Qatar Insurance Company has added travel and loyalty tools to the QIC App, widening the platform beyond insurance sales as the Doha-listed group seeks a bigger role in the booking, rewards and visitor-services chain around Qatar’s expanding tourism market.The 15 June update allows QIC customers to convert loyalty Coins into Avios, the rewards currency used by Qatar Airways Privilege Club. The converted balance can be spent on flights, cabin upgrades and Qatar Duty Free purchases, linking an insurer’s rewards programme to one of the Gulf’s most visible airline loyalty ecosystems.
The move gives QIC a stronger position in travel planning as financial services, telecoms and aviation brands compete to hold customers inside app-based platforms. It also broadens the use of QIC Coins, which can now be deployed not only for rewards conversion but also as partial payment for outbound travel insurance premiums when combined with other electronic payment methods.
The company has introduced hotel booking through the same application, bringing accommodation options into a platform already used for buying and managing policies. The feature has been positioned around convenience and competitive rates, with QIC working with hospitality and service providers to offer choices across budget ranges. A separate Calendar function allows residents and visitors to browse events taking place in Qatar through the year, giving the app a role in itinerary planning as well as cover purchase.
International visitors buying Mandatory Visitors’ Health Insurance through QIC’s digital channels will receive a complimentary Ooredoo eSIM under a new partnership with the telecoms operator. Customers are sent an activation link after purchase, allowing them to download and set up mobile connectivity before arrival. The offer ties insurance compliance, communications access and destination services into a single transaction, a model increasingly used by travel platforms to reduce friction at the point of entry.
Group Chief Executive Salem Al Mannai described the changes as part of a digital strategy that has moved QIC beyond a narrow focus on core insurance products towards non-insurance services for daily life. The emphasis signals a wider repositioning of the app as a consumer ecosystem rather than only a policy-management channel.
Qatar’s visitor insurance rules have made the inbound segment especially relevant for insurers with strong digital distribution. Mandatory visitors’ health cover has been part of entry arrangements since 2023, with the standard policy priced at QAR 50 per month. QIC markets the product as a paperless purchase that can be completed within minutes and provides emergency medical protection during a stay in Qatar.
The tourism backdrop has strengthened the business case for travel-linked digital services. Qatar received 5.1 million international visitors in 2025, up 3.7 per cent from the previous year, with the GCC accounting for 35 per cent of arrivals and Europe 25 per cent. Air travel remained the largest entry channel at 61 per cent, while land arrivals made up 32 per cent and sea arrivals 7 per cent. Room nights sold rose 8.6 per cent to more than 10.8 million, and average market occupancy reached 71 per cent.
For QIC, the app expansion fits a period of steady earnings and premium growth. The group reported QAR 217 million in net profit for the first quarter of 2026, a 6 per cent rise from the same period a year earlier. Gross written premiums reached QAR 3.2 billion, up 13 per cent, while insurance service results rose 70 per cent to QAR 130 million. Full-year 2025 gross written premiums grew to QAR 9.9 billion, and net profit attributable to shareholders reached QAR 791 million.
The Avios link could sharpen customer retention by giving policyholders a reward that is easier to value than closed-loop loyalty points. Airline miles and travel upgrades are familiar incentives in the Gulf, where carriers, banks and retailers use loyalty currencies to deepen customer relationships. For QIC, the conversion option places its app inside a regional pattern in which insurers are using rewards, payments and lifestyle benefits to make low-frequency insurance interactions more frequent.
The model carries execution challenges. Customers will judge the service on conversion value, booking availability, claims handling and the reliability of eSIM activation as much as on the headline partnership. Hotels and events also expose the app to comparison with specialist travel platforms that already command user habits. QIC’s advantage lies in combining compulsory visitor cover, outbound travel insurance, rewards and destination tools in one regulated financial-services environment.
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