Author: Regina Simões
The ASSAL-IAIS Regional Training Seminar for Insurance Supervisors on “Challenges of Insurance Systems in Latin America”, was co-organised by the Latin American Association of Insurance Supervisors (ASSAL), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), and the Microinsurance Network (MiN), and hosted by the Superintendecia de Bancas, Seguros y AFP of Peru (SBS), and was held on 22-23 September 2022 in Lima, Peru.
This session report is a glance at the last three sessions of the Seminar, jointly led by the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) and the Microinsurance Network (MiN), on closing the protection gap with a focus on pandemic risks. In them, reflections were brought about the lessons learned by the insurance sector in facing the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which, in addition to the devastating effects on health and society around the world, has exposed vulnerabilities in the preparedness and resilience of countries in the face of systemic risks of this scale, particularly relevant where the second-round effect of the pandemic, in the form of government-imposed restrictions on travel and movement and lockdowns, has had a severe and asymmetrical impact. It also sought to discuss how supervisors can play a role in the design, development, and implementation of insurance-related programs and other strategies to build resilience against pandemic risks, especially for the most affected segments.
