Omer Morshed – Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates (Pvt) Ltd. presented this slides at the “Speaking Event” organized by Insurance Business Group (IBG)

1. Presentation to the Insurance Business Group
8 June 2015

2.  Insurance/Takaful industry regulated by
Federal Law No.6 of 2007
 Implementing Regulations under the law were
issued in 2009
 Draft versions of Financial Regulations issued
in 2011
◦ Went through an extensive process of testing and
consultation
 Finally issued in end 2014

3.  Pre-Regulation Regulatory Effectiveness in the UAE was very low
◦ Although the implementing regulations required FCRs for life and medical
this was not universally implemented
◦ No standards for reserving. Although some standard practices existed for
UPR, weaknesses existed in case of
 Determination of IBNR claim reserves
 Determination of any reserves for premium deficiency
 Determination of Loss Adjustment Expenses (allocated and unallocated)
◦ No control on assets - some companies borrowed and invested in risky
assets (including real estate)
 Current regulations take us a long way towards a state-of-the-
art regulatory regime
◦ Mid-way between a rule based regime (“Solvency I”) and a principles based
regime (“Solvency II)
◦ This is a huge jump – from no regulation to a fairly sophisticated regime
◦ The question must be asked-can this be effectively implemented without
causing huge disruption in the market?
◦ Also - do the regulations address all concerns of the industry?

4.  Overview of Regulations
◦ A summary of the important aspects of each
regulation; potential difficulties; and suggested
clarifications to be issued by the Insurance
Authority
 Implementation Phasing
◦ Understanding of what is required and when
 Likely Challenges
◦ Difficulties which are likely to arise and suggested
actions.
 Further Areas for IA to Address

5.  There are two separate sets of regulations – one for Takaful
Insurance Companies and one for Insurance Companies
 The regulations cover the following areas:
1. The Basis of Investing the Rights of the Policyholders;
2. The Solvency Margin and Minimum Guarantee Fund;
3. The Basis of Calculating the Technical Provisions;
4. Determining the Company’s assets that meet the accrued
insurance liabilities;
5. The Records which the Company shall be obligated to
Organize and Maintain as well as the Data and Documents
that shall be made Available to the Authority;
6. The Principles of Organizing Accounting Books and Records of
Each of the Companies and Agents and Determining Data to
be inserted in these Books and Records; and
7. Accounting policies to be adopted and the necessary forms
needed to prepare reports and financial statements and
presentations.

7.  Applies both to Shareholders’ Funds and Funds held against
Insurance Liabilities
◦ Most of the regulations do not apply to unit linked funds except to
the extent that there is an investment return guarantee
 The regulations require the following:
◦ Active investment committee
◦ Investment policies and risk management policies for managing
investment risks
◦ Diversification of investments
◦ Matching of assets held against insurance liabilities with liabilities
◦ Stress testing framework and policy for all investments
◦ Separate investment strategy for each Fund (life and non-life)
◦ Processes in place to ensure policies are adhered to.
◦ Funds invested in UAE – higher of UAE liabilities and 50% of total
invested assets.

8.  Limits and sub-limits prescribed as proportion of
Total Invested Assets
◦ Real Estate 30% (but IA can increase to 40%)
◦ UAE Equities 30%
◦ Non-UAE Equities 20%
◦ UAE Bank deposits Max 50% in single entity
 Limits seem to be limits on actual investments
and not admissibility limits for solvency purposes
◦ This will be extremely difficult to control (eg., if value of
a property increases will the company have to sell it ?)
◦ Suggest that the IA review this.
 Time for compliance with limits
◦ Real estate – end 2017
◦ Other than real estate – end 2016

9.  The Company needs to submit quarterly report analyzing
its investment portfolio per the classifications given in the
regulations – to be authenticated by the External Auditor.
 The Company needs to submit annually Risk Analysis
Report covering investment portfolio, strategy and
management processes.
◦ Needs to be signed off by Actuary and authenticated by External
Auditor
 The report should, at minimum, include the following:
◦ Summary of Investment Strategy
◦ Analysis of Investment Portfolio
◦ Analysis of Market, Liquidity and Credit Risk (Including scenario
and stress testing)

10.  Detailed guidance given on how strategy to be
formulated
 Assets required to be marked to market
 Where this is not possible a mark to model
approach may be used
◦ Actuary to vet the model
 For real estate valuation to be done.
◦ If real estate value is more than AED 30 million, the
regulations require the revaluation of the investment in
real estate from the two independent real estate firms,
perform annually
◦ The same independent real estate firm shall not be
appointed for two consecutive years

12.  Minimum capital for insurance company AED 100
million (AED 250 m for reinsurance company)
 Minimum Guarantee Fund – 1/3 of solvency capital
 Solvency Framework defined
◦ For groups calculated on a consolidated basis
 The Solvency Capital Requirement shall be calculated
on the presumption that
◦ the Company will pursue its business as a going concern.
◦ the Solvency Capital Requirement calibrated to take into
account
 All quantifiable risks
 Existing business plus new business expected in next year
 Corresponds to Value at Risk at a 99.5% confidence level over
one year period (i.e., to cover maximum deterioration over 1
year with a 99.5% confidence level)

13.  IA has issued a solvency template along with the
revised financial regulations
 This template forms the framework to determine
the required solvency capital as well as it is a
reporting requirement to submit the template
 Solvency requirements in the region had
generally been based on the liability side,
whereas the new regulations have extended this
to the assets side
◦ Limits of assets considered to be “admissible” as per the
limits prescribed in section 1.

14.  Group provisions appear not to have been thought
through
 Regulations say that “The Group capital requirement is the
sum of the capital requirements calculated on the
consolidated insurance Companies/ branches and capital
requirements of other regulated entities.”
 This implies that solvency elements (including admissible
assets) need to be determined based on consolidated
financial statements. This has two issues:
◦ No cognizance for whether or not net assets of subsidiaries or
foreign branches are capable of being used if there is a need –
e.g., could be that the jurisdiction in which the subsidiary or
branch is based has a more stringent solvency regime
◦ Bank accounts held by subsidiaries in aggregate appear to be
admissible only to the extent of 10% of consolidated total invested
assets.
 Surely an anomaly as non-UAE equities have a limit of 20%

15.  The regulations require companies to:
◦ have in place a documented risk management
framework and strategy, risk management policies
and procedures, and allocated responsibilities and
controls.
◦ establish a stress testing framework and policy.
 Further guidance on the risk management
system and framework in Addendum (2) of
the regulations herein shall be applied.

16.  Each insurer is required to submit the Solvency Capital
Requirement Report, certified by the actuary, on a quarterly basis
 The companies are also required to submit on an annual basis
the solvency template to IA – validated by actuary and external
auditors and endorsed by Chairman of Board of Directors.
 The Company shall at all times comply with the requirements of
the Solvency Margin, which means maintaining for the largest of
the following:
◦ Minimum Capital Requirement;
◦ Minimum Guarantee Fund; and
◦ Solvency Capital Requirement.
 At least 100% of the MCR should be met by the Basic Own Funds
 At least 100% of the SCR and MGF should be met by the Basic
Own Funds + 50% of ancillary own funds

17.  Under the regulations, IA may require any insurer to
submit a Financial Condition Report (FCR)
◦ Apparently the FCR is not required unless asked for
◦ In most regimes there would be an annual submission
requirement – no separate on technical provisions would then be
required
 FCR components will be as follows:
◦ An Actuarial certification of technical provisions
◦ A risk-based analysis of its investment portfolio, strategy and
management process
◦ An analysis of the solvency capital requirement
◦ Evaluation of its reinsurance structure and management process
◦ A risk-based analysis of the UW policies and procedures of the
company
◦ Evaluation of the pricing policies and procedures of the Company
◦ Evaluation of the ERM policies and procedures of the Company

19.  Insurers are required to appoint an actuary who shall review and
approve the technical provisions. These shall include
◦ Unearned Premium Reserves
◦ Unexpired Risk Reserves
◦ Outstanding Loss Reserves
◦ Incurred But Not Reported Reserves
◦ Allocated Loss Adjustment Expense and Unallocated Loss Adjustment
Expense Reserves
◦ Mathematical Reserves
 Detailed guidance given as to calculation methods
 Company needs to ensure the accuracy of data used for valuation
purposes. Actuary has to check and report if quality is not
adequate.
 Detailed Actuarial Report to be submitted Annually
 Quarterly reserves also to be certified by Actuary.

20.  Article 2 requires investments equal to gross
of reinsurance UPR, URR and Mathematical
Reserves to be maintained in the UAE plus net
of reinsurance claims reserves and related
expense reserves
 This is an obvious anomaly which needs to be
corrected as, if strictly implemented, this
would have serious repercussions on major
lines of business.

21.  The actuarial report, at minimum, shall cover the
following:
 Section 1 – An overview of the Insurance Company
and its business
 Section 2 – A description of the data used (including
reliance and limitations, if any)
 Section 3 – The methods used to determine reserves
including assumptions made.
 Section 4 – Evaluation of the results
 Section 5 – A summary of the overall results
 Section 6 – Attachments (including the data collected,
the compiled cumulative figures, the calculation
sheets and the final results)
 Section 7 – Certification

23.  Assets must be prudently invested
◦ Especially those held to back MCR, SCR & MGF
 Linked liabilities must be backed by assets to
which they are linked
 Addendum provides for details of how each
class of asset to be valued for solvency
purposes

24.  Section 5 deals with types of records which need
to be maintained and retention periods
 Section 6 deals with accounting records and
auditing (both internal and external) thereof
 Section 7 deals with accounting policies and
financial statements
◦ Quarterly and Annual financial statements to be
submitted- audited
◦ IFRS to be followed
◦ Formats Given
◦ Separate financial statements for life and non-life
 A management report to be submitted – contents
given in Addendum

25.  The latest regulations require the following to
be signed off the Company’s actuary:
◦ Annual Risk Analysis Report
◦ Solvency Template and Solvency Capital
Requirement Report – quarterly and annually
◦ Technical Provisions and Actuarial Report –
quarterly and annually
◦ Financial Condition Report, when required by IA
◦ For examination of records, actuary may report to
the IA any concerns held regarding material failures
by the Company to comply with regulatory
requirements

26.  The Company must have the following as per the
IA regulations:
◦ Submit to the IA, a quarterly report and analysis of its
investment portfolio
◦ Submit to the IA, separate financial statements for life
and General business both annually and quarterly
◦ Submit to the IA, a management report as per the
Addendum (2) of Section 7
◦ Investment and risk management policies must put in
place
◦ Establish a stress testing framework and policy
◦ Must have in place effective risk management framework

28.  For concentration and asset allocation limits
◦ Assets in real estate –within 3 years
◦ Other than real estate –within 2 years
 For Solvency Margin and Minimum Guarantee Fund – within 3 years
 Basis of calculating the Technical Provisions – within 2 years
 Company’s assets that meet the accrued insurance liabilities – within 3 years
 Organize and maintain data and documents – within 1 year
 Accounting books and records for agents and brokers – within 1 year
 Accounting policies and necessary forms needed to prepare and present the
reports and financial statements – within 1 year
 During the alignment period, the Company shall provide the Authority with
the financial reports, solvency templates and reports as required by IA that
demonstrate progress in aligning its operations according to the
requirements and regulations.

30.  Challenges for Insurance Companies
◦ Higher technical provisions and inadmissibility of assets
◦ Set up internal governance structure for investments, risk management and
internal audit
◦ The higher technical provisions impact on pricing
◦ All of the above require significantly more capable human resources than is
available in many companies at present
 Challenges for the regulator
◦ Regulations existed even prior to the new regulations but were not effective
◦ The IA needs to have an internal capacity for both off-site surveillance and
on-site inspections
 Challenges to the actuarial profession
◦ There is no single actuarial body in the UAE although an attempt is being
made to create one
◦ Currently Associates of the UK and US professional bodies are also accepted
as full actuaries. Also little attention paid to experience and specialization
 This is likely to result in very different actuarial standards being applied
 Suggest that this aspect be examined by the IA

32.  Important issues facing the industry include:
◦ Business being written at unsustainable rates – particularly in motor
and medical (where companies largely retain risks and therefore do
not have pressure from reinsurers to price sensibly)
◦ Life insurance commissions for business written through banks and
brokers being so high so as to more or less destroy any value for
the policyholders
◦ Many life insurance products being sold without formal approval
and without necessarily being actuarially priced
◦ No Life Insurance illustration format
 None of the above are covered by the new regulations
 Suggest that the IA should consider introducing regulations
relating to motor and medical pricing along the lines of
those issued by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.
 The IA also needs to be more communicative in areas where
laws apparently exist but no one believes that these will be
implemented
◦ Eg., the requirement to separate life and non-life business in
separate legal entities
◦ Need to address this – decide once and for all – and then strictly
implement

34.  All in all the new regulations are a step in the
right direction
◦ Perhaps a smaller step in the first phase would
have been better but certainly the movement is in
the right direction
 The phased approach is also very sensible as
it gives companies time to adjust to the new
regulations
 The IA is requested, however, to seriously
look at the need for regulating pricing of
insurance products in the market as this is
perhaps the greatest challenge that the
industry faces at the moment.