1981-01-01
Added · Updated
Law No. 10 of 1981 establishes the legal framework for insurance supervision in Egypt by creating the Supreme Council for Insurance and the Egyptian Insurance Supervision Authority to regulate the sector. It mandates strict capital requirements, asset segregation, and mandatory reinsurance arrangements to protect policyholders and ensure financial stability. The law defines the organizational structures, licensing procedures, and operational obligations for all insurance entities operating within the country.
Law No. 10 of 1981 Issuing the Law on Supervision and Control of Insurance in Egypt (*)
In the Name of the People The President of the Republic The People's Assembly has decided the following law, which we have issued:
(Article One) The provisions of the attached Law shall apply regarding supervision and control of insurance in Egypt.
(Article Two) Law No. 119 of 1975 concerning insurance companies and Presidential Decree No. 221 of 1976 establishing the Egyptian General Insurance Authority are hereby repealed, as is any provision contrary to the provisions of this Law.
(Article Three) The Executive Regulation of this Law shall be issued by a decision of the competent Minister within three months from the date of its implementation. Until this regulation is issued, the current executive decisions and regulations shall remain in force insofar as they do not conflict with the provisions of this Law.
(Article Four) This Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force on the day following its publication. This Law shall be stamped with the State seal and enforced as one of its laws. Issued at the Presidency on 25 Rabi' al-Thani 1401 (2 March 1981).
(*) The Official Gazette, on 5 March 1981 - No. 10, Part (B).
Law on Supervision and Control of Insurance in Egypt
Chapter One Insurance within the Scope of this Law
Article 1 - Insurance within the scope of this Law includes the following branches:
Chapter Two The Insurance Sector
Article 2 - The insurance sector consists of:
Chapter Three The Supreme Council for Insurance
Article 3 - The Supreme Council shall be formed under the chairmanship of the competent Minister and membership of:
Article 4 - The Supreme Council for Insurance is competent to determine the general objectives of insurance activity and approve policies to achieve those objectives. This Council replaces the Supreme Council for Commercial Insurance established by Presidential Decree No. 516 of 1976.
Article 5 - The Supreme Council for Insurance shall have a technical secretariat that receives matters to be presented to it, prepares its agenda, communicates its decisions, and follows up on their implementation. The provisions of Law No. 111 of 1975 regarding certain provisions specific to the public sector shall apply to it and its employees.
Chapter Four The Egyptian Insurance Supervision Authority
Article 6 - A public body named "The Egyptian Insurance Supervision Authority" is established. It shall have independent legal personality and be subordinate to the competent Minister. Its headquarters shall be in Cairo. The Authority shall be competent to supervise and control insurance activity in Egypt, whether at establishment, during operation, or upon termination of business. The Authority aims specifically to achieve the following purposes:
Article 7 - The Authority is competent, in order to achieve its purposes, specifically as follows: First - Supervision and control over bodies subject to the provisions of this Law. Second - Supervision and control over private insurance funds within the limits of the law issued regarding them. Third - Managing the Government Insurance Fund for Workers in the Contracting Sector established by a Cabinet Decision issued on 8 February 1950, and supervising all government insurance funds established by a Cabinet Decision. Fourth - Representing the State in international insurance and reinsurance bodies and companies that the Government decides to participate in directly through its budget. Fifth - Supporting insurance studies and contributing to their financing to serve the insurance sector. Sixth - Studying legislation related to insurance activity prior to presenting it to the Supreme Council. Seventh - Preparing and publishing statistical data, reports, and studies on the Egyptian insurance market and its units.
Article 8 - The Board of Directors of the Authority shall consist of the following:
Article 9 - The Board of Directors of the Authority is the competent authority for managing its affairs and may take whatever decisions it deems necessary to achieve its purposes. The Board is specifically empowered to:
Article 10 - Decisions of the Board of Directors of the Authority shall be enforceable without the need for approval by a higher authority, except for the following decisions, which must be approved by the competent Minister:
Article 11 - The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall manage the Authority's affairs, implement the Board of Directors' decisions, and represent the Authority to third parties and before the courts.
Article 12 - The Authority's resources shall consist of:
Article 13 - The Authority shall have an independent planning budget prepared according to the rules in force in companies. The relationship between this budget and the State's general budget shall be limited to the surplus accruing to the State and loans and contributions allocated to this budget.
Article 14 - The audit of the Authority's accounts shall be entrusted annually to the General Administration for Controlling Accounts of the Insurance Sector at the Central Agency for Audit. The Authority shall make available to the auditors whatever records, documents, and data they deem necessary to perform this audit.
Article 15 - The Authority shall prepare, within four months from the end of the financial year, a statement of financial position and income and expense accounts for the closed financial year, in accordance with the rules followed in companies. It shall also prepare a report on the Authority's financial position and operations during that year for presentation to the Board of Directors.
Article 16 - The Authority shall prepare an annual book for publication regarding insurance activity in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the application of the Law, and the status of entities subject to it.
Chapter Five Establishments Engaged in Insurance and Reinsurance
(1) Insurance and Reinsurance Companies
Article 17 - For the application of the provisions of this Law, insurance or reinsurance companies refer to joint-stock companies licensed to conduct insurance or reinsurance operations, which are registered for this purpose in the registers maintained by the Insurance Supervision Authority. They are referred to in this Law as "the Company."
Article 18 - Except as provided in this Law, the provisions of Law No. 60 of 1971 concerning public institutions and public sector companies shall apply to insurance and reinsurance companies that are considered public sector companies according to its provisions. As for insurance and reinsurance companies that are not considered public sector companies, the provisions of Law No. 26 of 1954 concerning certain provisions specific to joint-stock companies, partnerships limited by shares, and limited liability companies shall apply to them, except for the provisions of Article 24 paragraph (2), Article 30, Article 33, and Article 33 bis. Founders' shares and shares shall not be traded during the first two years of the company's existence except with the approval of the Authority's Board of Directors.
Article 19 - Each company shall have a Board of Directors formed in accordance with the law governing it. The Chairman of the Board represents the company before the courts and in dealings with third parties.
Article 20 - The Board of Directors of the Company is the dominant authority over its affairs and management. It formulates the company's insurance and advisory plan, supervises its implementation, and issues decisions it deems capable of achieving the company's objectives, while observing the provisions of this Law. The Board is specifically empowered to:
Article 21 - The net profits of companies belonging to the public sector shall accrue to the State's General Treasury after deducting what is determined to be formed as reserves and provisions, as well as the employees' share of profits. The State's general budget shall not include the current and capital resources and uses related to these companies.
(b) Cooperative Insurance Associations
Article 22 - The term "cooperative insurance association" refers to those formed in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Cooperative Associations issued by Law No. 317 of 1956, provided that the value of its shares or capital portions at establishment is not less than 3 million Egyptian pounds, and that at least half of this amount is paid. The Egyptian Insurance Supervision Authority shall register these associations, license them to conduct their activity, and supervise them. The Executive Regulation shall determine the rules necessary for establishing and registering these associations. The provisions applicable to insurance companies shall apply to them regarding conducting their activity or terminating their business.
(c) Private Insurance Funds
Article 23 - The term "private insurance fund" in the application of the provisions of this Law refers to any system in the form of an entity, company, syndicate, or association of individuals linked by a profession, work, or one person, or any other social connection, formed without capital, and financed by contributions or otherwise, with the purpose of providing or arranging for its members or beneficiaries insurance rights in the form of compensation, periodic pensions, or specific financial benefits. The provisions of the Law on Private Insurance Funds issued by Law No. 54 of 1975 shall apply to these funds.
(d) Government Insurance Funds
Article 24 - The term "government insurance funds" refers to funds that undertake insurance operations against risks not usually accepted by insurance companies or those that the Government sees fit to undertake itself. The Egyptian Insurance Supervision Authority shall directly undertake each type of operation mentioned by a decision of the Prime Minister until independent government funds are established under the supervision of the Authority. The establishment of a government insurance fund shall be by a decision of the Prime Minister based on a proposal from the competent Minister. A decision by the competent Minister, based on a proposal from the Authority's Board of Directors, shall determine the conditions and prices of the insurance operations mentioned.
Chapter Six Unions and Auxiliary Bodies
Article 25 - Insurance or reinsurance companies subject to the provisions of this Law may establish one or more unions or bodies among themselves for the purpose of agreeing on price determination, issuing uniform policies, collecting, analyzing, and publishing information, performing loss prevention and reduction work, strengthening ties with insurance unions abroad, or other work concerning the members. No more than one union may be established for each type or branch of insurance. The competent Minister shall issue a decision approving the establishment of the union or body and certifying its bylaws. The union or body shall be registered in a special register at the Authority after paying a fee of two hundred Egyptian pounds. The decision of establishment and the bylaws shall be published in the Official Gazette at the expense of the union or body. Each shall acquire legal personality from the date of publication. The Authority shall have a representative who attends the union or body's meetings without having a voting right.
Article 26 - The following are considered auxiliary bodies under the meaning of the previous article:
Chapter Seven Establishment of Companies and Licensing Them to Conduct Insurance and Reinsurance Operations
Article 27 - It is required that an insurance or reinsurance company take the form of an Egyptian joint-stock company with a subscribed capital of not less than one million Egyptian pounds, and that at least half of this amount be paid. It is required that all shares of the company be registered and always owned by natural persons possessing Egyptian citizenship or by legal entities wholly owned by Egyptians. It is also required that all members of the company's Board of Directors and those responsible for its management possess Egyptian citizenship. The following conditions apply to those who establish or manage one of the companies mentioned in this Law:
Article 28 - The founders of an insurance or reinsurance company shall submit an application to the Authority to obtain preliminary approval for the establishment of the company. The application shall be accompanied by a technical and economic feasibility study of the company, its purposes, the insurance branches intended to be conducted, and additional data necessary for studying the application.
Article 29 - The founders of the company or their representatives - in case of preliminary approval for its establishment - shall submit an application to the Authority to establish the company and license it to conduct its activity, accompanied by the following documents: (a) Documents proving the fulfillment of the conditions mentioned in Article (27) of this Law. (b) A copy of the preliminary contract of the company, authenticated as to signatures, and its draft bylaws. (c) Samples of the policies issued by the company for each branch of insurance for which licensing is requested, and the benefits, restrictions, conditions, and prices specific to each policy. If the company's activity involves conducting one of the operations mentioned in items (1, 2) of Article (1), the following must be attached to these documents:
Article 30 - The establishment of the company, its bylaws, and the license to conduct its activity shall be issued by a decision of the competent Minister based on a proposal from the Chairman of the Authority's Board of Directors and in accordance with the rules and conditions approved by the Supreme Council for Insurance. The bylaws of the insurance company shall be prepared according to a model issued by a decision of the competent Minister based on a proposal from the Authority's Board of Directors. The model shall be prepared according to the rules and conditions approved by the Supreme Council for Insurance. The decision of establishment and its attachments shall be published in the Official Gazette at the company's expense. The company shall acquire legal personality from the date of publication. The Executive Regulation shall govern the provisions regarding the increase or decrease of the company's capital and the trading of its shares.
Chapter Eight Registration of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies
Article 31 - The company shall be registered in the register maintained for this purpose at the Authority after paying a registration fee of one thousand Egyptian pounds for each branch of insurance the company wishes to conduct. The registration application shall be submitted to the Authority in the conditions and forms determined by the Executive Regulation of this Law. It must be accompanied by a certificate from one of the banks in the Arab Republic of Egypt registered with the Central Bank of Egypt, proving that the company has deposited funds in the Arab Republic of Egypt not less in value than fifty thousand Egyptian pounds for each branch of insurance the company wishes to conduct and mentioned in Article (1) of this Law, with a maximum limit of three hundred thousand Egyptian pounds for all branches requested to be conducted. The company shall not be allowed to begin conducting its business unless it is registered in the register maintained for this purpose. Nor shall it be allowed to conduct any branch of insurance other than the branches for which it has been registered. Any contract concluded contrary to the foregoing shall be considered void. This nullity shall not be invoked against policyholders and beneficiaries of policies issued by the company unless their bad faith is proven.
Article 32 - The company must prove in all documents issued by it that it is licensed to conduct insurance or reinsurance operations in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and its registration number and date in the companies' register at the Authority.
Article 33 - The company must notify the Authority of any modification or change occurring in the data of the establishment and licensing application or the accompanying documents. The notification shall be submitted in the conditions and forms determined by the Executive Regulation and shall be accompanied by documents and records related to the modification or change. If the modification concerns the pricing bases for insurance operations or the benefits, restrictions, and conditions entitling insurance policies, the company must, if it conducts one of the insurance operations mentioned in items (1, 2) of Article (1), submit with the notification a certificate from one of the actuarial experts registered in the register maintained for this purpose at the Authority that the prices, benefits, restrictions, and conditions are sound and executable. These modifications or changes shall not be applied until approved by the Authority. The expiration of thirty days from the date of notifying the Authority of them, without a decision being issued regarding them, shall be considered a decision of approval. Approved modifications shall be published in the Official Gazette at the company's expense.
Chapter Nine Funds and Obligations of Insurance Companies
Chapter One General Provisions on the Obligations of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies
Article 34 - Insurance companies must reinsure a portion of their direct insurance operations concluded in the Arab Republic of Egypt with the Egyptian Reinsurance Company, based on percentages to be determined by a decision of the competent Minister based on the recommendation of the Supreme Council for Insurance, and determining the date of their commencement. The Egyptian Reinsurance Company is obliged to accept reinsurance based on the percentages determined in application of the provisions of this Article. The Egyptian Reinsurance Company shall pay the insurance company for reinsurance operations a reinsurance commission and a profit commission, the determination of which shall be by a decision of the competent Minister based on the recommendation of the Supreme Council for Insurance. The decision shall also determine the exchange ratios that the Egyptian Reinsurance Company has committed to direct insurance companies in consideration for the operations mentioned in this Article, the conditions of such exchange, and the deadlines for submitting statements and accounts for these operations.
Article 35 - Insurance and reinsurance companies licensed to conduct their activity in the Arab Republic of Egypt must give priority in assigning optional reinsurance operations falling outside the scope of their agreements to other Egyptian companies licensed to operate in Egypt to underwrite them according to their absorption capacity.
Article 36 - Companies are prohibited from conducting insurance operations on the basis of participation, meaning they do not specify the compensations or benefits resulting from an insurance policy and suspend all or part of the compensations or benefits on the results of distributing certain amounts among the total insurance policies that become payable at a future date. These companies are also prohibited from conducting their business on the basis of linking the value of the premium paid by the policyholder, in whole or in part, to the number of policies payable at a specific date. An exception is made for profits distributed to policyholders of policies issued by companies conducting the operations mentioned in items (1, 2) of Article (1) from the surplus determined in the actuarial expert's report after conducting the inspection mentioned in Article (53).
Article 37 - Each company conducting life insurance and capital accumulation operations must allocate funds in the Arab Republic of Egypt equivalent in value to at least the full actuarial liability to policyholders and beneficiaries thereof, for operations concluded and executed in the Arab Republic of Egypt, provided that the value of these funds is not less than fifty thousand Egyptian pounds for life insurance operations or for capital accumulation operations. These funds must be completely separate from the funds for other insurance operations.
Article 38 - Each company conducting insurance or reinsurance operations not mentioned in Article (37) must allocate funds in the Arab Republic of Egypt equivalent in value to at least the sum of the following:
Article 39 - Without prejudice to the provision of the previous Article, the value of the assets of an insurance or reinsurance company must exceed the sum of its liabilities at any time by 10% of the net premiums of general insurance for the closed financial year, with a minimum equal to the value of the paid-up capital. The Board of Directors of the Egyptian Insurance Supervision Authority shall issue a decision determining the elements of assets and liabilities.
Article 40 - The competent Minister shall determine by his decision the method of investing the funds to be allocated according to the provisions of Articles (37) and (38) for operations concluded and executed by the company in the Arab Republic of Egypt, as well as the method of valuing them. He shall determine, in agreement with the Minister of Finance, the percentages used to purchase government bonds and securities. Cash funds and securities that are part of these funds shall be deposited in one of the banks in the Arab Republic of Egypt registered with the Central Bank of Egypt. The aforementioned bank must provide the Authority with all data it requests regarding these funds at the times specified by it. Each company must provide the Authority with a statement of its funds that must exist in the Arab Republic of Egypt at the times specified by the Executive Regulation. The Authority may take whatever it deems appropriate at any time to verify that the company is implementing the provisions of this Article.
Article 41 - Beneficiaries of policies concluded and executed by the company in the Arab Republic of Egypt shall have a privilege on the funds allocated according to Articles (37) and (38), coming in the rank after the privilege stipulated in paragraph (a) of Article 1141 of the Civil Code. The competent authority for registration and notarization - upon request of the Authority - shall indicate this privilege in the margin of each registration or entry related to these funds, notifying the Authority of each indication.
Article 42 - Income from securities and loans granted by the insurance company and deposits of all kinds to be allocated according to the provisions of Articles (37) and (38) are exempt from the tax on income from movable capital.
Article 43 - The insurance or reinsurance company must notify the Authority of any dispositions or final judgments affecting the funds to be allocated that would create a real estate right, transfer it, change it, or extinguish it, before it is indicated by registration or entry.
Chapter Two Registers and Accounts of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies