Bahrain - Tier D · Contained · Question to the Central Bank of Bahrain
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2026 12:04 pm
Fijishi Jurisdiction Index 2026 · Entry BH · Published 12 October 2026
At a glance
1. The rules in Bahrain
Bahrain's Information & eGovernment Authority adopted a General Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence (Version 1.0, 20 May 2025). It is mandatory, but only for government entities.
Insurers and reinsurers in Bahrain are regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain under Volume 3 (Insurance) of its Rulebook. This edition found no Central Bank instrument addressing AI.
Who these rules reach
This band describes how far the published record answers the question put to the Central Bank of Bahrain. It is not a finding that the Central Bank of Bahrain, or any firm it oversees, has fallen short of any rule.
Why the question goes to the Central Bank of Bahrain: No Bahrain-licensed insurer's own published account of AI in underwriting, claims or pricing was found, so the question goes to the regulator.
The question
3. What the open question means for firms in Bahrain
Until the Central Bank answers, a Bahrain-licensed insurer using AI in underwriting or claims has no published statement saying whether the Rulebook's existing requirements are the rules that apply to that use, or whether AI-specific requirements are to come. This entry gives no band to any firm.
4. What this entry does not establish
Sources
None share a law or regulator with this entry.
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Commercial relationship with any party named here: None · Right of reply: indexreport.protocol@fijishi.com; with the sender's agreement, replies are published in full below the entry, dated · Cite as: Fijishi Jurisdiction Index 2026, Entry BH · Corrections: none.
At a glance
| Jurisdiction tier | Tier D - Not yet specified. No binding instrument that applies to insurers' own use of AI, and no issued regulator document addressed to this insurance market, sets out rules or expectations for AI. |
| Question to | the Central Bank of Bahrain - AI rules for insurance licensees |
| Band for this question | Contained |
| Rules reach | Insurers: directly · Reinsurers: not stated · Intermediaries: directly |
| Last verified | [actual date of the launch-window check] |
Bahrain's Information & eGovernment Authority adopted a General Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence (Version 1.0, 20 May 2025). It is mandatory, but only for government entities.
Insurers and reinsurers in Bahrain are regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain under Volume 3 (Insurance) of its Rulebook. This edition found no Central Bank instrument addressing AI.
Who these rules reach
- Insurers: directly. The Rulebook's General Requirements module states: "The requirements in Module GR (General Requirements) apply to insurance licensees" (GR-B.1.1). Read from an archived January 2011 copy of the module; the current version was not read.
- Reinsurers: not stated. The module's table of licence categories was read only in summary.
- Intermediaries: directly. The same module's table applies chapters of it to insurance brokers.
This band describes how far the published record answers the question put to the Central Bank of Bahrain. It is not a finding that the Central Bank of Bahrain, or any firm it oversees, has fallen short of any rule.
Why the question goes to the Central Bank of Bahrain: No Bahrain-licensed insurer's own published account of AI in underwriting, claims or pricing was found, so the question goes to the regulator.
The question
In briefBahrain has made AI rules mandatory for its own government. The Information & eGovernment Authority's General Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence (Version 1.0, 20 May 2025) "applies to all government entities in the Kingdom of Bahrain", and from its approval on 20 May 2025 all government entities are required to comply with its rules, requirements and guiding principles. Bahrain's insurers and reinsurers are regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain under Volume 3 (Insurance) of its Rulebook, and no CBB instrument addressing artificial intelligence was found. For a Bahrain-licensed insurer using AI in underwriting or claims, are the CBB's existing Rulebook requirements on governance and conduct already the rules that apply to that use, or does the CBB intend to set AI-specific requirements of its own for licensees?
Why this band: No company's own account could be tested, so the question rests on the government's and the regulator's own published record.Bahrain's government has adopted mandatory AI rules for its own entities, but those rules do not extend to insurers, and no AI instrument from the insurance regulator was found. It is not clear from the regulator's publications whether it sees its existing rules as covering insurers' AI, or plans rules of its own. We found no regulator or company publication documenting AI use in underwriting, claims or pricing in Bahrain.
3. What the open question means for firms in Bahrain
Until the Central Bank answers, a Bahrain-licensed insurer using AI in underwriting or claims has no published statement saying whether the Rulebook's existing requirements are the rules that apply to that use, or whether AI-specific requirements are to come. This entry gives no band to any firm.
4. What this entry does not establish
- The Rulebook's Volume 3 modules were not searched for AI, and the reach lines above rest on an archived 2011 copy of one module.
- Whether any Bahrain insurer uses AI in underwriting, claims or pricing. This entry says nothing either way.
- The status of a proposed AI law rests on press reports: a Shura Council proposal of 29 April 2024, not enacted in the sources found.
- No date set: any Central Bank circular or Rulebook amendment naming AI; the proposed AI law.
Sources
- Information & eGovernment Authority, General Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence, Version 1.0, 20 May 2025 (printed). Government. iga.gov.bh PDF
- Central Bank of Bahrain, Rulebook Volume 3—Insurance (landing page, observed 28 September 2026). Regulator. cbben.thomsonreuters.com
- Central Bank of Bahrain, Rulebook Volume 3, Module GR (General Requirements), January 2011 copy. Regulator. cbben.thomsonreuters.com PDF
None share a law or regulator with this entry.
________________________________________
Commercial relationship with any party named here: None · Right of reply: indexreport.protocol@fijishi.com; with the sender's agreement, replies are published in full below the entry, dated · Cite as: Fijishi Jurisdiction Index 2026, Entry BH · Corrections: none.