According to media sources, Rana Tahboub, Assistant Director General of the Insurance Commission of Jordan (“IC”), recently stated that the IC is planning on introducing legislation to the Council of Ministers to create a captive insurance market in Jordan, the fourth such market in the region.  Tahboub believes that Jordan would compliment, rather than compete, with the existing markets, as it is more centrally located in the region spanning from the Middle East to North Africa (“MENA”).  In addition, Tahboub stated that Jordan enjoys a lower cost of business than markets such as Dubai while providing a local skilled workforce and allowing 100% foreign ownership.  While media reports have not indicated that Jordan’s captive initiative will focus on Takaful, the Islamic form of mutual insurance based upon Sharia, other Middle Eastern insurance jurisdictions have emphasized Takaful and regard Takaful in their insurance codes.

Others, such as Rodney Wicks of Aon Global Risk Consulting, were skeptical of the need for an additional captive domicile in the region.  Wicks pointed to the fact that in addition to Dubai, both Qatar and Bahrain are also captive domiciles, and that between the three countries, there are currently only two captive insurers.

According to the Middle East Insurance Review, conducive regulatory initiatives by Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and soon to be Jordan, have sparked a growing interest in use of insurance captives in risk management programs even though the formation of captives in the MENA region is still in its early stages.