Insurance
From The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2018
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While an ongoing scarcity of foreign exchange (forex) poses a challenge for the sector, macroeconomic conditions are expected to continue to recover, which bodes well for the industry. Though penetration levels remain low, Trinidad and Tobago exhibits strong growth potential, with a comparatively wealthy population and rising demand for health and life insurance products. Moreover, improvements to the regulatory framework, notably the Insurance Act of 2018, appear set to ease business operations and increase consumer confidence. With recovery setting in, downward pressure on premiums may ease; however, industry stakeholders will need to keep costs down and preserve competitiveness to take full advantage of the opportunities to expand market share. This chapter features an interview with Jacqueline Quamina, Chairman, National Insurance Board.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Weathering the storm: After showing resilience through a sluggish economy and surge of claims, firms are ready to ride the upswing
OBG
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While the economic upheavals of recent years have posed challenges for Trinidad and Tobago’s insurance sector, the industry remains resilient overall. In 2017, as it experienced economic downturn with the GDP contracting by 6.1% in 2016 and 2.6% in 2017, the country was affected by over TT$35bn ($5.2bn) in insured losses as a result of the impact of Tropical Storm Bret in June 2017. However, local firms were largely able to protect themselves from losses through reinsurance policies. While…

Interview

Necessary change: Jacqueline Quamina, Chairman, National Insurance Board (NIB), on ageing populations and securing the solvency and viability of the national insurance system
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Interview:Jacqueline Quamina What is the structure of NIB’s investment portfolio? JACQUELINE QUAMINA: The composition of the investment portfolio is provided for in the National Insurance Act. This specifies the type, the amount and the jurisdictions in which investments are permitted. As such, only 20% of the investment portfolio can be invested abroad. This percentage is fairly restrictive, especially as investment opportunities in the local economy are currently limited. In addition,…

Overview

Reassuring trend: New reinsurance programmes are bolstering coverage against natural disasters in emerging markets
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While advanced economies generate the vast majority of insurance and reinsurance business, emerging markets are posting higher rates of growth. Complementing this underlying trend is a strong and expanding interest in catastrophic risk, which by nature tends to pertain to emerging markets. This is coming alongside fast-paced, sector-transforming innovation, which could provide a major boost to industries in less-developed economies. By the Numbers In terms of simple throughput, insurance remains very much centred in North America, Europe and mature Asian markets. According to insurance group Munich Re, in 2016 North America paid 31.1%…

Overview

Reassuring trend: New reinsurance programmes are bolstering coverage against natural disasters in emerging markets
OBG
plus

While advanced economies generate the vast majority of insurance and reinsurance business, emerging markets are posting higher rates of growth. Complementing this underlying trend is a strong and expanding interest in catastrophic risk, which by nature tends to pertain to emerging markets. This is coming alongside fast-paced, sector-transforming innovation, which could provide a major boost to industries in less-developed economies. By the Numbers In terms of simple throughput, insurance remains very much centred in North America, Europe and mature Asian markets. According to insurance group Munich Re, in 2016 North America paid 31.1%…