“In addition, the macroeconomic trends of the emerging markets in Asia, South America, Africa, as well as the Middle East will continue to grow. As a result, the current demand for sound conduct of business and transparency, as well as the enhancement of policyholders and shareholders confidence, create the need for strong and sound regulatory infrastructure for insurance industry globally and in the MENA region, greater now than ever before,” he added.
“The global financial crisis provides us an opportunity to address the weaknesses in the financial system and to build a platform for development and growth of the insurance industry. The regulators all over the world, especially in the MENA region need to strengthen their regulatory framework so that the industry could capitalize on the growth opportunities. The financial crisis has been a reminder that markets need effective regulation if they are to operate properly.”
“The CBB always believes in continual enhancement and improvement of its regulatory infrastructure for the growth and betterment of industry. The CBB has always played an important role in launching new initiatives to develop the insurance industry both locally and regionally. The work towards revision of the existing Takaful model is one such step in reaffirming Bahrain as the jurisdiction of choice for all the Takaful/ Retakaful companies globally. As you may aware, the objective of modifying the existing Takaful rules was to facilitate a faster growth of Takaful business in Bahrain while protecting the interest of all stakeholders, vis-à-vis participants, shareholders, and Takaful operator.”
“It is also expected that the changes to the model will attract new entrants to the market and will foster competition for the betterment of the consumers.
“In addition to this, the CBB has introduced new rules on client money, which aims at enhancing the regulatory framework in relation to appointed representatives and insurance brokers. The market response to these rules has so far been quite positive.
“The CBB has taken various steps to ensure that a stable insurance market continues to strive and prosper in our region. One of the main regulatory priorities that a regulator should address is the protection of the policyholders. This objective has been clearly outlined in the CBB Law as well as through the rules that have been introduced to specifically deal with tied agents. These rules require a minimum level of qualifications for those dealing with potential policyholders and recognize that the offering of insurance products must be made in a professional and ethical manner.”
“The training and competency of the workforce is very important for profitable growth of the company. It is necessary that the insurance licensees continue to improve the level of expertise and professionalism of their workforce. The CBB is keen to see that all insurance licensees do their utmost to provide adequate training and development opportunities for their staff. The CBB has been working on enhancing its Training and Competency regime and the rules are expected to be finalized shortly. The updated rules would cover requirements for insurance licensees and their staff performing controlled functions and those involved in dealing with potential policyholders (customers).
“The BIBF and Tamkeen have recently concluded an agreement whereby the industry workforce will be offered training and financial assistance in obtaining insurance professional certifications. Due to the importance of this initiative and long term benefits to the industry, the CBB has gone an extra mile to ensure that this is brought to fruition.
The CBB is also working on enhancing rules related to Market Conduct, initially for long-term insurance business. This is to ensure that the customers are treated fairly and the insurance entities deal with due skill, care, and diligence, when dealing with customers.