UAE: IA issues strict regulation for bancassurance
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jul 2018
The UAE Insurance Authority (IA) has said that all insurers and takaful operators need to obtain its authorisation before they sell products through banks.
The Authority also said that an insurer can no longer sign an agency, brokerage or consulting agreement with banks. They can only sign a distribution agreement. Insurers can sign agreements with more than one bank, and banks are not allowed to sell products to persons who are not their clients, reported Al Khaleej.
In its set of rules for bancassurance, the IA said a bank needs to appoint an employee responsible for the insurance business. Those involved in marketing insurance products at the bank must have successfully passed three training courses in insurance or insurance brokerage in accordance with requirements specified by the IA.
The approval for bancassurance products is issued for the marketing of insurance policies according to the types and branches of insurance to be sold for a duration of one year ending at the end of December each year, with the first approval starting from the date of the grant until the end of December of the same year.
The regulation also states that the bank is only a channel of marketing and is not responsible for the terms and conditions of insurance products nor for the payment of any compensation. M