Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 9/2016

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

Visit us at www.a2ii.org
 

Recent events

Financial Education Seminar for Sub-Saharan Africa
|29-30 September 2016| Sandton, South Africa

Financial education has been hailed as a key tool in empowering citizens and driving national development objectives. This was the underlying theme that emerged at the Seminar on Financial Education: Challenges, Trends and Measures of Success in Supporting Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa, hosted by the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2II) and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) in collaboration with the Financial Services Board (FSB) and FinMark Trust in Sandton, Johannesburg on 29-30 September.

The seminar brought together over 150 delegates from 15 African countries and beyond. Participants represented a cross-section of stakeholders involved in financial education, including government ministries; central banks and regulators; industry associations; academia and a range of international organisations and NGOs. Delegates engaged with a wide array of speakers who provided insights from empirical research as well as lessons learnt through practical implementation.

Topics covered included national strategies, consumer protection, best practices, the business case for financial education and measuring impact. Throughout the course of the two days, a number of emerging and sometimes controversial issues were also discussed, including the use of digital technologies, how to affect behavioral change and the fine line between financial education and marketing.

The discussions showed that challenges in financial education are similar across sub-Saharan Africa and that important lessons could therefore be learned from existing experiences. The Seminar reinforced that financial education is an integral part of financial inclusion and to be successful it must:

• Receive support from senior leadership in national Governments
• Be a coordinated effort involving all stakeholders in the financial sector
• Focus on the needs of the consumer and be targeted to the audience
• Integrate monitoring and evaluation and learn from the results.

The outcomes of the seminar will inform a Global Declaration on Financial Literacy, which is currently being considered by the OECD International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE) to encourage cross-border sharing of ideas and best practices, as well as the collection of related data and evidence to support the development and implementation of effective financial education policies.

A report of the seminar is being prepared. For more information, click here.
 

Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum (GPF) and Working Group Meeting
|6, 8 - 9 September| Nadi, Fiji

The A2ii presented on a panel exploring the potential as well as supervisory challenges of mobile insurance for increasing access and uptake of insurance in the Pacific region. The panel was moderated by the Head of the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program and included the Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, Dominion Insurance (Papua New Guinean insurer underwriting mobile insurance) and representatives from BIMA. The panel centered on BIMA’s mobile-enabled hospitalisation and life insurance in Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Challenges and experiences with supervising, underwriting and servicing mobile insurance were discussed, with the A2ii sharing global perspectives on the topic.

During the AFI Working Group meetings, organised alongside the GPF, the A2ii presented to the Global Standards Proportionality Working Group on recent developments in the insurance sector on proportionality in practice. The work underway to develop two proportionality in practice case studies was highlighted as well as the change in the introduction to the IAIS’s ICPs to clarify that the proportionality principle applies to all ICPs rather than just where specifically stated (as had previously been the case). The AFI are also very active on this topic and is in the process of developing case studies on the application of proportionality in practice for their members.
 

Presentation of Results from A2ii-IADB Project: "Implementation of Standards for Regulation and Supervision of Microinsurance Markets in Latin America"
|5 September 2016| Lima, Peru

The A2ii participated in national launch event on 5th September organised by Peruvian supervisor Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP (SBS) Perú. SBS aimed at generating greater awareness of the results and learnings from their participation in the A2ii-Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) project. The event was attended by insurers, microfinance institutions credit unions, the Ministry of Finance and other government institutions as well as SBS officials.

The Deputy Superintendent for Insurance and the Deputy Superintendent for Financial Inclusion and Consumer Protection of the SBS spoke at the event highlighting the importance of the new microinsurance regulations as well as the financial education materials that had been developed with the support and assistance of the project, and noted their contribution to the goals of the Financial Inclusion Strategy of Peru and the Ministry of Education’s new curricula for financial education.

The event was also the official launch event for the financial consumer education materials developed under the project. These materials targeted at different age groups include various media such as tales, comics and videos.

In 2011, the IADB as administrator of the Multilateral Investment Fund and the A2ii established a joint regional project to support insurance supervisors of Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Jamaica to promote access to insurance. This project concluded in May 2016.
 

A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call on “How Supervisors Can Help Enable Access to Insurance for Migrants”
|22 September 2016|

Low-income migrants employed in foreign countries are typically more vulnerable than locals. At the same time, their families often depend on them for financial support. Due to the nature of the migrant status however, there are often unique regulatory barriers confronting their access to insurance, such as cross-border insurance requirements, eligible migrant documentation, or requirements for policyholders to be within a certain location.

On the 18th IAIS-A2ii Consultation Call, technical experts Barbara Magnoni and Andrea Camargo discussed how access to insurance could help mitigate these risks, why supervisors should be concerned, and how regulation can help. This was illustrated with model products from the Latin American and Caribbean region.

The Philippian insurance supervisor as well as local industry representatives also shared their experiences in implementing insurance for overseas Filipino workers.

Overall 44 supervisors from 14 jurisdictions participated in four calls that were held in English, Spanish and French.

Discussion evolved around the following points:

• Vulnerabilities confronting low-income migrants – e.g. illness, death and injury exacerbated by limited access to social services and social networks
• Potential models for providing insurance to migrants – i.e. home, host and hybrid models and the corresponding implementation issues
• Legal, regulatory, and political barriers – e.g. consumer protection, intermediary licensing, cross-border insurance, digital transactions, coordination with other authorities

Click here to download the presentations of the 18th Consultation Call in English, French and Spanish. A full report summarising the discussions of all four calls will follow soon.


POSTPONED: Inclusive Insurance Training for Supervisors in the Caribbean Region
|3-7 October 2016| Kingston, Jamaica 

Due to safety concerns arising from Hurricane Matthew, the Inclusive Insurance Training for supervisors in the Caribbean region has been postponed.

On behalf of the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica (FSC), the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the Toronto Centre, we would like to apologise for the inconvenience and thank all participants for your support and understanding.

We are now making alternative arrangements and will inform you of new dates and plans as soon we can.

IAIS Member Surveys

Reminder! IAIS Survey on Development Needs

The deadline for the survey has been extended to 10 October 2016. The A2ii invites IAIS members who haven’t done so to take this opportunity to shape the future design of education programmes by the IAIS and its implementation partners.

Start Survey

A Word document version of the survey can be downloaded from the IAIS website here.

The objectives of this survey are to:

• identify the key challenges that are most relevant to insurance supervisors;
• identify the most significant areas in which development is needed to help supervisors meet these challenges;
• help inform the development of regional implementation plans;
• assess the potential effectiveness of various tools that might be used to further the development of supervisors; and
• help the A2ii plan its future supervisory support and capacity building activities.

Reminder! IAIS Survey on Retirement Income and Pension Business in Insurers

The deadline for the survey has been extended to 28 October 2016. All IAIS members, whether involved with pensions supervision or not, are encouraged to respond to give the survey a broad coverage of retirement income products.

To start the survey or for more information, log in to the IAIS member website, followed by the “Consultations” area.

The focus of the survey is on three key things:

• Clarifying how many IAIS members license and supervise both insurance and pension business
• Estimating the proportion of insurance (essentially life insurance) liabilities that are retirement income related (including, but not limited to, pensions)
• Taking an inclusive approach to funds that are retirement income related, either accumulated in preparation for retirement or the decumulation (pay-out) process in retirement

The primary outcome of this survey will be a short report containing analysis and key results for IAIS and IOPS members, expected to be published in early 2017.
 

Staffing Update

Applications Open for Two Positions with the A2ii

1) Advisor

We are looking for an advisor to take responsibility for the project’s monitoring and evaluation framework, starting immediately until December 2017. Your work will include:

• Working with  team members in regular data collection and ensure indicator values are up-to-date
• Conceptualising, implementing and analysing results of A2ii’s annual stakeholder survey
• Provide input to the development of future A2ii donor proposals
• Conceptualising, organising and implementing global and regional training and dialogue events for insurance supervisors
• Research and creation of knowledge on regulation and supervision with a focus on inclusive insurance
• Representing the A2ii at relevant events, in particular participation in global and regional IAIS and other supervisory meetings

Please apply here by 17 October 2016.

2) Junior-Level Insurance Supervisor

The A2ii is looking for a junior-level insurance supervisor from Africa, Asia or Latin America to undertake a one-year placement at our headquarters in Eschborn, Germany, starting June 2017.

You will get to draw on your own perspective and experiences as a supervisor and actively contribute to the A2ii’s many exciting projects supporting supervisors on developing inclusive insurance markets.

Given the international nature of our work, this also means being part of a dynamic and culturally diverse community. You will work with other supervisors from a wide range of countries and there are also many opportunities to collaborate with microinsurance experts and international development organisations.

We are looking for someone with ideally 3-5 years’ experience in insurance regulation, supervision or insurance development policy.  If you are interested and would like more information on the job role and requirements, please do not hesitate to write an email introducing yourself to secretariat@a2ii.org by 31st October 2016.

To find out more about what we do, see the A2ii Factsheet 2016.

IAIS-A2ii Consultation Call
|24 November 2016|

To ensure that the topics of our Consultation Calls better address your needs, the A2ii issued a questionnaire to our Consultation Call mailing list asking supervisors which topic they would like to discuss on our upcoming call in November.

Thanks to your input, the November call (November 24th) will be on the topic of mobile insurance and data protection, and the January call will be on measuring the inclusiveness of insurance markets and its economic impact.

We warmly thank those who participated in the survey and plan on continuing to issue surveys to inform choice of topic for our future calls. In the meantime if there is a topic you would like to see covered please access this link to share your suggestions.

If you are not currently on our mailing list and would like to receive an invitation please send an e-mail to: consultation.call@a2ii.org. Please note these are supervisor only calls.
 

Save the Date: 7th Consultative Forum – The Role of Mutuals, Cooperatives and Community-based Organisations (MCCOs) in Inclusive Insurance Markets
|15 November 2016| Colombo, Sri Lanka

The IAIS, the A2ii and the Microinsurance Network (MIN) are pleased to announce that the 7th Consultative Forum will take place on the morning of November 15 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, alongside the 12th International Microinsurance Conference. The half-day event will focus on how MCCOs can provide insurance access to low-income populations in the Asian region, and the related regulatory challenges and advances that come with it. More information here or email info@microinsurancenetwork.org directly to register.

Save the Date: 8th Consultative Forum – Opportunities and Challenges Presented by Alternative Distribution Channels
|1 December 2016| San José, Costa Rica

The IAIS, MIN, A2ii and the Superintendencia General de Seguros de Costa Rica (SUGESE), are pleased to invite you to the 8th Consultative Forum. This full day event will focus on the opportunities and challenges presented by alternative distribution channels.

For more information, click here, or click here to register directly.

Report of the 17th Consultation Call (English)

Click here to download a summary in English of the discussions from all four calls of the 17th Consultation Call on experiences in implementing regulatory frameworks for inclusive insurance.

Report of the 15th Consultation Call (French, Spanish)

Click here to download a summary in French and Spanish of the discussions from all four calls of the 15th Consultation Call on proportionate approaches to the supervision of intermediaries.