UAE Insurance Authority Sets New Regulations for Insurance Broking

29 December 2020

The UAE Insurance Authority has rolled out new draft regulations for insurance brokerage and online transactions. This draft has 13 chapters and 38 articles that explain insurance broking like governance, registration and licensing, the insurance broker and insurance company roles to the broker, insurance broker’s roles, solvency, mergers, financial reports and disclosures, supervisions, dispute settlements, and penalties.

Who is an Insurance Broker?

The new draft law defines an insurance broker as a juridical individual who intervenes in insurance or reinsurance activities between the insurance/reinsurance proposer and an insurance/reinsurance company and receives a commission from the insurance/reinsurance company.

The provisions of the new draft apply to distribution channels, companies, and any other insurance-related business approved by the authority. These regulations focus on shielding policyholders and guarantee that they receive value for their money by purchasing various products.

The New Insurance Law Provisions

The new insurance law requires an insurance broker to adhere to these regulations for electronic transactions.

Criteria for Insurance Brokerage Licensing

A company must be established in the United Arab Emirates and registered based on the Commercial Companies Law. The company should own a share capital of AED 3 million or more. You need to pay AED 10 million or more and register with the UAE Commercial Law if you run a branch of a financial Free Zone or a Foreign Company. You can consult a law firm in Dubai to help you with these procedures.

It is mandatory to submit an unconditional Letter of Guarantee from a bank; this is paid on demand to the Insurance Authority chairman board of directors. This can be fully or partially liquidated to guarantee the broker’s settlement of transactions and obligations.

You must obtain an insurance policy to cover your profession at a value of AED 2 million for UAE companies and a minimum of AED 3 million for a financial Free Zone or a Foreign Company branch in the UAE.

You must appoint the administrative and technical staff continually. You need convenient headquarters, software, and technical systems for your profession. It is also mandatory to have an internal control system to govern applications of laws, regulations, resolutions, and circulars in adherence to the Insurance Authority regulations. The next step is to submit the agreement between you and the bank, pay the full fees, and comply with any extra regulations. The Insurance Authority approves or rejects the application within 20 working days.

Technical and Administrative Staff

The technical staff of an insurance broker has specific regulations. It is a requirement to appoint at least 1 General Manager, Internal Auditor, Operation Manager, and 1 qualified worker for each type of insurance. Below are the qualifications for the appointment of technical and administrative staff;

A natural individual enjoying full capacity
An individual of good conduct; never been sentenced for freedom restricting punishment in a moral decadency crime without rehabilitation.
Pays his commercial debts even if not declared bankruptcy.

You need to notify the Insurance Authority of appointments, transfers, terminations, or modifications within 60 days.

Roles of the Insurance Broker

You must make internal by-laws and submit a copy to the Insurance Authority Dubai offices within 3 months after obtaining a license. You must review and update the internal control system continually; this ensures that you have proper laws, regulations, resolutions, and circulars.

It is necessary to design an Operations Guide for periodical updates, risk management, and review it according to the rules. Create a professional code of conduct for the staff and supervise and plan their duties according to the Insurance Authority (AI). Collaborate with the internal controller to enable employees to perform their tasks and report any violations to the authority.

You can only dismiss the internal controller by the board of management or board of directors’ decision; this happens if you notify the internal controller and IA of the dismissal at least 30 working days before the dismissal.

Penalties

The IA developed penalties so that insurance brokers do not violate the instructions, regulations, laws, and circulars. If you violate any laws, you receive a warning that compels you to remove the infringement and ensure this does not happen in the future. The IA might suspend you from practicing for a maximum period of 1 year.

The Insurance Authority cancels licenses in the following incidences;

Violating any license conditions
Gross breach of your obligations
Failure to renew your license (delay paying fines or failure to pay renewal fees)
A final bank declaration associating you with bankruptcy
The dissolution and liquidation of your practice
Failure to practice your licensed profession within 6 months after obtaining the license
If you obtained your license through false information.

The insurance sector in the United Arab Emirates is expected to rise; this is why the Insurance Authority issued new regulations to govern insurance brokerage. Brokers have to adhere to set regulations or face penalties. Technical and administrative staff also has to meet various qualifications. This allows brokers to have a set of laws to refer to.

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The Basics of Criminal Appeals Law

In this article, we want to quickly look at the subject of criminal appeal and the laws that govern it. We are not approaching it like a law school course addressed at lawyers but as a general informative content meant for those who may not be so knowledgeable in legal matters. Hopefully, the information we will share here however basic will help you get a better understanding of this process of criminal appeal and how you can take advantage of it should you be in a position where such an action becomes necessary. The Basics of Criminal Appeals Law: An Overview: A criminal appeal is a process where an individual who has been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction and convicted for a crime decides to seek the intervention of a higher court. The purpose of this intervention could be to seek an overturn of the conviction reached by the lower court based on a few points that we will look at later. It could also be to seek a reduction in the sentencing delivered upon conviction. In either case, the defendant is turning to a higher court so that s/he can get a more favorable outcome in the form of an acquittal or a sentence reduction. When an appeal is filed, the higher court will go through the process that the lower court went through to reach its verdict. This means that there shall be no testimonies or submissions of fresh evidence. The decision of the higher court will be based solely on the recordings of the concluded court proceedings. It is from this recorded process that the appealing counsel will point out the grounds of their appeal and it is also from these recorded proceedings that the higher court will reach its decision. It is important to understand that it is common to find the higher courts in the U.S naturally favoring the decisions of the lower court. It will take some very clear infractions or errors to cause a higher court to overturn the judgment of the lower court. Grounds on Which an Appeal Can be Made: We mentioned above that an appeal has to be based on certain grounds. We will now look at a few of these grounds upon which a criminal appeal can be filed. An appeal can be file if any of the following happened during the trial at the lower court: There is a clear error in the interpretation of the law. The verdict given is not backed up by clear evidence. The ruling of the lower court bothered on abuse of its discretion. The defendant claims that his/her representation was inadequate. Any of the points above are grounds upon which an appeal can be filed. You should, however, understand that the appellate court must find evidence in the proceedings of the trial as shown by your attorney in your appeal filing that supports your claim. If the higher court does not find enough evidence supporting your claim, it will be thrown out. What You Should Do: If you have just gone through a criminal trial and you were not happy with the outcome because you felt the process was somehow flawed, you could ask your lawyer what your chances will be if you were to take it to a higher court. We understand that it is likely that your attorney is the reason why the outcome of the trial was the way it is. If this is the case, then having such an attorney handle your appeal will not be a very smart move. You’ve already made the mistake of choosing an attorney who could not properly represent your interest in court, do not make the mistake of having the same attorney contest this outcome in a higher court for you. You can find a lawyer here with the experience to look through the records of your case and give you a candid opinion. There’s no point in spending time and money contesting a case that is certainly not going to go your way no matter where you take it. What you need is a correct assessment of your chances. If it is seen that there are indeed solid grounds on which an appeal can be filed, you should engage the services of Criminal Appeals Toronto attorney with the required expertise, who knows exactly how to prepare your case to give you the best chance of getting a better verdict. Bonus knowledge: Check out our blog regarding Criminal Law Enforcement Read Also: Keys To Become A Successful Lawyer 3 Reasons Why You Might Need A Family Lawyer Three Practical Tips And Techniques For New Trial Lawyers

Discusses the Growing Problems of Living Alone

Researchers have concluded that living alone, being socially isolated, and feeling lonely can pose significant health risks, particularly in older adults. Although the terms living alone, social isolation and loneliness are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Specifically, living alone and being socially isolated are objective determinations either that a person lives solo, or has few relationships or infrequent social contact. According to the Administration on Aging (a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), nearly one-third (28%) of non-institutionalized adults 65 and older – 13.8 million people – live alone. Despite living alone, however, these adults may or may not be included within the category of social isolation depending on the nature of their relationships and the frequency of their social contacts. In contrast, loneliness is determined on a subjective basis. Loneliness is based on a person’s individual feelings of disconnectedness, isolation, or not belonging. Said differently, loneliness arises because of the divergence between a person’s desired level of social connection and the actual level of connection. To be clear, a person living alone may not necessarily feel lonely, whereas someone living with a number of other people may still experience loneliness. Risk Factors A recent survey of older adults determined that 43% feel lonely on a regular basis. More concerning is that among those who report feeling lonely, there is a 45% increased mortality risk. Steve Cole, the director of the Social Genomics Core Laboratory at UCLA, explains: “Loneliness acts as a fertilizer for other diseases. The biology of loneliness can accelerate the buildup of plaque in the arteries, help cancer cells grow and spread, and promote inflammation in the brain leading to Alzheimer’s disease. Loneliness promotes several different types of wear and tear on the body.” Research has established links between living alone, social isolation, and loneliness to a variety of physical and mental conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and even death. Indeed, a recent meta-analysis – representing cumulative evidence from 148 studies involving over 300,000 participants – determined that greater social connection is associated with a 50% reduced risk of early death. A second meta-analysis by the same researchers – representing cumulative evidence from 70 studies involving more than 3.4 million participants followed for an average of 7 years – similarly concluded that living alone (objective determination), social isolation (objective) and loneliness (subjective) each had a significant effect on the risk of mortality. Specifically, the analysis concluded that the likelihood of death increased a statistically significant 26% for loneliness, 29% for social isolation, and 32% for living alone. To put those risks in context, the researchers determined that the magnitude of risk is comparable to – and in some cases even exceeds – other well-accepted risk factors such as smoking (up to 15 cigarettes a day), obesity, lack of physical exercise and high blood pressure. Loneliness has also been associated with increased emergency admissions to a hospital, longer length of stays, and delayed discharges. In fact, a November 2017 study concluded that the lack of social contacts among older adults is associated with an estimated annual increase in Medicare spending of $6.7 billion. One Can Be the Loneliest Number, But it Doesn’t Have to Be Greg Bishop, an attorney in Park City, suggests that retirement is a great opportunity to develop the types of connections that can prevent or alleviate the health consequences of living alone, being socially isolated, or feeling lonely. He notes that although there is a general consensus about the potential problem areas, the solutions are more elusive. He explains that although living alone and being socially isolated are determined objectively, the underlying causes are overtly personal. For example, living alone may be the result of the death of a partner or because of a recent divorce, whereas being socially isolated may arise from relocating after retirement or from the children moving away. Given that the underlying causes vary drastically, the solutions for living alone, being socially isolated, and feeling lonely will also differ. In short, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to these issues. That said, older adults will likely benefit from the following suggestions: Proactively stay involved in the lives of your family and friends. Find meaningful ways to connect with them via video chats, phone calls, text messages and letters Establish new social connections – go to the gym, take a dance class, learn to play chess, or join a book club Establish a more meaningful relationship with a church or social groups Look for opportunities to help and serve others. Fred Rogers – the television icon from Mister Roger’s Neighborhood – shared that when he was a boy and saw scary things on the television news, his mother told him to “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” While that advice comforted him as a child, perhaps better advice for older adults dealing with social isolation and loneliness would be to “Look to be a helper. There are always people who are in need of help.” Read Also: Why Do You Need a Queens Personal Injury Attorney 6 Signs That You Need To Hire a Personal Injury Attorney Don’t Battle It All Alone: 5 Reasons Why You Need an Adoption Attorney These Four Qualities Are What You Should Be Looking For In Attorneys!

Criminal Law Enforcement

Term criminal law enforcement refers to government members who act in an organized manner to enforce the law and counter the country’s crime rate. Many state organizations take part in law enforcement against crime like Police, judiciary, lawyers, law firms. A proper set of rules conducts the procedure of criminal law enforcement to make sure that no innocent person can be convicted. All sorts of crimes like murder, theft, monetary fraud, marital issues, inheritance problems all come under the umbrella of criminal law enforcement agencies. How law enforcement works To enforce the law, the most critical step in the cooperation of the general public is that if a person sees a crime happening with someone, they should report it to the Police immediately. Police are the organization that works at the front for criminal law enforcement, but the judiciary serves as the backbone of law in the country. It’sIt’s the responsibility of court and law firms because these organizations hold the power to serve as impartial investigators and protectors of public safety. If a person is suspected of a crime, he will need a defense lawyer to fight his case correctly. These days law firms provide their clients with experts in every field under one roof. A law firm in Singapore offers legal advice on many different types of cases, including criminal offenses, personal problems, and monetary issues. Better criminal law enforcement is necessary for peace We know that without eradicating crimes, we can never live in peace to prosper criminals; law enforcement should be the priority of every state, as Foucault’s theory of surveillance suggests that watching and controlling is needed to discipline subjects to a particular behavior. Criminal law enforcement works on the same principle that we can enforce the law in society by using control and punishment, which will help us control the crime rate. That’sThat’s why it’s necessary to give state law enforcement agencies true power and all other resources needed to eradicate crime. Flaws in modern criminal law enforcement There are many flaws in the criminal law enforcement system, due to which, most of the time, offenders can get away with their crimes. It’s even complicated to deal with modern crimes because there are still no proper laws, and also, there is a lack of enforcement of laws. As we can see, it’s challenging to deal with digital crimes, hate crimes, and human trafficking because it’s complicated to find sources and evidence needed to pass a fair judgment on them. Gaps in International law are also a problem in dealing with issues like human trafficking, and there is a need for rigid rules on sea water’s division and control. Conclusion First, there is a need to identify the national and international enforcement system flaws to ensure criminal law enforcement. New lawmaking is useless until there is no emphasis on the enforcement of already present laws. Steps should be taken on the national and international level to develop proper rules for crimes like theft of intellectual property, refugee rights, etc. Read Also: 3 Personality Traits of a Successful and High-Ranking Criminal Lawyer 5 Reasons Why You Should Take A Criminal Lawsuit Seriously Criminal Case – Dos And Donts

UAE Insurance Authority Sets New Regulations for Insurance Broking

Who is an Insurance Broker?

The New Insurance Law Provisions