The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) held an industry information session to provide guidance on the new insurance regulations contained in the Insurance Rulebook.
The Insurance Rulebook, which comprises Volume 3 of the BMA Rulebook, became effective when it was released in May 2005 for new licensees. For existing licensees, transition rules have been developed for gradual implementation.
“The Insurance Industry Information Session taking place today has been designed to provide all those using the Insurance Rulebook to gain a better understanding of the BMA’s expectations as part of the implementation phase,” said Mr. Anwar Khalifa Al Sadah, Executive Director, Financial Institutions Supervision, at the BMA.
“We firmly believe that everyone stands to benefit in the end from better supervision; it will give the insurance industry greater credibility and policyholders will benefit from high quality customer service.”
The objectives of the BMA’s insurance regulatory framework reinforce the BMA’s overall commitment to and include:
• Policyholder protection;
• Maintaining market confidence; and
• Applying international standards of regulation.
“The BMA Insurance Rulebook contains many new requirements for insurance firms operating in and from Bahrain and the BMA stands ready to provide guidance to industry,” said Mr. Al Sadah.
Today’s industry information session, which was aimed at all insurance licensees and insurance industry participants, both conventional and Islamic, was attended by more than 50 participants. It was held at the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF).
The Insurance Rulebook, along with other volumes of the BMA Rulebook, are updated on a quarterly basis and are available on the BMA website at www.bma.gov.bh
