In our business, current and potential clients don’t only look at premiums and wordings. They look at whether they can trust the firm standing between them and the insurer. They need a trustworthy umbrella to be reliable every time a storm hits.

At Associated Alliance Incorporated, that trust is built around how we handle data from A to Z.

As brokers and consultants operating across different markets in the Middle East, we work daily with clients, insurers, reinsurers and partners. The data we handle is personal, sensitive and often critical. It’s never “just a file” on a screen but also tied to a person, a business, and a promise to protect.

Because of that, the way we collect, store, use and share data is not only legally compliant, but also sensible, explainable, defensible, and above all, intentionally done.

From Collection to Deletion: Our Practical Data Ethics

Personal data should be treated like a guest in your office.

You invite it in for a clear reason. You know where it sits. You don’t let everyone walk through the room. And when the visit is over, you don’t keep it hanging around forever.

In day-to-day terms, that means we:

  • Identify what data we need for onboarding, underwriting, placement, claims or advisory, and avoid collecting the unnecessary ones.
  • Explain clearly to clients why particular documents or details are requested.
  • Limit access internally to only those who need the information to do their job.
  • Track where data is stored, and when it’s shared with related parties.
  • Set retention periods so information is not kept longer than needed.
  • Enable insured clients to view what we hold, correct inaccuracies, or request for deletion wherever legally and operationally possible.

Respect is a basic human right. At Associated Alliance, we extend that same respect to the way we handle our clients’ data, with care, clarity, and purpose.

We take data protection seriously not only because the law demands it, but because trust depends on it. Legal compliance, internal discipline, and professional judgment work together to support the umbrella our clients rely on.

One Standard. Every Border.

We operate across a region where data protection is moving fast. Some countries have mature frameworks. Others are still writing the rules.

But we do not wait for every detail to be finalized. At Associated Alliance, we apply a single internal standard built on the region’s strongest laws and global best practice.

That doesn’t mean one rule fits every country. It means one principle guides all our actions:

“Data is always protected with care and purpose.”

Retention periods, for instance, differ across markets. Some require six years, others ten, and some follow sector-specific timelines.

We follow the law in each jurisdiction but the internal discipline stays the same. We hold data only as long as it’s legally required and genuinely needed. No longer.

To give a sense of the landscape:

  • Qatar – Law No. 13 of 2016 Early adopter with a consent-based model and controller duties.
  • Bahrain – Law No. 30 of 2018 Full GDPR-style framework with active and clear enforcement & oversight.
  • Egypt – Law No. 151 of 2020 Sets conditions on processing and cross-border transfers, and data subject rights.
  • UAE – Federal Decree Law No. 45 of 2021 Unified national law with clear rules on consent and data flows.
  • Oman – Royal Decree No. 6 of 2022 Strong obligations on consent, breach notification, and governance.
  • Saudi Arabia – Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) Enforced from September 2024; includes legal bases, registration, and high penalties.
  • Jordan – Law No. 24 of 2023 Built on global standards, with full rights and accountability rules.

In countries where the law is still evolving, we don’t wait to be told what “good” looks like. We start from a high bar and action from there.

It is smarter to build right the first time than to fix it later.

When Trust Breaks, the Business Follows

Everyone talks about fines, and they do matter:

  • In Saudi Arabia, penalties under the PDPL can reach into the millions of riyals.
  • In the UAE and Egypt, serious violations can lead to financial penalties, restrictions and, in some situations, even criminal exposure.

But if you ask anyone who’s lived through a breach, the enforcement notice isn’t what they remember most.

The real damage is trust lost:

  • A client ‘s documents are sent to the wrong recipient.
  • A sensitive spreadsheet is shared more widely than it should have been.
  • A data request goes unanswered because no one knows who owns it.

You can spend five years building a relationship and lose it in one careless moment. That’s what we work hard to prevent.

In our sector, trust is the basis for every renewal, every lead and every opportunity.

Beyond Compliance – Built-In, Not Bolted On

Data protection is not a separate policy. It’s built it into the way we work, day to day:

  • Onboarding & proposals: Forms and questionnaires ask only for what’s necessary no more. We explain to clients why certain details are needed and what is not.
  • Placement & negotiation: Information shared with insurers and reinsurers is handled through a controlled channel, and we track every step.
  • Claims: Claims often involve the most sensitive information. We manage those files with particular care.
  • Systems & training: Technology helps, but judgment matters more. We invest in both secure systems and regular training so that the protection of data becomes a process, not an afterthought.

We design our process around sincerity, responsibility and respect for the people data.

Commitment to Resilience, Excellence and Continuity

We still like the umbrella metaphor, but our aim is broader than that. We are not the firm that opens an umbrella only when the rain starts.

From the first piece of information we collect to the last file we archive, we build around one principle: Data belongs to a person, not to us.

So, when something unexpected happens and in a long enough timeline, the entire organization is tested. We don’t rely on hope, but we count on structure, on habits, on processes, and a way of working that’s been thought through long before the storm.

That’s the standard we hold ourselves to, in every country we operate, across the Middle East.