New Regulations for Property Insurance

Recent developments

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and Najm for Insurance Services Company (Najm) introduced proposals for uploading Property insurance information to a platform to integrate with public authority records and allow verification of information required such as Civil Defense Certificates (CDC).

While insurers are still waiting on formal SAMA regulations, they have been advised that the system is expected to be fully adopted by 1 January 2020 and 100% compliance is expected. Upload of information and system testing is being conducted during November 2019.

Why the new changes?

Najm is actively investing in advancing technologies that will allow for the effective development and delivery of the kingdom's insurance systems.

These changes will better meet your needs and improve the quality of service and insurance information. Most importantly, they will result in substantially more satisfied policyholders and reduce SAMA complaints across the board.

What does this mean for you?

All records of property insurance policies and insured premises will be maintained within the Najm system. Approval within the system will be required before any policy documents may be issued. The system is linked with Civil Defense Authority (Salamah) and approval will be subject to validation of the CDC for the premises to be insured.

Any location that does not have a valid CDC (or equivalent certification) will not be accepted for inclusion on the policy schedule and will be uninsured.

Approval will be subject to the uploading of complete and accurate data including:

1. Full address details in Wasel/National Address format.
2. Contact and ID/Commercial Registration details for the Insured.

Najm system approval

Approval will be required for the following insurance transactions:

• New policy issuance
• Addition/deletion of insured location
• Policy cancellation
• Policy amendments

Keep in Mind

• Back dating of property cover will not be possible.
• An insurance company can provide cover/charge premium only up to valid CDC expiry date after which coverage would cease automatically. This remains dubject to clarification.
• Insurers will not provide confirmation of cover for property (insurance certificate, etc.) without approval from the Najm system.
• Policy cancellation/premium refund would require a legitimate reason to cancel cover.

Time is ticking

January 2020 will soon be upon us so ensure that all your insured premises have a valid CDC or equivalent recorded in the Salamah system before January 1st. Also confirm that your insurers hold a full address for each insured location in Wasel/National Address format.

Policies issued from now until 1 January 2020 are required to comply with the requirements as far as possible, however effective 1 January 2020, no policy will be issued unless compliant with the new process.