The firm, which currently advises clients on their pensions, can now offer insurance advice via its new unit Prestige Insurance Brokers.
Craig McConnon, chief executive of PWS, said: “It’s a significant achievement for my team and we are delighted to have been granted the UAE insurance broker licence.
“As an organisation we are honoured to be in a position to add value and increase awareness of insurance related matters to people living within the UAE.”
Wider market?
The broker licence is the fourth issued by IA this year and signals that the industry regulator may be open to widening the market.
Prior to 2015, the IA had not issued a licence in five years.
The watchdog granted similar permits to Ascot & Fitch Insurance Brokers, Unity Insurance broker and Guardian Wealth Management in the first quarter of 2016 – matching the total number it issued in the whole of 2015.
Industry observers in Dubai told International Adviser in February the fact that licences were being approved reflected the fact the IA had now brought all existing brokerages under its current compliance regime.
The IA issued regulations for insurance brokers at the end of 2014, which involved new capital requirements and corporate structures. It was widely expected then that until all IA regulated brokers were brought within these new rules there would be few new licences.
