Industry veteran Abdullatif Janahi has won the "Industry Leadership Award" and AXA Insurance (Gulf) the 2014 Middle East Insurance Forum (MEIF) Institutional Excellence Award.

The awards were given at a ceremony held on the sidelines of the Middle East Insurance Forum at Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

They recognise individuals and institutions that have made significant contributions to the advancement of the Middle East insurance industry.

Central Bank of Bahrain executive director for financial institutions supervision Abdul Rahman Al Baker presented the awards to the winners, with AXA Gulf and Middle East regional chief executive Jerome Droesch receiving it on behalf of the company.

Recognised for his outstanding contribution to the regional insurance industry, Janahi is one of the pioneers in Islamic economy, Islamic banking and Islamic insurance and has made significant contributions towards promoting the idea and concept of Islamic banking, Islamic insurance and Islamic reinsurance in the region.

He has also led the establishment of a number of banks, financial institutions and insurance and reinsurance companies in the region.

The MEIF Institutional Excellence Award recognises a leading institution that has demonstrated outstanding achievements and institutional excellence in major performance areas.

AXA Insurance was chosen from a shortlist of nominees through a unique industry-based voting system.

"We have been pooling resources, sharing best practices and leveraging international capabilities to benefit from expertise in terms of our differentiated and comprehensive offering, efficient multi-channel distribution and sound risk management practices," stated Droesch.

"We have placed our customers at the heart of our strategy and have delivered segmented and compelling solutions to answer each of their needs," he added.-TradeArabia News Service