Although IUMI is run by a small secretariat in Hamburg our true strength lies in the power of our 43 national member associations. To foster deep cooperation and collaboration we work hard to keep in regular touch to understand what is important for our members and to discuss IUMI’s current priorities. In the last quarter, our President Frédéric Denèfle and I had the opportunity to visit a number of our members associations.
In October, we were again in Shanghai for the 5th North Bund Forum, a high-level platform for the exchange of views and insights, release of important policies, and the development of rules and regulations for the global shipping and aviation industries. The Forum gave us many regional insights into China’s shipping and financial sectors. It also allowed us to renew many friendships with maritime stakeholders such as SIMI, CPIC, China P&I, COSCO Captive, Frad Group and Shanghai Maritime University. The Chinese marine insurance association – SIMI – joined IUMI in 2015 and my first visit to see them in Shanghai was in 2016. Since then, our relationships has continued to strengthen and almost all our IUMI Committees and Forum enjoy the expertise of Chinese members. According to our own statistics, in 2024 China had the largest cargo insurance premium base and the second largest hull premiums base.
In early November – and for the first time –  I had the opportunity to attend the annual conference of our Egyptian member association, the Insurers Federation of Egypt, in Sharm el Sheikh. I joined around 1200 market participants from Egypt, the Maghreb States and the wider Middle East to learn about the topics and opinions of the region. Egypt reported a strong growth in premium income last year of 34%. AI, geopolitics, sustainability, economic threats and long-term trends such as longevity are equally high on the agenda both for Egypt and IUMI. Many times I have emphasised my true believe in the strength of new and emerging marine insurance markets and Egypt is certainly one showing great potential.
Finally, Frédéric and I visited our dear friends at the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) in late November for the Hong Kong Maritime Week and other meetings. HKFI also acts as IUMI’s Asia Hub. We attended a range of formal meetings with the Hong Kong Insurance Authority IA, the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board (where we signed an important MoU on future cooperation in education matters), the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, the Secretary for Transport and Logistics and the Hong Kong Chief Executive’s Policy Unit. Additionally,  HKFI arranged a special programme for us including a stunning visit to Meituan’s National Local Service Consumption Big Data Operation Centre and the China Merchant Mawan Smart Port in western Shenzhen. We were both overwhelmed by the speed of development and the degree of innovation already in place. We saw a drone food delivery service and the state-of-the-art autonomous port management facilities. Experiencing these dynamic developments first hand was truly eye-opening.
