The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) has revealed its successful participation at this year’s Dubai Marine Insurance Conference. The conference recently gathered decision makers, experts, and pioneers in the marine insurance, trade and shipping sectors at the Queen Elizabeth II Hotel in Port Rashid, Dubai to discuss new industry trends that are currently affecting the local and global trade and shipping sectors.
Its participation formed part of its continuous commitment to the development of the marine insurance industry, drawing on the experience of Dubai and the UAE as a leading global center for shipping cargo and export and re-export goods.
Khalid Meftah, Director of Business Development, DMCA, said: “The Dubai Marine Insurance Conference gave stakeholders an opportunity to tackle emerging trends and sustainable solutions that will bring the sector to a new level of growth driven by innovation and technology in line with the 21st century requirements.”
He also stressed the importance of combining local and international efforts to improve marine insurance, which provides a reliable mechanism to accelerate the growth of the local shipping segment that now accounts for 80 per cent of the total volume of the global shipping sector. He pointed out that Dubai and the UAE are now an influential force on the global maritime insurance map. Total marine insurance premiums in the UAE insurance market reached AED1.1 billion in 2017, up by 10 per cent compared to 2016. During the same period, the country saw a 3.5 per cent increase in in total property and liability insurance premiums.
Meftah added: “National companies are a major contributor to the development of the local marine insurance sector, taking a 71 per cent market share in 2017 while 29 per cent was occupied by foreign insurance subsidiaries. The growth of the marine insurance reflects the success of the national polices supporting the overall development of the maritime industry, an important sector in the emirate’s economic diversification and post-oil strategies.”
“The DMCA is fully committed to continue to share its successful experiences with the world in the hope of strengthening local and international partnerships with the government and private sectors. We will continuously strive to find new and innovative ways to promote marine insurance, in line with our aspirations to build a safe, renewable and sustainable maritime sector that supports the overall development process of Dubai,” Meftah concluded.