Oman Qatar Insurance Company’s net profit went up 13 per cent in FY 2019. CEO, Navin Kumar talks about the company’s performance, focus on expanding its digital footprint and the industry outlook for 2020

Oman Qatar Insurance Company, a premier insurance company in Oman and a subsidiary of Qatar Insurance Group, maintained its strong performance in FY 2019, a year in which the industry was marred by strong economic headwinds.

According to the initial unaudited results of the company disclosed at Muscat Securities Market, the gross written premium for the reporting period ended December 31, 2019 has increased to RO28.942mn, marking a robust rise of 2 per cent, compared to RO28.269mn during the corresponding period in 2018. The net profit of the company stood at RO1.295mn, marking an increase of 13 per cent compared to RO1.142mn in 2018.

“In a year when business environment continued to be sluggish, we maintained our growth both in the bottom line and the top line,” says Navin Kumar, CEO of the company. “It’s a positive sign. We are optimistic that we will continue to grow both in our top line and bottom line in 2020 and beyond.”

Mostly, the growth in 2019 stemmed from non-motor and corporate segments,” Kumar added, “Our overall premium during the year amounted to RO28.9mn of which non-motor alone constituted over RO20mn.”

The company, which further strengthened its domestic footprint in Oman by opening a new corporate office and several new branches in 2018, now has ten full-service branches across Oman. “We are confident that our customers will immensely benefit from the multitude of services offered across our branches,” says Kumar.

In life and medical business, the company eyes potential growth opportunities, especially with the introduction of mandatory health insurance scheme being mobilised in Oman. “We will continue to develop this portfolio with the right selection of profitable accounts. Recently we have won a significant medical account with over 10,000 members,” says Navin Kumar.

OQIC delivers innovative retail solutions for home, travel and car insurance to every segment of its customer base. The company provides its services to some of the large public and private sector companies in energy, aviation, construction and engineering, media, logistics sectors in the Sultanate. Recently the company has entered into a contract with a leading Refinery to provide corporate insurance services.

Talking about the company’s outlook for 2020, the CEO added, “We believe in a steady growth. We have to be cautiously optimistic especially at a time when rates are plummeting, and margins are decreasing. Coupled with this is Oman’s exposure to natural catastrophes. Therefore, we have to be selective in choosing the right kind of risks. For 2020, we have a mandate from our group management to concentrate on bottom line-driven growth. In 2019, we managed to grow our net profit around 13 per cent and in 2020 also we are expecting to maintain that growth in
the bottom line.”

Digital pioneer

OQIC, a pioneer in introducing cutting-edge digital services in Oman’s insurance sector, is looking to launch its mobile app in 2020. This will help the company make a giant leap towards its strategic goal of becoming the insurer of choice for customers across the Sultanate.

OQIC’s Insurance On-Call services, the first of its kind in the Sultanate, helped it enhance its presence in remote areas and small towns by offering direct services to the customers. Kumar says, “While we continue to renew our efforts towards optimising our online portal, we have always ensured to widen our network of branches and kiosks with the aim to make it more convenient and be better accessible to our customers across all the strategic locations in Oman.”

A testament to the resounding success of the company’s customer-centric and technologically progressive approach towards its products and services was the Best Corporate Brand Award in the MENAA region which was conferred on OQIC in 2019.