Warba Insurance Company (WIC), established in 1976 as a Kuwait Shareholding Company, has added microinsurance to a list of its insurance products. WIC currently offers motor, marine cargo, group life, health, individual life, property, accident and travel insurance. The “Micro Insurance Policy” will provide life, accident and disability insurance, as well as repatriation benefits to low-income nationals and expatriates. The policy will provide compensation of KD 2,000 (USD 7,011) in case of death and KD 4000 (USD 14,022) in the case of death due to accident. It will also cover seven kinds of disability and expenses for transferring the remains of the dead to his home country up to KD 500 (USD 1,753). Mr. Anwar Al-Sabej, WIC’s Assistant General Manager, stated, “In spite of the current economic crisis, WIC’s Individual Life Division has recorded 68 percent growth in the number of policies and 157 percent growth in premiums up to October 2009 as compared to last year figures.”

By: Stefanie Rubin, Research Assistant

About Warba Insurance Company:

Warba was established in 1976 as a Kuwait Shareholding Company with the objective of underwriting insurance, reinsurance and related investment activities. It currently offers motor, marine cargo, group life, health, individual life, property, accident and travel insurance. As of Q1 2009, WIC reported a gross premium of KD 5.24 million (USD 18.4 million), net available profit of KD 14.5 million (USD 50.8 million) and share capital of KD 17.3 million (USD 60.7 million). It had an ROA of 1.9 percent and ROE of 3.6 percent.

Additional Resources:

Source Article: Kuwait Times: “Warba Insurance Unveils ‘Micro-Insurance Policy,’” http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20091124035835/Warba%20Insurance%20unveils%20′micro-insurance%20policy’%20

Warba Insurance Co.: http://www.warbaonline.com/aus.html