Multaqa meaning ‘meeting place’ is also known to be the Middle East (Re)insurance Rendezvous. Being just around the corner, Sinchita Mukherjee from ta’ameen Qatar speaks to the eminent players of the industry to find out what the expectations are from the highbrow and much awaited event-is the scope for the rendezvous just to talk about the opportunities and challenges or would it extend beyond that?

“What keeps a CEO awake at night? Losses certainly, but also planning for the future whilst balancing the conflicting demands of regulators, reinsurers, shareholders and the rating agencies. For this group, the shareholders and the board members must be the principle audience and their main concern is growth and producing more profits. We see a growing imbalance between the largest companies who are finding routes to expand and grow through M&A, diversification and economies of scale compared to smaller companies. The current level of competition on original business is such that companies cannot afford to stand still and would need to identify areas to differentiate their pricing and grow their profitable accounts.”

WORDS/ Christopher Pleasant MD MENA Guy Carpenter & Co Ltd.

“The Multaqa now is in its stage of maturity and has grown attracting a great number of multinational company executives. At the Multaqa, I would hope to see where we are heading in terms of providing protection in respect to new laws such as STRATA in the UAE and compulsory insurances such as health in the GCC. STRATA takes care of homeowners’ association insurances, which is a new concept and has been imported to our region. I assume that it will be implemented heavily in the region beginning with the GCC. Recent fires in a number of buildings have demonstrated that such compulsory covers for homeowners will be needed to safeguard the society.”

“The Multaqa now is in its stage of maturity and has grown attracting a great number of multinational company executives. At the Multaqa, I would hope to see where we are heading in terms of providing protection in respect to new laws such as STRATA in the UAE and compulsory insurances such as health in the GCC. STRATA takes care of homeowners’ association insurances, which is a new concept and has been imported to our region. I assume that it will be implemented heavily in the region beginning with the GCC. Recent fires in a number of buildings have demonstrated that such compulsory covers for homeowners will be needed to safeguard the society.”

WORDS/Fareed Lutfi Group Director Insurance Services Dubai Holding

“Catlin Re is considering the MENA reinsurance market. Being a new player to the region, we first of all expect to learn and understand more from the Multaqa. In that regard, Multaqa Qatar 2013 is an excellent platform. It will provide us with additional insights and networking opportunities with potential partners from the insurance and reinsurance sector. The programme looks exciting and promises to offer an attractive blend of senior global and regional speakers as well as views from both the (re)insurance and the corporate sectors. We will also make extensive use of the top-class meeting facilities offered by the conference.”

WORDS/Peter Schmidt CEO Catlin Re Switzerland

“The world’s mature insurance markets face a triple challenge of sluggish economic and premium growth, persistently low investment returns and unabated regulatory pressure.

Multaqa Qatar 2013 will be an ideal platform to examine these challenges from both a regional and global point of view. To which extent will the MENA region manage to decouple from these global trends? What is the regional outlook for rates and profitability? What are the opportunities and challenges that arise from industry consolidation, market liberalisation and the move towards risk-based capital regimes in the MENA region – for both foreign and domestic insurance and reinsurance companies? There will be no shortage of exciting discussion topics at the Multaqa!”

WORDS/ Dr Kai-Uwe Schanz Chairman of Multaqa Qatar and Partner of Dr. Schanz, Alms & Company

“On March 11 2013, the curtain will rise for the 7th Annual Multaqa Qatar conference, the flagship event of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority. As in the past, we have put together a compelling agenda to showcase the burgeoning insurance and reinsurance sector in the MENA region and discuss its interrelation with the global risk markets. This year’s panel of speakers again includes H.E. Yousef Hussain Kamal, Minister of Economy and Finance of Qatar as well as Abdulrahman Ahmad Al-Shaibi, Managing Director and Board Member of the QFC Authority. More than 450 expected attendees are testimony to the growing attractiveness of Multaqa Qatar as the industry’s key platform and networking event in the MENA region. In addition to enjoying compelling presentations and discussions, our delegates will discover the best of Qatar’s business and cultural environment.”

WORDS/Akshay Randeva Director Strategic Development, Qatar Financial Centre Authority

“Multaqa Qatar exemplifies Qatar’s commitment towards building a vibrant insurance and reinsurance sector. We believe that the sector is vital in facilitating the transformation of Qatar into a modern, diversified economy as well as enable Qatar in deepening and broadening the country’s financial markets. Multaqa Qatar is a unique platform for us to harness regional and global dialogue and thought-leadership to promote the development of Qatar’s insurance and reinsurance sector.”

WORDS/ Shashank Srivastava CEO and Board Member of the QFC Authority