The Bahrain insurance market experienced strong growth during 2012, with gross premiums increasing by around 9 percent over 2011 to register $634 million, according to the Central Bank of Bahrain.
A significant part of this increase can be attributed to a surge in long-term insurance, which registered growth of around 14 percent.
Motor insurance represented a significant portion of the insurance business, representing almost 26 percent of total premiums.
Abdul Rahman Al Baker, executive director of financial institution supervision at the central bank, said: "The insurance sector in Bahrain holds tremendous promise for growth, as demonstrated by the industry's strong performance not only during 2012 but also during the past five years. Bahrain is fast becoming a hub for major regional and international reinsurance."
By end of 2012, Bahrain's domestic insurance market was made up of 26 locally incorporated firms and 11 branches of overseas insurance firms.
These businesses are active in insurance, reinsurance and captive insurance in Bahrain, which also boasted one captive in 2012.
Takaful insurance, which is a form of insurance that respects Islamic law, has also experienced strong growth in terms of gross contributions. It registered $142 million in 2012 compared to $116 million in 2011.
Gross contributions of takaful firms, of which there were seven, represented around 22 percent of the total gross premiums in Bahrain in 2012.
By end of 2012, there were five conventional reinsurance and two retakaful firms in Bahrain. The gross premiums of reinsurance and retakaful firms stood at $801 million in 2012 compared to $926 million in 2011, a decrease of around 11 percent.
Al Baker said: "We expect the insurance sector to continue its growth in the coming years, mainly due to the increase in the public awareness on the importance of the insurance products in general, as well as the surge in the economic growth of the kingdom and the soundness of regulatory and supervisory framework of the insurance sector in Bahrain."
