By Ibrahim Kasita

AFRICA Re-Holds is offering training to regional local insurance companies to enable them provide insurance services to the nascent oil and gas industry.

The A-rated company by Standard & Poor’s is responding to the growing need for insurance technical skills and knowledge in providing cover for specialised oil and energy risks after the discovery of commercially viable oil and gas reserves in western Uganda.

The training involves petroleum exploration and drilling, the structure of the energy risks insurance within the overall insurance market, exploration and control of well policy.

Other areas are offshore and onshore risks and insurance programme, onshore and offshore liability, energy policy wording and localisation of oil and energy insurance.

“The cooperation has identified oil and energy insurance as one of he classes of insurance which needs this technical assistance particularly in view of the fact the discovery of oil and gas in the East Africa region is a recent development that will bring into focus a multitude of risks hitherto not experienced,” George Otieno, the regional boss, said.

“This new risk exposure calls for specialised knowledge from insurance practitioners intending to provide protection against the insurable risks that could be a major threat to the massive capital investments required by those in the oil and energy business.”

Africa Re-Holds is among the top 50 re-insurers worldwide by retained premium income, with paid up capital of $100m and shareholders’ fund of $280m.

In 2009, the group’s gross premium was $536.38m, an increase from $401.04m posted in the previous year. Profit after tax increased to $44.31m compared to $20.41 in the previous year.

The corporation’s shareholders comprise 41 African countries including Uganda, the African Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, DEG of Germany, FMO of the Netherlands and Proparco of France.