Life Insurance in the Qatari Legal System: Between Reality and Aspirations

Abstract

The article begins by defining life insurance as: a contract whereby the insurer undertakes, in exchange for premiums, to pay the insured, or a third party, the sum insured or a regular annuity, upon the death of the insured or their continued life at the agreed-upon term specified in the insurance contract. Life insurance encompasses several ordinary and extraordinary forms. The ordinary forms fall into three main categories: death insurance, life insurance, and mixed insurance. Each of these categories includes several different types of life insurance. The article also outlines the general principles underlying this type of insurance. The article then addressed the statement of the Qatari legislator’s failure to regulate life insurance in the Civil Code or in the special laws that regulate insurance activity in Qatar, compared to other Arab legislations. It touched on the reasons behind this lack of legal regulation, and its impact on life insurance activity in the State of Qatar through practical reality and a review of what some insurance companies do in providing life insurance services. The article concluded that this legislative gap must be filled by establishing a complete legal regulation that regulates life insurance, by presenting a set of proposals that the proposed regulation must include.