Commission warns intermediaries: nothing may be added to the official tariff

In a circular addressed to all insurance entities operating in Lebanon, the Insurance Control Commission reminded accredited intermediaries of their obligation to comply fully with the official tariff issued by insurance companies, and not to add any increase or modification to it. Any breach of the circular is treated as a violation of the insurance organisation law.

Circular No. 434/L.M.D of the Insurance Control Commission, dated 25 February 2026, was addressed to all insurance entities operating in Lebanon. Its subject is the statement of premiums on insurance contracts across all branches.

The substance of the circular fits in a single sentence: the Commission reminds all accredited intermediaries of the obligation to comply fully with the official tariff issued by insurance companies, and not to add any increases or modifications to it.

The sanction is stated explicitly. The Commission affirms that any breach of the circular is considered a violation of the provisions of the law on the organisation of insurance entities, exposes those responsible to legal accountability, and will draw the maximum penalties provided against violators. Compliance with the content of the circular is required under responsibility.

The legal references are set out at length. First comes article 964 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts. Then the law on the organisation of insurance entities enacted by Decree No. 9812 of 4 May 1968 as amended, and in particular articles 3, 5, 7 (paragraph c) and 47.

The list also includes article 9 of Legislative Decree No. 105/1977, article 6 of Decree No. 9585 of 30 January 2003, and article 2 of Decision No. 1/52 of 14 April 2009.

The circular further rests on the Commission's own earlier acts: Decision No. 70/L.M.D of 10 March 2025 and Letter No. 306/L.M.D of 6 February 2026. The matter is therefore not raised for the first time; this circular follows a letter sent a few weeks earlier.

The circular was signed by the head of the Commission, Nadim Haddad. The document was issued from the Commission's address at Building 87, Riad El Solh Street, Beirut Central District.

For the policyholder the meaning is direct. The price of a policy is set by the tariff the company has issued; the intermediary is forbidden to add anything of its own to that price. Where the same cover carries a different price from one intermediary to another, the policyholder is entitled to ask whether the difference comes from the tariff or from an addition.

The circular also says something about the direction of supervision. The Commission here targets not the companies but the intermediaries selling on their behalf, yet it addresses the letter to the companies. That points to an approach in which the company is held answerable for the conduct of its intermediary.

No implementation date or transition period appears in the circular. The text is framed as a reminder of an obligation already in force; the obligation therefore existed before the date of the circular.