Gulf Insurance Group (GIG)

Established in 1962, Gulf Insurance Group is part and parcel of the insurance history in Kuwait. With its sister companies, Kuwait Insurance, set up in 1960 and Al Ahlia which saw the light of day in 1962, Gulf Insurance has for a long time been part of the hard core of one of the most ancient markets of the Gulf.

GIG The arrival of Bahrain Kuwait Insurance (BKIC) in 1975 and of Warba Insurance in 1976 did not considerably upset the insurance landscape in the Emirate.

The local market boomed during the 2000s, with the entry of thirty new companies on stage. Confronted with fierce competition in a market that became sluggish, some traditional insurers, including Gulf Insurance embarked on external growth.

Already operational in the Middle East through seven insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries, the company acquired a 49% stake of the non life insurance company, the Algérienne des Assurances (2A). Thanks to this acquisition, GIC has turned to Africa which provided it with new growth perspectives.

At the end of 2015, the company which was renamed in 2012 to become Gulf Insurance Group (GIG), posted a turnover worth 613 million USD. Shareholders’ equities amounted to 366 million USD. Net profits grew by 12% to be set at 53 million USD. The non life loss ratio has been stable since 2011, improving by 3.9 points, shifting from 74.9% in 2014 to 71% in 2015. The same finding applies for the combined ratio which rose by 1.6 point at 89.1%.

Thanks to these excellent technical indicators, GIG was granted in 2015 an A- rating with positive outlook by AM Best and an A- with stable outlook by S&P.


Farqad Abdullah Al-Sane	Khaled Saoud Al Hassan
Group chairman	Board member and Group CEO

GIG in 2015

Share capital	61 718 985 USD
Turnover	613 484 790 USD
Total assets	1 215 723 339 USD
Shareholder’s equity	366 309 431 USD
Net result	53 006 655 USD
Non life net loss ratio⁽¹⁾	71%
Non life net expenses ratio⁽¹⁾	18.1%
Non life net combined ratio⁽¹⁾	89.1%
Number of branches in Kuwait	1 13
Number of subsidiaries in the MENA region	8

⁽¹⁾ including health

Management

Group chairman	Farqad Abdullah Al-Sane
Board member and Group CEO	Khaled Saoud Al Hassan
General manager	Tareq Abdulwahab Al Sahhaf
Deputy general manager, Property & Casualty	Anwar Salim Al Rafidi
Senior deputy general manager, finance	Raafat Attia Al Salamony
Assistant general manager, Information Technology	Thamer Ibrahim Arab
Executive manager, Reinsurance	Sridharan Sundaresan
Assistant general manager - Internal Branches, Production, and Takaful Unit	Ibrahim Zeinhom Mohammed Shaarawi

Main shareholders

Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO)	44.04%
Fairfax Financial Holding Limited	41.42%
Treasury shares	4.25%
Autres	10.29%

GIG: Main technical highlights (2011-2015)

in USD

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Gross written premiums ⁽¹⁾	481 451 733	516 428 197	557 433 126	593 775 606	613 484 790
Net written premiums⁽¹⁾	241 714 719	261 815 951	295 744 953	311 032 101	324 264 823
Net earned premiums⁽¹⁾	230 250 932	244 952 310	273 913 644	307 379 455	328 475 764
Non life net earned premiums ⁽¹⁾	195 645 054	202 717 894	228 739 638	252 760 718	274 209 625
Net loss ratio	155 283 143	182 989 787	208 608 033	234 217 962	238 478 668
Non life net loss ratio ⁽¹⁾	127 122 599	143 049 808	166 891 578	189 279 716	194 860 946
Management expenses	48 112 107	54 663 802	52 584 798	53 243 516	61 982 381
Non life management expenses ⁽¹⁾	44 599 286	50 560 542	48 587 213	49 205 647	58 632 325
Non life net loss ratio ⁽¹⁾	65%	70.6%	73%	74.9%	71%
Non life expenses ratio ⁽¹⁾⁽³⁾	18.4%	19.3%	16.4%	15.8%	18.1%
Non life net combined ratio⁽¹⁾	83.4%	89.9%	89.4%	90.7%	89.1%
Net underwriting result	35 414 834	30 965 474	30 139 736	29 226 716	40 628 898
Net result after tax	32 545 569	39 524 269	42 748 443	47 396 510	53 006 655

⁽¹⁾ net of reinsurance
⁽²⁾ including health ⁽³⁾ Expenses ratio = management expenses /written premiums net of reinsurance

GIG: evolution of premiums, losses and results (2011-2015)

in thousands USD GIG-premiums -losses-results

GIG: evolution of non life net ratios ⁽¹⁾ (2011-2015)

⁽¹⁾Including health

GIG: Breakdown of turnover per class of business (2011 - 2015)

in USD

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2015 shares
Motor	102 795 788	113 549 990	122 490 521	129 534 171	140 652 790	23%
Property damage	72 650 517	78 367 820	80 936 763	82 809 282	81 765 582	13.3%
Marine	34 322 788	30 724 470	27 554 387	29 042 135	28 997 456	4.7%
Engineering	40 958 841	30 306 693	35 143 669	40 550 175	45 597 716	7.4%
Accident	32 360 846	35 663 329	37 524 666	41 166 195	42 270 049	6.9%
Health	152 472 218	170 806 927	191 158 442	205 969 707	208 909 500	34.1%
Total non life	435 560 998	459 419 229	494 808 448	529 071 665	548 193 093	89.4%
Life	45 890 735	57 008 968	62 624 678	64 703 941	65 291 697	10.6%
Grand total	481 451 733	516 428 197	557 433 126	593 775 606	613 484 790	100%

Gulf Insurance Company: breakdown of 2015 turnover per class of business

GIG: net underwriting result per class of business (2011-2015)

in USD

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Motor	4 439 877	6 753 716	3 967 091	583 869	6 285 447
Property damage	2 983 338	1 698 797	1 613 916	1 677 493	3 023 254
Marine	4 868 336	5 455 605	7 034 300	6 895 741	6 009 323
Engineering	2 563 917	2 356 669	1 667 374	2 101 636	2 442 580
Accident	7 090 859	7 515 788	8 349 530	8 581 747	9 700 003
Health	12 884 535	4 059 192	8 371 126	8 179 897	10 433 745
Total non life	34 830 862	27 839 767	31 003 337	28 020 383	37 894 352
Life	583 972	3 125 707	- 863 601	1 206 333	2 734 546
Grand total	35 414 834	30 965 474	30 139 736	29 226 716	40 628 898

GIG: evolution of net underwriting result per class of business

GIG: net incurred losses per non life class of business (2011-2015)

in USD

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2015 shares
Motor	66 848 616	65 738 437	73 178 742	87 931 957	97 333 318	50%
Property damage	3 925 768	4 817 566	6 110 820	5 904 235	4 585 184	2.3%
Marine	1 813 988	512 071	745 594	1 106 306	1 433 891	0.7%
Engineering	1 501 271	1 693 774	3 752 942	2 763 407	3 537 306	1.8%
Accident	4 595 556	4 028 407	4 428 190	5 653 556	3 629 908	1.9%
Health	48 437 400	66 259 553	78 675 290	85 920 255	84 341 339	43.3%
Total non life	127 122 599	143 049 808	166 891 578	189 279 716	194 860 946	100%

GIG: net earned premiums per non life class of business (2011-2015)

in USD

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2015 shares
Motor	93 656 808	98 863 303	104 568 983	115 755 986	133 909 478	48.8%
Property damage	7 922 827	8 122 349	7 556 640	8 513 696	9 499 138	3.5%
Marine	6 122 926	6 033 030	6 234 538	6 117 342	6 430 096	2.3%
Engineering	4 566 293	3 901 811	4 587 561	4 731 770	6 465 173	2.4%
Accident	15 064 977	15 642 279	16 461 842	17 282 159	15 035 120	5.5%
Health	68 311 223	70 155 122	89 330 074	100 359 765	102 870 620	37.5%
Total non life	195 645 054	202 717 894	228 739 638	252 760 718	274 209 625	100%

GIG: net loss ratios per non life class of business (2011-2015)

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Motor	71.4%	66.5%	70%	76%	72.7%
Property damage	49.6%	59.3%	80.9%	69.3%	48.3%
Marine	29.6%	8.5%	12%	18.1%	22.3%
Engineering	32.9%	43.4%	81.8%	58.4%	54.7%
Accident	30.5%	25.8%	26.9%	32.7%	24.1%
Health	70.9%	94.4%	88.1%	85.6%	82%
Total non life	65%	70.6%	73%	74.9%	71.1%

GIG participation rate in its subsidiaires as at 31/12/2015

	Countries	Class of business	GIG share in the capital
Fajr Al Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance	Lebanon	Life and non life	92.69%
Arab Misr Insurance	Egypt	Non life	94.85%
Syrian Kuwait Insurance	Syria	Life and non life	54.35%
Bahrain Kuwaiti Insurance	Bahrain	Non life	56.12%
Arab Orient Insurance	Jordan	Non life	90.37%
Egypt Life Takaful Ins	Egypt	Life	59.5%
Dar Al-Salam Insurance	Iraq	Life and non life	51%
L’Algérienne des Assurances (2A)	Algeria	Non life	49%
Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance ⁽¹⁾	Kuwait	Life and non life	99.8%

Source: Figures extract from the different balance sheets of Gulf Insurance Group

Exchange rate KWD/USD as at 31/12	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Exchange rate KWD/USD as at 31/12	3.59635	3.5524	3.54962	3.42032	3.29979