August has been the best month of the year for pioneering insurance provider Beema as the start-up’s growth trajectory continues.
The UAE company says it has enjoyed “very strong performance” with July also delivering great results as more people in the nation connect with its incentive-linked insurance model and embrace the idea of driving less.
Beema’s industry-shaping strategy rewards motorists who log less miles during their driving year, because they pose less of a risk of having an accident.
The company was the first to introduce to the region its Pay-per-kilometre car insurance option that enables drivers to earn up to 25 per cent cashback at the end of the policy year, depending on how much they have driven.
Beema, which launched in September 2019, says, increasingly car owners are starting to understand the value it can deliver through personalised car insurance products, including its ground-breaking SmartDriver offering.
And at a time when a rise in the cost of living is in the headlines, Beema’s alternatives to traditional standard policies are proving a smart investment and a sound budgeting move.
In short, they mean an owner’s vehicle is protected while also proving kinder to their outgoings, depending on usage and behaviour.
While Pay-per-kilometre rewards those who cover less distance during the policy duration, SmartDriver looks after those drivers who do 20,000km or more behind the wheel.
It allows them to earn rewards based on good driving, assessed via innovative technology that measures a users’ driving behaviour based upon factors such as speeding, sudden braking, and phone handling.
Chief executive officer Nicola Garelli is excited to confirm that Beema’s operating model is continuing to produce good results.
“Our approach to building customer-centric insurance products and promoting innovation within the industry continues to yield success and it remains the driving force behind the accelerated growth that Beema is experiencing,” he adds.
Statistics and data speak volumes for how popular Beema’s new style of insurance products are with the UAE market.
The company has experienced double-digit growth in policies issued month-on-month and has enjoyed revenue growth of more than 20 per cent.
Looking back at the year, Beema also reveals it has been more efficient at acquiring customers; it reveals a 22 per cent improvement year-on-year.
These numbers certainly have the attention of Indraneel Jain, the company's chief business officer.
“Data sits at the core of our business and using data we are able to identify market trends early on, allowing us to optimise the sales and marketing funnels,” he says.
“As a result, we’re consistently improving the way we communicate and onboard customers, which helps us maintain our growth trajectory’’.
With technology at the centre of Beema’s operation, the provider says it is continuing to notice how more drivers prefer to use online and digital channels when purchasing their car insurance.
Our approach to building customer-centric insurance products and promoting innovation within the industry continues to yield success
Beema CEO Nicola Garelli
Embracing this habitual movement, Beema has ensured it offers easy-to-use and simplified online channels that allow customers to not only get a quote, but buy a policy end-to-end online, within a few minutes.
Convenience remains high on the wishlist of many in the UAE, giving Beema added attraction while steering motorists away from sometimes cumbersome traditional insurance purchasing methods.
Launched in December 2021 as a first product of its kind in the region, the gamification element of SmartDriver makes it appealing for the user, with each trip generating an overall “driving score” - the higher the better.
Users can also see how well they scored on individual driving factors and know which areas they can improve upon, all activated and enabled through Beema’s mobile app.
And, importantly, drivers can then earn rewards like cashback based on their cumulative driving score at the end of their policy period, meaning safe driving is incentivised in a thoroughly modern way.
Meanwhile, many more drivers have embraced Beema’s common sense approach and pocketed savings by taking up the tech-first firm’s Pay-per-kilometre product.
It is almost three years since this insurtech start-up announced its arrival by lighting up the Burj Khalifa - and went on to win Best Insurtech Solution at the Leaders in Fintech Awards 2021.
It seems its mission to “make insurance lovable” is reaching plenty more motorists and continuing to take Beema to fresh heights.
You can learn more about all its insurance products by visiting https://www.beema.ae/en or downloading the app.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Match info:
Leicester City 1
Ghezzal (63')
Liverpool 2
Mane (10'), Firmino (45')
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice
Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying
Saturday, December 8
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Aayan%E2%80%99s%20records
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
AGUERO'S PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD
Apps: 186
Goals: 127
Assists: 31
Wins: 117
Losses: 33
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
