Regional integration, domestication of risk

Improving cooperation between markets was one of the key missions of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) when it was founded 41 years ago and remains central today, according to Prisca Soares, AIO secretary general.

Soares explained: “An insurance company in West Africa would have had nothing to do with an insurance company in East Africa so we were founded to improve inter-regional cooperation but beyond that we have been looking to improve ways of retaining business within Africa, particularly in aviation, marine and the oil and energy sectors, says Soares according to African Risk Europe.

“Less than 1 percent of business was retained by the aviation market in Africa and it was a similar story for oil and energy. We now have 47 African countries represented by our members and plan to target the missing seven in the next five years.”

Having met its objectives of getting insurers to communicate across African boundaries, the AIO has been working to improve standards. Teaming up with the World Bank, it has set up training for actuaries in both French and English speaking Africa and published supporting material.

It has also hosted training for insurance supervisors and has set up a working group to develop microinsurance across the continent. In 2014, the group will be looking at risk-based regulation, solvency and enterprise risk management issues, while also developing training in technical areas to support aviation, oil and marine insurers.

 By:  Modestus Anaesoronye