The insurance intermediary sector faces multiple challenges related in particular to regulatory developments and the digital revolution, said Mr Hassan Boubrik, President of the Insurance and Social Insurance Supervisory Authority.
Speaking at an annual meeting of the National Federation of Insurance Agents and Brokers in Morocco (FNACAM) recently, he said that amendments to the insurance law would lead to new operating conditions for intermediaries. For instance, while new regulations eliminate exams for agents, they focus on training, and companies in the sector are obliged to provide adequate training to agents and brokers.
Mr Boubrik stressed that the sector cannot develop without a relationship of trust between the insured on the one hand and intermediaries and insurers on the other.
He also said that insurance will be among the industries most affected by the digital revolution. “We are very late in catching on in this area,” he said. “The digital revolution opens the way to the exploitation of masses of data for a better analysis of risk, its calculation and its pricing.”
In this regard, ACAPS has set up a web application to improve services for insurance intermediaries. To date, 95% of intermediaries have already registered for this application. This tool currently provides data on premiums generated in the previous quarter by region, commune and branch.
He added that “much remains to be done, particularly in terms of increasing the insurance penetration rate, which is still low” at 3.5%.
Giving an update on takaful, Mr Boubrik said that all of the implementing texts for legislation regarding Islamic insurance have been submitted to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
In his turn, FNACAM President Khalid Aouzal said that the association is calling for the development of a code of ethics for the sector. FNACAM represents a network of more than 2,000 brokers.
Representatives of the Moroccan Federation of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (FMSAR) said that the introduction of new products will have to be done intelligently so as not to harm conventional insurance networks. Among new offerings, takaful is considered a buoyant segment for the sector. Growth is also expected from the introduction of mandatory construction insurance. M