Total premiums earned by UAE insurance companies are expected to jump 76 per cent to Dh33.48 billion over the next four years from Dh19 billion at the end of 2009.

Oman Insurance Company accounts for one-fifth of the total premiums written by national companies.

According to a study by Research and Markets, Oman Insurance, the largest local player, makes up 14 per cent of total premiums followed by Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (Adnic) and Islamic Arab Insurance Company, which are about half the size of Oman Insurance Co.

The study projected that non-life premiums by UAE companies will balloon from Dh16.7bn at 2009-end to Dh29bn in 2014, an increase of 74 per cent; while life premiums will grow from Dh2.33bn to Dh4.44bn during the period.

The growth will be supported by UAE's physical infrastructure, willingness and ability of the government of Abu Dhabi to continue to provide support to neighbouring emirates and the country’s competitive advantage in logistics and pharmaceuticals.

UAE Insurance Authority earlier this month reported that UAE firms generated Dh20.1 billion in premiums in 2009, a growth of 9.8 per cent over the previous year.

Research and Markets projected that non-life penetration will grow from 2 per cent in 2009 to 2.3 per cent by 2014, and for life density will rise from $135 per capita to $220 per capita.

It said the drawbacks for the UAE companies is most of them don’t have access to the skills and resources that would allow them to compete as providers of life insurance and other long-term savings products or expand beyond the UAE.

It warned that structural problems such as lack of understanding of Shariah compliant products and the shortage of suitably qualified Shariah scholars are likely to continue in the short-term.

It said the sector could see consolidation as some players seek to boost scale in a competitive environment.

RNCOS, which specialises in industry intelligence, recently said that takaful (Islamic insurance) will play a major role as it has grown at a rate of 135 per cent in the UAE –the highest in the Middle East.