1. The insurance broker shall abide by the directives on anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing issued by the Insurance Authority and the other official bodies.
2. The insurance broker shall be obliged to submit to the Insurance Authority within one month as from the end of each fiscal year copy of the movement of the account’s entries referred to in paragraph (2) of Article (8) of the Regulations herein approved by a licensed auditor.
3. The insurance broker shall be obliged to affect separation between his own accounts and the accounts of the clients and company he is brokering for.
4. The account of the financial transactions of the brokerage operations shall be assigned only to these operations and exclusively be used for the following:
a. Depositing the premiums paid by the clients.
b. Depositing the amounts received from the clients in respect of the insurance operations.
c. Depositing the amounts received from the insurance companies to pay the clients.
d. Withdrawing the commissions due to the broker as a result of his effort to execute brokerage operations after getting the insurance company approval to deduct them from the accounts.
5. The broker shall not get any interests against the amounts deposited in the brokerage account and as well shall not maintain these amounts in a form of fixed deposits or get credit facilities or bank loans backed by these amounts.
Article (17)
The Insurance Broker’s Records
1. The insurance broker shall be obliged to maintain duly kept books and records and insert the data and information on the operations he is carrying out in these books and records as the case might be. Further, he shall maintain the documents of these operations as follows:
- to insert the following data and information into the records:
a. Name and address of the insurance company he is carrying out operations of insurance for as broker.
b. Insurance operations carried by him as broker of the company
c. Name of the insurance applicant, the insured, the beneficiary, the policy’s date of issue, and the due premiums.
- to keep the documents relevant to the following brokerage operations in insurance:
a. The memos and correspondence of the broker’s operations
b. The insurance policies and their endorsementsbrokered according to the Regulation herein.
c. The serially numbered documents relevant to receipt, payment, entries and settlements and other financial transactions of the insurance brokerage operations carried out by the broker.
d. The bank accounts of the insurance brokerage operations carried out by the broker.
2. The insurance broker shall maintain the records and documents for five years at least as from date of closing them.
3. The Director General shall determine the records and books ought to be maintained by the insurance broker for a period longer than the stated in the preceding paragraph.
Article (18)
Providing the Insurance Authority with information
and
Examining the insurance broker’s books and records
1. The insurance broker shall be obliged to submit within one month as from the end of each year the following information to the Insurance Authority approved by anaccredited auditor:
a. The budget and the final statement of the accounts of the insurance brokerage operations in the State for the previous fiscal year.
b. Names of the insurance companies the broker is dealing with and the amounts due to and from them at the end of the year.
c. Amount of commissions received by the broker and the amount of commissions due from the companies for the previous fiscal year (each company separately).
d. The statistical data required by the Insurance Authority according to specimen forms prepared for the purpose.
2. The Director General may assign one or more of the Insurance Authority’s employees or appoint an outside entity to examine the broker’s operations and records and that the insurance broker shall put all the brokerage records, documents and entries at their disposal, cooperate with them and meet their requests in order to do their work in good order.
3. The insurance broker shall bear the expenses determined by the Director General in case an outside entity is being appointed for such examination.
4. The insurance broker shall submit any particulars or information requested by the Director General within the period as he determined for the purpose.
Article (19)
Discontinuing the Profession
The insurance broker may place an application to the Insurance Authority to discontinue working according to the following terms:
1. Submit a written application indicating therein reasons of work discontinue.
2. The period of discontinuation shall not exceed one year.
3. The application shall be decided on by the Director General by acceptance or rejection. His decision shall be deemed final.
4. The broker shall make the necessary procedures of following up the transactions originated prior to the discontinuation in order to protect interests of the client and the insurance companies.
5. In case the broker did not resume his operations after the end of the specified period, a notice shall be served on him to resume his work within one month as from date of the notice and in case he did not resume his work, the Director General shall make a decision to write off his registration. The Director General’s decision shall be final.
article (20)
Disciplinary Penalties
1. Should it appears for the Insurance Authority that the broker violated the provisions of the law, the Regulation herein, or any of the regulations, rules and resolutions issued by virtue of the Law, the Director General shall have the right to impose the following disciplinary penalties:
a. Serve a written notice on the broker on the incurred violations and necessity of remedyingthe situation according to the procedures and within the period determined by the Director General.
b. Suspend the broker frompracticing the profession for a period not to exceed six months and in case of repeating the violationsuch period shall be doubled.
c. Cancel the broker registration.
2. If the broker did not remedy the situation as required according to paragraph (a) and (b) above, the Director General shall have the right to cancel the broker’s registration.
3. The cancellation shall become compulsory in case the broker committed three violations of the Law, the Regulation herein or any of the regulations, rules, and resolutions issued by virtue of the Law.
4. Penalties imposed by the Director General shall be without prejudices to the civil or penal liabilities determined by the Law or the related legislations.
Article (21)
Suspension fromPracticing the Profession
1. The broker shall be suspended from practicing the insurance brokerage profession in the following cases:
a. Dealing with an insurance company not registered in the insurance companies’ register.
b. Delaying payment of his financial liabilities according to his agreement with the insurance company for a period exceeding three months as from their due dates.
c. Assigning his registration to another person or renting out his main office or branches licensed to operate in the State.
d. Non-renewing his registration with Insurance Authority within thirty days as from the expiry date of registration.
e.Violating the Law in force or the Regulation herein or the resolutions organizing the insurance brokerage profession.
2. The Director General shall make a decision to suspendthe broker from practicing the profession and inform the companies and the relevant bodies as so.
3. The broker shall not practice the brokerage profession during the periodof suspension and shall remain liable for the liabilities accrued on him as a result of his operations prior to the date of issuing the suspensiondecision.
4. In case the broker remedies reason led to such suspension in a way according to the Insurance Authority’s own discretion removed the reasons led to the suspension, the broker shall request resumption of his operations within three months as from date of issuing the suspension decision, otherwise the Insurance Authority shall take the procedures to write his registration off the register of the insurance brokers.
Article (22)
Writing off the Registration
1. The act of writing a registration of a broker off the Insurance Authority’s register shall be as follows:
a. A notice in two daily newspapers (one in Arabic and the other in English) issued in the State shall be published on the intention to write the broker off the register calling those opposing the writing off or those incurred damages from such an action to lodge their opposition to the Insurance Authority within one month as from date of publishing the notice.
b. Following the expiry of the one month period and in case of resolving all the oppositionslodged to the Insurance Authority, the Director General shall make a decision to write off the registration and the broker shall be advised as so by a registered letter with acknowledgment receipt as well the companies and the pertinent authorities shall be informed of the writing off decision.
c. A broker written off the register shall have no right to request be re-registered in the register except after lapse of three years as from date of issuing the writing off decision unless such action been affected according to the provisions of paragraph (3) of Article (20) of the Regulation herein as the broker shall not be re-registered.
2. Should a decision been made to write the insurance broker off the register, the broker shall be obliged to fulfillthe duty related to the transactions originatedprior to the date of issuing the writing off decision in order to finalize all the incurred liabilities or transfer the operationsunder brokerage to another insurance broker(s) by approval of the client and the insurance company and shall advise the Insurance Authority of details of the transfer operations. However, such transfer shall not be valid unless approved by the Insurance Authority.The Insurance Authority shall have the right to oppose the transfer in case it appears that the transfer offer would threaten the interests of the insured.
Article (23)
Dispute Settlements
In case of dispute arising from the brokerage operations in insurance between the insurance company and the insurance broker or between the insurance broker and the client, the dispute shall be referred before seeking judicial ruling to the Insurance Authority to attempt to find a compromise.
Article (24)
Final Provisions
1. Each entity carrying out brokerage operations in insurance upon putting the provisions of the Regulation herein into effect shall adjust its status according to the provisions of the Regulation herein within a period not to exceed one calendar year as from date of putting the Regulation herein into effect.
2. The Insurance Authority shall charge the prescribed fees against any of the procedures the Insurance Authority is making according to the provisions of the Law and the regulations issued by its virtue.
3. The provisions on the insurance broker issued by the Minister of Economy’s decree No (543) of 2006 on Organization of Practicing the Insurance Brokerage Profession shall be annulled.
4. The Director General shall issue the necessary decisions to put the provisions of the Regulation herein into effect.
Article (25)
Publication in the Official Gazette
The Regulation herein shall be published in the Official Gazette and put into effect as from date of publication.
Minister of Economy
Chairman of the Board of the Insurance Authority
Issued in Abu Dhabi on 00/00/2012
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