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  • Chapter II Licensing and Registration

    • Licensing and Registration Conditions

      • Article 4

        I. The licensing requirements for Insurance Brokerage are as follows:
         

        1. The applicant must be a juridical person having one of the following forms:
           
          1. A company incorporated in the UAE in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law, having the objective of practicing the Insurance Brokerage activity.
             
          2. A branch of a company incorporated in a financial free zone in the UAE, or a branch of a foreign company, provided that such company is licensed to practice this activity in the said financial free zone or in the country of origin in the same insurance type and class; and should be subject to the control of a counterpart supervisory authority, with a minimum five years of practice in Insurance Brokerage, and subject to any controls or conditions set by the IA.
             
        2. The paid capital may not be less than (AED 3,000,000) three million Dirhams for a company incorporated in the UAE and (AED 10,000,000) ten million Dirhams for the branch of a company incorporated in a financial free zone or the branch of a foreign company.
           
        3. A Letter of Guarantee produced by a bank in favor of the IA must be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions referred to herein.
           
        4. A professional indemnity insurance policy in favor of the IA must be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions referred to herein.
           
        5. The technical and administrative staff required for practicing the activity must be appointed in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
           
        6. A suitable headquarters, software and technical systems required to practice the activity must be provided.
           
        7. An internal control system to ensure the sound application of law, regulations, instructions, resolutions and circulars issued thereunder must be provided.
           
        8. A true copy of the agreement concluded between the license applicant and a bank operating in the UAE concerning the account designated for the practice of Insurance Brokerage must be submitted.
           
        9. Full payment of the prescribed fees must be made.
           
        10. To comply with any additional conditions or requirements determined by the IA.

        II. An Insurance Broker must continuously satisfy all the license conditions.

    • Technical and Administrative Staff

      • Article 5

        1. Individuals to be appointed in the technical and administrative staff must satisfy the following conditions:
           
          1. Be a natural person enjoying full capacity.
             
          2. Be of good conduct and behavior, and has never been sentenced for a freedom restricting punishment in a moral turpitude crime without being rehabilitated.
             
          3. Has not stopped the payment of his commercial debts even if not associated with bankruptcy declaration, or has been judged bankrupt without being rehabilitated.
             
        2. An Insurance Broker shall notify the IA of the appointment of any accredited personnel, and of any modification or alteration that may arise regarding their transfer or termination, stating the reasons thereof. An Insurance Broker shall also notify the IA once any of the accredited posts becomes vacant and an alternative is appointed until such vacant post is permanently filled within a maximum period of 60 business days from the date of vacancy.
      • Article 6

        1. An Insurance Broker must continuously have the technical staff required to practice the
          licensed activity and must at least appoint employees to assuming the following jobs:
           
          1. General Manager or Chief Executive Officer.
             
          2. Operations Manager.
             
          3. Internal Auditor, (natural or corporate person).
             
          4. At least one specialized employee for each licensed insurance type or class.
             
        2. The shall hold a decision to determine the qualifications, experience, duties and restrictions for each one of the jobs listed in clause (1) of this article.
           
        3. No one may combine two jobs of the jobs approved by the IA at the same time.
    • Application for License

      • Article 7

        The application of a license to practice the activities of the Insurance Brokerage shall be submitted to the IA according to the designated form enclosing information, data and documents supporting the application for license, particularly:
         

        1. The legal form of the applicant, along with a report stating the names of the partners, members of the board of directors or management board and the executive management.
           
        2. An acknowledgment that the partners and the Director General or Chief Executive Officer have never been declared bankrupt, as well as providing certificates of good conduct confirming that none of them has been sentenced for a freedom restricting punishment.
           
        3. A statement showing any legal or judicial obligations or liabilities related to the applicant.
           
        4. A statement showing the technical systems used and the work procedures proposed for practicing the activity of Insurance Brokerage.
           
        5. Types and classes of the insurance business applied for.
           
        6. Training and Emiratization plan for AUE nationals.
           
        7. In addition to the above, a branch of a foreign company, or a branch of a company incorporated in a financial free zone shall submit the following:
           
          1. An official certificate issued by the competent authority showing the company’s
            incorporation, registration and licensing to practice the activity of Insurance
            Brokerage in the types and classes of insurance to be practiced in the UAE.
             
          2. A copy of the financial statements for the last two years audited, approved and
            prepared in the UAE Dirhams.
             
          3. A true copy of the board of directors' or management board’s decision approving
            the opening of a branch in the UAE.
             
        8. An undertaking to satisfy all license conditions required in case of approving the application for license within the period determined by the IA; otherwise the approval shall be null and void; as well as undertaking not to start practicing the activity before the IA ensures that the applicant has satisfied all license conditions and IA’s approval in this regard is issued.
           
        9. Any other documents and data required by the IA.
    • Considering the Application for License

      • Article 8

        1. The IA shall issue its decision of approving or rejecting the application for license within a maximum period of 20 working days as from the date of submitting the complete application. The IA may subject its approval to grant the license to the conditions and restrictions at the discretion of the IA, or may suspend the granting of licenses due to the requirements of the public interest for the period it deems suitable.
           
        2. Once the application for license is approved, the Insurance Broker shall be registered in the IA's Insurance Brokers Register.
           
        3. An Insurance Broker may add a type or class of insurance to the granted license under an application to be submitted to the IA on the form designated for this purpose after meeting all the related conditions and requirements.
    • Term and Renewal of the License

      • Article 9

        1. The term of license shall be one year expiring at the end of December every year. The validity period of the first license shall be from the date of issuance through the end of December of the same year.
           
        2. The license shall be renewable under an application to be submitted to the IA at least one month prior to the expiry date after ensuring that the Insurance Broker has continuously abided to the provisions of these Regulations and has paid the prescribed annual renewal fees. The IA shall issue its decision on the complete application within 10 working days as from the date of submitting the same.
           
        3. The IA may suspend the Insurance Broker from practicing the activity in case of failure to submit a complete application for license renewal.
    • Temporary Suspension and Cancellation of the License

      • Article 10

        1. An Insurance Broker wishing to temporarily suspend the activity practice, or an Insurance Broker having a contingent reason preventing it from practicing the activity, must submit an application to the IA to temporarily suspend the activity practice and to continue practicing the activity until the IA's decision is issued. The IA may reject or approve the application for suspension after meeting all the requirements deemed appropriate by the IA in a manner achieving the interests of companies, clients and beneficiaries, provided that the suspension period may not exceed (3) months as from the date of approval thereon. Such period may be extended for another similar period subject to the Insurance Broker continuing to comply with the conditions and requirements deemed necessary by the IA to reinstate the license. The Insurance Broker shall maintain the letter of guarantee and professional indemnity insurance policy during such period.
           
        2. The Insurance Broker may not practice their activity during the suspension period. In all cases, the Insurance Broker may request to resume the practice before the end of the suspension period whether the suspension was optional or when the preventing cause ceases to exist.
           
        3. An Insurance Broker wishing to suspend the practice permanently shall submit an application to the IA, and shall continue to practice the activity until it has satisfied all requirements for the cancellation of the license as determined by the IA and the issuance of the IA's decision in this regard.
           

        The cancellation decision shall be issued by the IA and immediately published in two widely circulated daily newspapers in the UAE one in Arabic language and the other in English language at the Insurance Broker's expense. The letter of guarantee shall be recovered and the professional indemnity insurance policy shall be terminated after the elapse of 3 months as from the date of publication in case the IA approved the same after the settlement of all the Insurance Broker's transactions and ensuring that there are no liabilities thereon towards the IA or towards other companies, clients or beneficiaries arising from its practice of the Insurance Brokerage activity.