A.M. Best Opens Office in the Dubai International Financial Centre

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A.M. Best Co. is pleased to announce the opening of its new office in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) in Dubai, UAE. The new office, located in Tower 2, Currency House, DIFC, will operate as A.M. Best MENA, South & Central Asia, servicing clients throughout the region and developing new relationships to continue to grow its insurance ratings franchise. Rating analytics will continue to be performed by teams based in London and Hong Kong. A.M. Best obtained the necessary approvals to establish within the DIFC in February.

Left to right: Mohammed Juma, Head of Corporate Communications, DIFC Authority; Nick Charteris Black, Managing Director, Market Development, A.M Best--EMEA; Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO, DIFC Authority; Dr Roger Sellek, CEO, A.M. Best--EMEA and Asia Pacific; and Vasilis Katsipis, General Manager, Market Development, A.M. Best--MENA, South & Central Asia (Photo: Business Wire)

A.M. Best is the leading international rating agency with a specialist focus on the worldwide insurance industry, including the Takaful sector. Best’s Credit Ratings are recognised by users as the benchmark for assessing the financial strength of insurance-related organisations and the credit quality of their obligations. In recent years, A.M. Best has greatly expanded its coverage of the Middle East and North Africa region as the market evolves and ratings become more widely used.

Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO of DIFC Authority, said, “Amidst the constant development in the world of financial services there has been a rapid growth in the insurance industry. To provide comfort to policy holders, companies in that industry need reputable rating agencies of A.M. Best’s calibre to assess their creditworthiness. We are very proud to have the pioneers of the concept of financial ratings that specialise in insurance establish their regional presence in DIFC. We look forward to supporting their business here and working with them to further develop the financial services industry in the region.”

Vasilis Katsipis, general manager – market development, will be responsible for the office in Dubai and will report to Nick Charteris-Black, managing director, market development A.M. Best – EMEA.

“We look forward to joining the other international companies in what has become a major financial centre for the region,” said Dr Roger Sellek, chief executive officer of A.M. Best – EMEA and Asia Pacific. “The opening of A.M. Best MENA, South & Central Asia is an important step in A.M. Best’s commitment to being a truly global rating agency servicing the needs of the (re)insurance industry throughout the world including the growth economies in this important region.”

The full address of A.M. Best’s new office in Dubai, UAE is:

A.M. Best MENA, South & Central Asia,
Office 102, Tower 2,
Currency House, DIFC.
P. O. Box 506617, Dubai,
United Arab Emirates.

Tel: + 971 (0) 43 752 782

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2012 by A.M. Best Company, Inc.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50280992&lang=en

A.M. Best Co.
Nick Charteris-Black
Managing Director, Market Development – EMEA
+(44) 20 7397 0284
[email protected]
Vasilis Katsipis
General Manager, Market Development – MENA, South & Central Asia
+ 971 (0) 43 752 782
[email protected]
Edem Kuenyehia
Assoc. Director, Market Development & Communications
+(44) 20 7397 0280
[email protected]

Source: A.M. Best Co.