Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 02/2018

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

A2ii-IAIS Regional Meeting for Insurance Supervisors in Sub-Saharan Africa  

30-31 January 2018, Pretoria, South Africa

Thirty-one delegates from twenty insurance supervisory authorities across Sub-Saharan Africa attended the meeting, including representatives from the sub-regional committees for East Africa, Southern Africa and French-speaking West and Central Africa.

The main focus of the meeting was to give feedback on the capacity building needs and priorities as set out in the IAIS-A2ii Implementation Plan developed in 2017 and therefore set the agenda for the A2ii-IAIS activities in Sub Saharan Africa in 2018 and 2019.

Participants reported on recent developments in insurance supervision in their countries and shared experiences around the supervision of intermediaries and analysis of claims and expense ratios. Insurance supervisors welcomed the opportunity to share experiences and learn from other authorities in the region. The importance of access to good data on inclusive insurance and the feasibility of collecting data for products aimed specifically at low-income consumers was also discussed.

Jonathan Dixon, the Secretary-General of the IAIS gave an overview of the IAIS standard-setting activities and importance of supporting the implementation of Insurance the Core Principles and enhanced cooperation among supervisors. The focus on emerging risks including FinTech, cyber and sustainability and climate change risks were also discussed.

Hannah Grant, Head of the Secretariat of the A2ii, gave an update on the activities of the A2i supporting insurance supervision as well as recent publications and upcoming A2ii events.

The Association of African Insurance Supervisory Authorities (AAISA) meeting was held on 1 February 2018 alongside the IAIS-A2ii Regional Meeting. This meeting focused on AAISA membership, the strategy and workplan for the organisation over the next year. 

The meeting was jointly organised by the Access to Insurance Initiative and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and was hosted by the South African Financial Services Board. 

IAIS – A2ii Consultation Call on index insurance

25 January 2018

On Thursday, 25 January the IAIS and A2ii organised their most recent bi-monthly consultation call, which is a webinar that offers in-depth insight into particular topics, paired with concrete examples from supervisors, and the opportunity to have a dialogue on the issues. This consultation call explored index-based insurance, with presentations by both Craig Thorburn, World Bank, Chair of the IAIS drafting group on index-based insurance Richard Carpenter author of the recent A2ii paper examining regulatory challenges of index-based insurance and Peter Wrede, World Bank and technical expert on the topic. The Kenyan Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) and the Guatemalan Superintendencia de Bancos

(SIB) gave concrete examples from their jurisdictions.

Presentations are already available, and the report of this Consultation Call will soon be available on A2ii.org.

The next A2ii Consultation Call will take place on 22 March and will focus on innovation hubs and sandboxes. Keep an eye on our events page or our Twitter account  @A2ii_org for updates.

Upcoming Events

The 12th Consultative Forum on InsurTech: rising to the regulatory challenge

20 March 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka

While the InsurTech revolution undoubtedly offers vast and untapped opportunities, it also embodies a challenge for regulatory frameworks that must now consider new business models, new actors in the insurance value chain, data protection, cybersecurity and consumer education. To meet this challenge, supervisors have to strike a balance between facilitating innovation, increasing the inclusiveness of the insurance sector, and maintaining the conditions for a fair, safe and stable insurance sector for the benefit and protection of policyholders.

The 12th Consultative Forum will focus on how various stakeholders — insurance supervisors and policymakers, private sector insurance, data and technical service providers — can cooperate and align their respective roles to achieve sustainability and scale while ensuring that clients receive fair treatment. The first of a three-part series, this Forum will be followed by two further Consultative Forums on the topic in Africa and Latin America.

To participate in the Consultative Forum, please register here by 12 March 2018, close of business, Central European Time. 

More information including the Invitation and a detailed Agenda here. 

International Dialogue of the Inclusive Insurance Innovation Lab

28 Feb – 2 March 2018, Akosombo, Ghana

For the first time, members from all four participating countries of the Inclusive Insurance Innovation Lab (Albania, Ghana, Kenya and Mongolia) will meet together during a 3-day international dialogue.

The workshop offers a space for mapping and peer exchange on challenges, successes and systemic issues of the inclusive insurance sectors in the participating countries.

Through field visits, dialogues with experts and opportunities for peer learning and joint reflection, participants will gain knowledge from the experiences of different perspectives, sectors and jurisdictions. The International Dialogue will also enable participants to build robust relationships with each other with the intention of working together as an international team over the next year and beyond the duration of the lab.

To find out more about the Lab click here.

Recent Publications

A2ii publishes Index Insurance: Status and Regulatory Challenges paper

On Wednesday 24 January, the A2ii published a paper on the status and regulatory challenges of index-based insurance (also known as parametric insurance). The paper is a stock-taking exercise which elaborates on a supervisory questionnaire. It identifies a range of possible supervisory concerns and risks which supervisors must be cognisant of when supervising index-based insurance. You can find the A2ii report here.

25th IAIS – A2ii Consultation Call on Supporting responsible MSME insurance report

This call identified what the specific insurance needs are of MSMEs, and what regulatory and supervisory factors can stifle or stimulate the market for products targeted at MSMEs. We saw what the global trends are, and looked at case studies to illustrate the principles at work. We also complemented this with first-hand accounts from jurisdictions with experience on the topic. The material on this call will help supervisors and regulators consider whether there are any steps that their authority could take to help stimulate the provision and uptake of good quality MSME insurance.

Presentations from the call along with the English language report are available here.

French and Spanish translations of the report coming shortly.

Spanish translations of the Toolkits 1 & 2 and the A2ii Standard Terms of Reference for Country Diagnostics

Toolkit 1 outlines the analytical framework and methodology for conducting a microinsurance country diagnostic study. It is designed to assist readers who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the development of microinsurance markets, as well as researchers, consultants, insurance practitioners, policy-makers regulators and supervisors tasked with the analysis of a national insurance market with a view to developing strategies and recommendations for the growth of microinsurance. To access the Toolkit 1 click here.

Toolkit 2 is intended as a practical tool to guide the reader in unpacking the process of a microinsurance development strategy and the fundamental questions underlying it. It highlights the considerations to take into account, steps, stakeholders, issues that may arise and desired outcomes of a microinsurance development process. Finally, it provides guidance on the core, practical questions faced by stakeholders aiming to promote microinsurance market development.Essentially, it groups these questions into three categories – “why”, “what” and “how”. To access the Toolkit 2 click here.

The A2ii Standards Terms of Reference for Country Diagnostics describes the objectives, scope and approach to be followed undertaking an individual country diagnostic using the methodology developed by the Access to Insurance Initiative (the Initiative).  This document can be used as a basis for developing the Terms of Reference to request proposals by consultants to carry out the diagnostic. To access the document click here.