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| Old law worries insurers |
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by
Moses Michael-Phiri, 13 September 2006
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07:51:54
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Malawi’s insurance bodies are worried with delays by government instruments to put in place a revised law on the insurance market. The current insurance law was enacted in 1957.
The Insurance Association of Malawi (IAM) and the Insurance Institute for Malawi (IIM) Tuesday described the law as very outdated and requiring urgent revision.
Speaking in Blantyre on the sidelines of an advanced reinsurance practice seminar organised by the Kenya-based ZEP RE (PTA Reinsurance Company), I AM president Tony Chilembwe said the insurance bodies have been fighting to get the Bill through to Parliament for the past 15 years to no avail.
“The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) came into the picture two years ago and advised us to have a team comprising the Reserve Bank, the Insurance Association and the Insurance Institute to make noise to the parliamentarians together so that the drafted Bill can pass through parliament,” he said.
Chilembwe said when the Money Laundering, Proceeds of Serious Crime and Terrorist Financing Bill was tabled and passed in Parliament recently, insurance bodies expected the Insurance Bill to be debated as well because “these two Acts are interconnected.”
“Now with the assistance of the Reserve Bank we hope this Bill will go closer to Cabinet level and hopefully it will go into Parliament,” said Chilembwe.
On his part, IIM president Manasseh Kawoloka said: “If you go into the insurance industry now there are a lot of things happening which maybe an updated regulation might help. As an industry we actually did the draft some 10 years ago and even fighting to have that Bill passed,” he said.
Kawoloka pointed out that the insurance market needs to have some formal rules to help players play the game better.
“A game without rules is quite dangerous. The beneficiaries are Malawians at large and both the insuring public and the government will have a market which is well regulated.
“As of now it is sad to note that the Insurance Act is indeed very old and that we are lagging behind in that area if we compare with our neighbouring countries who have well updated regulations on the insurance market,” said Kawoloka.
Deputy Reserve Bank Governor Mary Nkosi assured the insurance market that the central bank was following up on the Bill which she said was presently awaiting Cabinet approval before it is submitted to Parliament.
“I wish to just call upon the entire insurance industry to join hands in making efforts to get the Bill urgently enacted into law so that our market can enjoy effective supervision and regulation.,” she said. |
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