Mr Hassen Khelifati, CEO of Alliance Assurances, is proposing a new system to encourage Algerians to insure themselves against natural disasters, such as fires, earthquakes or floods.
In an interview with TSA Algeria, he said, “The model that would best suit the Algerian market is the following: instead of the State drawing on the public treasury each time to compensate victims of natural disasters, Algerians must be reconciled with insurance.
“The idea is that insurers would organise themselves into pools and offer competitive insurance coverage, and the government would intervene through a subsidy system with a sliding scale: 90% in the first year, 80% in the second year, and so on. However, this is conditional on insurance being mandatory. The insured would only pay 10% in the first year, 20% in the second, and so forth.”
Insurance purchases by private individuals are generally checked by a notary when renting or selling their property. Other models exist elsewhere for individuals where subscriptions to natural disaster insurance are linked to water or electricity bills.
Mr Khelifati added, “For businesses, we propose a different approach regarding natural disasters." He said that four types of mandatory insurance must be established: civil liability insurance, natural disaster insurance, fire insurance, and business interruption insurance.
Auditors of businesses should produce a special insurance report to be presented to shareholders at the annual general meeting.