The West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) has stressed the need to harmonise insurance regulation and education to strengthen regional cooperation, build a vibrant, progressive and virile insurance market in the subregion.
Dr Samson Omale, an insurance expert and the lead paper presenter stated this while speaking on the theme ‘Building a Common Insurance Market in West Africa: Challenges and Prospects’ at the just concluded WAICA Annual General Meeting and Education Conference in Banjul, Gambia.
He said, “As important as the place of insurance is in the economic development of any nation, its full potential cannot be exploited without markets coming together to gain from the exponential synergistic effect of such association”.
Dr. Omale added that it is for this reason that countries all over the world are forming common markets, citing examples from countries in the EU, and CIMA zone that have realised this necessity and formed common regulations and directives that bind the operations of insurance activities in their various zones.
He pointed out that as the economies of the world’s many nations become increasingly linked, a coordinated approach to legal problems like harmonisation has a strong appeal.
Omale added that increasing harmonisation of cross-border finance and trade regulations in Africa’s sub-regions is likely to further raise revenue potential of insurance in the coming years.
According to him, in the EU, harmonisation means exercise of the freedom to provide services by insurance companies in the zone based on the agreed professional and organisational requirements of the insurance companies, noting that the same can be replicated in the West African sub region.
He highlighted that additional information requirement and conduct of business rules, disclosure of conflicts of interest and transparency must be met by the member States who shall ensure that in good time before the conclusion of an insurance contract, an insurance intermediary provides the customer with information including freedom to provide services and to establishment, organisational and information requirements and conduct of business rules.
He said, “There are clear uniform requirements in areas such as the category and classes of insurance, they intend to market. Their common regulation also demands that member states ensure continuous professional and organization development.”
The Vice Chairman of West African Insurance Institute, (WAII) Gambia, Rotimi Fashola, who was represented by the Director-General and Head of Mission of the institute, Bowen John, while speaking on, “Harmonizing Insurance Education: Way Forward” in the subregion, stated that countries in the region should take a cue from CIMA region where Institut International d’Assurance (IIA) based in Yaounde, Cameroon serves all 14 countries that make up the CIMA zone.
He listed the advantages of harmonisation to include “promotion of professionalism and expertise within the insurance sector by ensuring consistent standards of education and training across the subregion; facilitation of regional integration and cooperation among insurance practitioners and regulatory authorities; enhancement of the mobility of insurance professionals within the subregion, and support for sustainable development and economic growth in West Africa”, amongst others.
Fashola acknowledged the many hurdles facing Anglophone West Africa in its quest for harmonisation such as “lack of uniformity in education systems and regulatory frameworks among West African countries; balancing national interests against sub-regional collaboration; political will – The dilemma of the Eco, national interests against sub regional interests.”
He urged WAICA to pursue harmonisation through consensus among stakeholders, including governments, regulatory bodies, educational institutions, and industry associations by taking steps to address divergent interests, priorities and regulatory environments which tend to complicate negotiations and decision-making processes, slowing down progress towards harmonised insurance educational standards and practices, etc.
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