Bankers Blanket Insurance in the UAE

Bankers Blanket Insurance, sometimes referred to as a Financial Institution Bond, is designed for eligible banks, exchange houses, finance companies and other financial institutions. It may cover specified direct financial losses arising from employee dishonesty, forgery, theft of money or securities and related risks.

The policy is not a guarantee against every fraud, operational failure or customer claim. Cover depends on the insured institution’s activities, internal controls, declared locations and the issued policy wording, limits, deductibles, conditions and exclusions.

What Bankers Blanket Insurance May Cover

Depending on the issued policy, cover may include:

1. Employee dishonesty: Direct financial loss caused by dishonest or fraudulent acts committed by an employee, subject to the policy definition of an employee and the applicable intent requirements.
2. Money and securities on the premises: Eligible loss of money or securities caused by theft, robbery, burglary or another insured event at a declared location.
3. Money and securities in transit: Eligible loss while money or securities are being transported by authorised employees or an accepted security provider.
4. Forgery or alteration: Direct financial loss arising from specified forged or fraudulently altered cheques, drafts or similar instruments.
5. Securities: Loss arising from dealing with specified securities that are forged, altered, lost or stolen, when covered by the issued wording.
6. Counterfeit currency: Loss caused by accepting counterfeit currency in good faith during ordinary business, when expressly included.

Investigation, audit, legal or claim-preparation expenses are not automatically covered. These costs may be considered only when expressly included and incurred in accordance with the policy conditions.

Who May Need This Insurance?

Bankers Blanket Insurance may be relevant to:

1. Licensed commercial or specialised banks.
2. Exchange houses and remittance businesses.
3. Finance companies and other eligible financial institutions.
4. Institutions handling significant amounts of money or securities.
5. Businesses required to maintain financial-crime insurance under a contract.

The insurance is not necessarily a universal legal requirement for every financial institution. Requirements may depend on the institution’s licence, regulator, contractual obligations, governance framework or risk-management policies.

Important Policy Conditions

1. Discovery provision: The policy may respond to an eligible loss discovered during the policy period or an agreed discovery period.
2. Employee definition: Directors, temporary workers, consultants and outsourced staff may not be treated as employees unless expressly included.
3. Internal controls: Dual controls, reconciliations, approval limits, segregation of duties and security procedures should be maintained.
4. Notification: A suspected loss or dishonest act should be reported within the period required by the issued policy.
5. Single-loss aggregation: Related acts may be treated as one loss and subject to one limit and deductible.
6. Material changes: Changes to activities, locations, systems, transaction volumes or security controls should be disclosed.

Cyber and Professional Risks

Bankers Blanket Insurance does not automatically cover cyberattacks, ransomware, privacy breaches, system outages or every fraudulent electronic transfer. Separate Cyber Insurance or Computer Crime Insurance may be required.

Claims arising from negligent professional advice, unsuitable products, misrepresentation or errors in providing financial services may require separate Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Common Exclusions and Limitations

The policy may exclude or restrict:

1. Loss known before the policy or not reported within the required period.
2. Ordinary trading losses, credit defaults or investment losses.
3. Loss caused by directors or persons outside the policy’s employee definition.
4. Indirect loss, loss of profit, reputational damage or loss of business.
5. Fines, penalties and punitive damages.
6. Cyber or electronic crime not expressly included.
7. Loss caused by inadequate records or unexplained accounting shortages.
8. War, sanctions and other exclusions stated in the policy.

What to Do After Discovering a Loss

1. Take reasonable steps to prevent further financial loss.
2. Notify Al Buhaira Insurance as soon as reasonably possible.
3. Preserve transaction records, access logs and supporting documents.
4. Follow internal investigation and employee-suspension procedures.
5. Report criminal activity to the relevant authority where appropriate.
6. Protect recovery rights against employees and other responsible parties.
7. Do not agree to a settlement without prior insurer approval.

Documents Required

The insurer may request documents and information such as:

1. Completed proposal or quotation form
2. Trade licence and regulatory licence details
3. Company profile and organisational structure
4. Number of employees and branch locations
5. Annual financial statements
6. Transaction and cash-handling volumes
7. Internal-control and approval procedures
8. Cash, vault and premises-security details
9. Money-in-transit arrangements
10. Employee screening and audit procedures
11. Information-security and access-control details
12. Requested policy sections and limits
13. Previous insurance details and claims history

Why Choose Al Buhaira Insurance?

1. Financial institution product: Bankers Blanket Insurance is available within Al Buhaira Insurance’s miscellaneous insurance range.
2. Dedicated quotation page: Financial institutions can submit their initial business and control details online.
3. Risk-based assessment: Quotations can consider declared operations, transaction volumes, internal controls and requested limits.
4. Policy and claims enquiries: Customers can contact Al Buhaira Insurance regarding issued terms or a discovered loss under an existing policy.

Frequently Asked Questions