شركات قطاع التأمين اللبناني يواجهون هذه الأيّام العديد من المشاكل الناتجة عن ارتفاع سعر الدولار إزاء العملة اللبنانيّة، ولا سيما مطالبات المستشفيات والجهات الصحيّة برفع الأسعار بحيث تسدّد الشركات ما يتوجّب عليها بالدولار الـ Fresh بنسبة 30 (أو 40) بالمئة من الكلفة الإجماليّة و70 (أو 60) بالمئة بالدولار المحجوز في البنك أو ما يُعرف باللولار، وقد تسبّبت هذه الشروط بضجّة داخل أروقة جمعية شركات الضمان وداخل الشركات نفسها، كما داخل صناديق التعاضد التي تلقّت الكتاب نفسه الذي صدر عن نقابة المستشفيات، مع أنّ المضمونين في هذه الصناديق لا يتمتّعون بقدرة ماليّة تمكّنهم من تسديد تلك المطالبات. وينسحب هذا الوضع على فروعٍ تأمينيّة ثانية كالتأمين على المركبات والحرائق وغيرهما. وكان رئيس اتّحاد صناديق التعاضد السيد غسان ضو قد عقد مؤتمرًا صحفيًا قبل أيام دعا فيه إلى عقد لقاء وطني يجمع كلّ المعنيّين بالشأن الصحّي لإيجاد حلٍّ لهذه المشكلة الكبيرة التي إذا بقيت مستعصية على الحلّ، تعرّض الكثيرون من المضمونين إلى مصير قاتم في ما خصّ الاستشفاء.
ولا تشذّ شركة “تراست كومباس للتأمين”، وهي شركة لبنانيّة تابعة لمجموعة “تراست” العالميّة، ومقرّها الرئيسي البحرين، بل ربّما كانت من بين الشركات التي تفاجأت بقرار نقابة أصحاب المستشفيات والذي يأتي بعد سنتَيْن من العمل التأميني الصّعب بسبب حدثَيْن كبيرَيْن، الأوّل مرتبط بـ Covid-19 الذي شلّ الاقتصاد، والثّاني متّصل بانفجار مرفأ بيروت وما ترك من تداعيات خطيرة جدًّا على القطاعات كافة بما فيها قطاع التأمين.
جورج أيوب، المدير التنفيذي في شركة Trust Compass-لبنان، تناول في حديثه إلينا قضايا عدّة مرتبطة بالأحوال التي استجدّت في قطاع التأمين اللبناني وكيف تولّى علاجها، معتمدًا على خبرته التي تعود إلى 42 عامًا بدأها في لندن ومن ثمّ في الإمارات، فسوريا وأخيرًا في لبنان.
في هذا الحديث الذي ننشره باللغة الانكليزيّة، تطرّق السيد جورج أيوب إلى مواضيع عديدة مرتبطة بالتأمين وبالشركة التي يدير وكيفيّة التصرّف، سعيًا إلى تطوير المؤسّسة وتأمين محفظة ماليّة تدعم خطوات الاصلاح والتقدّم.
فإلى نصّ الحديث..
Q: Briefing about Trust Compass
A: Trust Compass Insurance s.a.l. is a Lebanese based insurance Company part of Trust Holding, a regional Insurance Group that includes several insurance companies and two reinsurance companies scattered all over the MENA Region
As for myself, 42 years of experience starting in London, then in the UAE for over 17 years and now in Lebanon for the rest of my career gave me enough experience and technical ability through which I started (among other projects) an Insurance Company in Syria for my former employer which rapidly became one of the most successful operations in the Syrian Republic, before the beginning of the War
Q: What are the measures undertaken from your side to overcome the current situation
A: Prior to the crash of the local currency, a lot of insurance companies were duffing their losses with loads of high Bank interests on their saving and deposit accounts. When all bank interests were zeroed, everything went back to normal and huge losses started to appear everywhere which led the ICC and the Ministry of Economy and Trade to interfere ever more by issuing regulatory memos destined to boost the Market, encourage mergers and eliminate those companies which constitute a threat to the end user
Any Insurance Company that aspires to be better, should focus on the following
Adaptation to a continuous change –
Strong board –
Competent management –
Professional team –
Regular internal and external communication –
Transparency –
Customer Satisfaction –
Strong Foundations: Audit, Risk and Compliance –
While working on and helping with the above, and here I am just mentioning just a few important points to aspire to be a strong and solid company, I started a full review of the company portfolio. Loss making Brokers were interviewed for a full analysis of their portfolio. Those who did not comply with our recovery plan were released. An Underwriting Booklet was issued to help Underwriters in their choices. Some Lines of Business were favored to the detriment of others, imminent and timely collection of Premiums was instituted; all of these measures among others quickly gave a positive impact on our results and our reputation among other Insurers and the Public
Q: How do you plan to grow further
A: The secret of a successful operation is a steady, profitable growth, and this is what we are after at Trust Compass Lebanon. Today, any acceptance of a new Broker is based on a scale of Commissions that grows with the percentage of Profit he gives to the Company. A win-win situation that can only benefit the end-user i.e. the Insured
Q: What is the current situation of the Insurance and Reinsurance Market in Lebanon today
A: In so many words: Going through full reconstruction
Service Providers such as Hospitals, Pharmacies, Labs, Car Transport companies, Loss Adjusters, Traffic experts etc. are totally lost regarding what to bill and how to bill it. There are over five rates of currency exchange and nobody knows which one to apply and when to apply it
Some Insurers started applying the Cash Dollars versus the Check “Dollar” with a promise to reimburse any claim in Fresh Dollars should an accident occur (as long as the claim is affordable, no problem; but what if they have several large claims in fresh money?)
In any case, it seems we are more and more being driven into cash trade. Hospitals and other Service Providers are pushing hard to implement it, and Insurance Companies are starting to incentivize both Intermediaries and Clients who join this tendency by rebating on their Products and offering additional benefits to the Cash Business
Reinsurance is another problem. Also lost by the Currency exchange rate, Reinsurers are totally out of focus whenever confronted to offsetting or receiving their account from Lebanese Insurers. One Reinsurer was arguing last week that since the “Dollar” was five times less than the Black Market rate, Indemnity on each Claim shall be payable by him five times less than the claimed amount!!! We spent a whole week trying to persuade him that a Dollar is a Dollar and that the only way a Lebanese Insurer could make a Profit was to pay in Lebanese currency, Translate the amount into Dollars at the Official Rate and ask for a Cash Call
Q: What impact had the Corona pandemic on your Business
A: As a matter of fact, the Corona Pandemic in its timing (at the beginning of the economic crash on the Lebanese Market), gave us the latitude of breathing; it gave us the necessary time to reform our strategy, to readjust our Business Plan, to opt for new Products in line with the current social crisis, and to redress the Loss Ratio of our strategic lines of Business (Motor and Hospitalization). People confined in their residences made less accidents and the crowded hospitals, overbooked with corona stricken patients were the last option taken by patients who could postpone their operations. This led to better Underwriting results without really affecting our portfolio in terms of premiums
As for the pandemic itself, (which was excluded from our Treaties then forced upon us by the Ministry of Economy), It had little impact on Trust Compass as the number of insured cases were minimal
