Morocco to Begin Compulsory Insurance for Natural Disasters Early 2020

Morocco to Begin Compulsory Insurance for Natural Disasters Early 2020
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Morocco to Begin Compulsory Insurance for Natural Disasters Early 2020

Morocco to Begin Compulsory Insurance for Natural Disasters Early 2020

Compulsory insurance against natural and terrorist disaster damages will begin in Morocco in early 2020, according to Nouman Essami, director at the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance.

His comments were made Monday during the opening of the 26th Afro-Asian Federation of Insurance and Reinsurance (FAIR) Conference held in Morocco.

Essami pointed out that the mechanism of securing catastrophic cases in Morocco, whether resulting from nature or from human activities such as terrorism, has been put in place in recent years.

He said all the concerned legal provisions are ready in addition to the formation of a solidarity fund against disasters.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare (ACAPS) Hassan Boubrik told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new insurance act will be compulsory and cover all Moroccan residents.

On how the insurance works, Boubrik said it would be included as a special article in all insurance contracts, except for life insurance.

For those who do not have insurance contracts, Boubrik explained that they will benefit from the newly created Disaster Solidarity Fund, whose director has been recently appointed by the Moroccan King.

He said the Fund will be operational starting early 2020.

The Conference kickstarted Monday in Marrakech and witnessed the participation of 1,100 insurance and reinsurance companies from both continents.

The general assembly of the Afro-Asian FAIR has elected Morocco as president of the federation for the next two years.

FAIR’s board of directors handed over the presidency from Bahrain’s Yassir al-Baharna to Morocco’s Youssef Fassi Fihri during the opening ceremony.

The Kingdom is a founding member of the Afro-Asian FAIR in 1964 in line with the implementation of the principles of the Bandung Declaration on cooperation among Non-Aligned Countries.



BP to Sell its US Onshore Wind Business

The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo
The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo
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BP to Sell its US Onshore Wind Business

The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo
The logo of British multinational oil and gas company BP is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo

British Petroleum (BP) plans to sell its US onshore wind energy business, it announced on Monday, saying the assets were not aligned with its growth plans.

BP said it will launch the sale process shortly for the wind assets, bp Wind Energy, which has interests in 10 operating onshore wind energy assets across seven US states, according to Reuters.

“We believe the business is likely to be of greater value for another owner,” William Lin, BP's executive vice president for gas and low carbon energy said in a statement.

Several offshore wind companies have cancelled or sought to renegotiate power contracts for planned US projects in the past year, citing soaring materials costs, high interest rates, and supply chain disruptions.

bp Wind Energy's assets, which have net total generating capacity of 1.3 gigawatts, are not aligned with BP's plans for growth in Lightsource bp, the London-listed company said.

BP announced in November it would take full ownership of Lightsource bp, Europe's largest solar energy developer.

The deal to build up its renewable energy capacity is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

It said on Monday it would integrate its onshore renewable power development into Lightsource bp.

The move also comes as BP's new CEO Murray Auchincloss has imposed a hiring freeze and paused new offshore wind projects as he places a renewed emphasis on oil and gas amid investor discontent over its energy transition strategy, sources at the company told Reuters in June.

It marks a stark reversal from the direction the CEO's predecessor Bernard Looney took to rapidly move away from fossil fuels.

This has weighed on BP's shares as returns from renewables shrank, while profits from oil and gas soared in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last month, Danish renewable energy group Orsted reported 3.9 billion Danish crowns ($581.59 million) in impairment losses for the second quarter, partly due to delays in a major US offshore wind project.