SUPERINTENDENCIA DE SEGUROS Y REASEGUROS

DE PANAMÁ

LATEST TRENDS IN LATIN AMERICA’S INSURANCE INDUSTRY(UNOFFICIAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

TRENDS

MicroinsuranceMoney Laundering controlConsumer AdviceMobile Apps

MICROINSURANCE• Defined by:

• The amount of the premiums or coverage• Target population

• Defined by the IAIS as “safeguarding low income population against specific risks in exchange for the regular payment of premiums in proportion to the probability and cost of the risk involved”.

MICROINSURANCEOrigins Opportunity International was founded in 1971, with the objective of offering

financing and loans to low income population. In 1976, Dr. Muhammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, a

micro-credit bank that offered small loans to groups of poor women.

MICROINSURANCE• Potential Customers:

Population with income < USD 2.00 2.6 billion

Population with income between USD 1.25 and USD 2.00 1.2 billion

• Customers: Low or irregular income (Bottom of the Pyramid) Not taken into account by the financial system and probably has little knowledge on insurance Is geographically far away from the traditional insurance market

MICROINSURANCE• Distribution Channels

Microfinance Institutions Insurance agents or brokers Retail stores Service providers (gas, electricity, water) Cooperative Banks Financial Institutions Insurance Companies

MICROINSURANCE• Barriers to implementation

A high Minimum Capital Requirement Not knowing who is properly authorised to sell the product Very strict reporting required by law Confusing legislation by which the legal provisions are unclear

MICROINSURANCE• Latin American countries where Microinsurance products are being marketed:

Brazil Mexico Peru Guatemala Colombia Bolivia Venezuela Panama

MONEY LAUNDERING CONTROLS

By some estimations, money laundering represents roughly 2% to 5% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)Algunas estimaciones calculan que el lavado de dinero representa del 2% al 5%, approximately 1.5 to 2 trillion USD

annually. (FMI 2001a).

MONEY LAUNDERING CONTROLS

Insurance contracts are some of the financial instruments at risk of being used in money laundering operations.

False information, funds from illegal activities, legal loopholes. Inconsistencies in Insurance Policies.

CONSUMER ADVICE Publications Advice during office hours Social networking Broadcast through traditional media

CONSUMER ADVICE Main challenge of SSRP

Make the “Insurance Service Consumer” concept known. (Article 3, Law N°12, 3rd April,

2012)

CONSUMER ADVICE Insurance Consumer Advice Program was started by means of media and seminars We allied with Acodeco and Sertv to take part in the “Cuida tu Bolsillo” SERTV-ACODECO

show Other TV shows : Buenos Días-TVN, Conoce tus Derechos- HOSANNA VISIÓN Radio: Panamá en Positivo- WAO 97.5 Seminars: Tercera Jornada Académica 2012, organised by Círculo de Estudios Jurídicos de

Panamá, Panama University III Consumer Care Forum “El consumidor frente a los cambios” organised by Acodeco SSRP leads the Interinstitutional Financial Literacy Group which was created in the framework

of the Financial Coordination Council, preparing the draft of the program “Protecting Insurance Consumers” Lecture addressed to graduate Commercial Law Students

for the Insurance Rights course.

CUSTOMER CARE

CUSTOMERS HAVE ACCESS TO BASIC KNOWLEDGE

RIGHTS

INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE THE DUTY TO CREATE A CUSTOMER CARE CENTER WHICH WILL TAKE CARE OF CUSTOMERS’ COMPLAINTS

A DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMER PROTECTION IS

CREATED IN THE SSRP

AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS OF DECISION

TAKING ON COMPLAINTS IS ESTABLISHED

THE RULINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER

PROTECTION ARE COMPULSORY

A PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE IS ESTABLISHED IN

THE SSRP

MOBILE APPS Android iOS Other operating systems (BlackBerry, Symbian)

MOBILE APPS On the road assistance Insurance Policy Quotes Insurance Policy Status Geo Localisation Direct Access to some data bases from the Insurance Company Process Automation Other Services Possibility of data feedback

SOURCESMicroinsurance: Análisis de Experiencias Destacables en Latinoamérica y el

Caribe-Luz Andrea Camargo y Luisa Fernanda Montoya

Riesgo de Lavado de Activos en Instrumentos Financieros, Usuarios y Empleados de Instituciones Financieras

-Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el DelitoEl Panorama de los Microinsurance en América Latina y el Caribe: Una Nota

InformativaMichael J. McCord, Clémence Tatin-Jaleran, y Molly Ingram del Centro de

Microinsurance (BID)