Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 8/2016

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

IAIS Drafting Group meeting on Mutuals Cooperatives and Community Based Organisations
|16-17 August 2016| Manila, Philippines

On 16-17 August the A2ii participated in the last physical meeting of the IAIS drafting group on mutuals, cooperatives and other community based organisations (MCCOs). This meeting hosted by the Asian Development Bank in Manila was used to discuss comments received during the public consultation on the Application Paper on the Regulation and Supervision of Mutuals, Cooperatives and Community-Based Organisations (MCCOs) in increasing access to insurance markets.

Comments made during the consultation made it clear that greater clarity was needed on the scope of the paper to clarify that it was intended to apply to all sizes of MCCOs not just smaller ones.  As a result it was agreed that additional material would need to be added to the paper to ensure the specific situation and circumstances of larger MCCOs is reflected.

The paper builds on the Issues Paper from 2010 on the same topic and is expected to be published in November 2016. The objective of the paper is to provide guidance on the way the ICPs could be applied in a proportionate manner when supervising MCCOs. It should also help to raise the awareness of policymakers, regulators and supervisors on the role MCCOs can play in enhancing access to insurance.
 

Staffing Update

We are very happy to welcome Janice Angove to our team. As A2iis Sub-Saharan Africa regional coordinator Janice will be driving A2ii’s regional implementation work in Sub-Saharan Africa along with strengthening engagement with insurance supervisors and other stakeholders in the region.  She is being hosted by the South African Financial Services Board and will be based in their offices in Pretoria.

She has worked on microinsurance and capacity building for insurance supervisors in Africa for more than 8 years. Her experience covers the development of microinsurance regulations for several Southern African countries, supervisory capacity building and research into the business case for microinsurance. Janice is a qualified actuary and brings an understanding of insurance risks, different drivers of microinsurance business and the objectives of insurance regulators in expanding inclusive insurance markets.
 

IAIS Member Surveys – feedback requested

IAIS Survey on Development Needs

The A2ii invites IAIS members to participate in a survey to identify Members’ development needs.

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.

As the IAIS’s implementation partner on financial inclusion the A2ii is partnering with the IAIS in conducting this survey.  The survey closes on 26th September 2016.

IAIS Survey on Retirement income and pension business in insurers

The A2ii also encourages IAIS members to respond to the survey on Retirement income and pension business in insurers. The purpose of this global survey of IAIS members is to gather high-level data regarding the retirement income and pension business of insurers. IAIS Members should login to the IAIS member website and then go to the Consultations to access the survey and further information is available there. The survey closes on 30 September 2016.

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

The next Consultation Call for supervisors will take place on 22 September. Please register here if you are interested in learning more about how supervisors can help enable access to insurance for migrants. 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@a2ii.org.

Save the Date: Financial Education Seminar for Sub-Saharan Africa
|29-30 September 2016| Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa

This two-day Financial Education Seminar organised by the A2ii, IAIS, FinMark Trust and the Financial Services Board (FSB) South Africa  addresses policy makers and implementers of Consumer Financial Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. For more information, please contact secretariat@a2ii.org or click here.

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

This training is jointly organised by the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica (FSC), the A2ii, the IAIS and the Toronto Centre. Through a highly interactive teaching approach training on both technical issues as well as leadership skills will be provided. The course will be held in English and Spanish. For more information, please contact secretariat@a2ii.org or click here.

Save the Date: First regional workshop on parametric insurance for insurance supervisors and regulators from Latin America and the Caribbean
|11 October 2016| Guatemala City, Guatemala

This workshops aims to raise awareness amongst Central American regulators and supervisors on parametric insurance. The workshop will examine the opportunities presented by it as well as the challenges in order to inform the development of appropriate regulatory frameworks. For more information click here.

Save the Date: 7th Consultative Forum
|15 November 2016| Colombo, Sri Lanka

The IAIS, the A2ii and the Microinsurance Network 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 on “The role of mutuals, cooperatives and community-based organisations (MCCOs) in inclusive insurance markets” 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. View the event invitation here.
Also, the French version of the 6th Consultative Forum Brief Note has now been released and can be downloaded here.

Save the Date: 8th Consultative Forum
|1 December 2016| San José, Costa Rica

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the Microinsurance Network (MIN), the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) and the Superintendencia General de Seguros de Costa Rica (SUGESE), are pleased to invite you to the 8th Consultative Forum on the topic of “opportunities and challenges presented by alternative distribution channels”. For more information click here.

A2ii Briefing Note on role of insurance in economic development: Now available in Spanish

The note describes the role of insurance in development and the concept of pathways to development. This A2ii briefing note is available in English, French and Spanish here.

Report of the 16th Consultation Call: Now available in French and Spanish

Click here to download the report summarising the discussions of all four calls of the 16th Consultation Call in English, Spanish and French on the topic of "Regulatory Definition of Microinsurance II".

A2ii Policy Note on agricultural insurance: Now available in Spanish

The first A2ii policy note on “How agricultural insurance can improve food security – and why regulation matters” is now available in English, French and Spanish. It’s about 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.