“However, from the time the license of operations for the new specialized institution is issued, the applicant company will not be able to continue work as a general insurance company [and would be treated as a specialized firm],” warned Abdolnasser Hemmati, the head of the Central Insurance of Iran and the High Council of Insurance as reported by the official news website of the CII. If insurers do not wish to become specialized in life insurance, he added, they will have to separate their life and non-life businesses and draft their balance sheets accordingly, Financial Tribune reported.