Takaful News - Sudan: Insurers protest against increase in blood money
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2016
Insurers in Sudan are up in arms over the Chief Justice’s decision to raise blood money by more than 800%, a move they fear will lead to a collapse of the insurance market, local media has reported.
The Chief Justice, Professor Haidar Ahmed Dafalla, issued a criminal justice circular in March amending the value of the full blood money to at least SDG330,000 (US$53,796), applicable to insurance in the event of death caused by an accident. The blood money amount had been SDG30,000-40,000 since 2009. The new blood money payout is set to take effect from next year.
Mr Sayed Mowaia Mirghani Abbasher, Secretary General of the Association of the Sudanese Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (ASIRC), said in a statement that ASIRC is working to find solutions to the decision and holding consultations with the Insurance Supervisory Authority and insurers. He has warned that insurers would be forced to raise premiums.
Sudan’s largest insurer, Shiekan Insurance & Reinsurance, has proposed a gradual increase in the blood money instead. Its legal adviser told the Sudan News Agency that insurers would face heavy losses if the blood money was increased dramatically without a corresponding increase in premiums.
SDG1 = US$0.16