Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 2/2016

Welcome to our newsletter, where we update insurance regulators and supervisors on the work of the Initiative and inform you about events and publications.

Visit us at www.a2ii.org

A2ii Stakeholder survey 2016 – Thanks for your participation!

In February our third annual stakeholder survey closed. We were delighted to see that participation almost doubled compared to last year’s survey with 82 responses, among those 47 supervisors - many thanks for taking the time to provide us with this valuable feedback!

We are very pleased to see a high level of satisfaction by supervisors with the work of A2ii: 68% feel that A2ii provides the support needed in order to enhance inclusive insurance. We also found that

• a great majority think A2ii is achieving its mission
• A2ii’s main focus is perceived as being a global advocate on financial inclusion
• there is a high level of satisfaction with our products for those aware of our website, publications, toolkits, events and training; and
• almost 90% (strongly) agree that as a result of the support provided by the A2ii the topic of inclusive insurance markets has become more prominent

Besides these very encouraging views, we also received a number of valuable suggestions: supervisors expressed their demand for more capacity building, more peer-dialogues and a closer in country cooperation between the secretariat and supervisors. These and other suggestions received will be carefully reflected on by the secretariat and used to inform our activities in 2016 and beyond.

Recent events

A2ii Governing Council meeting
|25-26 February| Basel

On February 26 the IAIS hosted the A2ii Governing Council annual meeting in Basel. Representatives of the A2ii Charter Sponsors, a majority of which are IAIS representatives, met to approve A2ii’’s workplan and budget and provide strategic guidance to the secretariat on a number of important upcoming issues.

A2ii’s focus on regional implementation was confirmed. By further intensifying representation on the ground, A2ii will reinforce its links to the regions and facilitate regional implementation work: this will be supported by a regional coordinator, situated in FSB South Africa as well as a regional coordinator continuing to represent the A2ii in Latin America  following the conclusion of the IADB/A2ii project in May 2016.

As an important step towards A2ii’s future, it was decided that preparations should start at the end of this year for a next phase of A2ii starting in January 2018.

IAIS Implementation Committee and Financial Inclusion Working Group meeting
|22 February| Basel

During the meetings the A2ii updated supervisors on its workplan for 2016, highlighting changes that had been made in response to feedback on the draft previously shared with them in November.

Based on an IAIS secretariat proposal a new approach to the organisation of Financial Inclusion Working Group meetings was endorsed. Going forward there will be increased use of WebEx facilities. In addition, physical working group meetings will be scheduled   back-to-back with other relevant financial inclusion events as opposed to alongside IAIS committee meetings as has previously been the case.

Inclusive Insurance Training Program for Supervisors in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand
|14-18 March 2016|

Save the Date: A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call on “Proportionate approaches to the supervision of intermediaries”.
|31 March 2016|
Please register here if you are interested in learning more about proportionate approaches to the supervision of intermediaries.
If you are not currently on our mailing list and would like to receive invitations for our calls please send an email to: consultation.call[at]a2ii.org.

Save the Date: Inclusive Insurance Training Program for Supervisors in Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Cairo, Egypt  
|3-7 April 2016|
If you have not received an invitation and would like to register, or if you would like more information, please contact the A2ii Secretariat at secretariat[at]a2ii.org.

Save the Date: Consultative Forum on ‘Innovative products for the emerging consumer’
|afternoon 11 May – morning 12 May 2016, Marrakech, Morocco |
This one-day Consultative Forum organised by the African Insurance Organisation, the IAIS, the Microinsurance Network and the A2ii will take place on the sidelines of the 43rd AIO Conference and General Assembly.
To register your interest in participating in the Consultative Forum please use this link to access the online registration form

Policy note: How agricultural insurance can improve food security – and why regulation matters

The A2ii Secretariat is proud to share with you the first edition of the “A2ii policy notes”. These notes will inform policy-makers, the international development community and other interested stakeholders about the importance of insurance regulation in supporting the achievement of   international development objectives.

This first edition makes the case for agricultural insurance in the context of food security, explains the role of regulation to make effective risk protection work and highlights some of the challenges in regulating innovative index-based insurance approaches.

The first A2ii Policy note is available at this link.