Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) has recorded an impressive 41% growth year-on-year in gross written premiums to QR2.7bn during January-March this year, indicating the effective and strong underwriting capabilities.
The surge in premium comes amidst turbulence in the global and regional economies, said a spokesman of the insurance company after its board meeting yesterday, chaired by deputy chairman Abdulla bin Khalifa al-Attiya.
“Given the current global and regional economic and investment scenario; our outlook for 2016 remains cautiously optimistic. We will continue to optimise operations and identify new revenue streams for delivering consistent growth and sustainable returns to our shareholders,” QIC Group president and chief executive Khalifa Abdulla Turki al-Subaey said.
Net underwriting result in the first quarter (Q1) of this year was QR277mn, demonstrating an increase of 12% on the previous year. Amidst challenging global economic conditions and regional market volatility, the group’s net profit reflected an increase amounting to QR329mn, up 7% vis-a-vis QR306mn in Q1 2015, said the company, which is a publicly-listed composite insurer with a consistent performance history of over 50 years and an underwriting footprint across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“Beyond reporting notable underwriting results in challenging market conditions, QIC’s financial results demonstrate clearly the resilience of our business model - diversified not just to minimise risk but also to pursue growth opportunities as and when they arise,” al-Subaey said.
Investment income and other revenues stood at QR201mn.
Keeping pace with the group’s continued pursuit to deliver high value propositions and in response to the projected growth, the board of directors has approved an increase in capital during the annual general meeting, which was held in February 2016.
Not only would the increase in capital strengthen the group’s capital adequacy ratio, but would also provide long term sustainable funding for growth, according to the company’s spokesman.