Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority adopts a package of measures to implement the new Unified Insurance Law with technology and modernisation of the sector being a top priority.
Australia has no plans to allow private health insurance cover of general practitioner (GP) care in the country. Currently, under Australian law, private health insurance cannot offer cover for out-of-hospital medical services, including GP visits, because they can be covered by Medicare.
Tunisia is actively working on a law to introduce a system of insurance against the loss of employment due to economic reasons. A draft of the proposed law was discussed by the country's cabinet in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kamel Madouri earlier this month.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Oman has started to link the electronic Dhamani platform online to the sultanate's private health polyclinics and clinics. To begin with the FSA has added around 33 private hospitals in various governorates of Oman to the platform.
The Ministry of Finance is currently studying the new draft law on the financial market, which will replace 1993 stock exchange legislative decree. Among the important reforms is the inclusion of insurance companies as intermediaries in stock exchange operations, Islamic bonds and green financing, which will contribute to strengthening this market and making it more attractive, said the Algerian Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (UAR) general director Abdelhakim Berrah.
Regulatory oversight in agricultural insurance is intensifying. End of last year, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and National Forestry and Grassland Administration jointly issued the 'Ten Guidelines for Promoting Precision in Agricultural Insurance Underwriting and Claims' (referred to as the guidelines). This policy emphasized standardizing the agricultural insurance market. Soon after, local regulators began responding.
On 7 January, the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services were released. The document emphasizes improving fiscal support policies, with central budget investments actively supporting the construction of the elderly care service system. It also calls for the vigorous development of elderly care finance to meet the credit and financing needs of elderly care institutions.
These are the updates on insurance regulation across China this week.
These are the highlights for all events and updates across the industry this week.
The Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) announced a 1% increase in employer contributions to mandatory social insurance, effective January 2025. According to a circular sent to the owners of companies, the total employer contribution will rise to 17%.