With a heritage spanning nearly 180 years through Aegon and Transamerica, Transamerica Life Bermuda brings significant experience of managing large sums assured and managing complex customer scenarios to the Middle East.

Transamerica Life Bermuda, a global high net worth life insurer, has been granted a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to establish a presence in Dubai International Financial Centre.

Transamerica Life Bermuda, which has a heritage spanning nearly 180 years through Aegon and Transamerica, brings experience in large sums assured and managing complex customer scenarios to the Middle East, the firm said in a statement this week.

Adnan Ladki has been appointed as head of DIFC for Transamerica Life Bermuda and will work closely with the leadership team to advance the company’s ambitions for the region.

“Our entry into the DIFC marks a significant milestone in our global growth strategy,” Kristine Ung, chief executive officer at Transamerica Life Bermuda, said. “Securing this licence will allow us to support our distribution partners in the Middle East, which is becoming a vital international financial and wealth management hub.”

“We are delighted to welcome Transamerica Life Bermuda to DIFC. Our progressive and pioneering laws and regulations continue to attract leading industry names to DIFC, which includes more than 125 insurance related entities,” Salmaan Jaffery, chief business development officer of DIFC Authority, said. “As the region’s only global hub for insurance and reinsurance, we look forward to working with Transamerica Life Bermuda to help them access the vast opportunities available from the Centre.”

Over 20 years, DIFC has steered development within the insurance and reinsurance industry, attracting talent and technical expertise to access markets in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa region. DIFC says it is an attractive base for reinsurers, reinsurance brokers, and managing general agents (MGAs) to set up their operations. DIFC is also home to a range of world-class insurance brokers, five of whom are among the top ranked entities by AM Best. DIFC announced record-breaking growth in 2024 with a total of 6,920 active companies, with record-breaking financial performance. This news service has spoken to Arif Amiri, chief executive of the DIFC Authority about developments in the region.

Transamerica Life Bermuda is following several private banks, wealth managers, fiduciary firms and other advisors which have set up shop in the Gulf, tapping into the regions rapidly-growing wealth. Firms doing more business in the region, sometimes with new offices and licences, include Manulife, IQ-EQ, Titan Wealth, Avaloq, Canaccord, Rothschild & Co, Hamilton Lane, Indosuez Wealth Management, Bank of Singapore, and GSB Capital, among others.