Introduction
A spate of recent articles in the press have announced a
"three year solvency reprieve" for UAE insurance
companies carrying on composite business (life and non-life) within
the same corporate entity. The "reprieve"
appears to refer to an extension of the deadline imposed by UAE
Federal Law 6 of 2007 (the Insurance Law) for
insurance companies carrying out composite business, prior to the
Insurance Law coming into effect, to adjust their status within a
five year period, ending August-2012. The Insurance Law
envisaged that insurers would need two separate undertakings to
undertake life and non-life business, but has failed to provide any
guidance as to how this might be achieved. The UAE Insurance
Authority has recently given composites a reprieve, confirming that
the deadline for the splitting of composite business has been
extended for another three years. The news coincides with
efforts to revamp solvency rules for the UAE insurance
