LEGISLATION WATCH- Insurance Act to make its way to Cabinet this week: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) will hand over the final draft of the new Insurance Act, which will grant the authority more oversight over the insurance industry, to the Madbouly Cabinet for approval this week, FRA deputy head Reda Abdel Moaty told reporters, according to Reuters’ Arabic service. The draft will be presented to the authority’s board of directors for a final sign-off today. Once cabinet approves the draft, it will then be handed over to the Council of State (Maglis El Dawla) for legal review before its introduction to the House of Representatives sometime after the House returns on 1 October from its annual summer hiatus.

Background: According to draft details which leaked earlier this year, the Insurance Act would, if passed, raise the minimum requirement for the issued and paid-in capital of life and property insurance companies by 150% to EGP 150 mn and double the ceiling for life insurance payouts to EGP 80k. The Insurance Federation of Egypt was said to have voiced concerns at the time that the capital requirements are unnecessarily high and said it would urge they be reduced. However, following several rounds of consultations later in the year, it was reported that the authority has largely kept the requirements unchanged. Reports also emerged in July that the final draft will be granting the watchdog considerable power to regulate the industry.