Insurance And Risk Management

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

It all started by the Marine insurance in the end of the 12th Century in Northern Italy. In 1575, with the opening of a special Chamber of Assurance in England to register marine policies as evidence of contract and its terms to facilitate the settlement of disputes. By the early 18th Century, further development led to the setting up of an organization named Lloyd’s, now a benchmark in the worldwide insurance industry and which has successfully competed with other companies till date. Success and the progress of the Industrial Resolution quickly attracted other companies to provide marine insurance and this resulted in the first Marine Insurance Act 1906 in UK.

Gradually, the need for some other form of insurance arose. The Great Fire of London drew attention to the lack of formal means to provide compensation in case of fire damage. Similarly, other policies emerged with the effect of the Industrial revolution and starting up of new classes of business. As from then, types of policies started including fire and perils (riot or civil accommodation, aircraft, earthquake, storm, and tempest, burst pipes and impacts). Life assurance was introduced in the 16th Century and evolved over time, extending to Industrial life assurance. Motor insurance was a result of the introduction of the first mechanically-propelled road vehicle in London in 1894, and the list of insurance policies provided kept on increasing with time and spread rapidly across countries. THIS PART YOU HAVE DONE IT.

1.2.2 What is an insurance?

Every day, in every corner of the world, a little business or a big one is being set up. Be it of the size or the type of industry they may form part, businesses have to deal with risks every day. Therefore, Insurance is a vital tool for any business activities and any kind of enterprise. However business does not only protects business and the country’s wealth it also ensure in protection to the individuals also.

Businesses can operate in cost-effective manner as insurance provides risk transfer mechanisms. Businesses can take on credit from the bank and other credit-providers which without Insurance it would not have been available. Insurance encourage the commercial sectors be it small or big enterprise to take risk and hence creating and ensuring the economic growth.

As mention earlier, insurance is also very important for the private individuals. Here, insurance will help families and individuals to protect themselves from certain insecurities. For a normal individual; life, health, property and other insurance may revealed to be useful to provide a stability financially as well as a peace of mind.

Insurance is legal and financial product that connects an Insurance Company and the policyholder whereby if a specific event happen to the policyholder the company is bound to pay the losses of the insured.

1.2.2 Insurance and Risk Management

Risk Management are tools that allow businesses to understand risks and identify costs. Here, Insurance help his clients to understand risks and manage it thus reducing the risk of any event that will cause losses to the business to occur. In more technical words, risk management is about analyzing potential losses, lessening the risks and hence protecting the financial assets. Therefore, the Insurance Company provides assistance to its clients by proposing insurance products that businesses buy to feel secure.

1.2.3 Types of Insurance

There are three types of insurance: Long Term insurance, General insurance and Credit or Debt insurance.

Long term Insurance

Long term insurance include both health and life insurance. Health insurance may be in various forms but its main purpose is to pay for medical expenses and for services that the health care plan does not cover on regular basis. As for the life insurance, there can be both term and permanent. Life insurance provides a financial security to the insured family. In a life insurance, the insured buy a life insurance policy and upon the death the insured the beneficiary will receive a financial payment.

General Insurance

General Insurance can also be referred as Property and Casualty Insurance. It includes home, tenant, auto and business insurance. Here home and tenant insurance is known as property and renter insurance respectively. General Insurance covers loss or damage which has happened in a home, a car and a business. It also provides securities against legal liability for losses.

Credit or Debt Insurance

This type of insurance protects the insured if he is not able to repay a debt or a credit in case of accident, illness or death.

1.2.4 Who are the main stakeholders of the Insurance Company?

In the insurance sector, there is an insurer and an insured. The insurer is the one who accepts to pay for the risk if there an event to occur in simple words it is the Insurance Com. The insured is the one who will receive an insurance in case of any problems caused. The Insured is bound to pay for a fee or a premium yearly.

1.2.5 Reinsurance

"Reinsurance is insurance for insurance companies"

Reinsurance is the transfer of part of the hazards or risks that a direct insurer assumes by way of insurance contract or legal provision on behalf of an insured, to a second insurance carrier, the reinsurer, who has no direct contractual relationship with the insured. (M. Crossman, Reinsurance-An Introduction)

Basically the Insurance Companies encounter yearly flux in its account and this may result to loss. Hence being reinsured helped the insurer to limit this type of risk. Furthermore, Reinsurance protects the Insurance Company against calamities. Direct Insurers thus have less burden.

Insurance Sector in Mauritius

Brief History of the Insurance Sector in Mauritius

The Phoenix Assurance Company was the 1st insurance company set up in Mauritius in year 1835. Then, there was the Commercial Union formed a few years later. 10 years later the Mauritian Shareholders formed Mauritius Marine Insurance Company after which the Mauritian Fire Insurance Company was formed again by Mauritians.

According to a list issued in July 2012 by the Financial Services Commission, there are in total 22 insurance companies in Mauritius that is 22 insurer.

INSURERS UNDER PROVISIONAL LIQUIDATION

S/N

Insurance Company

Date of Incorporation

Category of Business

1

Leadway Insurance Co. Ltd

No information

General Insurance Business

2

Rainbow Insurance Company Ltd

17.08.1976

General Insurance Business

Table 1: Table showing Insurers under Provision Liquidation

Among the 22 Insurance Companies there are some international insurance companies such as LAMCO, BAI, Lloyds, Credit Guarantee Insurance Ltd…

A list below of the Insurance Companies with their date of incorporation and category of business are represented in Table 2:

S/N

Insurance Company

Date of Incorporation

Category of Business

1

BAI Co (Mauritius) Ltd

1969

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

2

CIM Insurance Ltd

3.05.2010

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

3

CIM Life Ltd

3.05.2010

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

4

Credit Guarantee Insurance Co Ltd

February 2009

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

5

G.F.A. Insurance Ltd

13.09.1996

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

6

Indian Ocean General Assurance Ltd

10.04.1970

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

7

Island Life Assurance Co Ltd

02.12.1982

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

8

Jubilee Insurance (Mauritius) Ltd

17.01.1997

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

9

LAMCO International Insurance Ltd

06.06.1978

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

10

La Prudence (Mauricienne) Assurances Limitée

03.10.1988

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

11

Life Insurance Corporation of India

30.11.1956

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

12

Lloyd’s

No information

Lloyd’s representative in Mauritius

13

Mauritian Eagle Insurance Company Limited

22.12.1973

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

14

Mauritian Eagle Life Company Limited

22.12.1973

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

15

Phoenix Insurance (Mauritius) Limited

No information

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

16

State Insurance Company of Mauritius Ltd

30.06.1988

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

17

SICOM General Insurance Ltd

30.06.1988

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

18

Sun Insurance Co. Ltd

18.02.1981

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

19

Swan Insurance Company Ltd

31.03.1955

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

20

The Anglo Mauritius Assurance Society Limited

30.04.1951

INS-1.1 Long Term Insurance Business

21

The Mauritius Union Assurance Co. Ltd

26.07.1948

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

22

The New India Assurance Company Ltd

04.05.1957

INS-1.2 General Insurance Business

Table 2: List of Insurance in July 2012

Regarding the Reinsurance Companies, there are 3 important one that should be mentioned and they are:

African Reinsurance Corporation

Hannover Reinsurance (Mauritius)

Munich Reinsurance Company of Africa Limited

Insurance Intermediaries

As per the Financial Services Commission under list of insurance brokers (fsc code ins-2.3), there are 26 Insurance Brokers.

Still according to the FSC, Last Updated on 16 January 2013, there are 218 insurance agents

On the 08 April 2008, the FSC Captive declared that there are 7 Captive Insurance Managers.