In a statement, chief executive, Robert Parker, said the key UAE regulator gave brokers an “unwritten” three months from 1 January this year to finalise new requirements which included clarification on the degrees of four executives.
“Each of these documents required verification from five different ministries and organisations in different countries,” he said.
Parker said that it was at no time unauthorised and has had its licence renewed after submitting and uploading all the necessary documents to the IA.
He added that the company deposited AED3m into the IA Escrow account last October and had submitted all its papers by December, two further requirements under the regulator’s new rules.
International Adviser reported that the company was absent from the IA’s latest list of regulated firms last week.
In October last year, the IA introduced a host of new costs and requirements for brokers operating in the UAE.
The paid up capital required by firms jumped from AED1m (€0.2m, £0.17m, $0.27m) to AED3m for locally incorporated firms and to AED10m for foreign companies.
As well as this, the IA increased the amount a broker must hold as an unconditional bank guarantee to AED3m for local firms, with an additional AED1m for each regional branch, and AED5m for foreign firms with a further AED3m for each additional branch.
One addition to the rules is a stipulation that brokers must enter into a formal legal agreement with insurers, with the insurer setting out its terms of business.
The IA also said insurers must have an agreement in place with at least two brokers.
Other companies are believed to have been absent from the list as a result of the regulator’s new requirements.
Holborn Assets has subsidiaries in the UK, Europe and South Africa. It employs 240 people and has ofices in the UK, Spain, Ireland, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the UAE.
