Daman leads UAE insurance sector in Emiratisation efforts

ABU DHABI- The National Health Insurance Company – Daman has announced its vision to fill the shortage of qualified Actuaries using home-grown talent over the coming decade; providing Emiratis an opportunity with a highly technical qualification whilst circumventing a large global shortage in the specialty.

In a press statement today, Hamad Al Mehyas, deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Company – Daman, commented, "In an industry as large as insurance, and a world with over 7.5 billion people, it is estimated that there are only 75,000 qualified actuaries (according to the Institute & Facilities of Actuaries).

"We are proud of our ambition to add more Emiratis to this number by working with higher education and professional institutes." An actuary uses mathematical and statistical theories to assess insurance risks, predict claims and price policies. They are crucial to the underwriting process and inform senior decision-makers.

Qualified actuaries’ study for up to seven years and are particularly essential in medical and life insurance fields owing to their complexity. Al Mehyas added, "Daman is honoured to be continuously leading the industry in Emiratisation for the past ten years. We believe that through education and especially internationally sought-after technical skills, we can make a trivial contribution to the UAE economy of tomorrow and support its ambitions for the next 50 years." The bold announcement by the company comes ahead of Daman’s participation in the Emirati career fair, Tawdheef, at which the company aims to field candidates for more than 70 vacancies for talented UAE nationals at all levels. Daman also confirmed its success in exceeding Emiratisation targets set by the Insurance Authority which adopts a points-based system that takes into account an organisation’s size, revenue and spread of Emiratis across different levels, amongst other factors. Specifically, the company noted that they have successfully managed to employ practicing Emirati doctors who have traditionally been averse to corporate environments.

Another major contributor to its Emiratisation targets is Daman's ability to attract millennial Emiratis, who value a corporate multicultural environment in which contributes to its community as part of the wider healthcare ecosystem.

Commenting on its ability to attract a wide range of Emiratis, Hamda Al Shamali, Executive Director of Human Resources at Daman, said, "We remain committed to having Emiratisation right at the heart of our HR strategy. The achievements we have made so far have been to ensure we have qualified talents to meet our needs today as well as envisage how we can continue to do so for the future of the whole industry." Daman has previously revealed that it employs around a third of UAE nationals working in the industry and that it provides a range of vocational and professional skills programme to Emiratis to join the company and industry.