The General Arab Insurance Federation - GAIF

Atlas Magazine has risen to this occasion by introducing this important regional institution, its structures, members, missions and objectives. Readers are also fitted with an overview analysis of the Federation's markets.

Establishment of the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF)

In the early 1960s, the MENA zone ⁽¹⁾ was undergoing major upheaval, with the independence of many of the region's countries, giving rise to a new geopolitical space.

This created a need for cooperation between the various entities of this regional cluster, wrapped around a common language.

Back then, local insurance markets were in an embryonic state, with few companies, weak structures, a legal framework mostly borrowed from European countries and a glaring absence of high-level national skills, with Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria playing a leading role in the region.

It was in this context that the General Arab Insurance Federation, an emanation of the Arab League ⁽²⁾, was established in 1964 in Cairo (Egypt) with a view to federating the insurance and reinsurance companies of a vast area stretching from Iraq to Morocco through a common organization. Its main objectives include the development of local markets, regional cooperation, the strengthening of regulation and the supervision of the insurance sector.

From its permanent headquarters in Cairo, GAIF, endowed with legal personality and administrative and financial independence, has been working for 60 years to develop links between its members, initiating market studies and research, organizing training sessions and encouraging local skills.

⁽¹⁾ Middle East and Africa.
⁽²⁾ The Arab League (formally the League of Arab States) was established in 1945 in Cairo.

Mandate of the General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF)

The GAIF's main objective is to develop the local insurance industry and consolidate cooperation between member countries. Its commitment consists in:

• supporting the development of member countries' markets,
• increasing and promoting links between its members and international organizations,
• coordinating insurance activities,
• defending the interests of the organization's members,
• promoting insurance.

The pursuit of the objectives assigned to the General Arab Insurance Federation is carried out by a set of entities, initiated by the organization's permanent headquarters in Cairo.

GAIF organization

GAIF’s activities revolve around six main entities, each of which performs specific functions.

The General Conference

The General Conference, standing for the Federation’s supreme authority, is tasked with defining the organization's policy and decide on its action plan, ensuring that all the objectives assigned to its entities are achieved.

The biennial General Conference is made up of representatives from all the Federation's member countries. The host country is chosen by vote. To date, 33 General Assemblies have been held.

The first constituent General Conference took place in September 1964 in Egypt, while the most recent one was held in Algiers in June 2022. The 2024 session is due to take place in February 2024 in Oman, which hosted the 24th General Conference in 2002.

Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon have each hosted four General Assemblies, while Libya, Qatar, Somalia, Yemen, Mauritania and Palestine have yet to do so.

The Board

The Board is GAIF's second most important body. It comprises 20 members, one representative from each insurance market, with the Board meeting taking place once a year in Cairo.

The Board is entrusted:

• to supervise the Federation's activities,
• to monitor the implementation of decisions taken by the General Conference,
• to propose long-term plans,
• to devise an annual work program.

The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee plays a major role within the organization. It comprises:

• The President,
• The Vice-President,
• The representative of the country that will organize the next conference,
• The representative of the headquarters country,
• 2 members elected at the first council meeting after the handover of the presidency,
• The SG as rapporteur.

The Executive Committee, meeting at least once every four months, is mainly tasked to implement the Board's directives. It is also entrusted with:

• the accession of new members,
• the examination of the budget, accounts and balance sheets drawn up by the General Secretary,
• the supervision of the activities of the technical committees,
• the monitoring of internal regulations and administrative and financial procedures.

The current executive committee is composed of:

• Youcef Benmicia: GAIF’s President and President of the executive committee.
• Lassad Zarrouk: GAIF’s Vice-President and Vice-President of the Executive Committee.
• Chakib Abuzaid: GAIF’s Secretary General.

These three officials are joined by four other members.

The General Secretariat

The General Secretariat is the driving force behind the organization, acting as its executive arm and implementing the resolutions and decisions taken by the General Conference and the Executive Committee. It is also tasked with the Federation's financial management.

It comprises, in particular, a Secretary General and an Assistant Secretary General.

Chakib Abuzaid currently holds the position of Secretary-General. In 2019, he took over from Abdelkhalek Raouf Khalil, who had held the post from 1999 to 2019.

Committees / Leagues

The General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) has several technical committees specialized in particular fields and tasked with making proposals and submitting them to the Executive Committee.

There are currently six technical committees:

• Insurance Marine and Aviation Committee,
• Non Marine Insurance Committee,
• Life & Takaful Insurance Committee,
• Motor Insurance & Arab Unified Bureaux Committee,
• Health Insurance Committee,
• Arab Reinsurance Committee.

Technical committees

GAIF has three technical groups, each of which is dedicated to a particular area of expertise such as:

• brokerage,
• regulation,
• actuarial.

The Arab Insurance Broker League

Established in 2008 in Damascus, Syria, the Arab Insurance Broker League has 47 members, including 41 members from Arab broker associations and brokerage companies, as well as 6 independent brokers.

Its aim is to raise market awareness of the role of intermediaries. It is also in charge of establishing an institutional framework to promote insurance intermediation.

The league's executive committee meets twice a year and holds one general conference a year.

The Arab Insurance Regulations League

Established in 2009 in Amman, Jordan, the League has 37 members from 14 countries. It includes Arab insurance law associations, lawyers, insurance regulators, academics, as well as judges, lawyers and legal advisors.

This entity's role is to carry out legal studies in collaboration with similar entities, coming up with solutions to disputes and providing legal advice to the organization's members. It can also propose regulatory provisions on insurance and reinsurance.

Its main objective is to ensure the consistency of insurance regulations in the region.

As with brokers, the regulatory group meets once every six months and holds one general conference a year.

The Arab Actuaries League

Established in 2023 in Beirut, Lebanon, this organization brings together associations of Arab actuaries and independent actuaries. Its mission is to strengthen cooperation and encourage the exchange of skills and experience through the organization of conferences and workshops. It also endeavors to encourage Arab actuaries to adopt international professional standards and foster innovation.

The Arab Actuaries Organization plans to set up a training platform in the near future. Developed in cooperation with the Egyptian Insurance Training Institute, this platform will enable actuaries to obtain certification from international bodies.