
The Insurance Regulatory Unit (IRU) announced today that since its establishment, its revenues stood at 8.2 million dinars for fiscal 2024–2025 based on its annual report.
This marks a 4.6% increase compared to the previous year, with net operating results hitting KD 5.4 million, the strongest performance since the unit was launched in February 2020.
The IRU reported that total revenues over the past five years amounted to KD 32 million, of which KD 20.4 million was transferred to the state treasury. This achievement came despite the lack of allocated operating capital, cash reserves, or a defined profit retention mechanism, which is commonly allowed for other independent government bodies, reports Al-Rai daily.
Unit Head Mohammed Al-Otaibi attributed the performance to a prudent and realistic financial policy, highlighting the development of a comprehensive structure for supervision and service fees as key to enhancing revenue. He added that spending was carefully rationalized in line with government policies and Cabinet decisions.
Despite the success, Al-Otaibi noted that the insurance market saw a 10% decrease in the value of direct premiums for national companies, totaling KD 552 million. However, the number of insurance documents issued rose to 1.8 million.
In terms of consumer protection, the IRU’s Complaints Committee held 29 meetings during the fiscal year, receiving 747 complaints, 95% of which were resolved through the IRU+ digital system.
This represents an improvement over the 859 complaints received the previous year, of which 93% were resolved. Al-Otaibi said this reflects the effectiveness of the digital system in expediting complaint resolution and enhancing trust in the complaint mechanisms.
On compliance and regulation, the unit carried out comprehensive inspections of all national insurance companies and numerous brokerage firms. As a result, 95 administrative investigations were referred to the Legal Affairs Department for possible violations of Law No. 125 of 2019. Of these, 67 violations were referred to the Disciplinary Board, which issued 45 penalties against offending companies, while other cases were closed.
The unit also continued to invest in staff development, conducting 15 training programs covering insurance, human resources, project management, and leadership skills.
In its public outreach efforts, the unit launched several awareness initiatives to educate policyholders about their rights.
Al-Otaibi emphasized that these achievements stem from full compliance with Law No. 125 of 2019 and its executive regulations. He reiterated the IRU’s commitment to its vision of becoming a model for government excellence in regulating and developing Kuwait’s insurance sector in line with international best practices.