Access to Insurance Initiative Newsletter 3/2016

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

Inclusive Insurance Training Program for Supervisors in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand

|14-18 March 2016|

32 middle- to senior level insurance supervisors from 12 countries in Asia participated in the training program that was hosted by the Office of Insurance Commission Thailand and jointly organized by A2ii, the ASEAN Insurance Training and Research Institute (AITRI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) RFPI Asia program, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the Toronto Centre.

Based on a highly interactive teaching approach, the course aimed at reinforcing learning on both technical issues as well as leadership skills. Lectures dealt with a broad range of topics from supervisory principles encouraging inclusive insurance markets, the importance of innovation and respective supervisory responses to prudential and market conduct issues in overseeing inclusive insurance markets.

The training module is based on the IAIS Application paper on the regulation and supervision of inclusive insurance markets. It was complemented by many group exercises and two case studies on the approaches of Ghana and the Philippines in developing inclusive insurance markets as well as an input from IRDA India on the evolution of their microinsurance regulation and an Asian regional perspective on inclusive insurance.

Throughout the week, participants worked on action plans to tackle specific challenges in supporting inclusive insurance markets in their home jurisdictions. These action plans are an important component of the training and are designed to ensure that lessons learnt during the training are put into practice upon participants’ return home.

Save the Date: the next inclusive insurance training of the Toronto Centre and A2ii will take place in Jamaica on the week of October 3rd.

We encourage supervisors to inform us if they would be interested in participating or hosting a training workshop in their region next year.

A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call on “Proportionate approaches to the supervision of intermediaries”.

|31 March 2016|

Innovative approaches to distribution are important in inclusive insurance to achieve scale and serve low-income groups that traditionally have not had access to insurance. Insurance supervisors need to keep up to date with such innovations and deal with them proactively with a flexible supervisory approach.

In the 15th IAIS-A2ii Consultation Call, Michael Hafeman, actuary and international consultant on insurance regulation and supervision, provided some guidance to participants on how to approach the supervision of intermediaries in a proportionate manner through (1) identifying intermediaries and their roles, (2) the potential risks related to the activities of intermediaries and (3) considering potential risk mitigants, including country context (like existing regulatory frameworks), business controls as well as additional regulatory and supervisory approaches.

Country cases from Brazil and the Philippines were presented and examined how supervisors in both countries were regulating the conduct of new and existing intermediaries.

Overall 66 supervisors from 31 jurisdictions participated in four calls that were held in English, Spanish and French.

Discussion evolved around the following points:

• Understanding the business: who are the intermediaries and what roles do they play?
• Understanding the risks: how can the activities of intermediaries contribute to the risks?
• Potential mitigants: what features of the system might already help reduce the risks?
• Development of regulatory and supervisory frameworks: what additional steps can be taken to reduce the risks?

Click here to download the presentations of the 15th 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 19 May and will be on the definition of microinsurance.

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

Save the Date: Consultative Forum on ‘Innovative products for the emerging consumer’

|afternoon 11 May – morning 12 May 2016, Marrakech, Morocco |

This one-day Consultative Forum organised by the African Insurance Organisation, the IAIS, the Microinsurance Network and the A2ii will take place on the sidelines of the 43rd AIO Conference and General Assembly.

To register your interest in participating in the Consultative Forum please use this link to access the online registration form.

New A2ii Factsheet

The A2ii Secretariat is pleased to share its updated Factsheet 2016!

The Factsheet informs about the work of the A2ii, the importance of insurance and the power of regulation to promote inclusive insurance markets.   The factsheet also highlights some of A2ii’s achievements to date. Please share the factsheet with interested partners! The A2ii Factsheet 2016 is available at this link.

Report of the IAIS-A2ii Consultation Call on “Supervisory responses to consumer risks in mobile insurance.”
Please follow this link to access the report summarising presentations and discussions from the 13th Consultation Call which took place on 26 November 2015.

Report of the 5th Consultative Forum on “Consumer Education: Old Questions, new thinking”
can be found here. The forum took place on 3 November 2015 in Casablanca, Morocco and focused on innovation in consumer education. The report is also available in French.