Bahrain's insurance industry consists of conventional and Islamic (takaful) companies which serve both the onshore and offshore insurance markets, primarily Saudi Arabia. The conventional onshore segment consists of 10 locally-incorporated firms, 8 full branches and 6 representative offices of foreign insurance companies. The takaful segment has 2 companies.
In addition, there is a substantial number of firms with licenses limiting their business to the off-shore market, including 39 conventional firms and 9 takaful companies. These companies serve other regional markets in the Gulf, capitalizing on Bahrain's leadership role in this field.
The insurance industry is well served by a number of ancillary service providers such as brokers (33), actuaries (10), insurance consultants and loss adjusters, whose presence in the industry further supports Bahrain's position as the regional insurance centre.
The industry has been growing steadily in recent years, mirroring the growth of Bahrain's financial sector - the increased access to financial services and products has led to demand for insurance services.
A notable development in recent years has been international insurers developing their regional operations, many of whom have chosen Bahrain as their regional base, that included during 2006 AIG, ACE, Hannover Re and Lloyd’s brokers PWS. Many of these are focusing on takaful, or Islamic insurance, which is beginning to emerge as the new area of market growth.
The Central Bank of Bahrain's predecessor organization, the Bahrain Monetary Agency, undertook a major project during 2003-04 to develop a comprehensive insurance rulebook, in line with IAIS core principles, following the BMA's assumption of responsibility for regulating and supervising the insurance sector. This rulebook was launched in April 2005, and put in place the most comprehensive regulatory framework in the region for insurance activities.
The CBB publishes an annual report on the developments in the Insurance industry >