The ACE Group of Companies has received approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to underwrite commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance in Bahrain.
The license was approved in June 2007 and ACE hopes to begin business operations in August. The property and casualty business will operate from the company’s representative office in Manama, which was licensed in November 2006.
The new business will write both domestic Bahraini business and facultative reinsurance throughout ACE’s Middle East and North Africa region, initially focusing on areas including large and/or complex property risks, casualty, power generation and directors & officers insurance. Further product lines will be added as the business develops.
The establishment of this branch and our ability to write local business with the backing of strong financial ratings is a key part of our strategy to develop our presence in the region, said Giles Ward, ACE’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. We intend to build on this quickly through the recruitment of underwriters and engineering expertise to deliver innovative and client focused insurance solutions.