The State

Perhaps the most significant contributing factor to the status of the insurance market in the State is the insurance legislation currently in place. Qatar Law No. 1/1966 Concerning the Supervision and Control Over Insurance Companies and Agents (Insurance Law) is the primary body of law that governs its insurance market. Among other things, the Insurance Law provides the following:

Any company intending to carry out insurance operations in Qatar has to be licensed by the relevant government body (currently the Ministry of Business and Trade (MBT));

It may only take the form of a joint stock company and its capital must be wholly owned by Qatari nationals (this article was subsequently amended in 2008 to remove the requirement that the capital be own only by Qataris);

An insurance agent must be a Qatari national of good standing or a wholly Qatari owned entity;