RBM governor wants more credible insurance companies

Reserve Bank Governor, Charles Chuka says the country needs well managed and strong insurance companies.

Chuka said this in an interview on Saturday on the sidelines of the 2013 Annual Insurance Conference which took place in Mangochi last week.

The Reserve Bank governor, who was the guest of honour at the event, said the insurance industry is a very important component in the country’s financial sector.

“Insurance companies need to be focused and work on serving the people. As Reserve Bank of Malawi we are geared at regulating them to grow and not close companies. This is why we are saying we need well-managed and strong insurance companies,” he said.

He said that the industry is contributing a lot to the growth of the financial sector saying that in 2003, the industry had K2 billion in assets and that currently their asset investment has increased to K103 billion.

He also said that the use of modern technology presents the industry with new opportunities for creating insurance products that meet the needs of the current generation.

President of the Insurance Institute of Malawi, Tawonga Manda said the conference was tackling three key issues, among them, insurance penetration and regulatory compliance.

On the issue of delays in paying out claims to clients, Manda said the onus has always been blamed on insurance companies but he said this was also coming in because people are not aware of what they are supposed to do. – By Sam Banda Jnr