PIRI workshop seeks to expand inclusive insurance in Pacific region

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) in association with AFI’s Pacific Islands Regional Initiative (PIRI), hosted a meeting in Nadi, Fiji on Regulatory Guidelines for Inclusive Insurance in the Pacific. Insurance supervisors from the Pacific Central and Reserve Banks representing Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu gathered in Nadi from 5-7 April 2016 for a key insurance workshop.

Featured speakers at this event included the High Commissioner of Australia to Fiji, Ms. Margaret Twomey, Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Mr. Barry Whiteside, the Chair of the PIRI, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, Mr. Gane Simbe, Mr. Eliki Vula Boletawa, Head of Policy Programs and Regional Initiatives at AFI, and Mr. Mark Flaming, the recently appointed head of the PFIP.

The workshop was designed to help insurance supervisors develop and implement regulations (or guidelines) to help establish and grow inclusive insurance marketplaces. Such actions can encourage insurers and other market players to supply specially designed low cost products that are targeted at lower income people and communities. By doing so, low income households in the Pacific will be able to increase their risk resilience, and recover from the financial shocks caused by accidents, natural disasters, calamities and other events that have a negative impact on lives and livelihoods.

Via a series of presentations, exercises and case studies, participants exchanged knowledge and views to gain a deeper understanding of inclusive insurance regulatory guidelines and how they can be used as part of the legal framework.

The outcomes of the workshop resulted in:

1. Participants deepening their knowledge of products, distribution, strategies, existing regulatory guidelines and international best practices on inclusive insurance;
2. Creation of draft country action plans that list out the steps to create an enabling regulatory environment for inclusive insurance;
3. Identification of areas where further technical assistance is needed to build more capacity within supervision departments;
4. Supervisors strengthening their peer network and exchanging experiences and ideas.

Participants on their return to their countries agreed to present to colleagues and other relevant stakeholders and share the learning points from the workshop. The draft country action plans will be refined and endorsed by the management of Central and Reserve Banks. These plans will be included in the short, medium and long term country financial inclusion strategies and plans.

Inclusive insurance will form an agenda point in future PIRI meetings and progress will be monitored to see how inclusive insurance regulatory frameworks are evolving in the region.