At
least 150 insurance professionals from across West Africa on Friday ended a
two-day conference to discuss strategies to position the insurance industry to
proactively leverage on the opportunities of the African continental free
trade.
The
theme of the two-day biannual education conference of the West African
Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) was ‘Reforms in the insurance landscape
in West Africa and their implications for cross-border operations and
intra-African trade’.
The
sub-regional meeting was hosted by the Insurance Association of The Gambia
(IAG) from 21 – 22 November 2019 at a hotel in Kololi.
Speaking
on the occasion, WAICA, President Raymond Macauley, said the conference
afforded the insurance players the opportunity to discuss the implications of
African free trade initiative which has the potential of fostering wealth and
development in the West African sub-region and Africa as a whole.
He
noted that the theme for the conference was well chosen given that various
countries in the West African sub-region were introducing radical reforms in
their financial sector, including greater focus on insurance regulation.
IAG
President Makaireh Badjan said WAICA conferences offer a unique opportunity
that allows industry professionals and all other stakeholders to interact,
network, share experiences on innovation and opportunities to develop the
industry.
He
said the just ended conference was designed to provide the participants with a
very good opportunity to have a greater insight into emerging reforms in the
insurance industry and their implications.
The
Finance and Economic Affairs minister of The Gambia, Mambury Njie, said the
West African insurance landscape has been subjected to various reforms over the
years.
In
a speech read on his behalf by the Interior minister, Mr. Njie said these
reforms include the regulation and supervision of the insurance sector by
independent autonomous bodies, the promulgation of local contents laws as well
as the legislation of certain compulsory classes of insurance.
“Some
of these reforms have the potential of growing the market and of course help in
attracting foreign investment to enhance the productivity of the sector,” he
said. “This is not to say that some of
the sector reforms have no downsides hence the need to create a balance where
the general objectives of these reforms will be achieved.”
Dr.
SeekuAK Jaabi, first deputy governor of Central Bank of The Gambia, said the
implications of cross-border insurance are far reaching, enabling the industry
to take advantage of economics of scale, build synergies and exploit
opportunities in the region.
“It
is hoped that together with other regional and continental efforts aimed at
achieving financial education and development, we would sooner rather than
later improve on the low 0.8% insurance penetration rate in Sub-Saharan Africa,
far below the global average of D6.13%,” he said.
However,
despite the low penetration rate in Sub-Saharan Africa, insurance risk cover
has increased considerably in the last decade from 4.5 million to 60 million
risks.
The
first topic of discussion at the conference was ‘Recent reforms in the
insurance landscape in West Africa: the pros and cons’. This was delivered by Mr. Justice Ofori,
Commissioner of Insurance, Ghana, and Ms Rachel V. Emenike, managing director
and chief executive officer of IGI Plc, Nigeria.
The
second day featured presentation on ‘Mergers, acquisition and cross-border
synergies … with specific reference to the insurance industry’. This session was presented by Mr. Donald C.
Kaye, managing partner, PKF, The Gambia.
The session was chaired by Gambia’s very own Abdoulie Touray, managing
director of Sahel Investment.
On
the sidelines of the conference, the WAICA Governing Council held a meeting,
and the West African Insurance Supervisors Association (WAISA) also had a
convergence.
