Oman Insurance acquired the UAE life insurance portfolio of Italian insurance company Assicurazioni Generali for an undisclosed sum.
The transfer, which covers unit-linked life insurance policies, is expected to be completed by the end of August 2022, subject to regulatory approvals, Oman Insurance said in a statement on Monday.
The agreement is in line with Generali’s strategy to rationalise its business model in the UAE by strengthening its ecosystem of partnerships.
It is in line with our strategy to accelerate the growth of our life portfolio and become the regional reference in life insurance
Emmanuel Deschamps,
Oman Insurance’s executive committee member and head of life insurance
“This transaction … further strengthens our market position, reaching more than Dh1.2 billion of individual life assets under management,” said Emmanuel Deschamps, Oman Insurance’s executive committee member and head of life insurance.
“It is also in line with our strategy to accelerate the growth of our life portfolio and become the regional reference in life insurance.”
A move to hasten the country’s digital transformation during the Covid-19 pandemic is placing renewed importance on scale among insurers, whose profits are under pressure because of the slowdown.
In October 2020, the UAE Insurance Authority unveiled regulations to streamline life and family takaful insurance. This decision is expected to encourage consolidations in the UAE insurance industry, analysts said at the time.
The Insurance Authority capped the overall commission that can be paid on a policy over its entire duration. Financial advisers are also required to include a mandatory 30-day free-look period in the policy and allow customers to cancel it free of charge within the first month of the policy.
In addition, the regulatory body has imposed increased disclosure requirements on financial advisers, who must provide customers with a benefit illustration before the policy begins and a policy statement every six months.
The terms and conditions of Generali customers' policies will remain unchanged after the transaction, Oman Insurance said.
Both parties have agreed to ensure a smooth transition for existing policyholders and to continue providing them with access to insurance services and systems, the statement added.
“With this transaction, we are capitalising on our high digital capabilities and our multi-channel approach through bancassurance, life brokers’ partnerships as well as our 150 consultants in our proprietary channel,” Mr Deschamps said.
With a solvency of 275 per cent as of December 2021, Oman Insurance’s solvency is among the highest in UAE, the statement added.
Life insurance penetration has been historically very low in the UAE. In 2018, it was 0.67 per cent, Frederic De Melker, RAKBank’s managing director of personal banking, said in 2020.
The global average for life insurance coverage is 6.1 per cent.
The UAE is vastly underserved in terms of life cover because a vast majority of foreigners come from regions in Asia where penetration rates are even lower than in the Emirates, Mr De Melker said.
The UAE’s low insurance penetration can be attributed to poor awareness, lack of trust in the market and the transient nature of expatriates, he added.
“There are way too many insurance companies in the UAE. As the market evolves and digital transformation takes place, scale becomes crucial. This will lead to more consolidation among general players,” RAKBank chief executive Peter England said during a webinar in 2020.
Generali pulled its contractual savings plans Vision and Choice, which it distributes to investors through financial advisers, from the UAE market in 2019.
The company also sold its entire shareholding in its unit, Generali Worldwide Insurance, to the Guernsey-based Utmost Group.
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
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Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
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The Intruder
Director: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good
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Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
