Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has issued a circular requiring insurers to improve disclosure and transparency for policies linked to gold and other investment assets.
The move follows complaints and practices that the regulator said created confusion between insurance products and savings, investment and banking products, particularly when policies are distributed through banks.
Under the new requirements, insurers must clearly explain that these products are insurance policies, not deposits, bank accounts or banking services. Before signing, customers must receive information on the product’s benefits, risks, terms and investment strategy, including who manages the underlying asset and where it is held.
Insurers must also explain whether customers can receive the underlying asset or redeem it, any applicable conditions, and how the liquidation or redemption value is calculated. Marketing materials must not make misleading claims or imply that an insurer owns or directly manages an asset when it does not.
Customers will have to acknowledge that they reviewed the key terms, understand the product’s insurance nature and received enough information to ask questions. This acknowledgment does not replace insurers’ existing disclosure and customer-protection obligations.
Insurers have one month to submit compliance measures and the customer acknowledgment form to the FRA. They must also review materials, forms and internal controls used across banking distribution channels.
Source: Waya Media
