Insights Articles

Staying Protected in a Competitive Market: The risk of underinsurance for tourism/sports assets in GCC & MENA

December 11, 2025 | London, UK

As countries hosting large international sporting events start to de-risk capital exposures relating to investment in tourism and sporting infrastructure, the opportunity for re-insurers is substantial. After all, several major infrastructure projects are in the pipeline or under construction to accommodate the influx of spectators for World Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere in the MENA region, in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2026 and the FIFA World Cup 2030, Morocco is investing heavily in significant tourism assets and accompanying infrastructure. Alongside sports tourism, many GCC jurisdictions are pressing ahead with mega-projects to develop luxury tourism and lifestyle hubs. De-risking MENA’s ongoing capital exposures in the tourism and sport segments offers brokers and re-insurers growing opportunities in the region, as well as a chance to demonstrate to buyers the severe risks of underinsurance.

The capacity challenge: How can brokers overcome re-insurance scarcity in emerging markets?

November 14, 2025 | London, UK

Emerging markets present challenges for intermediaries as well as for re-insurers, especially in North Africa and the wider African continent. With those challenges, however, come opportunities to tap into and grow new market segments. After all, hurdles can often act as catalysts for innovation, especially in product development, the deployment of new technology and the formation of meaningful commercial partnerships. For brokers, one of the biggest challenges in emerging markets is the growing scarcity of suitable re-insurance support for new products, precisely at a time when demand for those products is rising. In short, despite a record volume of global re-insurance capital, re-insurance capacity is not always readily available to support demand or growth.

The future of UK Motor GAP insurance: can it survive regulation?

October 14, 2025 | London, UK

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has been in the spotlight recently for its focus on motor GAP insurance. Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance, is an adjunct to motor cover that insures the difference between a vehicle’s purchase price or outstanding finance, and its market value at the time of being written off. It has come to the attention of the FCA that GAP insurance might not be giving consumers fair value. One of the reasons is that a sizeable discrepancy in the ratio of claims value to premium income - data shows that only 6% of premiums revenue is paid out in claims, compared to a figure of around 65% for motor insurance. As a result of the FCA’s investigation, some 8 in 10 firms involved in the sale of GAP insurance were given little option but to pause sales in February 2024 at the FCA’s request.

How did 2024 treat small/mid-sized GCC insurers?

September 1, 2025 | London, UK

The overall picture for the insurance market across the GCC is one of growth, despite several challenges in 2024. For the full year 2024, the combined after-tax profit of around 80 listed insurers in the GCC reached US$ 2.1 billion, with average net profits rising by over 3%. Performance across the GCC’s six nations, however, remains uneven, and good top-line growth nevertheless hides a somewhat mixed bag when it comes to performance across the six national markets and within national markets. So what does the overall picture look like into 2025?

De-risking the beautiful game

July 2, 2025 | London, UK

In an increasingly complex and interconnected world characterised by deepening levels of unpredictability and uncertainty, the staging of large public events cannot be taken for granted. From security incidents and cyber-attacks to uncontrollable cascading faults, the eventuality that unforeseeable risk can hamstring – and even bankrupt – large public events, requires comprehensive risk assessment and mitigation. After all, an event’s ability to survive cancellation, abandonment or postponement depends on adequate mitigation in the form of tailored event-cancellation or interruption cover that addresses as many complex scenarios as possible.

Why is SME cyber cover crucial?

June 16, 2025 | London, UK

Cyber risk continues to dominate the MENA landscape, with a mixture of financial incentives, geopolitical agendas and bilateral disputes driving an increase in malicious and criminal cyber activity in the region. Yet despite growing dangers to businesses, there is still a large proportion of uninsured risk in the Gulf and North African regions, coupled with reinsurers’ inability to adequately assess risk and establish probable maximum loss.

How is scaling AI offering re/insurers opportunities?

May 14, 2025 | London, UK

Many re/insurers are finding it hard to unlock a global potential in artificial intelligence (AI) estimated by McKinsey to be in the region of US$ 4 trillion. This is perhaps not surprising, considering that AI and all its sub-sets cover a wealth of opportunity across enterprises and business sectors. As part of our on-going series examining the developing role and future potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the re/insurance industry, JENOA’s team of experts continues its analysis of the broader picture across AI’s various sub-sets.

Managing risk in an increasingly VUCA world

April 1, 2025 | London, UK

For insurers, volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) have long been at the heart of pricing risk; there would be little need for insurance without volatility and uncertainty, and risk managers would be few and far between if we lived in a world without complexity or ambiguity.

Middle East supply chains: What are the risks?

March 14, 2025 | London, UK

Geopolitics continues to cast a long shadow over both global and MENA supply chains, with ongoing geopolitical issues having caused a certain amount of disruption in the Red Sea and Bab-al-Mandeb Strait regions over the course of 2024. However, the fragility of supply chains is not caused exclusively by political uncertainty and conflict.

How brokers are best placed to drive further growth in the Takaful market

March 3, 2025 | London, UK

The traditional role of brokers worldwide has always been to act in the best interests of their clients, and when it comes to Takaful insurance, brokers – with their overview of a wide range of products – have been at the forefront of its growth and sustainability. As they develop the means to further educate clients in the nuances of Takaful insurance, brokers can continue to occupy centre stage and play a leading role in growing it even further.

INSIGHTS & NEWS

JENOA Insights

Staying Protected in a Competitive Market: The risk of underinsurance for tourism/sports assets in GCC & MENA

The capacity challenge: How can brokers overcome re-insurance scarcity in emerging markets?

The future of UK Motor GAP insurance: can it survive regulation?

How did 2024 treat small/mid-sized GCC insurers?

De-risking the beautiful game

Why is SME cyber cover crucial?

How is scaling AI offering re/insurers opportunities?

Managing risk in an increasingly VUCA world

Middle East supply chains: What are the risks?

How brokers are best placed to drive further growth in the Takaful market