Read Full Magazine Here. When COPE launched in 2023, few could have predicted the speed at which it would make its mark on the regional insurance and reinsurance landscape. In less than two years, the Cyprus-based firm has established itself as a serious contender, a nimble, ambitious alternative to the industry’s long-entrenched giants.
From its headquarters in Cyprus, COPE delivers end-to-end solutions across insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic consulting, and operational management. What sets the company apart, however, is not only its breadth of services but its people-first philosophy. With a team of 26 senior industry professionals - each bringing deep product knowledge, market insight, and global networks - COPE combines entrepreneurial spirit with technical expertise to deliver solutions that are as innovative as they are reliable.
Under the strategic leadership of CEO Joseph Faddoul, COPE has embraced a disciplined growth model rooted in resilience, collaboration, and innovation. Its employee-centric culture empowers professionals to think entrepreneurially, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver results that consistently exceed expectations.
The Jean Medlej Factor
Among COPE’s rising stars is Jean Medlej, Director for Life & Personal Accident, based in the United Arab Emirates. Jean plays a pivotal role in expanding the company’s life portfolio and strengthening its footprint across the Gulf - a region full of opportunity but demanding agility, foresight, and trust.
Jean’s career path is far from conventional. before joining COPE, he held leadership roles in several regional broking firms, where he built expertise in strategic planning, client management, and operational development. This diverse experience across markets has given him a unique edge in the insurance sector: the ability to blend technical precision with a strong client-first mindset.
Navigating an Unsettled Global Economy
In his recent BUSINESS LIFE cover interview, Jean spoke candidly about the opportunities and pressures facing insurers in today’s volatile environment.
“The key is adaptability,” he explained. “Markets shift, client needs evolve, and the pace of change is accelerating. At COPE, we’re not just reacting to these changes - we’re anticipating them.”
Jean’s outlook reflects Cope’s broader ethos: positioning the company as a trusted partner for clients navigating an increasingly complex risk landscape - agile enough to adapt, strong enough to endure, and innovative enough to lead.
A Company Built for the Future
With entrepreneurial DNA, deep market expertise, and an unwavering commitment to its people, COPE is more than a growing reinsurance broker - it is a movement. Guided by leaders like Jean Medlej, the company is not only competing with long-established players but also reshaping the rules of the game, setting new benchmarks for trust, innovation, and client-focused service.
BL: What are the main trends you are currently seeing in the life insurance and reinsurance sector, and how is cope adapting to meet these evolving needs?
Jean Medlej: The life reinsurance sector is entering a period of dynamic expansion. Recent forecasts show that the industry is growing from USD 28 billion in 2022 to nearly USD 60 billion by 2029, driven by a combination of economic growth, population expansion, and rising demand for protection.
At the same time, there is an increasing societal awareness of risk and financial security, spurred in part by global challenges such as natural disasters, pandemics, and climate-related shocks. While life insurance is not directly exposed to catastrophic events in the same way as property or casualty lines, such developments are influencing how the industry thinks about resilience and alternative risk transfer.
Cope is responding proactively. We are leveraging predictive models and AI-based tools to design smarter, data-driven products and to enhance our understanding of exposures, especially in an environment of thin margins. To reduce concentration risks, we spread placements across a diversified panel of global reinsurers. Just as importantly, we are investing heavily in digital platforms and analytics - streamlining processes, improving response times, and delivering more innovative and adaptive solutions for clients.
BL: How does Cope’s life department differentiate itself from competitors when it comes to product innovation and client service?
Jean Medlej: In reinsurance, products often appear similar across the marketplace, which makes true differentiation more complex. What sets Cope apart is not only what we deliver, but how we deliver it.
We prioritize long-term client relationships built on trust, transparency, and reliability. Whether through simplifying payment structures, ensuring smooth and fair claims processing, or providing reinsurers with full transparency, our goal is to remove friction and foster confidence. This philosophy resonates with clients who value a partner that stands with them beyond the transactional.
On the innovation front, we continuously seek to add value by structuring reinsurance programs in creative ways. This includes exploring new capacities across geographies and tailoring terms and conditions that provide clients with an edge, whether at renewal or when designing entirely new schemes. By combining strong technical capabilities with a client-centric approach, we make sure our solutions go further than the standard offerings in the market.
BL: What role does preventive health and wellness play in the future of life insurance?
Jean Medlej: Preventive health and wellness will be at the heart of the life insurance model of the future. The industry is shifting from being reactive, paying claims after an event, to being proactive, actively supporting policyholders in leading longer, healthier lives.
This involves promoting healthier lifestyles through wellness programs that encourage exercise, balanced nutrition, and early medical check-ups. Beyond physical health, attention to mental well-being is increasingly vital, as stress and psychological conditions impact mortality and morbidity just as much as physical illness. Tools such as telemedicine, digital health apps, and access to second medical opinions are now becoming standard value-added services.
These initiatives create a win-win dynamic: policyholders benefit from healthier, more secure lives, while insurers and reinsurers see improved persistency, lower mortality rates, and reduced claim costs, making the system more sustainable for all stakeholders.
BL: What roles do technology and data analytics play in enhancing the solutions for life insurance?
Jean Medlej: Technology is no longer an optional enhancement; it is now the backbone of progress in life insurance. Digitalization is transforming underwriting, allowing medical assessments to be completed with greater accuracy and speed, while reducing errors.
Artificial intelligence and advanced analytics are enabling underwriters to classify risks with unprecedented precision. These tools allow for faster, cheaper, and more predictive models, supporting not just risk evaluation but also product design and pricing.
On the client engagement side, mobile applications are creating new touchpoints, enabling insurers to interact with policyholders regularly instead of only at the time of claim. Digital claims systems, meanwhile, strengthen fraud detection, improve efficiency, and help curb abuse - protecting the integrity of the system.
Ultimately, data analytics empowers insurers to personalize services, streamline operations, and deliver smarter solutions, ensuring that clients feel understood and supported at every step.
BL: How to balance competitive pricing with sustainable underwriting in life insurance policy?
Jean Medlej: Balancing affordability for clients with sustainable risk management is one of the most delicate tasks in life reinsurance. It requires both technical expertise and creative structuring.
At Cope, we rely on historical data and performance across risk classes to set prices that are fair but disciplined. To reinforce this balance, we often introduce innovative features such as profit-sharing mechanisms or no-claim bonuses. These not only align the interests of insurers and policyholders but also reward positive behaviors by returning part of the premium when favorable outcomes are achieved.
Furthermore, by monitoring long-term mortality and morbidity trends, often over 10-year periods, we provide cedants with a clearer picture of how risks evolve over time. This forward-looking approach ensures that our pricing strategies remain competitive without compromising the financial sustainability of our portfolio.
BL: How is COPE integrating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles into its life insurance operations and product offerings?
Jean Medlej: At Cope, ESG is not a separate initiative but an integral part of both our product development and daily operations. We are committed to creating sustainable, inclusive solutions - for example, by incentivizing healthier lifestyles with premium discounts for non-smokers, or by supporting preventive health through reimbursement programs for wellness tools and fitness devices.
Internally, we embed ESG awareness through regular training and ensure compliance with evolving global standards. On the risk side, we are increasingly factoring climate-related considerations into our underwriting practices. From an investment perspective, we consciously avoid high-risk industries such as fossil fuels and instead channel support toward renewable energy and other sustainable ventures by designing insurance products tailored to these sectors.
In doing so, we align long-term business growth with broader societal and environmental objectives—delivering value not only for our clients but also for the communities and markets we serve.
BL: How do you see regulatory changes shaping the future of life insurance and reinsurance, particularly in emerging markets?
Jean Medlej: Regulatory frameworks will continue to play a decisive role in shaping the future of life insurance and reinsurance, particularly in emerging markets where the industry is still maturing. Evolving rules - driven by digital transformation, heightened customer expectations, and the need for stronger consumer protection - are raising the bar on transparency, governance, and capital adequacy.
For new entrants, these requirements will pose higher barriers to entry. Established players, meanwhile, will need to adapt by refining product design, embracing technology, and elevating service standards. While this transition may present short-term challenges, it ultimately strengthens the sector, creating a more resilient, transparent, and sustainable market environment that benefits policyholders and investors alike.
BL: In your view, what role does talent development play in sustaining innovation and competitiveness in the life sector?
Jean Medlej: Talent is the lifeblood of innovation in the life sector. Modern insurance solutions require the collaboration of diverse expertise - from actuaries and underwriters to data scientists, IT specialists, compliance professionals, and financial strategists. Developing and retaining this talent is critical not only for designing forward-looking products but also for managing risks effectively and maintaining regulatory compliance.
Organizations that prioritize talent development foster stronger reputations, greater adaptability, and long-term growth. With the right team in place, companies can protect clients more effectively, harness emerging technologies, and seize new opportunities in a competitive and evolving marketplace. In essence, people are the differentiator that transforms strategy into sustained impact.
BL: Looking ahead, what is your vision for life department growth, and how does it align with Cope’s overall strategy and values?
Jean Medlej: Our vision is ambitious yet grounded in Cope’s values of adaptability, innovation, and client focus. We aim to expand our footprint across diverse markets, particularly in regions with strong growth potential. This expansion will be supported by continued investment in our people, through recruitment, training, and fostering expertise within the team.
Equally, we are focused on sourcing new capacities and developing solutions that keep pace with evolving client expectations. By doing so, we ensure that Cope remains agile and responsive, even in a volatile environment.
Ultimately, we want Cope’s Life & Personal Accident division to be recognized as a trusted partner that delivers sustainable, future-ready solutions. This vision perfectly aligns with the broader company strategy: building confidence, driving innovation, and always keeping the client at the center of everything we do.
