you prepare the generation?
Joe Azar: At Nasco we have already established a think tank to prepare the future of our industry. We have many projects in the pipeline including digital platform, telematics and smart devices, however we have to keep in mind that the objective of any transformation in the way we conduct business, aims only to facilitate our business and satisfy our customers. We are keen on innovation and will privilege every route towards better efficiency and higher reactivity. Simplified access to our services and prompter settlement of claims will offer definitely tangible results to our customers.
Our team, at all levels, is fully empowered to be, whenever needed, on the field thus privileging constant dialogue and enhancing affinity with clients in every market.
BL: In terms of your financials for the first half of the year, how does stand in comparison to previous years? What is your outlook for the future?
Joe Azar: Nasco Group performance remains very satisfactory .Our reinsurance turnover continues to grow despite the difficulties encountered by many of our Markets notably political unrest , economic turmoil and currency devaluation . We are also on the look for expansion and enthusiastic to consider every viable opportunity. Nasco shall only privilege the new territories where our targets and goals could be realistically achieved and our business model may be successfully replicated . However our aim to achieve wider geographical diversification will not dilute our focus on the Mena region which remains the core Markets for Nasco Re .
BL: Consequently, are you are looking for stability in the way you operate?
Joe Azar: Nasco success has always been driven by our stable and consistent approach in conducting our business . We privilege recourse to the best standards and will accept no compromise for our quality service to a loyal client base which demonstrated full confidence in our support
BL: Joe Azar, you are leading one of the most important companies in France and also in the region, what are your expectations for 2019? And what are your plans for the NASCO Re?
Joe Azar: We continue with our business as usual, and explore at same time the best ways to cope with the changes that our industry is witnessing. This is practically our every day’s fight. We are always looking for the winning strategies to create value to our clients by enhancing our expertise, differentiating our products and optimizing our efficiency. As a mature broker ranking number among insurance intermediaries of the Mena region, we definitely aim constantly at consolidating our position and growing further our market share.
BL: What about your plans for Lebanon?
Joe Azar: We have always looked at Lebanon as an important base for reinsurance operations in the region and a reservoir of human resources . NASCO has built a strong team in Beirut. We have more than fifty people. It was decided since many years to have the back office units in Beirut. On top Nasco Re has a center of excellence for life and medical and a regional hub to handle property and liability in the neighboring countries. We are proud of the team in place and will continue reinforcing this office capabilities.
BL: Joe is a very well-recognized personality in the industry. He has his own charm and influence on his clients. What is driving your exceptional dynamism and your charisma? Sometimes, we wonder if you ever sleep because we always see you flying from one country to the other and moving from one meeting to the next
Joe Azar: I am passionate about what I do, and I think this belongs to every member of Nasco team. We are all dedicated to deploy every needed effort and energy in servicing NASCO clients so we meet fully their expectation. This is Nasco core mission.
