Doha Insurance Group GWP scales up 49% to QR859mn; net profit jumps 48% to QR60mn in H1

Doha Insurance Group has seen its gross written premium (GWP) scaling up 49% to QR859mn and net profit jumping 48% to QR60mn in the first half of the year, driven mainly by a growth in sales, claims control and diversification in terms of underwriting lines.During the first half of the year, the Group had also seen its claims being reduced to QR104mn from QR134mn in H1, 2021.“We always try and maintain the right balance between corporate and retail. We have proven ourselves to a lot of our strategic clients over the years that we do a very good job in servicing and addressing their needs. We don’t aim to the biggest…but we aim to be the best in terms of service,” Doha Insurance Group chief executive officer Jassim Ali al-Moftah said in an interview with Gulf Times.“A key driver of growth is our investments in IT infrastructure. The group owns an IT company, which is based in Jordan and handles all our IT needs. And we have been very successful in attracting a lot of the retail market, with our online and App-based sales capabilities “So we built up not only our corporate portfolio, but also managed to capture a lot of the retail. So, when that growth happened, we managed to build upon that and continue attracting more corporate clients, especially for construction, engineering and energy,” al-Moftah noted.Doha Takaful, the company’s Islamic arm, has grown. The company’s medical insurance portfolio also registered growth, he said.Asked whether investments in IT had helped the company curtail unnecessary expenditure, he said, “We are always looking at unwanted costs, regardless of our IT investments. But over the past years we have managed to, let's say, restructure our workflow to make it much more streamlined. And I think that was also one of the main drivers of our growth.”On challenges posed by geo-politics (such as Russia-Ukraine conflict, higher energy prices, food shortage and logistical bottlenecks), al-Moftah said, “These will have an impact, not directly on the insurance side, but definitely on the investment side. For instance, in the second quarter of 2022, we saw a dip in investment profits due the current market conditions, inflation, higher interest rates, dip in the bond market and so on and so forth.“But I think as time goes by…those will recover. We usually invest in rated bonds and top rated securities. We don't go into a ‘quick money grab’ or ‘money making opportunity’ in terms of investments. We always like a stable growth pattern across our investment plans. So I think what happened in the second quarter was that even though there was a dip in the investments, the growth in the insurance or in the core business, kind of balanced that out. We always like to keep a balance in our portfolio, quarter on quarter. Sometimes, the investment does better, sometimes the insurance does.”On competition in the local insurance market, the Doha Insurance Group CEO said, “There is always going to be competition amongst the companies. Qatar is one of the most developed markets in terms of insurance capabilities. The strength of the insurance sector in Qatar is evident on the fact that most of the national insurance companies are ‘A’ rated. We are proud of our national insurance companies. We are here to develop with each other…support one another.”Al-Moftah emphasised that insurance, especially in the country’s retail segment, “is a very big untapped market.”“Clearly, there is not much awareness about insurance in the retail segment. An individual generally buys a policy, when it is mandated. If it is not, he or she ignores it. In most cases, they (retail customers) are not even aware of it,” he said. The situation, however, is quite different on the corporate side. When asked about the potential outlook for the remainder of the year, al-Moftah said, “You never know what challenges arise in the insurance business. On the spur of the moment, things can happen. But our plan is to remain stable. We pursue a cautious, conservative approach. God willing, we will remain stable.”He thanked the Qatar Central Bank and the company’s board of directors for their support and guidance that helped Doha Insurance grow over the years.The CEO also attributed the company’s success to its hard working and dedicated employees, “but for whose hard work, this would not have been possible.”Doha Insurance Group president Bassam Hussein said Qatar is a “promising market” and a lot of opportunities exist in the country.“Right now, we are focused on being a positive factor in contributing to Qatar’s delivering a very successful World Cup. We understand Qatar has a large pipeline of projects, beyond FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. In supporting the needs of national projects and corporate icons, we remain committed to the growth factor and stability our national economy. We are also looking forward to developing our capabilities on the medical insurance portfolio in anticipation of the new medical laws implementation.”Hussein said, “While we are eager and determined to grow, we wish to grow in a very sensible way. We are looking at opportunities within Qatar and abroad. “Unfortunately, we haven't yet found the right opportunity, but we will keep looking and expanding… and hopefully our numbers will get even better. We also would like to thank our clients for their continued trust and our continued support to the group.”