The Financial Regulatory Authority has obligated personal insurance companies to inquire about the creditworthiness of an insurance applicant wishing to conclude insurance policies worth 10 million pounds or more or its equivalent in foreign currencies, as part of updating the means of sound risk assessment before issuing policies, which enhances the efficiency of the decision and provides greater protection for policyholders.

This came within the “Risk Management Standards in Underwriting for Individual Personal Insurance Operations” issued by the Chairman of the Authority’s Decision No. (2036) of 2026, which was recently published in “The Egyptian Gazette” and stipulated that companies be given three months to adjust their situations in accordance with its provisions, starting from the date of its implementation on July 16.

The decision includes updating the risk management standards that were issued in Circular No. (8) of 2024, which also requires companies to inquire about the credit position through licensed credit inquiry agencies in the event that the client’s income, profession or job is not commensurate with the value of the insurance amount or the value of the installments that he is obligated to pay, as well as in cases of doubt about the legitimacy of the insurance request.

The decision also requires companies to verify the identity of the insurance applicant and the validity of the submitted documents, obtain accurate data about his health and financial status, and establish internal policies and systems to monitor unusual patterns in insurance applications and analyze cases of repeated insurance for the same risks, which helps in the early detection of fraud or deception attempts and raises the efficiency of risk management.

The decision requires companies to prepare systems and policies to ensure that the insurance policy, its amounts, and the level of income are appropriate to the averages resulting from the company’s activity according to the same nature of the risk in the geographical area of ​​the insured, to identify cases of recurrence of the same risks, and to prepare a comprehensive study to verify the legitimacy of the requests and reduce the possibilities of fraud and deception.

Dr. Islam Azzam, Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, said that the quality of risk assessment is a fundamental basis for the success of insurance activities, as the underwriting standards set by the Authority play a key role in raising the efficiency of companies in proactively monitoring risks and reducing fraud and deception, which extends its effect to protecting policyholders and ensuring that insurance coverage is directed to those entitled to it according to sound technical principles.

In this context, he explained that the decision obliges companies to inform the Authority of fraud and deception operations as soon as they are discovered when underwriting personal insurance operations, while including the standards included in the decision in the underwriting policy that each company is obligated to develop in accordance with the legislative and regulatory framework of the insurance sector.

Dr. Islam Azzam affirmed that the Authority continues its diligent efforts to complete the series of regulatory decisions for the insurance sector in light of the Unified Insurance Law No. (155) of 2024 to encourage companies to innovate, diversify products, and develop their underwriting policies, which will reflect on the sector with more attractiveness and competitiveness, and enhance its contribution to the prosperity of the national economy.

Tags: Financial Regulatory Authority , Insurance Companies , Dr. Islam Azzam, Chairman of the Authority , Egyptian Gazette , Risk Management Standards in Individual Insurance Policies , Underwriting Standards , Legislative and Regulatory Framework for the Insurance Sector