Cabinet issues bylaws to regulate Jordan’s insurance sector

Amman: A Cabinet session held Sunday, headed by Prime Minister Dr. Bishr Khasawneh, approved the Mandatory Vehicle Insurance Bylaw for the year 2024. The system aims to cover all damages of vehicle-related accidents, primarily damage to the driver, who caused the crash and its owner, and set limits on the insurance company's responsibility to pay compensations. The bylaw also contributes to resolve any dispute arising between insurance companies and beneficiaries of the compulsory insurance contract, by specifying the cases covered under the insurance agreement, as well as accidents which are uncovered under the insurance umbrella. Additionally, the system aims to protect the individuals' rights to receive compensation for physical or material damage caused by a non-Jordanian vehicle while inside the Kingdom, even if its insurance contract has expired, as it is legally insured by the same insurance company. In another related decision, the Council of Ministers also approved the Bylaw for the Unified Offic e for Compulsory Vehicle Insurance for the year 2024. The regulation aims to identify provisions and procedures for the unified office's operations and its management under the control and supervision of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), set the office's tasks, its obligations, its financial resources, and other administrative and financial affairs. In a third move, the Council approved the bylaw of the guarantee fund for the beneficiaries of insurance contracts for the year 2024. The system aims to set provisions and procedures for compensating the insured beneficiaries under insurance contracts, in the event of a decision is taken to liquidate the insurance company, or in cases of asset deficiency, and determine the fund's financial resources and disbursement mechanisms. The Council of Ministers decided to approve the mandating reasons for the draft amended Competition Law of 2024 and referred it to the Bureau of Legislation and Opinion to proceed with the constitutional procedures to issue it according to the rules in place. The draft law aims to ensure protection of "free and effective" competition in the market, and develop the mechanisms for its implementation in the Kingdom by strengthening the institutional form of the administrative body concerned with implementing the law provisions. Under the law, Competition Directorate is now called the "Competition Protection Department" and is managed by a general director appointed by a decision of the Council of Ministers based on the minister's approval. The proposed amendments also seek to strengthen role of the advisory body by establishing a "Competition Affairs Advisory Council," enhancing the disclosure of anti-competitive practices, and other proposals. Source: Jordan News Agency