Bahrain Mirror: Member of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain National Holding Company BSC Farouk Al-Moayyed said that "the adoption of compulsory health insurance for foreigners will bring a significant surge in insurance premiums, which will pump to the market about 50 million dinars from new insurance premiums," noting that "the promulgation of the law will regulate the process and will open the way for companies to expand their services and introduce new services."

Al-Moayyed indicated in a press statement on the sidelines of the meeting of the General Assembly of Bahrain National Holding Company that "according to official statistics, around 600,000 foreigners will benefit from the health insurance for foreigners, which is expected to pump nearly 50 million dinars from new insurance premiums into the market."

"The company aims at focusing on health insurance with the losses caused by car insurance," he said, adding that "the establishment of health insurance for foreigners will cause a big leap in the insurance market."

He explained that "the employer will be obliged to insure the foreign worker and his family, which will result in a major boom in the insurance sector after the establishment of compulsory insurance for foreigners and their families, and the health insurance project will open the way for insurers to expand their services by offering insurance products against diseases and disability along with the crystallization of the government's health insurance policy."

According to official data, the total health insurance premiums in Bahrain reached about 60.2 million BD by the end of 2016 with an annual growth of 19%, and health insurance premiums amount to about 23% of the total premiums in the Bahraini insurance market by the end of 2016.

As for the company's plans to expand and acquire local insurance companies, Al-Mouyyed said: "The company has tried to acquire an insurance company in Bahrain in the past two years, but there was no final agreement on acquisitions and obstacles in merging the two companies."

The ordinary General Assembly of Bahrain National Holding company agreed to distribute cash dividends to shareholders by 15% of the capital at 12 fils per share, equivalent to 1.8 million dinars for the year which ended in 2018, with the rest of the profits to be paid starting April 4, 2019.

The General Assembly also approved the recommendation of the Board of Directors to distribute 5% bonus shares to the shareholders on the meeting date with 5 shares for every 100 shares, issuing a total of 5.6 million shares.

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