Continental Group, a leading insurance intermediary and financial services solutions provider in the UAE, saw a significant rise in premiums from the insurance and investments segments in 2013 and is expecting to see these figures improve in the year ahead.

The overall premiums rose significantly in 2013 which helped them post strong growth in comparison to 2012, said a senior official.

"We want to carry forward the success from last year into 2014, and continue to expand our business portfolio. Our family of clients has enabled us to grow extensively in 2013 by driving growth in almost every area of our business," remarked Ashok Sardana, the managing director.

"Single premiums have seen strong growth along with our life insurance segment. The Life and Savings segments have grown by 42 per cent while our investments portfolio grew by 80 per cent," he added.

Sardana said this year seems to be a very promising one for the company. "There are a few developments that we are excited about, especially the new mandatory health insurance policy introduced in Dubai, which signals a potential business opportunity for us. Additionally with the new insurance authority laws being put into place, we expect to see consolidation in the industry," he added.

The UAE is the largest insurance market in the GCC and has one of the most developed life insurance markets in the region.
The global financial crisis had a substantial impact on the property and motor insurance industry, however with the economy strengthening it brings significant potential to the personal and commercial market.

As investments in the real estate sector continue to rise, it boosts the need for insurance coverage. Motor insurance is also thriving in the UAE due to the high levels of vehicle ownership and continued growth for the automobile sector.

"Apart from business growth, we also plan on expanding our operations and increasing our workforce," stated Sardana.

"Recently, we have setup our new office in Jumeirah Lake Towers, where we will continue to strive and build an organization geared to provide a world class service experience to our clients. We have invested heavily into building our technology infrastructure with a view to raise our standard of service," he added.-TradeArabia News Service