Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 05/2019

Welcome to our monthly newsletter, where we update you on the work of the Initiative, inform you about events and publications, and share experiences and learning on inclusive insurance regulation and supervision across jurisdictions.

Follow us on Twitter @a2ii_org where we serve you news and updates on #inclusiveinsurance.

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Towards the end of 2009, the A2ii completes country diagnostics for eight countries: India, Philippines, SouthAfrica, Uganda and Colombia and later on Brazil, Ethiopia and Zambia. The Technical Team of the A2ii is established with selected technical experts to review the studies, advance technical know-how and support supervisors in their efforts to develop their markets in the coming years. Check out all our country diagnostics here.

Recent events

The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) 14th Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group (FISPLG) Working Group Meeting

1- 4 April, Livingstone, Zambia

A2ii hosted a session on climate risk insurance which focused in on the role of supervisors, regulators and policymakers in enhancing the resilience of vulnerable populations against climate-related risks.

During the session, a representative from El Salvador spoke about their recent initiative to include parametric and microinsurance in their new insurance contract law while Agrotosh Mookerjee from Risk Shield, Zambia presented examples of successful agricultural and weather index insurance schemes.

Capacity Building for Insurance Supervisors - Leveraging Actuarial Skills

1 – 5 April, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean

31 insurance supervisors from 16 jurisdictions in the Caribbean region participated in this Actuarial Skills Training hosted by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. The 5-day training was the second to  take place under the A2ii, IAIS and International Actuarial Association’s partnership set up in late 2017 to increase supervisor’s actuarial capacities. The Department for International Development of the UK funded the training.

The lessons learnt from the first training for Sub-Saharan African supervisors in February greatly benefited the content and delivery of this training: 100% of participants agreed (84% strongly) that the content of the training was of high quality. Also, 100% of participants agreed (87% (strongly) that they would be able to use the training content in their future work.

The training was delivered by a team of experienced actuaries with extensive supervisory background: Eamon Kelly was the lead trainer, Vishal Desai (Bank of England), Craig Thorburn (World Bank), Britta Hay (Consulting Actuary, former FSC Jamaica) and Stuart Wason (Consulting Actuary, former OSFI). Over the course of the week, participants discussed a wide range of topics, including reasons for insurer distress, reviews of actuarial reports, ERM frameworks, valuation and solvency regimes. Participants also spent quite some time thinking through the challenges they face in their working context and developing steps to address these challenges.

Several webinars, as well as individual touchpoints via email and telephone, will take place over the course of the next weeks to provide participants with continued opportunities for peer exchange and expert support to ensure they can implement the training content in their daily work.

The IAIS-ASSAL Annual Conference and ASSAL Annual Assembly

2 – 4 April, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

The IAIS-ASSAL Annual Conference and ASSAL Annual Assembly took place in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, organised jointly by the Autoridad de Fiscalización y Control de Pensiones y Seguros (APS) of Bolivia and Association of Insurance Supervisors of Latin America (ASSAL), and with the collaboration of the IAIS.

The Minister of Economy and Public Finance of Bolivia, Mr Luis Alberto Arce Catacora opened the conference on ”Insurance Regulation and Supervision in Latin America”.

Regina Simões, the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) regional coordinator for Latin America, presented on a panel  on “Inclusive Insurance”. Carlos Izaguirre, Deputy Superintendent of Insurance of the SBS of Peru, Gustavo Araujo Caldas, Deputy Coordinator of International Relations of the SUSEP of Brazil, and Edwin Vargas Rodríguez, Executive Director of the PROFIN Foundation, also participated in this panel.

Peter Braumueller, EIOPA Vice-Chairman and Chair of the Governing Council of A2ii, presented during a session on “Risk-based supervision”.

Upcoming events

Bridging the Gender Gap: The role of the Insurance Supervisor – A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call

23 May

The A2ii and IAIS will be hosting a consultation call on “Bridging the Gender Gap: The role of the Insurance Supervisor”. Experts from the Toronto Centre and Women’s World Banking will explore key issues regarding barriers to access, mainstreaming gender and targeting women and the insurance supervisor's role in bridging the gender gap.

To register for this consultation call, please follow this link here.

16th Consultative Forum on Climate and Disaster Risk - Climate and disaster risk: building resilience, bridging the protection gap

12 June, Johannesburg, South Africa

The Consultative Forum will explore how insurance providers, policymakers, insurance regulators and supervisors can collaborate to reduce the protection gap and help to build resilience in the face of climate risk and natural disasters. The 16th Consultative Forum provides a platform for dialogue between these stakeholders, as well as the opportunity to meet with and learn from colleagues and experts involved in climate change from Africa and other regions.

The forum will be organised by The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), the InsuResilience Global Partnership, the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) and the Microinsurance Network (MiN). It will take place alongside the 46th Conference and Annual General Assembly of the African Insurance Organisation (9-12 June 2019).

For more information, please refer to the link here. To register, please follow this link.

Recent publications

>Using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in Inclusive Insurance Supervision

Key Performance Indicators are a powerful tool for supervisors to regularly evaluate the development, soundness and appropriateness of the inclusive insurance sector. ICP 9 on Supervisory Review and Reporting sets out that risk-based supervision should use both offsite monitoring and onsite inspection, and supervisors should collect the necessary information to conduct effective supervision and evaluate the insurance market. Collecting financial and non-financial data, both quantitative and qualitative, enables supervisors to continuously monitor the condition, conduct and risk profiles of insurers, thereby being a critical resource for supporting risk-based supervision.

This paper provides some insight into how some common Key Performance Indicators can inform the supervisory development and review of inclusive insurance.

For the report, please follow this link.