Page 40 - 33 edition GAIF Post-Conference July 2022

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Dr. Mounir Kabban (President – UIB Holdings UK):
2020 & 2021 were one of our best years
and we are one of the very few independent
brokers involved in the space business

IB is a broker that cares about its clients, who benefit from an exceptional culturally sensitive
UUIB team. It offers extensive expertise in major insurance disciplines with a global presence
including strategic alliances with valued business partners. UIB is able to meet and exceed clients’
insurance needs no matter what time zone they are in. It is well known for negotiating competitive
terms, obtaining high levels of coverage and for its claim handling expertise. With a focus on high
ethical standards, professionalism and innovation, UIB is always able to deliver effective risk solu-
tions supported by personal service for which it has built an unrivalled reputation.
Al Bayan Magazine met Dr. Mounir Kabban, President of UIB Holdings UK and following is the
interview conducted.

• In your opinion, what is still needed to further increase the level of The Government has organized several work-shops with a number of
cooperation between the Arab insurance companies? organizations and guided them on the way to protect themselves.
- The cooperation between insurance, reinsurance and brokerage compa- As UIB, we have cyber protection. We buy our own cyber insurance and
nies within the Arab world is very important especially during these difficult numerous business entities are stating that cyber is one of the highest
times of Covid-19 and political upheaval. In fact, we have seen it here and risks for the world’s financial economy.
we had several meetings with various partners where we exchanged We have a team in London that specializes in Cyber and can offer the opti-
views about the state of the market and cooperation between different mum solution in the current challenging market.
organizations and this is extremely critical.
UIB Group Results
Russia produces about 5 to 6 percent of the world’s premium
(in the Energy sector) • What are the latest realizations of UIB Holdings?
- Our results were robust in the last three years despite Covid. Our expan-
• To what extent did the Russian-Ukrainian war had an effect on the sion, such as the opening of new offices has been put on hold due to the
insurance market in the region? pandemic. However now we have seen in the UK, and different parts of
- The Middle East is linked to the world; it is not separated from it. What the world that Covid seems to be more or less abating.
happened in Russia and Ukraine is a disaster. The London market, which We are experiencing Covid cases but not as dramatic as when it started
is considered the main reinsurance market in the world, has been affect- two years ago. The world economy has been affected; we are seeing infla-
ed very much. We have an important amount of business especially in the tion because of Covid and the cost of energy. Governments around the
oil & gas, energy and aviation fields that is not going to London anymore. world have borrowed heavily to support their economies and labour forces
As UIB, we have been very much affected by these events because we during the pandemic. At one time and for several months, the British gov-
are handling significant aviation and space businesses from Russia and ernment was paying the salary for eleven million people so that these peo-
Ukraine. UIB is an independent broker and we are one of the very few ple were not made redundant. At UIB, fortunately our results were not
such brokers dealing in the space business. We have been involved in affected but on the contrary 2020 and 2021 were two of our best years due
several launches to the International Space Station. to the state of the market. We haven’t lost accounts and people continued
to require insurance. Things only slowed down a little bit in coverages
Cyber is one of the highest risks for the world’s financial related to major construction, especially as it is a significant part of our
economy activities around the world. In the last five months we started returning to
the market when it comes to construction. Recently, we handled some
• In your opinion, climate change and cyber security are an opportu- major projects in the Middle East worth in the Region of 4 billion dollars
nity or a challenge for the insurance sector? and some countries especially those that produce oil and gas have start-
- Cyber is becoming a very important issue. As a broker in London, we ed to reinvest in construction business with the price of oil and gas
have been assisted by the British government in protecting our business. going up.

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