AGENDA

A keynote and panel discussion exploring the Dubai International Financial Centre's growing role in global reinsurance against an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic backdrop. DIFC leaders and market participants will examine the regulatory and market developments shaping the Centre, how it has responded to new risks and opportunities, and its ambitions to strengthen its position as a leading hub for reinsurance, capital, MGAs and innovation serving the MEASA region.

As climate losses continue to rise alongside geopolitical and economic uncertainty, this session will explore how the reinsurance industry is responding to an increasingly complex risk landscape. Panellists will examine advances in catastrophe modelling, data and analytics, new risk transfer solutions and resilience financing, while discussing how the market can help close the natural catastrophe protection gap and improve resilience for businesses, governments and communities facing more frequent and severe weather events.

As reinsurers navigate an increasingly complex risk environment, artificial intelligence is changing how the market operates. This session will explore how AI is being used across the reinsurance value chain, from underwriting and claims to portfolio management and generative AI. This session will also discuss where the technology is delivering real value, how it is reshaping skills and talent, and how firms are balancing innovation with governance and human judgement.

Despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty, the Gulf remains one of the world's fastest growing re/insurance markets and an increasingly important source of opportunity for global carriers and brokers. This session will explore how reinsurers are supporting the GCC's economic transformation, responding to changing client needs and deploying capital across the region. Speakers will examine developments in Dubai, Riyadh and other regional centres, the role of international markets, evolving regulation and where the next phase of growth will come from across the Middle East.

Against a backdrop of heightened regional uncertainty, managing general agents (MGAs) continue to play an increasingly important role in delivering specialist underwriting expertise, agility, and access to new markets. This session will explore how Dubai's MGA ecosystem has evolved, what continues to attract underwriting capacity and investment, and whether current growth is sustainable. Panellists will discuss how MGAs are reshaping distribution models, responding to changing risk and client demands, and how regulatory frameworks and market appetite are evolving to support the sector's long-term development.

As geopolitical tensions continue to reshape the global risk landscape, this session will bring together senior brokers and underwriters to discuss the lessons from managing volatility in real time. Panellists will examine how political violence, terrorism, SRCC and other malicious risks are evolving, and how underwriting strategies and capital deployment are adapting. The discussion will also explore how insurers and reinsurers are balancing disciplined underwriting with client demand in an increasingly uncertain market.