Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 1/2016

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

A taste of things to come: 2016 highlights

The A2ii looks forward to a packed agenda in 2016 including:

Three financial inclusion training seminars together with Toronto Centre and local partners (Egypt, Thailand and Jamaica)
Three supervisor and industry dialogue events together with Microinsurance Network and local partners (‘Consultative Forums’) (Morocco, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica)
Continued support to IAIS standard setting and implementation work through:
- Publishing three proportionality in practice case studies
- Developing regional implementation plans in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America in partnership with IAIS and local supervisors
- Conducting survey to identify IAIS members supervisory development needs in partnership with the IAIS
- Supporting the drafting groups of the IAIS’s Financial Inclusion Working Group
Facilitating peer dialogues among regional and global supervisory communities to strengthen understanding of the IAIS’s Insurance Core Principles and share best practices on topical inclusive insurance issues through:
- Hosting supervisor only conference calls (‘Consultation Calls’) every 2 months in English, French and Spanish
- Organising global and regional events
Building knowledge in inclusive insurance through range of publications

If you would be interested in more information on our upcoming activities please refer to our website or send an email to the secretariat at secretariat[at]a2ii.org.

Recent Events

IAIS-A2ii Consultation Call on “Regulatory Incentives for Insurance Market Development”
|21 January 2016|

On the 14th IAIS-A2ii consultation call Michael McCord, President, Microinsurance Centre presented the results of a survey investigating what regulatory issues are upper most in the minds of the industry when deciding whether (or not) to provide inclusive insurance in a jurisdiction. The survey was informed by over 100 responses from 46 different countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The results revealed reducing disclosure content requirements and availability of distribution channels as the most important considerations.

The results of this survey were discussed with supervisors over the course of four calls – two in English, one in French and one in Spanish - almost 20 jurisdictions participated with over 40 supervisors taking part.

In addition, on the English calls, Bank Negara, Malaysia, presented the results of an assessment it had recently conducted with the industry to better understand the necessity for proportionate regulation to encourage them to offer microinsurance/ microtakaful in Malaysia.

On the French call a representative from the Conférence Interafricaine des Marchés d'Assurances (CIMA) shared CIMA’s experiences in implementing a regulatory framework for microinsurance including regulatory incentives for further microinsurance development in the region.

The Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros, y AFP (SBS), Perú informed participants on the Spanish call about recent modifications in Peru’s microinsurance regulation in order to incentivise the industry to participate in microinsurance.

Discussions evolved around the following points:

How to find the right balance between protecting the inclusive insurance consumer and developing the market
How generating ‘awareness’ can be used by supervisors as a tool for market development
How ICP 19 (Conduct of Business) can be used to provide regulatory incentives for insurance market development

Click here to download the presentations of the 14th Consultation Call in English, French and Spanish. A full report summarising the discussions of all 4 calls will follow soon.

The next Consultation Call will take place on 31 March.

If you are not currently on our mailing list and would like to receive invitations for future calls please send an email to: consultation.call[at]a2ii.org.

IAIS Supervisory Material Review Task Force
|26-27 January| Dubai|

The A2ii participated in a meeting of this IAIS taskforce on 26-27 January in Dubai. Revisions to the introduction of the ICPs and in particular how the proportionality principle should be applied were discussed by participants. It is intended that these revision should clarify how the principle applies throughout the IAIS’s supervisory material and to aid its consistent application. Revisions to ICPs 9 (supervisory review and reporting), 10 (preventative and corrective measures) and 11 (enforcement) were also discussed.

Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) brown bag lunch on ‘Inclusive Insurance Markets: A paradigm shift in regulatory and supervisory approaches’
|13 January| Washington D.C.|

The A2ii secretariat presented alongside Jonathan Dixon, South African Financial Services Board and A2ii Chair and Conor Donaldson, IAIS Secretariat at this interactive event hosted by CGAP.

In its presentation the A2ii highlighted key trends in inclusive insurance markets and their regulatory challenges. Jonathan Dixon shared his experiences on the ground in South Africa and talked about the on-going work to bring funeral parlors inside the FSB’s regulatory perimeter. Conor Donaldson from the IAIS then informed participants of the work on-going at both the A2ii and the IAIS to support insurance supervisors from inclusive insurance markets particularly as it relates to some of the new challenges arising from digital financial inclusion.

The presentation was attended by approximately 20 representatives from CGAP, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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

We are pleased to announce an Inclusive Insurance Training Program for Supervisors in Asia which is jointly being organised by the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), the ASEAN Insurance Training and Research Institute (AITRI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the Toronto Centre.

Registrations details will be circulated shortly, however, if you would like more information in the meantime, please contact the A2ii Secretariat at secretariat[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|

We are pleased to announce the Inclusive Insurance Training Program for Supervisors in MENA and SSA jointly organised by the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the Toronto Centre, and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).

Registrations details will be circulated shortly, however, if you would like more information in the meantime, please contact the A2ii Secretariat at secretariat[at]a2ii.org.

Consultative Forum Report on Consumer Education: Old questions, new thinking

The report summarises the key findings from the Consultative Forum organised jointly by the IAIS, MIN and A2ii on “Consumer Education: Old questions, new thinking” which took place on 3rd November alongside the 11th International Microinsurance Conference.

The report is available at this link.

The Report of the 12th IAIS-A2ii Consultation Call on Financial Consumer Education is now available in French and Spanish:

Compte-rendu de la 12e Consultation téléphonique A2ii – AICA: «Culture financière et éducation des consommateurs»

Informe de la 12a Llamada de Consulta de la A2ii – IAIS: “Educación financiera y del consumidor”