New Report Projects That Non-Life Premiums in Kuwait Will Grow 15% in the Next Four...

New Report Projects That Non-Life Premiums in Kuwait Will Grow 15% in the Next Four Years

DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c88887) has announced the
addition of Kuwait Insurance Report Q1 2008 to their offering.

The Kuwait Insurance Report provides independent forecasts and
competitive intelligence on Kuwaits insurance industry.

This report differs from its predecessors in that it includes
BMI's Insurance Business Environment Rating (IBER). The rating brings
together a number of pieces of relevant quantitative data, together
with BMI's Country Risk Rating (CRR). It is now much easier to
consider the business environment for the insurance sector in any one
country relative to the business environment for other industries in
that country that are surveyed by BMI, and the business environment
for the insurance sector in other countries.

Kuwait's IBER is 45.3. Relative to other countries in Middle East
and Africa, it is a moderately attractive insurance market for foreign
insurers. Within the region, Kuwait stands out for the country
structure score on the IBER, this is the result of high scores for
financial risk, external risk and policy continuity. However, the IBER
is held back by the underdevelopment of the life segment and non-life
segment as well as GDP volatility.

Over the forecast period, we anticipate that non-life premiums
will grow by 15% annually in local currency terms and by 15% in US
dollar terms. Life premiums are expected to increase by 10% annually
in local currency terms and by 11% in US dollar terms. The key drivers
of growth in the non-life segment in 2007-2012 are the anticipated
rise in nominal GDP from around US$103bn to US$130bn and an expected
increase in non-life penetration from 0.53% of GDP to 1.00%. The key
driver of growth in the life segment is the envisaged rise in life
density from a miniscule US$65.06 per capita in 2007 to US$90 per
capita in 2012, and the rise in population from 2.99mn to 3.62mn.

Although Kuwait's life segment is growing very rapidly from a very
low base, its small absolute size, and the entrenched positions of the
local firms mean that other cross-border firms are unlikely to enter
the market. In both life and non-life segments, takaful insurance
appears to be better developed in Kuwait than in other markets in the
region. Kuwait may emerge as a significant centre for takaful.
However, in this respect, it faces competition from the UAE and
Bahrain.

The bulk of exports - namely oil - are denominated in US dollars,
and since January 2003 the country has maintained an explicit peg
against the US dollar, limiting any convertibility risk. This
contributes increasing the IBER for country structure. However, oil
accounts for almost 50% of GDP, more than 80% of government revenues,
and over 90% of total export earnings, with the non-oil economy still
relatively under-developed. This makes Kuwait highly vulnerable to
exogenous shocks, especially in relation to world oil prices.
Similarly, the extreme volatility of has a negative impact on Kuwait's
IBER.

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The Sector At A Glance
Table: Overview Of Kuwait's Insurance Sector
Key Insights On Kuwait's Insurance Sector

Kuwait Insurance Industry SWOT
Key Features Of This Report

Latest News
Projections And Forecasts
Table: Premiums - Historical Data And Forecasts
Projections And Drivers Of Growth
Table: Growth Drivers

Country Update
Macroeconomic Outlook
Table: Kuwait - Economic Activity

Political Outlook
Insurance Business Environment Ratings
Table: Kuwait - Insurance Business Environment Indicators
Table: Middle East And Africa Insurance Business Environment Rankings

Regional Context
Table: Non-Life Premiums In A Regional Context, 2007
Table: Life Premiums In A Regional Context, 2007
Table: Comparison Of Major Lines As % Non-Life Premiums, 2006 (%)

Analysis Of Competitive Conditions
Kuwait - Non-Life Segment
Table: Presence Of Cross-Border Insurers, Non-Life, Middle East And
Africa
Kuwait - Life Segment
Table: Presence Of Cross-Border Insurers, Life, Middle East And Africa

Methodology
Basis Of Projections
Insurance Business Environment Rating
Table: Insurance Business Environment Indicators And Rationale
Table: Weighting Of Indicators
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For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c88887

Source: Business Monitor International

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax: +353 1 4100 980

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