CMA organized a workshop yesterday morning on the legal and technical aspects of the insurance broker. The workshop targets founders, directors general and employees of insurance brokerage companies.
This workshop comes within the chain of the awareness programme planned by the Directorate General of Insurance Supervision. CMA seeks to present and discuss the most significant developments in the legislative side that regulates the insurance business, and to assure the importance of this sector. This workshop comes precisely to confirm the role played by the insurance broker in the insurance organization, and to introduce the nature of challenges and obstacles facing the brokers especially those related to legislations. It also aims to find solutions for the obstacles, and facilitate the procedures through presenting and discussing a lot of important examples and cases.
Ahmed Al Mamari, Director General of the Directorate General of Insurance Supervision, in the beginning of his speech, pointed to the vital role played by the insurance broker represented in their direct communication with customers that turns them to be responsible for providing best services to customers through true professional advice and proper insurance coverage. This is considered to be a major factor in building trust between customers and brokers. Al Mamari adds that the due to the importance of the insurance brokers, he is required to be highly professional and knowledgeable of the insurance programmes he presents to his customers.
He confirmed that insurance brokers have had a significant role in 2013 in marketing for insurance products. Insurance premiums achieved by brokers reached 35% of the total insurance premiums in the market.
He referred to the number of insurance brokers in the market, and pointed to the remarkable desire from investors to apply for brokerage activity license renewal, as the number reached today 36 brokers compared to 16 brokers in 2010.
Al Mamari also points to the most significant challenges facing the insurance brokerage activity, such as; centralization and control. More than three brokers control about 58% of the total insurance premiums received through brokers. Moreover, there is a big contrast in the level of service competency, internal systems and human cadres between brokers. As a result of these challenges, administrative and financial problems occurred that led to cancel and withdraw licenses of a number of brokers, and there are some brokers under direct supervision of CMA.
In the frame of the efforts of CMA for developing the legislative side that regulates insurance brokers, Al Mamari clarified that CMA closely following up the execution of the current insurance brokers regulations, and reviews the regulations and its conditions. CMA is working recently to add some amendments to the regulations that cope with the requirements of the coming stage. Amendments will focus on assisting brokers to promote their professional and technical performance to provide best customer services.
Al Mamari also confirmed on the role of insurance brokers in changing the public’s view of insurance sector. He also pointed to the big concern CMA pays to qualify and train national cadres operating in this sector as they are considered to be the main base of the sector and its development. In line with that, CMA will organize many training programmes for people of this sector hoping that brokers participate side by side with CMA in training and developing their employees to achieve highest levels of job satisfactory which is surly reflected positively on production in general.
On the other side, Rashid Al Rashdi who supervised the organization for the workshop said, “the workshop witnessed good attendance and participation by big number of owners, directors and employees of insurance brokerage companies. Most participants were Omanis that feels good that the Omani youth are part of serving their country in this sector. This is also considered an economic value added to the sector, and the attendance in the workshop reflects the absolute desire by the
youth to develop their technical abilities to qualify them for a better professional and administrative future”.
The workshop contained three papers on the following topics; the broker and his role and importance in the insurance industry, the insurance sector reality in the Sultanate, and a reading through the insurance brokers’ regulations. The fourth paper was presented on the technical problems facing insurance brokers. An elite of specialists in the legal and technical sides of the insurance sector presented the papers.