Insurtech pioneer Beema expands into Bahrain.
Insurtech pioneer Beema expands into Bahrain.
Insurtech pioneer Beema expands into Bahrain.
Insurtech pioneer Beema expands into Bahrain.

Insurtech pioneer Beema takes a UAE insurance success story into Bahrain



Innovative insurance provider Beema is taking its pioneering motoring policies to even more GCC drivers after experiencing success in the UAE.

The Dubai-based insurtech company has shaken up the industry regionally with products that reward car owners for their safer driving habits.

And now car owners in Bahrain are set to benefit from the car insurance revolution as Beema Insurance - part of ENOC Group - geographically expands its operations in the GCC.

The online insurer began changing the way the regional insurance sector thinks and operates when it launched in September 2019.

Beema offers customers a percentage cashback from their premium fee based on the number of kilometers they drive each year, via the company’s ground-breaking Pay-per-kilometer product.

HE Saif Humaid Al Falasi, group chief executive, ENOC, says: “Over the past three years we have witnessed significant growth in the structure and the strategy of Beema, part of ENOC.

“We enhanced customer centricity and strongly focused on customer aspirations, enabling it to gain a strong market share in a short period of time.

“It is in line with the strategy and expectations to expand Beema’s success into other GCC geographies.”

So now Bahrain motorists can enjoy the kind of budget-friendly benefits many thousands of UAE car owners have been signing up for over the last three years.

Drivers who complete less than 20,000km in total during the term of their policy earn cashback up to 25 per cent of the premium.

Insurtech pioneer Beema expands into Bahrain.
Insurtech pioneer Beema expands into Bahrain.

The agreement for Beema’s expansion into Bahrain was celebrated during a signing ceremony in the country.

It was attended by Dr Abdulla Sultan, chief executive, and Ali Noor, chief operating officer, of Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company (BSC) (BKIC), along with Beema Insurance chief executive Nicola Garelli and Sara Al Rumaithi, Beema’s chief business development, compliance and SSC officer.

Beema insurance policies in Bahrain will be underwritten by Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company (BSC) (BKIC), which offers the highest levels of motor protection in that country.

With the launch of Beema, BKIC is strengthening its digital offering and intends to drive change in the Bahrain insurance market.

Beema and BKIC aim to provide customers with customised and curated insurance solutions across various segments, backed by strong tech support.

For Mr Garelli, taking Beema into Bahrain is a natural progression in the company’s innovative growth journey.

“Since the launch of Beema, our aim has been to focus on the needs of customers in the region and to continuously enhance and expand our services to serve customers in other markets,” says the CEO.

“We are proud to see Beema transforming into a strong and established regional player by launching in Bahrain.”

The company was the first insurance player to launch behavioural motoring policies in the region.

And it cites itself as officially the region’s first online digital car insurance offering designed for the ‘new reality’ - by delivering a digital-led, fair, robust, and flexible insurance platform.

With a digital-only strategy, Beema provides an end-to-end digital insurance solution that is transparent, simple, agile, and relevant.

By being fully-digital, all policy purchases and renewals are done online, with customers signing up and managing their policies via Beema’s online portal.

A corporate venture of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), Beema says it seeks to help residents save money on low-mileage vehicles and ensure they never pay more on a regular policy if they drive a ‘normal’ total distance in a year.

Beema has been on something of a roll in the second half of 2022 with August chalked up as the company’s best month of the year as its growth trajectory and mission to “make insurance lovable” continue at pace.

With more UAE motorists connecting with its incentive-linked insurance model and embracing the idea of driving less, Beema experienced “very strong performance” in August, with July and September close behind.

This makes October an ideal time to extend the tech-first firm’s industry-shaping strategy to its GCC neighbour, so drivers in Bahrain can also bank savings for logging less miles during their driving year, thereby representing less of an accident risk.

Bahrain-based car owners can visit https://www.bkicbeema.bh/en to find out more.

About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

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RESULTS
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UAE’s revised Cricket World Cup League Two schedule

August, 2021: Host - United States; Teams - UAE, United States and Scotland

Between September and November, 2021 (dates TBC): Host - Namibia; Teams - Namibia, Oman, UAE

December, 2021: Host - UAE; Teams - UAE, Namibia, Oman

February, 2022: Hosts - Nepal; Teams - UAE, Nepal, PNG

June, 2022: Hosts - Scotland; Teams - UAE, United States, Scotland

September, 2022: Hosts - PNG; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal

February, 2023: Hosts - UAE; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal

The biog

DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year

THE%20SPECS
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?

The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.

A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.

The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.

When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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Oppenheimer
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500 People from Gaza enter France

115 Special programme for artists

25   Evacuation of injured and sick

Match info

Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace

Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)

Asia Cup Qualifier

Final
UAE v Hong Kong

TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Most wanted allegations
  • Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
  • Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
  • Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer. 
  • Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 
Updated: May 29, 2023, 1:14 PM`