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Locally Incorporated Insurance Firms
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Overseas Insurance Firms
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Insurance Brokers
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Actuaries
Starting from 1950 till today, the insurance industry in Bahrain has been growing steadily and strongly, mirroring the expansion of Bahrain’s financial sector. The Kingdom offers the ideal environment for the insurance industry, and with its forward-looking and business-friendly regulatory regime it hopes to sustain this growth in the long term.
As of 2024, Bahrain is home to 137 insurance entities, which include locally incorporated firms of Conventional Insurance, Takaful, Reinsurance, Retakaful, and Captives, as well as Overseas Insurance Firms. The market also features a substantial number of Insurance Brokers, Insurance Managers, Insurance Consultants, Actuaries, Loss Adjustors, Insurance Pools and Syndicates, Insurance Societies, and Third Party Administrators (TPA).
Bahrain has achieved preeminence as the regional financial services centre, through the Government’s wise and far-sighted policy of maintaining an open and diversified economy base and by paying close attention to the legal and regulatory infrastructure.
This has provided the framework for the Bahrain insurance industry to flourish and for Bahrain to become the insurance hub of this important region. Since 2002, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) acts as the regulator of the insurance sector and provides an efficient regulatory framework for financial services firms operating in Bahrain. Further, all legal, regulatory and supervisory insurance frameworks follow the essential criteria of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) core principles and methodology.
Supervisory Objectives
Based on its statutory objectives and powers, the CBB has developed its supervisory objectives, the following are the main of such objectives:
- To promote stability and soundness in the insurance system;
- To provide an appropriate degree of protection to users and the financial system;
- To promote transparency and market discipline; and
- To reduce the likelihood of licensees being used for financial crime including money laundering activities.
Recent Regulatory Highlights
The CBB remains committed to advancing the resilience and transparency of Bahrain’s insurance sector. The Insurance Supervision Directorate (ISD) has undertaken several key initiatives in 2024 to promote sound regulatory practices and ensure market stability, such as:
- Introduced mandatory training for motor insurance staff to standardize claims handling.
- Implemented new dividend rules to ensure firms maintain capital adequacy and solvency margins.
- Held consultations with industry stakeholders throughout the year to improve market conduct.
- Engaged with various entities to advance the objectives of the insurance sector in order to achieve the goals of the Financial Services Sector Development Strategy (2022-2026).
- Continued reviewing financial and actuarial reports to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.