Newsletters

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.

Recent events

IAIS Annual Conference

8-9 November, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Four hundred supervisors and other stakeholders took part in the 25th IAIS Annual Conference.

The topics covered were of interest to both advanced and emerging insurance markets: Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, the role of supervisors in achieving sustainable economic development and the links between prudential and conduct of business supervision.

 Peter Braumüller, Chair of the A2ii Governing Council, represented the A2ii on a panel discussion about climate risk and natural catastrophes and highlighted the role of supervisors in closing the protection gap.

IAIS Implementation and Assessment Committee meeting,

6 November, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

The A2ii also participated in the IAIS implementation and assessment committee meeting which was held alongside the annual conference. A2ii presented upcoming 2019 activities and updated on some of our major 2018 projects, including the work on InsurTech, the Inclusive Insurance Innovation Lab and the IAIS-A2ii Review on Regulation and Supervision supporting Inclusive Insurance Markets. 

14th International Microinsurance Conference, ‘Inclusive Insurance for Emerging Markets’,

6-8 November, Lusaka, Zambia

Approximately 450 experts from around the world discussed and identified ways of accelerating growth and economic viability in inclusive insurance for emerging markets. The conference was hosted by the Microinsurance Technical Advisory Group of Zambia (TAG) and the Munich Re Foundation in cooperation with the Microinsurance Network.

The A2ii organised a plenary panel on ‘Insurtech: Rising to the regulatory challenge’ which explored the changing digital landscape and in particular its implications for consumers and insurance supervisors. Insights were shared from recent A2ii research including a new publication launched at the event on ‘Regulating for responsible data innovation: The role of insurance regulators in dealing with risks relating to consumer data protection and privacy’. The Kenyan Insurance Regulatory Authority also spoke on the panel about the regulatory sandbox which they are planning on establishing.

The A2ii also spoke on a panel organised by the World Bank on ‘Consumer orientated education in Ethiopia’. The panel shared learnings from the on-going World Bank project there and experiences gained in developing an inclusive insurance market. Insights from in-depth consumer research were presented as well as their implications for product design and the development of an enabling regulatory environment.

Inclusive Insurance Training Program for Supervisors

12 – 16 November, Vilnius, Lithuania

Twenty supervisors from the CEET region and Asia (Lithuania, Armenia, Macedonia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Albania, Nepal) joined the Inclusive Insurance Training Program for Supervisors in Vilnius, Lithuania. The training was jointly organised by the Bank of Lithuania, the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the Toronto Centre.

 The training, which is based on a highly interactive teaching approach was welcomed by participants with great enthusiasm. Supervisors enjoyed expert presentations based on the IAIS Applications Paper on Inclusive Insurance Supervision and Regulation and supplemented by case studies on topics of mobile insurance, regulating for innovation and agricultural insurance, among others. 

 Throughout the week, participants developed action plans for dealing with challenges faced at the workplace as well as stakeholder communication concepts in introducing inclusive insurance in their jurisdictions. Action plans covered a diverse range of topics including awareness creation for inclusive insurance among the supervisory authority but also industry players; the supervision of intermediaries, implementing Solvency II and implementation of software for supervision. A2ii and the Toronto Centre will follow up on the implementation of the action plans in early 2019.

Climate Change Risks to the Insurance Sector – A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call

15 November   

On this consultation call, we explored the role of insurance supervisors in addressing the challenges that climate change poses on the insurance sector. The call was based on the Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF) Issues Paper on “Climate Change Risks to the Insurance Sector.” Supervisors on the call were presented examples of observed practices and case studies in different jurisdictions.

For an in-depth view of the IAIS and SIF Issues paper, please find the publication here.

Presentations of this Consultation Call are available on the A2ii website. Keep an eye on our consultation call reports on our website here, where a short report of this call will be published.

Madagascar and Rwanda receive scholarship to Women’s World Banking’s Leadership and Diversity Program for Regulators

The A2ii and the InsuResilience Global Partnership Secretariat are jointly sponsoring the participation of two senior insurance supervisors and high potential women from the Ministry of Finance and Budget in Madagascar and the National Bank of Rwanda in the Leadership and Diversity Program for Regulators, taught by Women's World Banking and faculty from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.

The nine-month global program brings together up to 20 senior officials from central banks and other regulatory agencies in developing economies, with 20 high-potential women from their respective institutions. Each senior official will identify a policy initiative to sponsor at his or her institution related to serving the women’s market and will work with the high-potential woman leader to implement it, while simultaneously supporting her professional development during and after the program. 

A2ii-GIZ hosting agreement signed

30 October, Basel, Switzerland

Following lengthy discussions between the A2iis Governing Council and various Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) departments, a hosting agreement was signed in Basel on 30 October.

The hosting agreement brings accountability and transparency to the A2ii’s hosted set-up within GIZ. Mr Andreas Proksch, Director General of the Sector and Global Programmes Department and Wolfgang Bücker, Head of Sector Programmes, Financial Systems Development from GIZ travelled to Basel to meet with the IAIS as well as Peter Braumüller, Chair of A2ii and sign the agreement.

The Association of Portuguese Language Insurance Supervisors (ASEL) Annual Conference 

29 October - 1 November, São Tomé, São Tomé e Príncipe 

The Conference brought together supervisors from 8 countries: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Macao, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor East. The representative of A2ii opened the event with a panel on Inclusive Insurance. Panels on Financial Literacy, Innovation and InsurTech and Regulation of the Insurance Sector followed. About 60 participants attended the conference, including supervisors and industry representatives.  

The ASEL Annual Conference was held on St Thomas, St Thomas & Prince Island, alongside with its General Assembly, from October 29th to November 1st and it was hosted by the Central Bank of St Thomas and Prince Islands (Banco Central de São Tomé e Príncipe – BCSTP).

The Association of Portuguese Language Insurance Supervisors (ASEL) is a non-profit and international organization established in 2004. ASEL brings together the insurance supervisory authorities of the Portuguese-speaking countries and territories and is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal.

Upcoming Events

IAIS-A2ii Regional Meeting for Sub-Saharan African insurance supervisors

5th and 6th of February 2019, Pretoria, South Africa

 This meeting is intended to take stock of the activities on the  Regional Implementation Plan developed in 2017 and set the agenda for A2ii-IAIS capacity building activities in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019. The meeting is jointly organised by the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and will be hosted by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

Final online reporting session of the Inclusive Insurance Innovation Lab (iii-lab)

December 4th

Twelve months after the iii-lab kicked off with national workshops in each of the participating countries (Albania, Ghana, Kenya and Mongolia), the lab is officially coming to an end with an online reporting session. At this meeting, all country teams will present the main achievements of the lab, the challenges they encountered and their plans for continuing the work in their countries. The online reporting session will also provide space for personal reflection on how team members have changed as a result of the lab.

Capacity Building for Insurance Supervisors - Leveraging Actuarial Skills

11 - 15 February, Sub-Saharan Africa

1 - 5 April, Caribbean

The Training “Capacity Building for Insurance Supervisors-Leveraging Actuarial Skills”, jointly organised by the International Actuarial Association (IAA), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) and funded by the UK Department for International Development, will take place in the first half of 2019. There will be trainings for 2 regions, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. The training for Sub-Saharan Africa will take place from 11-15 February 2019 in Mauritius and the training for the Caribbean region will take place from 1- 5 April 2019 in Trinidad & Tobago.

The training aims at strengthening the understanding and application of the actuarial concepts and tools needed to support effective insurance supervision and regulation. 

More information about the training can be found on our website.

A2ii Governing Council Meeting

12 December, Vienna, Austria

At the upcoming A2ii Governing Council Meeting, the A2ii will, among other, present a  summary of its 2018 activities, the Roadmap and the Workplan for 2019. 

Recent Publications

The A2ii Annual Report entitled Empowering Regulators – Developing Communities

The report covers the period from October 2017 to September 2018 and showcases the A2ii’s activities in supporting supervisors to make their markets more inclusive.  It also examines key trends in inclusive insurance markets and their implications.

The topical focus for 2018 has been digital financial inclusion which has been discussed during the Consultative Forums and Consultation Calls, as well as the subject of various publications.

To download the report follow this link.

Regulating for responsible data innovation: The role of insurance regulators in dealing with risks relating to consumer data protection and privacy

Data innovation is challenging the traditional role of insurance regulators. Two major dilemmas emerge that insurance regulators and indeed all financial sector regulators face when confronted with how to regulate consumer data: 1. They must tread the balance to achieve positive consumer outcomes, by both enabling data-driven innovation but still protecting consumers from the risks that arise 2. They must protect consumers within their sector from the risks that arise even though they do not have sole regulatory oversight over the collection, storage and use of consumer data, which cuts across society.

This study considers each of these dilemmas and explores the options available to regulators to achieve their objectives given these challenges. Download the study here.