Q&A – Maroun Mourad

Zurich Financial Services Group (ZFSG), an insurance conglomerate with global reach, has been increasing its activities in the Middle East as part of an expansion strategy focused on emerging markets. Now one-year after the Swiss-based multinational acquired Compagnie Libanaise d’Assurances (CLA), a Beirut-based insurer with licenses in several countries in the Gulf region, Executive sat down with Maroun Mourad, chief executive of ZFSG’s insurance arm in the Middle East.  What is your approach to the Lebanese market? Do you see potential for Zurich here? How much was the local market a consideration in buying CLA, as opposed to acquiring the licenses held by this company regionally? Lebanon is an important market in its own right. If you look at the Gulf and Levant territory, Lebanon is effectively the third largest market after the United Arab Emirates  and Saudi Arabia. It closed last year at $1.1 billion and Lebanon also has