American International Group (AIG), a leading insurance company, has opened four new branches in Oman.

The branches, located in Nizwa, Ibri, Salalah and Sur, will allow AIG to further expand its business in the Sultanate where it has been active for the past 14 years, said a statement.

AIG’s core focus in Oman will be to broaden its existing customer base and grow its market share, through the introduction of new products and services across both its retail and corporate segments.

A further element of AIG’s expansion strategy in the Sultanate will be the development of its business through Bancassurance, building on its successful partnership with Bank Muscat.

AIG has a 10-year strategic Bancassurance agreement with Bank Muscat, under which the company is the exclusive provider of non-life insurance products to Bank Muscat customers in Oman. The exclusive long-term agreement with Bank Muscat is one of the widest-reaching Bancassurance distribution partnerships in the GCC.

In keeping with its strong commitment to develop local talent, AIG also plans to further invest in a new training academy and will introduce world-class learning and development training programmes for its local staff and distribution partners in Oman.

The new training academy will be based in Muscat and will play an important role in developing the overall Omani insurance sector and further enhancing customer service.

AIG will also increase its own Omanisation rate, which is already at 85 per cent against a requirement of 65 per cent for the insurance sector. The training academy will help local Omani staff better navigate their role within AIG by giving them the requisite skills and competencies to develop and progress their careers.

Besides investing in physical ‘bricks and mortar’ offices, AIG will also invest in the greater application of customer service technology.

Ahmed Ali Al Mamari, director general of Insurance Supervision at the Capital Market Authority, said: “The opening of these new full
service branches is a reflection of AIG‟s commitment to build insurance awareness and improve the image of insurance in the interior regions of Oman.

“Opening such branches will enhance the competition among insurance companies to develop the level of insurance coverage and quality of service provided to their clients. Moreover, opening branches outside the capital area will help insurance companies‟ clients to get more convenient claim services.”

Neelmani Bhardwaj, general manager at AIG Oman, said: “This significant expansion of our presence represents an exciting opportunity to grow AIG‟s business, and the wider Omani insurance industry. Considering the current insurance penetration rate in Oman as a proportion of GDP is only around one per cent, compared to the global average of approximately seven per cent, we believe Oman is a highly attractive market for all our AIG product lines.

“As we have seen in other markets, the secret of our success remains our commitment to invest in our business for the long term, which also involves playing an active, positive role in the local communities that we serve.” - TradeArabia News Service