The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), in cooperation with the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and in coordination with the UAE Insurance Authority, has organized an awareness workshop entitled “Advantages of the unified Vehicle Insurance Policy”, in order to review the regulations and laws that were issued by both the authority and the new Unified Motor Insurance Policy.

The workshop, which was recently organized by the chamber at its headquarters, was organized to review the positive advantages of the new Vehicle Insurance Policy and its benefits to both customers and the insurance sector in the country. The organization of the workshop also reflects the government’s keenness to issue and enact laws that helps to serve the community and develop the insurance sector.

The workshop was presented by Advisor Hamdi Aref Hamdi Al Bilbeisi, who reviewed insurance procedures and the mechanisms of dealing with customers and the institutions that operate in this sector. The workshop was attended by representatives of both government departments and insurance companies operating in the country.

Ibrahim Rashid Al Jarwan, Director of Economic Relations and Marketing at the SCCI, stated that organizing the workshop comes as part of the chamber’s keenness to support the efforts of its strategic partners, as well as to cooperate with all government departments to introduce new laws to the business community. He added that the workshop is one of a series of events hosted regularly by the chamber that aims to raise the business community’s awareness on official new laws and procedures that are of interest to various economic sectors.

Al Jarwan added that the cooperation and the coordination with the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Insurance Authority, which is the official department responsible for organizing the insurance sector in the UAE based on the Federal Law No. 6 of 2007, aims to contribute in enhancing the competitiveness of the insurance sector, and increasing its contribution to the economy of the country.

The workshop highlighted the role of the Insurance Authority in enhancing the competitiveness of the sector by adopting a tariff system for motor insurance that offers protection to both companies and individuals, as well as providing a department that compensates the insured and ensures that compensation is quickly dispensed to beneficiaries.

The workshop reviewed the points of difference in the benefits and provisions of the previous insurance policy and the new Unified Insurance Policy. The most prominent changes includes the addition of family members in the insurance coverage of the insured individual, as well as raising the limits of the insurance companies' liability towards third parties for material damages,  the loss of benefit allowance (substitute motor vehicle), the establishment of new foundations for repair within the Agency shops for the damaged motor vehicle, and the addition of a standard for total loss of motor vehicle, among other changes.

The workshop also included an explanation for a variety of amendments in the new policy, which include the reductions of the premium to vehicle owners with clean records, and to vehicles running on gas and electricity of up to 25 per cent, taking into account the accidents caused by the vehicle which led to claims at the renewal time.