Al Bayan Economic magazine, the specialized banking, insurance, and shipping pan-Arab monthly magazine, published its annual “MENA Insurers, Reinsurers and Reinsurance Brokers 2019 Ranking” special issue in which it ranks some 388 insurance companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region according to their written premiums for the year 2019. The issue also features the top 150 MENA insurance companies in terms of balance sheet size, capitalization, and profitability, in addition to a ranking of MENA reinsurance companies according to their respective written premiums, equity, and net profits and a ranking of MENA reinsurance brokers according to their written premiums. Qatar Insurance topped the list of MENA insurance companies in terms of written premiums in 2019 ($3,528.34 million), followed by the Saudi BUPA Arabia ($2,776.23 million), the Saudi Tawuniya ($2,233.56 million), the Kuwaiti Gulf Insurance Group ($1,299.30 million) and the Emirati Daman National Health ($1,250.00 million). In parallel, Qatar Insurance came in first in the region in terms of total assets ($10,828.30 million), shareholders’ equity ($2,807.00 million), and after-tax profits ($184.00 million).

From a concentration standpoint, Lebanon continued to house the largest number of insurance companies (49) in the MENA region for yet another consecutive year, followed by Egypt (41) and the UAE & Iraq (33 each), only to name a few. The major Lebanese insurance companies that surfaced on the list include: Arabia/Lebanon (MENA rank: 41), Medgulf (MENA rank: 44), Allianz SNA (MENA rank: 47), Bankers (MENA rank: 59) and Metlife Alico (MENA rank: 63).

The aggregate domestic written premiums of all Lebanese insurance companies stood at $1,695.19 million in 2019 down from $1,807.12 million in 2018, with their combined local profits reaching $45.42 million in 2019 down from $206.20 million in 2018.