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Hemmati Welcomes Life Insurance Expansion

CII president Hemmati at a news conference in Tehran on Jan.23.
CII president Hemmati at a news conference in Tehran on Jan.23.

A number of domestic insurance firms have shown interest in spinning off their life insurance operations into separate entities, said Abdolnasser Hemmati, the president of Central Insurance of Iran.

“We have received proposals from some private companies interested in launching separate firms to specifically focus on the life insurance category. [The issue] is now on the agenda,” Risknews.ir quoted him as saying on Monday.

Hemmati added that launching spinoffs is one of the solutions for separating life insurance reserves from other categories.

CII, as the insurance industry’s regulator, requires insurers to separate life insurance reserves, mainly to stop them from using the resources to cover losses in other categories. 

The regulator is also planning to boost the share of life insurance in the insurers’ portfolio. Separating the reserves is of high importance for promoting the category, as insurers are expected to meet their long-term commitments.

Hemmati announced earlier that the regulator will issue no new license for general firms. 

Middle East Life Insurance, affiliated with Middle East Bank, is about to start operations, after receiving the license as the first specialized insurance firm in Iran. 

Life insurance currently accounts for 12% of insurers’ generated premiums.

 

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