Lester, Rodney2012-03-192012-03-192011-03-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3374This paper studies the causes of the low development of the insurance sector in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, particularly for long term insurance. The paper shows that life and non-life premiums, as well as assets, are very low relative to expected levels given per capita income and demographic characteristics, and examines the causes of such poor performance. There is a wide range of factors constraining the development of the industry, including the absence of mandatory insurance in key areas, the predominant presence of the state in some countries, gaps in regulation and supervision, unsupportive tax regimes, fragmented market structures, a chronic lack of suitably skilled people, as well as the absence of products that conform with cultural/religious preferences, especially in the case of life insurance. The lack of development of the insurance sector is a matter of concern, as research shows that the sector can contribute to both financial and economic development. Key recommendations to accelerate the development of the sector include wider introduction of mandatory insurance lines that have clear positive externalities, continuing the privatization process for government owned insurers, employing non capital techniques to force rationalization of insurance sectors with too many small and inefficient players, removing tax distortions, taking steps to stabilize motor third party liability markets (typically the largest line of business), strengthening reporting and disclosure, regulating banc-assurance, improving consumer protection, further developing Takaful long term insurance ('Family Insurance'), and establishing regional centers of excellence for skills development.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCIDENT INSURANCEACCOUNTINGACCOUNTING STANDARDSADMINISTRATIVE AUTONOMYAGENTSALLOCATIONALLOWANCESAMOUNT OF CAPITALARBITRATIONARBITRATION CLAUSESASSETSASSURANCEAUDITSBANK BRANCHESBANKRUPTCYBONDBOND MARKETSBROKERCAPITAL MARKETCAPITAL REQUIREMENTSCAPITALIZATIONCASH FLOWCASH SURRENDER VALUECASUALTY INSURANCECATASTROPHE INSURANCECENTRAL BANKCOINSURANCECOMMERCIAL INSURANCECOMMISSIONSCOMPENSATIONCOMPETITIVENESSCOMPULSORY INSURANCECONSUMER CREDITCONSUMER PROTECTIONCONSUMERSCONTRACTUAL SAVINGSCONVENTIONAL INSURANCECORPORATE GOVERNANCECOVERAGECREDIBILITYCREDIT GUARANTEESCREDIT INSURANCECREDIT MARKETSCREDIT RATINGSDEBTDEMOGRAPHICDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDISASTERSDISPUTE RESOLUTIONDISPUTES RESOLUTIONECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHEFFICIENCY GAINSEMERGING MARKETEMERGING MARKETSENTRY REQUIREMENTSFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIESFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFINANCIAL REPORTINGFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SYSTEMFOREIGN HOLDINGSFOREIGN INSURERSFOREIGN INVESTMENTSFRAUDGLOBAL INSURANCEGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNMENT GUARANTEESGOVERNMENT SUPPORTGUARANTEE FUNDSHEALTH INSURANCEHOLDINGHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN RESOURCESIMPORTSINCOME LEVELINCOME STREAMINCOMESINDEMNITYINDUSTRIAL COUNTRIESINFLATIONINSPECTIONSINSURANCEINSURANCE BROKERSINSURANCE COMPANIESINSURANCE COMPANYINSURANCE INDUSTRYINSURANCE MARKETINSURANCE MARKETSINSURANCE PENETRATIONINSURANCE PREMIUMSINSURANCE PRODUCTSINSURANCE SECTORINSURANCE SUPERVISIONINSURANCE SUPERVISORSINSURANCE SYSTEMINSURANCESINSURERINSURER SOLVENCYINSURERSINTERNAL CONTROLSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICEINTERNATIONAL STANDARDSINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT CONTRACTSINVESTMENT FUNDINVESTMENT HORIZONSINVESTMENT PRODUCTSINVESTMENT REQUIREMENTSINVESTMENT VEHICLESIPOISLAMIC BANKINGISLAMIC BANKSISLAMIC FINANCIAL SERVICESISLAMIC INSURANCELACK OF TRANSPARENCYLAWSLEGAL JURISDICTIONSLEGAL PROTECTIONLENDERSLEVIESLEVYLIBERALIZATIONLIFE INSURANCELIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRYLIFE INSURANCE POLICYLIFE INSURANCE PREMIUMSLIFE INSURERSLIQUIDATIONLOANLOCAL CAPACITYLOCAL MARKETSLONG TERM SAVINGSLONG-TERM FINANCEMARKET DEVELOPMENTMARKET FRAGMENTATIONMARKET PLAYERSMARKET SHAREMARKET SHARESMARKET STRUCTUREMARKET STRUCTURESMINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTSMONETARY AUTHORITYMONOPOLIESMONOPOLYMORAL HAZARDMORTGAGEMORTGAGE INSURANCEMORTGAGE LENDINGMORTGAGE LOANSMORTGAGE MARKETMORTGAGE MARKETSMOTOR INSURANCEMOTOR THIRD PARTY LIABILITY INSURANCENATURAL DISASTERSNEW MARKETSNON LIFE INSURANCENON-LIFE INSURANCEOUTPUTOVERHEAD COSTSPENETRATION RATESPENSIONPENSIONSPER CAPITA INCOMEPERSONAL LOANSPOLICY MAKERSPOLICYHOLDERSPORTFOLIOPORTFOLIOSPREMIUM REVENUESPRICE COMPETITIONPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPRIVATIZATIONPROFESSIONAL LIABILITYPROGRAMSPROPERTY INSURANCEPROTECTION OF POLICYHOLDERSPRUDENTIAL STANDARDSRATESRECIPROCITYREFORM PROGRAMREGULATORSREGULATORY CAPACITYREGULATORY PRACTICESREINSURANCEREINSURERSRENEWALSREPUTATIONRESERVERESERVE REQUIREMENTSRESERVESRETURNSRISK AVERSIONRISK CAPITALRISK MANAGEMENTRISK POOLINGRISK PREMIUMSSAVINGSSECURITIESSETTLEMENTSHAREHOLDERSSOCIAL INSURANCE SYSTEMSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOLVENCYSOLVENCY REQUIREMENTSSTAMP DUTYSUPERVISORY AGENCYSUPERVISORY AUTHORITYSUPERVISORY FRAMEWORKSUPERVISORY REGIMETAXTAX POLICYTAX REGIMETAX REGIMESTAX RULESTERMS OF CAPITALTORTTOTAL COSTSTRADE CREDITTRADINGTURNOVERUNDERWRITERSUNDERWRITINGVALUE OF COLLATERALWEAK CORPORATE GOVERNANCEWEALTH TAXWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-5608