Professional Liability Insurance Forum, a major event being hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) from October 21 to 22, has won the backing of Bahrain's labour fund Tamkeen.

A first-of-its-kind event in the Gulf region, the forum, is being under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain and with the support of Al Baraka Banking Group as banking sponsor.

It is also being supported by General Arab Insurance Federation (GAIF) and the Bahrain Insurance Association (BIA).

Announcing this on Sunday, BIA chairman Younis Jamal said, "Tamkeen has launched its "Conference Attendance Scheme," whereby interested and qualifying Bahraini participants can now effectively have 80 per cent of their registration and attendance fees covered by Tamkeen."

Dr Jarmo Kotilaine, the chief economist at EDB, the Forum's Strategic Partner, also took part in the press conference.

Jamal said: "We're extremely pleased to announce Tamkeen’s support for the Forum through this innovative scheme, which aims to promote knowledge transfer, best-practices and networking. With the high level discussion and participants expected at the forum including leading international and regional insurers and corporates, we are certain that there is much knowledge and benefit to be gained for all those taking part."

"We encourage organisations to take advantage of Tamkeen's scheme and the opportunity to exhibit, and directly engage with audiences that require insurance and other professional services," he noted.

The Forum will address a wide range of issues across multiple professional liability lines including developing the marketplace for liability insurance, managing needs of liability insurance, and liability policies in constitution defect litigation.

Dr Kotilaine said the event was an excellent opportunity for insurance companies operating in Bahrain and the region to discuss common challenges and share ideas on how to benefit from the fast growing $1.5 trillion GCC market.

Bahrain, he stated, was an insurance hub for the region from which insurers are able to access increasing demand for sophisticated financial services in the Gulf. "We are proud to be hosting the forum; we are always on the lookout for ways to help the industry to expand and share best practice,” he added.

It is expected to attract more than 300 participants from insurance and reinsurance companies, regulatory agencies, brokers and financial institutions as well as corporates across all industry sectors.-TradeArabia News Service