"Setting guidelines does not mean anything without implementation." These were the opening remarks of IAIS Secretary General Yoshihiro Kawai in the A2ii’s first Consultation Hour call on 27 March. The first call focused on the definition of microinsurance. It was attended by 35 participants from across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Presentation:
Report:
Based on the guidance provided in the IAIS Application Paper on Regulation and Supervision Supporting Inclusive Insurance Markets, insurance regulatory expert Michael Hafeman outlined the rationale for a regulatory definition of microinsurance, different approaches to define microinsurance, and on a cautionary note, things that can go wrong when trying to define microinsurance. International consultant Martina Wiedmaier-Pfister gave practical examples by sharing country experiences from the Philippines, Peru and India on microinsurance definitions. Supervisors on the call then shared their own experiences and the experts answered questions from a number of other jurisdictions regarding the practicalities of defining microinsurance. The key take-homes are that, when defining microinsurance, the regulator really needs to understand the purpose, or the various purposes to define the respective elements and differentiate microinsurance from traditional and mass insurance products within the country context.
