(Business in Cameroon) - The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) recently launched the recruitment of a consultant for the development of a digital platform that will facilitate the collection of data (audit and scoring reports notably) on insurance companies operating in the CEMAC region.
In that regard, the central bank issued a call for expression of interest calling for offers until December 15, 2021. The selected consultant will specifically map the various insurance firms operating in the region. The modules of that map include a ranking of those firms, summary information (that can be accessed by just hovering over the map). The map will also list control indicators, provide information on changes in firms’ scores over two periods, and alert on special developments like when a firm’s score dips below an indicator threshold or goes above it.
According to the BEAC, the platform is crucial because changes in insurance firms’ data must be monitored to sustainably improve their risk profile. It will also help reduce pre-liquidation periods to prevent insolvent insurance firms from lingering in the local market and affecting the compensation mechanism between insurers and auto insurance claimants for instance.
For the BEAC, the platform will reinforce the existing arsenal. Indeed, in 2015, the Inter-African Conference of the Insurance Markets (CIMA)’s assessment framework was reviewed. At the end of the review, actions were suggested to urgently line up the framework with international standards, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)’s 2.5 standards notably. This standard stipulates that regulatory requirements and control procedures must be transparent, clear, and publicly available.
Following the suggestions, in December 2018, the Regional Commission of Insurance Control (CRCA) adopted a procedural guideline that governs the risk-based supervision approach whose focal point is the development of an insurance firms’ ranking according to its risk profile.
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