Insurance laws in UAE

UAE has made several changes and developments in the laws and regulations for insurance in the Unit. Most recently, the UAE Insurance Authority (“IA”) issued a regulation that formed specialist committees for the resolution and settlement of insurance disputes.

In this note, we briefly set out the position taking into account the various applicable regulations, our experience

Insurance Authority regulations

The Insurance Authority first declared its intention to amend the insurance laws with a response to an alarming amount of complaints about how savings, investment and life insurance policies are sold in the Emirates. The amendment made in insurance laws are as follows;

The customer’s disclosures will also face a greater cap for a commission that can be applied to the sale for protecting the products which include fixed term saving plans.
All the instructions in this provision shall apply to all the companies and channels and any other insurance related professions and authorities.
Some of the measures also include disclosures and caps provided as commissions to financial advisors for a fixed period.

Settlement and resolution Committee setup for handling insurance claims

UAE has set up a committee for settlement of disputes regarding insurance claims. Committee also redressal the grievances of the people who have met with insurance issues.

The settlement committee can claim damages to the grieving party and also take any other action if any case comes.

The new decision provides a new insurance system for settlement of insurance claims for settlement no dispute in UAE.

The formation of a mandatory committee is to settle and resolve all the disputes regarding insurance claims. This disputes also include the issues related to real estate, insurance products and interested parties against insurers.

Changes that have been clarified by the decision are as follows:

Settlement committee newly introduced by this new decision should consist of three members, each appointed for a one-year period;
This committee also includes a chairman and two other members form the insurance authority of Dubai.
Settlement commit will be headed or judged by the chairman
When there is any claim brought up by the insurer under a policy in accordance with the laws and requirements of UAE, If the commit fails to settle such dispute then the author may submit a complaint to settle the dispute on Fastrack.
The authority may also seek the clarifications from the insurer in response will be provided within 5 working days. Clarification which are finalized from the insures before the authority will proceed to the committee to solve the dispute.
All the disputes should be solved within 15 working days from the date of submission of an application or complaint.
The period of 15 days can also be extended if the parties agree to the extension or by any decision of the committee.
The committee also has a wide power to receive and all the document sand evidence against any claims brought against the party. The case dealings will be recorded and to hold remote hearings by means such as videoconference or telephone hearings in order to reduce the need for parties to attend in person.

Imposing of fines and penalties

This change in the decision will make an impact on dealing with all the claims. This amendment is applicable to all the people related to the insurance business in the UAE.

The new decision contains a list of more penalties and fines that can bring up to AED250000 for serious violations the fines can also go up to 2 million for repeated offense.

The fine which is ordinarily regulated will have less effect on the claims. There are the number of fines that can be introduced with the amendment. Fines that are newly introduced by the new decision deal with the claims brought up by the insurance parties and will be considered if anyone breaches is duties.

The insurance laws in UAE are a bit complex, but the services within the UAE an extremely high quality which is why they can be expensive. If you nor aware of new regulations of insurance laws in Dubai and you still need to know more about insurance laws and your obligations, utilize the knowledge and experience of the experts on insurance law. Contact HHS lawyers and they can provide you with guidance on insurance laws and answer any questions that you may have.

How many insurance companies are there in UAE?

There are 62 insurance companies in UAE. As are 35 national companies and 27 foreign insurance companies.