Operating a combined business of personal insurance and fund accumulation operations along with property and liability insurance is barred by the provisions of Article No. 25 of the UAE Federal Law of 2007 which established the Insurance Authority and the regulation of the insurance business.
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the minister of economy and chairman of the Insurance Authority, said in a statement the decision to grant a one-year extension for the relevant insurance companies came as part of the UAE’s approach to support national companies and improve their performance.
He added that the decision stemmed from the government’s desire to provide more opportunity for the companies to regularize their positions according to the prescribed criteria “in order to strengthen the competitive environment in the UAE markets”.
It also facilitated the application of legal procedures that serve the economic development in the UAE and contributed to the development of the insurance sector’s performance to more advanced levels, he said.
The minister stressed that the decision to extend the period, following many other previous opportunities, gives the companies the chance to rectify their positions in an appropriate manner without affecting their performance.
He also noted the importance of persons’ insurance, fund accumulation operations, property and liability insurance for the business of insurance companies, and the insurance sector’s growing role in the UAE in general.
Earned premiums in the insurance sector in property and liability insurance classes rose to 24.9bn dirhams (£4.4bn, $6.8bn, €6.0bn) in 2014, up10.6% over 2013, while the total written premiums in insurance of persons and fund accumulation operations amounted to 8.6 billion Dirhams in 2014.
According to the Insurance Authority, there are 13 UAE companies engaged in insurance of persons and fund accumulation operations, along with property and liability insurance, including 11 national companies and two foreign companies.
The data also shows there are 20 national companies and 17 foreign companies engaged in property and liability insurance classes only, and the number of insurance companies engaged in insurance of persons and fund accumulation operations only are two national companies and eight foreign companies.
