COVID-19 Measure: Read Full Magazine Here. The UAE has some of the finest healthcare infrastructure in the world and is a major draw for expats looking to move there. Health insurance plays a massive role in providing a high level of healthcare in the UAE and is necessary for expats living in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Insurance in the UAE is a mix of private and public sectors, but expats will be using the private system. It is mandatory in the UAE that you are insured; in fact, this is now a legal requirement.
Orient Insurance PJSC is a well-recognized Insurer operating in the UAE insurance market with a capital of 500 Million Dirhams and accredited with Standard & Poor’s “A” and A M Best “A+” Interactive Rating and ISO Certification. The total staff strength of the group is over 1600.
Orient Insurance also operates in Egypt, Syria, Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, Sri Lanka and Turkey and has a takaful arm in the UAE.
Orient Insurance Group is part of the Al-Futtaim Group, a diverse conglomerate which provides opportunities for growth and development and rewards quality performance.
Orient has secured ratings of ‘A Stable’ from Standard & Poor’s and ‘A+ Excellent’ from AM Best, which is the highest combined rating in the region. The company is also accredited with ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification.
With its head office located in Dubai, the company serves its clientele through an extensive branch network in Deira, Dubai, Jebel Ali, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE, Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Bahrain. Orient has established subsidiary companies in Egypt, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Syria.
Orient Insurance has put its expansion plans in Saudi Arabia on hold due to COVID-19.
Owned by Dubai-based conglomerate Al-Futtaim Group, the company had earlier secured an approval from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) to open some branches in the kingdom and kick off its operation this year.
In a filing to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the company said it has decided to postpone the plan by two years because of the coronavirus, which continues to gather strength and cripple businesses worldwide.
Orient offers both conventional as well as bespoke products for corporates and individuals. The company plays a major role as an insurer in the growth of regional economy through its innovative products such as Credit Insurance, Event Cancellation, Professional Indemnity for various business segments, Strata Insurance for jointly owned properties, Energy Insurance and the like.
Orient’s underwriters backed by top rated reinsurers, deliver insurance solutions tailored to market needs. The company’s highly qualified and experienced team offers quick and efficient services to its customers both in the matters of underwriting and claims.
Due to the ongoing development resulting out of the spread of the pandemic COVID-19 and the subsequent restrictions on movement and traveling resulting in disruption in economy and trade during the past period, the company has decided to postpone the start of the business that was expected during the current year, to the middle of the year 2022,” the company said in its filing to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
By shelving its expansion plan, Orient Insurance will be able to work in a more convenient atmosphere for a proper entry into one of the region’s biggest insurance markets.
However, there remains a huge potential in the kingdom for newcomers, with the country’s insurance penetration rate pegged at approximately 1.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to credit ratings agency Fitch.
“For the better capitalized insurers… the market is a young and increasingly promising one. Insurance penetration in the kingdom remains low,” according to the 2019 OBG report.
Omer Hassan Elamin is deeply committed to his career and to his new relationship.
Leadership is not a magical gift but a set of skills that one can acquire and practice. Not everyone will become a great leader, but everyone can become a better leader. It may come more easily to some, but it is certainly not out of reach for others. It does not matter if one is running a business, managing a team, or teaching a class; leadership skills are important. Business may be severe, but the best leaders know how to build excitement and fun.
During a very challenging time, Omer proved his courage, perseverance, wise vision and outstanding victory. Outshining leaders have integrity and therefore, reliability and trustworthiness.
Omer Hassan Elamin founded Orient Unb Takaful PJSC. Elamin is Chairman for Orient Insurance and Managing Director at Orient Insurance PJSC. He also serves as Board Member at Arab Orient Insurance – Syria. In the past he was Director at Orient Unb Takaful PJSC.
Omer Elamin joined Al-Futtaim in 1982. Today, he leads Orient Insurance Group in seven countries, The company has the highest credit rating in the region of ‘A Stable’ (S&P) and ‘A Excellent’ (AM Best).
Currently, Omer Hassan Elamin is holding the following positions: President - Orient Group – Dubai, UAE, Managing Director – Arab Orient Insurance Company, Syria, Chairman – Orient Insurance Takaful, Egypt, Chairman – Orient Insurance, Sri Lanka, Chairman – Orient Sigorta, Turkey, Advisory Board Member – Al Futtaim Willis, Dubai United Arab Emirates and Advisory Board Member – Al Futtaim Finance, Dubai United Arab Emirates.
Previous positions held: Head of Sales & Marketing – Norwich Union Insurance Company – Jeddah, KSA and Reinsurance/Underwriting Assistant – Khartoum Insurance Company, Khartoum
Education: University of Cairo-Bachelor of Science (BSc)Business Administration
Certificates: IAA Accreditation, ISO 9001 IMS Certification
Awards: General Insurer of the Year, MENAIR Insurance Awards 2014 – Outstanding contribution by an individual – WINNER, MENAIR Insurance Awards 2014 – Commercial Lines Insurer of the year – WINNER,
Membership: Arab War Risk Insurance Syndicate, Manama Bahrain
Former Board Member, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Former Chairman of the Insurance Business Group, Dubai International Financial Centre, Former Insurance Advisory Board Member, United Arab Emirates Insurance Association
Former Chairman of the High Technical Committee
Recently, Al-Futtaim Group announced that the CEO of Orient Insurance Group, Omer Elmin, won the “Non-Family CEO Award” during a gala event to distribute the prestigious family business awards. Al-Amin was honored on the occasion of the 40th anniversary with the group, based on his effective contribution to innovation leadership and his continued commitment to the growth and success of the group’s business.
On this occasion, Omer Elamin, President of Orient Insurance Group, said: “I am pleased and honored to be awarded the ‘GCC Non-Family CEO Award’ by the Gulf Family Business Council.” He added: “I would like to thank the jury, the Board of Directors of the Gulf Family Business Group, and most important thanks to the Al-Futtaim Group, who have given me the full confidence to serve the group and lead one of its arms over the past forty years. I am very proud to represent the Al-Futtaim Group and committed to ensuring its continued growth and success in line with Group vision and values.
The Non-Family CEO Award honors employees in family businesses who during their tenure have demonstrated absolute loyalty and continued commitment and contributed to the success of the group.
Orient UAE has recently completed acquiring almost 50% of Orient Takaful (Egypt). Both acquisitions are from ADCB. The total cost of both is excess of DHM 100.000.000 million.
BL: Why did you decide to acquire Orient Takaful UAE?
Omer Elamin: Definitely, we see that there is a growing market for the Takaful business. We are committed to develop this insurance sector. We didn’t only acquire 50% of Orient Takaful-UAE but we also acquired 20% of the Takaful Co in Egypt.
Therefore, we see that there is a good market for the Takaful line.. We are expecting to close this year with a profit of close to 500 million for Orient Group and hopefully, 1.3 billion Egyptian Pound for the Takaful-Egypt and we expect that we will make around net profit of 10 million US$ from the Takaful-Egypt and around 15 million Dirhams from the Takaful_UAE.
The acquisition in both cases has been 100% in cash.
BL: Why has Orient Insurance put its expansion plans in Saudi Arabia on hold?
Omer Elamin: Following the ongoing development resulting out of the spread of the pandemic COVID-19 and the subsequent restrictions on movement and traveling in February 2020, we found that it will be very prudent to put our Saudi operation on hold and that is why we wrote to SAMA and got their approval for a grace period of two years.
BL: What about the rebranding of Arab Orient Insurance to Orient? What is its impact?
Omer Elamin: We have rebranded the name of Arab Orient to Orient and the main reason for it is that the name Arab Orient Insurance Company was also translated into Arabic as
شركة المشرق العربي للتأمين
and that has caused some confusion. Consequently, we thought of rebranding it to be Orient in both Arabic and English. The name is short and it is easy to remember.
BL: How do you feel after winning recently one of the Family Business Awards 2021?
Omer Elamin: Actually, I felt excited because the total number of nominees was 125 and then we ended up with about six nominees. There were juries from different parts of the world including people from Oxford university in the U.K and top businessmen and I was declared the winner of the Non-Family Executive Award on the 19th of October, 2021. Definitely, I’m thrilled and happy that I got this recognition since the nominees were from across the family business in the entire GCC. I am nothing less than delighted
BL: What are your plans for 2022?
Omer Elamin: Hopefully, we are expecting to close the year with 5 billion premiums which will be the highest in the UAE. I think we will be ahead of number 2 by around 700 million-800 million and above number 3 by close to 1.3 billion. Our plan for the year 2022 is that we continue a profitable growth. At the moment, we are at the last stage of restructuring completely our reinsurance program and we are hopeful that this is going to give us an edge over others with a huge capacity of one billion in property. I think that we are going to have a stronger market position with the restructuring of our reinsurance program.
BL: What are your comments on health insurance in the UAE?
Omer Elamin: My comments on the health insurance in the UAE is that it is a growing sector. Unfortunately, this class of business and the motor business as well have become the battle ground for the insurance industry and we have seen rates dropping to totally unrealistic levels. The results of the 3rd quarter showed a serious deterioration in the technical profit and the companies were saved by the increase in the investment income. We have seen many companies reporting technical losses but all of them without any exception have recorded unrealized gain in the stock market. I don’t think that this can be repeated next year and that is why we do expect the technical losses are going to dominate the market inv2022. The market have a short memory and regrettably this is of our own making !!
BL: What is the advantage of getting private health insurance coverage in the UAE?
Omer Elamin: The advantage of getting private health insurance coverage in the UAE is that you will have plenty of choices and you will have hundreds of clinics and hospitals so you can choose. At the same time, it will lift the burden on the public sector hospitals and also help the growth of the health insurance industry. Today, the health insurance represents probably 45%-50% of the total market premiums.
