Marsh in April 2018 appointed Christos Adamantiadis as CEO of its new Middle East and Africa region, based in Dubai and reporting to Flavio Piccolomini, president of Marsh International. He was most recently CEO of Oman Insurance in Dubai, having previously worked for AIG as EMEA Lead for AIG’s global organizational realignment initiative; Managing Director, CEE (Central, Eastern Europe) and Turkey; Managing Director, Middle East & North Africa; General

Middle East countries are making fast-paced regulatory reforms to the health insurance industry for half a decade, and healthcare sectors and insurance industries have seen a surge in mergers and acquisitions activity.

Cigna in July 2017 announced it had acquired Zurich Insurance Middle East (SAL). The newly-acquired company will be called “Zurich Insurance Middle East, a Cigna-Owned company” in line with local regulations. Cigna’s strategy in the Middle East is to deliver group health products and services for small businesses and family-owned enterprises through to multinational companies. Arthur Cozad, former CEO of Cigna Taiwan, has been named as CEO for Middle

Expatriates and Emiratis in the United Arab Emirates have seen changes to their health insurance programs as of July 1, 2016. These changes will affect only those under the Abu Dhabi Basic Plan who seek treatment at a private hospital under the Thiqa plan for Emiratis, expatriates, and their families. Procedures at government hospitals are unaffected. Thiqa, the Arabic word for “trust,” is a UAE national insurance initiative delivered