Mandatory Professional Liability Insurance for Notaries, Experts, and Translators Under New UAE Legislation
New Insurance Requirements for UAE Professionals: What You Need to Know
The UAE government has introduced new ministerial decisions that set specific requirements for professional indemnity insurance policies for private notaries, experts, and translators. These decisions aim to enhance protection for clients and claimants, improve practices, and encourage risk management measures among these professionals.
The new laws, which are related to Federal Decree-Law No. 20/2022, 21/2022, and 22/2022, and their Implementing Regulations contained in Cabinet Decision No. 16/2024, 17/2024, and 18/2024, respectively, mandate obtaining professional indemnity insurance. This coverage is designed to protect practitioners and their clients from financial losses resulting from professional errors.
Professional indemnity insurance typically covers compensation for losses or damages caused by professional negligence, errors, and omissions during the provision of services. However, it usually does not cover gross negligence, fraud, or willful misconduct, making the individual or firm liable for such acts directly.
The mandatory insurance requirements include substantial minimum coverage amounts, particularly for policies obtained by expert and translation houses. Insurance companies must comply with UAE Insurance Law provisions, including maintaining minimum capital and deposit requirements, ensuring solvency, and adhering to regulatory oversight.
Insurers must offer policy products that meet the specific requirements outlined in the ministerial decisions, such as minimum coverage limits and non-revocable terms. The required policy term is three years, which reflects the term of registration for the mentioned professionals on the relevant UAE roll or register.
Coverage is provided for specific types of cases, including loss, damage, and destruction of documents, negligence, breach of duty, dishonesty, fraud, deception, disclosure of information, libel and defamation, and any other compensation adjudged for professional and technical errors.
While the detailed clause-by-clause requirements or policy wording stipulated exactly by Ministerial Decisions 208/2024, 211/2024, and 215/2024 are not available in the public domain, consulting the official text of these Ministerial Decisions or relevant regulatory bodies such as the UAE Ministry of Justice or the UAE Insurance Authority is recommended. They would provide detailed limits, coverage scope, exclusions, renewal conditions, claims handling procedures, and compliance criteria specifically tailored for private notaries, experts, and translators in the UAE.
The new laws are expected to drive increased demand for professional liability insurance products tailored to translators, experts, and notaries. It is essential for these professionals to understand the new requirements and ensure they are adequately insured to comply with the law and protect their clients and themselves.
- These new insurance requirements for UAE professionals, including notaries, experts, and translators, as outlined in Ministerial Decisions 208/2024, 211/2024, and 215/2024, are essential for covering financial losses resulting from professional errors and negligence in their business dealings.
- To meet the new insurance requirements, professional indemnity insurance providers must offer tailored policy products that provide adequate coverage for various potential risks, such as loss of documents, breach of duty, and libel and defamation, in a manner that complies with UAE Insurance Law provisions and the specific requirements outlined in the ministerial decisions.
