Kuwait insurance regulator stops paper compulsory motor policies and moves all issuance to its Bima system

Kuwait's Insurance Regulatory Unit (IRU) has told insurers that write compulsory motor third-party liability cover to stop issuing those policies on paper. In a circular announced on 18 October 2026, the regulator said the policies must now be issued only through its updated electronic Bima system, and that it will not recognise any policy issued outside that channel.

The circular starts a trial period for the updated system. Insurers may let brokers they contract with issue policies in the insurer's name through a sub-user account on Bima, subject to controls set out in the circular. During the trial, insurers must run introductory workshops for those brokers and keep a record of who attended, to give to the IRU on request. Premiums must be paid by electronic means only; cash is not accepted.

The IRU said the change affects only how insurers and brokers issue the policy. Customers can still apply directly to an insurer or a broker, as before.

Hamad Abdullah Tifouni, the IRU's acting director of information systems, said the step should reduce attempts to forge policies or manipulate prices. He described Bima as a single central platform for compulsory motor policies that should give the regulator more reliable data and statistics for supervision. The announcement does not say when the trial period ends.