UAE Central Bank imposes sanctions on insurer for not meeting regulatory requirements

The unnamed company was also barred from issuing additional policies to new customers for one year

The UAE Central Bank has taken several measures to further enhance its regulatory oversight in recent months. Photo: Central Bank

The Central Bank of the UAE imposed an administrative sanction on an insurance company in the country for failing to meet its regulatory obligations.

The insurer has also been instructed to “remedy its solvency capital requirements” within nine months of the notification date in accordance with the law, the banking regulator said on Thursday.

The central bank also said it had barred the unnamed company on May 18 from issuing additional policies to new customers for one year, as a result of its non-compliance.

“Through its supervisory and regulatory mandates, the CBUAE works to ensure that all insurance companies operating in the UAE abide by UAE laws, regulations and standards adopted by the CBUAE to safeguard the transparency and integrity of the insurance business and enhance the efficiency of the UAE insurance system,” the regulator said.

Earlier this week, it imposed financial and administrative sanctions on a finance company for failing to submit its audited financial statements on time and not complying with regulatory guidelines.

It did not reveal the size of the financial penalty for the unnamed finance company.

In December, the regulator imposed a Dh352,000 ($95,847.51) fine on an exchange house for failing to achieve the "appropriate levels of compliance" with anti-money laundering regulations.

The banking regulator has unveiled a number of initiatives in recent months to further improve regulatory oversight of the country’s financial sector.

These include an enhanced regulatory framework to supervise banks' exposure to the property sector and the issuance of guidelines to help licensed exchange houses to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Last year, the regulator also instructed all hawala providers — informal fund transfer agents operating outside the banking system — to register with it in an effort to strengthen oversight of money transfers.