Syria’s insurance sector: Cover opens up

The insurance sector in Syria is emerging from almost half a century of state monopoly and is still in a nascent state that offers both attractions and risks to the first new wave of private firms.

The return of Syrian private-sector banking

Islamic banking set for solid growth From the early 1960s until mid-2006, the publicly owned Syrian Insurance Company (SIC) was the sole provider of policies – which until last year did not include health or travel cover. Things began to change in 2004, when, as part of a gradual liberalization of the financial services sector, the government created a watchdog tasked with reorganizing the sector to allow private competition.

The Syrian Insurance Supervisory Commission (SISC), as the new regulator is called, has since issued more than a dozen licences to privately owned insurers.

Thanks for your interest in Euromoney!
To unlock this article: