DOHA, 23 June 2009
- unique industry-scale system aims to improve access to business, raise standards, support contract certainty and make commercial (re)insurance transactions more efficient
Qatar Insurance Services LLC , trading as Qatarlyst, has announced that its services will be available from 23rd June 2009. Qatarlyst is a world class infrastructure to support trading between insurers, reinsurers, brokers and other (re)insurance professionals, developed and wholly owned by the QFC Authority and based in Doha. Qatarlyst has been established to support Qatar's commitment to become the region's leading insurance and reinsurance hub.
Qatarlyst will be the only industry-scale system of its kind to cover the entire transaction process including quotation, placement of risks, negotiation and binding cover, notification and adjustment of claims and the recording of accounting information.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the operational launch of Qatarlyst, Mr Abdulrahman Ahmad Al Shaibi, Chairman of Qatarlyst, said "The introduction of Qatarlyst will help advance the sophistication of Qatar's (re)insurance industry, and will help to attract further insurance expertise to Qatar, and to the wider region. It will also bring together international insurers, reinsurers and brokers to conduct commercial (re)insurance transactions through a unique system.
"Qatarlyst delivers on a number of fundamental objectives of the QFC” Mr Al Shaibi continued. “They include supporting the growth of Qatar’s financial sector, raising standards in the provision of financial services, helping to create new employment opportunities and promoting the case for the QFC to be the financial centre of choice in the region, an objective which was emphasized by His Excellency the Prime Minister recently."
Mr. Al Shaibi also commended the continuous support for the project throughout its development by his Excellency the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Chairman of the QFC Authority.
Qatarlyst will bring into one system a large community of participants in the form of insurers, brokers, reinsurers and other (re)insurance professionals which can benefit from the access to counterparties, the structured and efficient processes and ability to integrate with their own systems. This community will become the very heart of Qatarlyst, and will benefit from the real-time information shared with their counterparties on the system, both to manage ongoing risk and to analyse and take decisions on new business. The interest shown in the creation of Qatarlyst, and the participation of 17 regional and international insurance firms and brokers in its development, leaves little doubt of the business case for such a solution.
Qatarlyst offers a winning combination of flexibility and security. All members of the Qatarlyst community will have a protected, secure and individual area within the system for recording documents, data and other information in connection with (re)insurance contracts that can only be accessed online by authorised staff. With the potential to send structured XML messages, Qatarlyst can eradicate potential data entry duplication, errors and delay and can ensure consistency, while still providing access to users when and how they need to use it.
The Qatarlyst environment is designed to support the way insurers, reinsurers, brokers and (re)insurance professionals, communicate, acquire, negotiate and process their transactions worldwide. Qatarlyst will streamline the movement of data, helping to ensure the optimum placement and acceptance of business and, ultimately, increasing individual firms' opportunities, allowing them to build more business volume over a wider area.
James Sutherland, CEO of Qatarlyst said: "Working in conjunction with leading regional and international insurers and brokers, we have created Qatarlyst with two main objectives in mind. First - the firm belief that many of the essential processes in the transaction chain can be made more efficient through the intelligent use of sophisticated yet accessible technology. Second - that by building a community of trading counterparties on Qatarlyst, users will benefit from access to potential new business and improved transaction standards. The response to Qatarlyst from all the firms that we have consulted has been strongly supportive."
Qatar Insurance Services LLC trading as Qatarlyst is authorised by the QFC Regulatory Authority.
-Ends-
Media Contact:
Steve Martin
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications
Tel +974 4967755 Mob +974 583 1937 e-mail s.martin@qfc.com.qa
Layla Salem
Senior Media Executive
Tel +974 4967793 Mob +974 5830054 e-mail l.salem@qfc.com.qa
Notes to Editors
Qatarlyst
Qatarlyst is the trading brand of Qatar Insurance Services LLC and is a technology-based insurance fulfilment system delivering integrated processing between insurance and reinsurance trading partners. It will also bring together international insurers/reinsurers and brokers to conduct insurance trading activities through the system.
The Qatarlyst Board comprises:
- Abdulrahman Ahmed Al Shaibi, Chairman
Mr Al Shaibi is a Non-Executive Director of the QFC Authority, Head of Qatar Petroleum's Project Finance Group and Board member of Qatargas Companies and Qatar Petroleum International. - Ian Cormack, Deputy Chairman
Mr Cormack is a Non-executive Director of the QFC Authority and a Non-Executive Director of Aspen Re, Pearl Assurance Group and Europe-Arab Bank plc. He was previously European Chief Executive of AIG Inc, prior to which he had a 30 year career with Citigroup - John Coomber, Non-executive Director
Mr Coomber is a Non-executive Board member of Swiss Re and previously CEO of the company, and a board member of Pensions Insurance Company Holdings, and telent limited and The Climate Group. - Mike Peachey, Non-executive Director
Mr Peachey is CEO CTC Axiom and of the Insurance Support Services Division of Charles Taylor Consulting plc (“CTC”). He has worked for insurance buyers in Qatar continuously since 1992 and was instrumental in the formation of Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance Company. Earlier in his career he ran insurance consultancy, INDECS. - Stuart Pearce, Non-executive Director
Mr Pearce is CEO and Director General, QFC Authority - Leonard Schrank, Non-executive Director
Mr Schrank is Co-founder and Chairman and CEO, ACT3 Technologies LLC, and was previously CEO of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) - Max Taylor, Non-executive Director
Mr Taylor is currently Chairman of the Mitsui-Sumitomo Insurance London Companies, Chairman of Council of the University of Surrey, Director of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and was previously Chairman of Lloyd’s of London, President of the Insurance Institute of London and Deputy Chairman of Aon Limited.
Qatar Financial Centre
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is a financial and business centre established by the Government of Qatar and located in Doha. It has been designed to attract international financial services institutions and major multi-national corporations and to encourage participation in the growing market for financial services in Qatar and elsewhere in the region. The QFC operates to international standards and provide a first class legal and business infrastructure for those operating within the QFC. The QFC was created by Qatar Law No.(7) and has been open for business since 1 May 2005.
QFC Regulatory Authority
The QFC Regulatory Authority is an independent regulatory body established by Article 8 of the QFC Law. It regulates firms that conduct financial services in or from the QFC. It has a broad range of regulatory powers to authorize, supervise and, when necessary, discipline firms and individuals. The QFC Regulatory Authority regulates firms using principle-based legislation of international standard, modeled closely on that used in London and other major financial centers. The Regulatory Authority is currently receiving applications and granting authorisations.
QFC Authority
The QFC Authority is the commercial, administrative and legislative body responsible for driving the commercial strategy of the QFC and for developing relationships with the global corporate community and other key institutions both within and outside of Qatar.
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