Relevant Inclusive Insurance Supervisory Guidance Material
Issues Paper on Index-based Insurances particularly in Inclusive Insurance Markets, 2018
Provides background on index insurance, describes practices and actual examples and identifies related regulatory and supervisory issues and challenges.
Application Paper on the Use of Digital Technology in Inclusive Insurance, 2018
Provides guidance for considering, designing and implementing regulations and supervisory practices with respect to the use of digital technology in inclusive insurance, based on the COB concepts set out in the 2015 issues paper.
Application Paper on Product Oversight in Inclusive Insurance, 2017
Provides guidance for supervisors, policymakers and market participants on ways to implement and apply the ICPs in product oversight in inclusive insurance.
Application Paper on the Regulation and Supervision of Mutuals, Cooperatives and
Community-based Organisations in increasing access to Insurance Markets, 2017
Provides guidance on the proportionate application of ICPs recognising the specific features of MCCOs, superseding the 2010 Issues Paper. Aims to raise awareness on the role these types of organisations could play in enhancing access to insurance.
Issues Paper on Conduct of Business in Inclusive Insurance, 2015
Identifies conduct of business issues in product development, distribution, disclosure, customer acceptance, premiums collection, claims settlement and complaints handling in inclusive insurance. Sets out the key features of the inclusive insurance customer’s profile upon which the COB concerns are premised. In this paper, it was explicitly recognised that inclusive insurance is a broader concept. Inclusive insurance is defined as:
“…denoting all insurance products aimed at the excluded or underserved market, rather than just those aimed at the poor or a narrow conception of the low-income market. In developing countries, the majority of the population often classifies as un- or underserved. Thus inclusive insurance is a mainstream topic of relevance for the development of the retail insurance market as a whole.”
The inclusive insurance customer
• Low education levels and low insurance awareness.
• Low levels of disposable income.
• Nature of expenditures.
• Difficult to reach customers.
• A lack of trust in insurance providers and negative perception of insurance.
Issues Paper on Regulation and Supervision of Microtakaful (Islamic Microinsurance), 2015
Developed as a joint initiative with the Islamic Financial Services Board. Identifies the practices and models
used for offering microtakaful products, and the challenges and potential issues arising from microtakaful transactions for regulation and supervision.
Application Paper on Regulation and Supervision supporting Inclusive Insurance Markets, 2012
Developed by the now-renamed IAIS-Microinsurance Network JWG on Microinsurance. More firmly anchored on the proportionality principle and updated 2011 ICPs, and provides clearer guidance on key topics such as facilitating innovation, managing transitions to formality, the role of the supervisor and regulatory definition of microinsurance, among others. Remains an essential reference paper today. “…supervisors need to adjust certain supervisory requirements and actions in accordance with the nature, scale and complexity of risks posed by individual insurers (i.e. the “proportionality principle”).”
Issues Paper on the Regulation and Supervision of Mutuals, Cooperatives and other Community-based Organisations (MCCOs) in increasing access to Insurance Markets, 2010
Discusses the roles MCCOs can play in bring insurance to the underserved. Outlines key elements of MCCOs and the implications on their regulation and supervision.
Issues Paper on Regulation and Supervision of Microinsurance, 2007
Developed by the IAIS-CGAP JWG on Microinsurance, distils lessons from many decades of regulatory experience and international development expertise in inclusive financial sector development. Sets out a common understanding of microinsurance and a preliminary analysis of implications on regulation and supervision. Covers definitive topics spanning formalisation, proportionate regulations and distribution channels among others. In this defining paper, the IAIS defines microinsurance for the first time as:
“Microinsurance is insurance that is accessed by low-income population, provided by a variety of different entities, but run in accordance with generally accepted insurance practices (which should include the Insurance Core Principles). Importantly this means that the risk insured under a microinsurance policy is managed based on insurance principles and funded by premiums. The microinsurance activity itself should, therefore, fall within the purview of the relevant domestic insurance regulator/ supervisor or any other competent body under the national laws of any jurisdiction.”
