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  • Chapter Four: Price Comparison Websites

    • Article (15)

      1. Insurance Companies and Insurance-Related Professions are prohibited from dealing with Price Comparison Websites, except for Insurance Brokers.
      2. In the event that the company deals with an Insurance Broker that deals with Price Comparison Websites, the company shall abide by the prices and coverage that appears on the Price Comparison Websites.
         
      3. When dealing with Price Comparison Websites, Insurance Brokers are obliged to do the following:
        a. Not to deal with websites not registered with the Authority.
        b. Providing the Authority with a copy of the agreement signed between the Insurance Broker and the owner of the Price Comparison Website, containing the terms and conditions, including not allowing them to issue or market any kind of insurance policies, and that the service provided by the website is to compare prices only and that the right to communicate with customers is limited to the Insurance Broker. The Insurance Broker shall also refrain from granting price comparison websites any authority to issue an insurance certificate. The agreement shall also indicate the amount of the allowance received by the Price Comparison Website which must be as a referral allowance in the form of a lump sum only.
         
      4. The Price Comparison Websites that handle insurance, for the purposes of registration, shall satisfy the following:
        a. To be a company registered in the State according to the Commercial Companies Law or one of the financial free zones in the State.
        b. Submit a registration application to the Authority in accordance with the approved regulations.
        c. Providing the Authority with a copy of the agreement concluded with the Insurance Broker, provided that it includes referral fees for Price Comparison Websites provided that they are in the form of lump sums and it is prohibited to charge a commission for the services they provide.
        d. To have one of the goals of the company in its memorandum of incorporation is to provide a service for comparing insurance premium rates.
        e. Insofar as the issue relates to insurance, the company should not extend its work on anything other than providing premium comparison services.
        f. Not to engage in the activity of the Insurance Agent, insurance Broker, or any other insurance-related professions, or carry out insurance underwriting operations or receive insurance premiums.
        g. The Website clearly and explicitly and legibly included that the website only provides insurance policy price comparison services.
        h. Refrain from maintaining, storing or copying any electronic data or information related to potential clients or clients and such information must be transferred electronically to the company in question without making copies thereof.
        i. Submit an undertaking to the Authority to abide by Federal Law No. (6) of 2007 concerning the Establishment of the Insurance Authority and organization of Insurance Operations, the amendments thereof, its regulations, instructions, decisions and circulars issued pursuant thereto.
        j. Designating an employee who is concerned with communicating with the Authority, and providing the Authority with his contact information and updating it periodically.
         
      5. Price Comparison Websites must apply to renew the registration annually, including the following: -
        a. A list of the brokers contracted with during the year.
        b. Any changes to the agreement concluded with the Broker.
        c. A statement of the revenues generated by the Brokers.
        d. A list of the insurance lines that are compared.
        e. Any matters decided by the IA.
         
      6. Price Comparison Websites are prohibited from communicating with the customer, and communication shall only be made through an Insurance Broker.
      7. The provisions of the Regulations herein shall be applied to Price Comparison Websites, to the extent that they are applied to them, and according to what is decided by the Authority in this regard.
      8. In the event that any of the violations of the Price Comparison Websites are proven according to evidence available to the IA or the Competent Authorities, the IA may take any of the following measures and penalties:
        a. Warning the Price Comparison Website to take appropriate measures to rectify its conditions during a specific period.
        b. In the event that the conditions are not rectified within the specified period, the Price Comparison Website is prohibited from dealing with the Insurance Broker for a period not exceeding six months.
        c. In the event of repeating the violation, the website shall be blocked for a temporary period in coordination with the Competent Authorities, or the website shall be completely blocked, according to the discretion of the IA.