Insurance Lawyers in Bahrain

At Manal Dhahi Legal Group, our team ensures that your rights are protected, your claims are secured, and your liabilities are minimised.

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Insurance disputes can expose businesses and individuals to significant financial loss. A rejected claim, unclear exclusion, delayed payment or gap in coverage can affect a construction project, business operation or injured claimant long after the original incident.

Manal Dhahi Legal Group advises policyholders, businesses, developers, contractors, consultants and other stakeholders on insurance matters in Bahrain. We help clients understand their policies, evaluate their legal position and determine the most appropriate response when coverage is questioned or a claim becomes disputed.

Our work includes policy analysis, claim preparation, settlement negotiations, regulatory complaints, litigation and arbitration.

Insurance law and regulation in Bahrain

The Central Bank of Bahrain regulates Bahrain’s insurance sector. Insurance firms operating in Bahrain are subject to the applicable legislation and the insurance requirements contained in Volume 3 of the Central Bank of Bahrain Rulebook.

The contractual relationship between an insurer and a policyholder may also be affected by Bahrain’s Civil Code, the wording of the policy, applicable regulatory rules and the terms of any underlying commercial or construction contract.

Our Insurance Legal Services

Insurance policies should be examined before a project begins or a significant commercial commitment is made. We review policies to identify:

    • The insured parties and additional insureds
    • The scope and period of coverage
    • Policy limits, deductibles and sub-limits
    • Conditions that must be satisfied before coverage applies
    • Notification and cooperation requirements
    • Exclusions and endorsements
    • Applicable law and dispute-resolution provisions
    • Potential gaps between the policy and the underlying contract

For construction and engineering projects, the insurance clauses in the principal contract should be compared with the policies actually issued. A contractual obligation to obtain coverage does not necessarily mean that the purchased policy provides that coverage. 

A strong insurance claim requires more than notifying the insurer that a loss has occurred. The claimant may need to establish that the event falls within the insuring clause, calculate the loss and comply with the policy’s procedural requirements.

Depending on the claim, relevant evidence may include:

  • The complete policy and its endorsements
  • Incident and accident reports
  • Photographs and video evidence
  • Expert, engineering or medical reports
  • Repair and replacement estimates
  • Invoices and proof of payment
  • Correspondence with brokers and insurers
  • Evidence establishing the value and cause of the loss
  • Notices submitted under the underlying contract

We assist clients in organising evidence, presenting the legal basis of the claim and responding to requests from insurers, loss adjusters and experts.


An insurer may reject a claim because it considers the loss to be excluded, the policyholder failed to disclose material information, notice was late or a policy condition was not satisfied.

A rejection does not automatically mean that the insurer’s interpretation is correct. The policy wording, surrounding documents, applicable law and reason given for the rejection must all be examined.

We assist clients with:

  • Reviewing claim-rejection letters
  • Interpreting exclusions and policy conditions
  • Responding to allegations of non-disclosure
  • Evaluating late-notification arguments
  • Challenging disputed loss assessments
  • Preparing settlement proposals
  • Filing complaints through applicable regulatory procedures
  • Commencing litigation or arbitration when appropriate


Some claims are not formally rejected but remain unresolved for extended periods. Delay may arise from repeated document requests, disagreements about valuation, continuing investigations or disputes concerning the cause of loss.

The correct response depends on the policy and the reason for the delay. It may include supplying outstanding evidence, requesting a reasoned decision, pursuing negotiations, using an applicable complaint procedure or beginning formal proceedings.


Construction projects frequently involve several parties, policies and overlapping contractual obligations. The employer, main contractor, subcontractors, designers, suppliers and lenders may each have different interests and responsibilities.

Our insurance work in this area includes:

  • Contractor’s All Risk insurance
  • Erection All Risk insurance
  • Property-damage coverage
  • Third-party liability
  • Professional indemnity insurance
  • Employer-related liability coverage
  • Plant and equipment insurance
  • Marine cargo and inland-transit coverage
  • Delay in start-up and business-interruption issues
  • Insurance provisions in FIDIC and EPC contracts

The existence of a CAR or EAR policy does not guarantee that every project loss will be covered. Coverage may depend on the cause of damage, the stage of the project, the parties named in the policy and the app


Engineers, architects, consultants and other professionals may face claims arising from alleged design errors, negligent advice or failure to meet contractual duties.

Professional indemnity policies can contain important restrictions concerning:

  • Clai
  • Retroactive dates
  • Notification of circumstances
  • Contractual liability
  • Defective design
  • Rectification costs
  • Project-specific coverage
  • Aggregate policy limits

We help professionals and businesses understand how the policy interacts with the underlying professional-services agreement and the allegations made against the insured.

Workplace injuries can involve statutory social-insurance benefits, questions of employer fault and private insurance policies.

Bahrain’s employment-injury system is principally governed by the applicable social-insurance legislation . The availability of an additional claim against an employer or insurer depends on the facts, the source of liability and the policy wording.

Workplace injury matters should therefore be assessed carefully rather than assuming that statutory benefits and private insurance compensation can always be recovered together.

An insurance dispute may be resolved through negotiation, an applicable regulatory complaint procedure, litigation or arbitration. The correct route depends on factors including:

  • The dispute-resolution clause
  • The identity and location of the parties
  • The amount and complexity of the claim
  • The need for interim measures
  • The availability of expert evidence
  • Confidentiality considerations
  • The cost and enforceability of the outcome

Arbitration is not automatically faster or less expensive than litigation. The appropriate procedure must be selected after examining the policy and the dispute.

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If an insurance claim has been rejected, delayed or disputed, early legal review can help preserve evidence and avoid further procedural problems. 

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Request the insurer’s reasons in writing and collect the complete policy, endorsements, claim documents and correspondence. The rejection should then be assessed against the policy wording, applicable law and available evidence. Depending on the findings, the next step may involve a formal response, negotiation, a regulatory complaint, litigation or arbitration.

Not necessarily. CAR insurance may be required by a construction contract, tender, lender, employer or project-specific regulatory condition. Whether it is legally or contractually required must be determined from the documents and rules applicable to the particular project.  

An insurer may rely on a valid and applicable exclusion, but the exclusion must be interpreted within the policy as a whole and applied to the facts of the loss. Its wording, presentation, legal effect and relationship with other policy terms may all become relevant in a dispute.

Yes, if there is a valid and applicable arbitration agreement. The policy and related contracts should be examined to determine whether arbitration is required, which disputes it covers, and what procedural rules or seat apply.  

How long do I have to submit or pursue an insurance claim?

There is no single 30-day period that applies to every insurance claim. Policies may impose notification requirements, while legislation may provide separate limitation or lapse periods for different legal claims. The applicable policy and legal framework should be reviewed immediately after the loss.