Marcopolis presents the Kuwait Report focused on the investments, doing business, economy and other topics featuring interviews with Kuwaiti leaders. The sectors under review in this issue are industry, oil and gas sector, investments, banking sector, telecom sector and many more.
Insurance sector seems to have a bright future. According to OBG "there appear to be several unique to Kuwait catalysts in the medium term future that will help expand the local appetite for insurance: a large scale, multi-year government spending plan, potential legal changes to make more forms of insurance mandatory, an overhaul of the current system for medical insurance for expatriate workers, privatisation of currently uninsured government assets and overhaul of the countries insurance laws." Furthermore Global Investment House reports that Kuwait has the lowest penetration rate as a percentage of premium income to GDP. (0.48%, Saudi Arabia 1%, UAE 1.8%).
The insurance sector is expected to rise significantly in Kuwait, as the concept of insurance is now spreading in the market, and more individuals and entities are adapting it. According to Capital Standards " Gross premiums written (GPW) in Kuwait posted an impressive 11-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9% since 1999. The high growth rate attracted new players and consequently, the competitive landscape of the industry underwent sea change. The total number of insurers in Kuwait currently stands at 31 – 20 Kuwaiti companies, 7 Arabian companies and 4 foreign insurers."
There are three main unique characteristics in the structure of Kuwait's social pension system. Firstly, it receives financing from three different entities, namely, the contributors and the employers — who jointly pay 60% — and the government, which pays the remaining 40%.
Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS)
Fahad Al Rajaan | Chairman
Established in 1977, PIFSS is one of the oldest institutions in the Middle East. Despite being a public institution its success lay partly in its independence, which allows it to operate much like a private pension fund.PIFSS is also a powerful investor both nationally and internationally. Once it collects the premiums, PIFSS invests the money through institutions like Wafra Investment Advisory Group (Wafra) - assets under management USD 10 billion.