Property Insurance on the Rise in Qatar

Wednesday 8 June 2016, Amsterdam

A new report, now available on ASDReports, foresees a bright future for property insurance in Qatar, fuelled by projected infrastructure spending ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and investment in the non-oil sectors in order to diversify the economy.

Property insurance is expected to remain the largest in the non-life insurance sector over the next couple of years, to value QAR6.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) by 2019. In the last five years, the category’s gross written premium skyrocketed from QAR1.8 billion (US$500 million) in 2010 to QAR4.3 billion (US$1.2 billion) in 2014, at a CAGR of 24.0%.

Investment in construction projects will drive property insurance

The growth of property insurance will be influenced by an increased investment in construction activity, propelled by real estate and infrastructure and development in particular. The country is also looking to diversify its economy, with the government planning to spend QAR546.1 billion (US$150.0 billion) on infrastructure projects, as well as allocating more budget to non-oil sectors.

Qatar will also be the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The successful World Cup bid is accelerating large-scale infrastructure projects such as metro and light rail systems, the construction of roads, ports, stadia and related sporting infrastructure. Qatar’s real GDP is expected to rise from QAR280.9 billion (US$77.2 billion) in 2014 to QAR368.3 billion (US$101.2 billion) in 2019, at a CAGR of 5.6%.

The Qatari government plans to start investing in the non-oil sectors – an initiative that is also expected to support growth in property insurance. In 2015, India entered into a bilateral agreement with Qatar to invest in the country's infrastructure and information technology sectors as part of the Qatar 2030 vision initiative.