FSRA tightens reins. governance and ins. promotion rules

ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority has introduced new rules for insurers, intermediaries, managers, and ins. special purpose vehicles in a sweeping package (pdf) of ins. rule changes first floated for consultation earlier this year. The proposal was pitched as a move to align ADGM with International Association of Ins. Supervisors principles.

For reinsurers, rules have been tightened pretty significantly:

• Firms must conduct creditworthiness and diversification checks as part of comprehensive systems for selecting and monitoring reinsurers;
• Reinsurers must have clear documentation of principal economic and coverage terms for every contract;
• Insurers must consider how reins. contracts operate in an insolvency scenario;
• Reinsurers and ceding insurers must finalize contracts before the date the coverage begins;
• Firms are required to update the regulator should an issue arise that may affect the orderly operation of reins. contracts.

Consumer-protection rules were also tightened: The regulator has called on insurers to withdraw any marketing material that is unclear, unfair, or misleading, while requiring promotional materials to undergo an independent review by someone other than the person who created them — if it’s an advertising firm, then that would be the ins. firm itself, and vice versa. It has also introduced clearer product-governance expectations, including defining target client segments and identifying which products may not suit.

Plus: climate risk is now formally on the agenda. Insurers and other authorized firms must assess whether climate-related financial risks are material to their business model, financial position, or ability to meet regulatory obligations. If they are, firms are now expected to monitor and govern those risks while also submitting regular disclosures.

Some firms get lighter reporting burdens: Captive insurers (vehicles typically used by corporates to insure group risks) will no longer face routine quarterly regulatory returns unless it’s specifically requested by the regulator.