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Welcome! In this newsletter, we provide you with updates on the work of the Initiative, events and publications, and experiences and learning on inclusive insurance regulation and supervision across jurisdictions over the past month.

Follow us on Twitter @a2ii_org and LinkedIn and join the conversation on #inclusiveinsurance!

The A2ii taking precautionary measures related to COVID-19 (coronavirus)
Based on the recommendations and measures put in place by the GIZ, the IAIS and the BIS, and to safeguard the well-being of the A2ii staff and its partners, the A2ii is cancelling or postponing events originally planned for March and April. The events that are scheduled to take place from May onwards are currently not affected by this policy. The A2ii will communicate any changes pertaining to our events on our website, social media channels and through our newsletter.

Recent Events
 

The FSI – BIS Cross-Sectoral Policy Implementation Meeting on Climate Risk Assessment in the Financial Sector – Turning up the Heat
20-21 February, Basel Switzerland

On February 20th and 21st, the A2ii attended the cross-sectoral policy implementation meeting on climate risk assessment in the financial sector – turning up the heat, organised by the Financial Stability Institute (FSI) of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland.  

Ninety-seven representatives of central banks, financial supervisory authorities, banks, insurers, academia and climate risk modellers from 69 jurisdictions came together to discuss how firms and financial authorities can improve their ability to assess the financial risks posed by climate change.  

Key messages of the recent FSI Insights on climate risk assessment in the insurance sector, which drew on a survey of 18 insurance authorities, were presented during the meeting. The paper examines the different regulatory approaches currently in place relating to climate risk assessment, in particular through enterprise risk management frameworks. The paper also describes how some supervisory authorities have undertaken climate risk assessment exercises. Panellists furthermore discussed strategic issues such as the sequencing of regulatory and supervisory measures and technical discussions such as climate risk modelling. The supervisors were invited to share their experiences in using stress test and scenario analysis to understand better banks’ and insurers’ exposure to climate risks.  

For further details, please visit: www.bis.org/fsi/events/fsi_climate_200221.htm

The 8th meeting of the Sustainable Insurance Forum
21 February, Basel, Switzerland

The 8th meeting of the Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF) took place in Basel. The IAIS Secretariat provided a presentation on the current status on the SIF/IAIS Application Paper on Climate Risks which aims to provide background for supervisors on how to integrate a climate risk perspective into the supervision of the insurance sector. Also, the IAIS provided an update on the development of the SIF/IAIS Issues Paper on the Implementation of the TCFD Recommendations. As part of the input to this Issues Paper, the SIF conducted a survey of nearly 1200 insurers across 15 jurisdictions. The vast majority of the surveyed entities do expect that climate change will affect their business. However, only a small number indicated that they have made plans, or are already taking steps to, make disclosures in line with the recommendations.

IAIS Implementation and Assessment Committee (IAC), Basel,
25 February, Basel, Switzerland

A crowded room and packed agenda demonstrated the growing importance of implementation issues on the IAIS agenda. The meeting saw the approval of the mandate for the Financial Inclusion Forum, which will be launched later in 2020 replacing and leveraging off the work of the Financial Inclusion Working Group. The mandate for the Retirement and Pensions Forum was also approved thus replacing the working group which had previously focused on this topic.  

In addition, a number of new IAIS Applications Papers on topics including climate risk and combating AML and CTF were discussed. Feedback was also provided by the IAIS’s Fintech Forum and the Sustainable Insurance Forum on their recent meetings. The A2ii gave a short presentation of key initiatives underway as well as events and publications coming up in 2020. The OECD, World Bank and the Financial Stability Institute also informed members of recent publications, events and training opportunities. The next meeting of the IAC is scheduled to take place in Seattle in June alongside the IAIS global seminar.

Upcoming Events

Putting the consumer at the heart of digitalisation of the insurance value chain A2ii-IAIS Consultation Call             

19 March 2020 – WebEx

The digitalisation of the insurance value chain unlocks opportunities that are reducing the insurance protection gap. The use of digital devices and digital transactional platforms are removing barriers that before hindered the possibility of offering valuable products to unserved and underserved segments of the population. New providers, business models, products and processes have emerged to create a new ecosystem that is reshaping the way to interact with consumers.

However, in the same way, that the application of digital insurance models offers new opportunities, it also brings new risks and concerns. In this context, it is key for supervisors to ensure that proportionate regulatory and supervisory approaches are adopted to foster the development of responsible digital insurance models, where consumers are protected and empowered.

This consultation call will explore how digitalisation of the insurance value chain is reducing the protection gap in some jurisdictions, how supervisors have provided an enabling environment for such digitalisation processes, and the IAIS guidelines to keep promoting its responsible development. 
The call will be held again in three different languages - English, French and Spanish at the following times:

9am (CET) English || 11am (CET) French || 3pm (CET) English || 5pm (CET) Spanish 

Register

For a recap of past consultation calls, you can access the consultation call reports that we produce after each call here.

Recent Publications

A2ii publishes the Spanish and French translations of The Role of Insurance Supervisors in Climate Risk Insurance

Following the English version of the report (see here for details: The Role of Insurance Supervisors in Climate Risk Insurance), the A2ii has recently released the Spanish and the French translations of the report. 

To explore other reports on the topic, visit our Knowledge Hub English, Spanish or French pages.