OMAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Abdulredha Al Lawati, Zainab Al Lawati, Daniyal Khalid and Aoun Al Zadjali, ALC Lawyers & Counsel
5.2 Shifting Risk Landscape Regulatory change is presently a more immediate source of new liability exposure in Oman than AI-spe- cific litigation. The Personal Data Protection frame- work imposes breach-notification and compliance obligations that can generate regulatory investiga- tion, data-subject complaints and third-party liability, potentially engaging cyber, professional indemnity, D&O or other liability cover. Sustainability reporting is behind developing board- level exposure, although there is not yet a substantial body of Omani coverage litigation arising from ESG disclosures. AI remains at an earlier stage. Oman has adopted a national governance framework emphasising human oversight, explainability, accountability and auditabil- ity, but there is not yet evidence of a material volume of AI-specific liability claims. Early disputes are more likely to arise through existing causes of action such as contract, negligence, professional error or data- protection breach. 5.3 Defence Costs and Litigation Complexity Defence costs increase where an Omani claim involves foreign parties, substantial technical evidence or mul- tiple participants. Proceedings are conducted in Ara- bic and foreign-language documents require transla- tion; significant cross-border matters may also involve international counsel, reinsurers, adjusters and techni- cal specialists. Expert evidence is often a major cost driver in con- struction, engineering and professional-liability dis- putes, particularly where several disciplines or sup- plementary reports are required. Multi-party project and logistics claims add complexity because underlying liability may need to be allocated among principals, contractors, consultants, carriers or freight forwarders before the insurance response can be determined. Cross-border disputes may addition- ally involve foreign law, parallel arbitration or litigation, overseas evidence and reinsurance issues. Effective defence therefore depends on early coordination of the legal, technical and insurance workstreams.
in motor and personal-injury matters. Diyat and arsh principles remain relevant to death and bodily-injury compensation, while motor claims are a high-volume source of insurance disputes. Workplace injury, construction-site incidents and medical malpractice also create casualty exposure, but their treatment depends on the applicable statu- tory regime and policy. The Social Protection Law has altered aspects of occupational-injury protection, with different application to Omani and non-Omani work- ers. Coverage disputes therefore commonly concern the insured’s liability, causation, applicable statutory com- pensation, policy limits and exclusions rather than the development of broad new heads of damages. Motor third-party claims are one of the clearest sourc- es of liability exposure in Oman. FSA data records a substantial volume of motor claims, including bod- ily-injury and medical-expense claims, and a single accident may involve civil compensation alongside criminal or traffic proceedings. Professional liability is also significant. Private medical practitioners are subject to compulsory professional- liability requirements, while professional indemnity cover is used by other professions. In practice, dis- putes may concern claims-made provisions, notifica- tion, causation, insurer consent to admissions or set- tlements and defence costs. Construction and engineering claims can involve third-party injury or property damage, contractors, consultants and multiple insureds under the same project arrangements. Workplace, logistics, cargo and financial-lines claims are also encountered. Across these classes, defence funding remains policy-driven: the wording determines whether defence costs are covered, who controls the defence and settlement, and whether those costs erode the liability limit. 5. Claims Against Insureds 5.1 Key Exposure Areas for Insureds
211 I NSURANCE L I T IGATI O N 2026
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