Where are you seeing the strongest sales this year both within the GCC region and in terms of products?
The GCC region clearly remains underinsured with low levels of life insurance penetration and so generally continues to offer very attractive growth opportunities.
This also applies to UAE’s life insurance sector, where the opport-unities to grow personal and corp-orate life insurance are high in the rapidly evolving sector, despite a slower economy owing to the low oil price environment.
We believe that even if oil prices remain low, this will not affect the economic growth of the UAE, and in turn will not have a major impact on the insurance market, owing to continued introduction of compulsory insurance products and the low penetration rates.
The country is also moving quickly to claim its place in the Shariah-compliant financial industry, and is well positioned and committed to play a leading role in the region as a centre of compliant products and services, as well as expertise.
In terms of products, we expect to see a surge in savings and investment products that are offered via a variety of distribution channels, including face-to-face, banks, direct marketing and brokers.
What factors are driving that demand in the GCC?
Regional stability and economic prosperity are the key driving forces behind this growing demand, combined with the current low insurance penetration in the GCC.
The region’s growing middle-class population, including expats, creates attractive opportunities for MetLife to bring in our global expertise and best practices to the markets.
Global insurers are refocusing their efforts on the emerging markets, and the Gulf is a perfect example.
The life insurance industry in many of the Gulf markets has seen double-digit growth and, given the consistent solid results in the region, competition should continue to grow with new market entrants.
MetLife in the Gulf closed 2014 on a high note, with unparalleled top-line and bottom-line results and substantial sales through the following channels: face to face, bancassurance, direct marketing and employee benefits through brokers.
Are there any areas in which sales have fallen this year?
There has been growth in every product area this year. We expect to maintain our strong current rate of growth achieved in the past two years. Our long history in the region, as well as our focus on customer-centricity and efforts to maintain differentiation, sets us apart from the competition.
The growth is anticipated to continue, owing to the new law requiring compulsory health insurance for all Dubai residents, which is scheduled to be implemented by the middle of next year. This will also be a key driver for the industry.
How does your company diff-erentiate from its competitors in the UAE?
With the GCC’s increasing development comes greater competition, and MetLife recognises that to sustain strong sales growth momentum we have to maintain our differentiation from competitors and focus on our value proposition.
We believe our ability to tailor-make and facilitate the customer journey, along with our competitive product mix, diversified distribution channels and our strong global know-how supported by local implementation, differentiates us within the marketplace.
A truly customer-centric organisation is not just about providing the best products and solutions to meet customers’ needs. It also means a very strong focus on customer experience and introducing customer-friendly technology to support our multi-channel distribution platform, which allows us to cater to all market segments and needs.
