SPEECH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE AFRICAN INSURANCE ORGANISATION, MR. HASSAN EL SAYED MOHAMED, AT THE 18 TH AFRICAN REINSURANCE FORUM AND 40 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBREATION OF THE AFRICAN INSURANCE ORGANISATION HELD FROM THE 30 TH SEPTEMBER 3 RD OCTOBER, 2012 IN BALACLAVA, MAURITIUS. The Honourable Minister of Business, Enterprise and Co-operatives of the Republic of Mauritius Honourable Ministers and Members of Government Members of the Diplomatic Corps Executive Committee Members of the AIO The Commissioner for Insurance Invited Guests Dear Delegates and observers Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning. It is with great delight and honour that I welcome you all to the 18 th African Reinsurance Forum. On behalf of this great Pan African Organization, I wish to first and foremost extend our profound gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Mauritius for agreeing to host this year s Reinsurance Forum and 40 th anniversary celebration of the African Insurance Organisation. We are indeed grateful for this gesture. Dear delegates, permit me say here that your massive presence at this dual event is a clear manifestation of your firm commitment to support the growth of a vibrant insurance industry on the African continent, capable of facing the challenges provoked by economic mutations from outside Africa. Ladies and gentlemen, the classic welcome and hospitality we have enjoyed since we arrived in Mauritius, as well as the presence of the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Co-operatives Honourable Jim Seetaram here today to chair the opening of our event are very strong indices that the insurance industry here has been enjoying a privileged position in the agenda of the Mauritian government. Honourable Minister, on behalf of the entire African insurance industry, please accept and extend my sincere gratitude to the President of the Republic, His Excellency Kailash Purryag and the Prime Minister Honourable Navin Ramgoolam for this support. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to equally recognize the efforts of the vibrant Mauritian insurance market, through the Insurers Association of Mauritius and
especially the Local Organizing Committee of this forum for the splendid and world- class conference arrangements. And to all of you delegates from different parts of the continent and beyond who have braved all odds to make it to this forum, we wish to thank you for this mark of commitment which is most needed now for the growth of the African insurance industry. As I said earlier, we are gathered here today for two hallmark events in the life of the African insurance industry. First of all for our annual African Reinsurance Forum, then to celebrate 40 years of the existence of the African Insurance Organisation. From very modest beginnings in May 1972 when the AIO came into being, the organisation has matured and come of age and it is only appropriate that such a landmark event should go back to its origins in Mauritius where the flag of the organization was first hoisted. The primary vision of the founding fathers of the African Insurance Organisation, as expressed at the Mauritius Conference in 1972, was to create a robust and unifying African insurance organization that would promote the sustainable growth and development of the African insurance industry and, in the process, to achieve among others the following primary objectives: (a) The development of a healthy and viable insurance industry in Africa and; (b) To promote inter-african co-operation in Insurance, this includes reinsurance and other related services. (c) To promote and encourage all steps aimed at the introduction of new types of insurance covers which would facilitate economic development in Africa especially insurance covers in respect of agricultural products such as crop insurance. You will all agree with me that the AIO has to a large extent fulfilled the objectives for which it was created. Some of the areas in which the organisation has made remarkable achievements are as follows: The uninterrupted organisation of the annual African insurance conference and General Assembly, except for one year, 1977 because no country opted to host. The uninterrupted organisation of the annual African Reinsurance Forum, which is in its 18 th edition today. The uninterrupted organisation of the annual Life Insurance Seminar, as well as the introduction of various workshops and seminars. In 2010, the AIO organised a seminar on Finance and Risk Management in Douala, Cameroon. The seminar examined International Financial Reporting Standards in relation to insurance, Risk Management and other vital issues in the insurance sector.
In collaboration with the World Bank, the AIO has held formal training programmes on Actuarial Techniques for insurance professionals from Francophone and Anglophone African countries. The AIO has been actively involved in the development of supervisory/regulatory capacity-building and promotion of special work programs. In partnership with Access to Insurance Initiative, the AIO has organized some Capacity Building programmes on Microinsurance Regulatory framework for Supervisory Authorities in Africa. The AIO has been constant in the publication of the African Insurance Annual Review as well as conference and seminar documents. It also maintains a website through which information on events in insurance especially in Africa is disseminated. This website is interactive with a Discussion Forum for members. After some years of interruption, the AIO journal, the African Insurance Bulletin was re-launched in 2009. The AIO has established some Technical Pools notably, the African Aviation Pool, The African Oil and Energy Pool, The AIO Life Committee, The African Centre for Catastrophe Risks as well as other technical bodies like the Association of African Insurance Brokers, The Association of African Supervisory Authorities and the Association of African Insurance Educators and Trainers. Other important projects like the African War Risk Pool, the African Insurance Institute and others are in the pipeline. The AIO has equally re-introduced the AIO Book Award for books written on the subject of insurance in Africa. This is with the aim of encouraging scholarly research. All the achievements which we cannot enumerate due to time constraint have been possible through the immeasurable contributions of you the members and some of our partners like the World Bank, the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Access to Insurance Initiative. Above all, I must pay special tribute to the visionary promoters and founding fathers of AIO, they will all continiue to be an inspiring icon for the generations ahead. The achievements are many and laudable, but with the common saying that life begins at 40, the challenges ahead are quite many for the AIO to surmount and this can only be achieved through concerted action and the on-going synergy in the African insurance market. The AIO Secretariat and the Local Organising Committee have conceived a number of activities to make this 40 th anniversary a memorable event just like that first day in 1972 in
this very exotic island. This anniversary celebration will also be an opportunity to recognize the efforts of those individuals (past or present), companies or international partners who have made indelible contributions to the growth of the AIO and the African insurance industry as a whole. To those who have not been able to make it, the soon to be launched anniversary book which has been meticulously put together by the AIO Secretariat with the contributions of eminent insurance professionals, this will give a look at the history, achievements and perspectives of the AIO and also the development of the African insurance sector. Honourable Minister, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. The second event for which we are here today is the 18 th African Reinsurance Forum. This year, we shall reflect on the theme "Insurance and Reinsurance in Africa - The Next Decade". This theme looks more like a logical follow up to that of last year which was African Reinsurance: What Prospects? The socio, economic and political events that have characterized the past years warrant us to pause for a moment and reflect on what the next decade holds for African Reinsurance. The constant quest to create new avenues and opportunities for our insurance industry has been reflected in the themes of such conclaves. After examining Credit and Political Risks Insurance in Africa during the 15 th Reinsurance Forum in Nairobi, the 16 th Forum dwelt on Solvency and Governance in Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Africa. Despite the many challenges that continue to stare the African insurance industry in the face, I will like to hail your individual and collective commitments, which have enabled the industry gain some vibrancy over the years. Insurance and Reinsurance in Africa: The next decade is a theme which calls for profound reflection because despite the great strides made over the years, the challenges seem to be very many and diverse especially with an ever-changing global economic system. Our continent has always been very hard hit even when economic mistakes originate elsewhere, in other words we always catch cold when the international economic system sneezes. Political unrest, governance short-comings, catastrophes and the problem of low insurance coverage are just some of the issues which call for more creative approaches to handle. I will like to emphasis here that African insurance coverage is still very small.
The whole of the continent with the exception of South Africa, Namibia and Mauritius has an insurance penetration of less than 2 per cent compared to a 7 per cent global penetration average. The total premium income of the continent represents about 1.3 per cent of global premium income. The insurance density is about USD 54 per capita in Africa serving only 5 per cent of the continent s population compared to USD 596 per capita global average of density. From the above figures, according to Swiss Re Sigma, Africa is still far behind except South Africa, Namibia and Mauritius where their penetration levels are 13.2 %, 8.4% and 4.5% and densities are USD 770, USD 375 and USD 304 per capita density respectively. In my opinion, the insurance density of the continent can be raised by further developing and expanding micro insurance products mainly microcredit cover to agricultural sector and health insurance that is accessible to low income people. Until we put our ingenuity at work, the rest of the global economic system will move ahead and leave us behind, and it is only by greater commitment that the next decade can be entered with hope. Ladies and gentlemen, the AIO s goal for setting up the reinsurance forum is to encourage the exchange of business through bilateral contacts and discussions which fall in line with the organisation s objective of promoting inter-african cooperation and the development of a healthy insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa. since the inception of the Reinsurance Forum, there has been much greater exchange of business among African industry practitioners but there is still much room for further deepening of the business exchange. I am therefore very optimistic that this 18 th Reinsurance Forum, through the quality of discussions will not only fulfill this mission but serve as a perfect reflection springboard on out-lining the best strategies for optimal performance in the next decade. Ladies and gentlemen, I will not conclude without reminding you of the next major events of the African Insurance Organisation, that is, the AIO Life Seminar, coming up from the 31 st October to the 03 rd November in Nairobi, Kenya, followed by the 40 th AIO Conference and General Assemly to be hosted by the Egyptian market in May 2013. I am calling on you to lend your unflinching support to the two events.
Once more I wish to extend our sincere gratitude to the President of the Republic of Mauritius for this exceptional support towards the holding of this forum, the Honourable Prime Minister, the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister and the Local organizing Committee of this event. Let me conclude by giving a pat to the back of the AIO Secretariat, for the dynamic handling of our affairs. (I only mean the upper part of the back) The soaring membership figures, regular and hitch-free holding of our AIO events, capacity-building programs and many more are just some elements to illustrate the dynamism and seriousness with which our affairs are handled at the Secretariat by the Secretary General, Ms. Prisca Soares and her team. I also wish to use this opportunity to thank the Executive Committee members, past and present most especially the immediate past President, Mr. Solomon Tembo, for the excellent work they have done to bring the AIO this far. May I reassure them and all members that we shall continue the good work they started and take the AIO a step further. Long Live the AIO Long Live Inter African Co-operation I wish you all very successful deliberation. Thank you for your patience and kind attention.