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Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - Thursday, March 13, 2008
Regional Workshop on Corporate Governance of Insurance Companies
Tirana, Albania
On Wednesday, March 12 and Thursday, March 13, 2008 the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority (AFSA) and the PFS Program held a Regional Workshop on Corporate Governance of Insurance Companies.
This Regional Workshop, held in Tirana, marked the PFS Program’s first activity in Albania and its 105th regional event since the PFS Program was launched in late 1999.
The AFSA invited the PFS Program to co-organize this Regional Workshop in order to promote the implementation of best practice and adoption of international standards of corporate governance in the Albanian insurance market. A primary goal of the Workshop was to educate Albanian insurance regulators and senior decision-makers of Albanian insurance companies about corporate governance of insurance companies in new member states of the European Union. The practical information presented, debated and discussed at the Regional Workshop provided reference points and benchmarks for comparison with developments in Albania. The PFS Program emphasizes case study and peer based learning in all its training programs.
At the outset of the Workshop, Keler Gjika, Deputy Chair, AFSA, presented an overview of the Albanian insurance market and the current framework for corporate governance of insurance companies in Albania. Thereafter, Gorazd Podbevsek, Socius, outlined the framework for corporate governance of insurance companies in Slovenia. Boris Persak, Zavarovalnica Maribor d.d. presented two case studies of insurance fraud and their governance implications. The PFS Program presented a case of a Swedish insurer whose corporate governance system collapsed, thereby allowing excessive and unauthorized executive compensation. At the end of the first day of the Workshop, Audrius Linartas, Insurance Supervisory Commission of Lithuania, described the framework for corporate governance of insurance companies in Lithuania.
On the second day of the Workshop, Anna Miernicka-Szulc described the framework for corporate governance of insurance companies in Poland. Pawel Dudzicz, Polish Financial Supervision Authority, shared two case studies regarding regulating and supervising the activities of Polish insurance companies. Jim Vint, FTI Technology Consulting, ended the Workshop with a presentation about data governance and a case study about the consequences of an insurance company’s poor data governance.
The participant profile was as follows: 45 Albanian participants, including 22 staff members of the AFSA; four representatives of donors and international financial sector firms active in Albania; a representative of the Insurance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and two representatives of the Central Banking Authority of Kosovo.
The PFS Program appreciates the contribution of speakers from Albania, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and the US to this Workshop, part of an ongoing PFS Program regional initiative in the area of insurance supervision. The current mandate of the PFS Program is to engage financial sector institutions in SEE target countries in programs that help promote the identification of best practice and the adoption of international standards. Within this mandate, one important element of each PFS Program activity is the exchange of experience of the new member states of the EU with EU accession countries in SEE.
To download the Workshop agenda, a brief biography of each speaker, the presentations and the list of participants, please click on the links below:
 | Agenda - Regional Workshop on CG of Insurance Companies - March 12-13, 2008.pdf - 34 KB |
| Opening Presentation - PFS Program - March 12, 2008.pdf - 396 KB |
| Presentation - AFSA - March 12, 2008.pdf - 252 KB |
| Brief Bio - Keler Gijka - March 2008.pdf - 10 KB |
| Presentation - Slovenia - Socius - March 12, 2008.pdf - 88 KB |
| Brief Bio - Gorazd Podbevsek - March 2008.pdf - 11 KB |
| Presentation - Slovenia - ZM dd - March 12, 2008.pdf - 54 KB |
| Brief Bio - Boris Persak - March 2008.pdf - 11 KB |
| Presentation - PFS Program - Case in Point - March 12, 2008.pdf - 419 KB |
| Brief Bio - Geoffrey Mazullo - March 2008.pdf - 16 KB |
| Presentation - Lithuania - Insurance Supervisory Commission - March 12, 2008.pdf - 172 KB |
| Brief Bio - Audrius Linartas - March 2008.pdf - 11 KB |
| Presentation - Corporate Governance of Polish IC - March 12, 2008.pdf - 280 KB |
| Background Paper - Corporate Governance of Polish Insurance Companies - March 2008.pdf - 60 KB |
| Brief Bio - Anna Miernicka-Szulc - March 2008.pdf - 11 KB |
| Presentation - PFSA - March 13, 2008.pdf - 361 KB |
| Brief Bio - Pawel Dudzicz - March 2008.pdf - 98 KB |
| Presentation - Data Governance - FTI - March 13, 2008.pdf - 195 KB |
| Brief Bio - Jim Vint - March 2008.pdf - 10 KB |
| List of Participants - CG of Insurance Companies - March 12-13, 2008.pdf - 63 KB |
Saturday, October 20, 2007 - Friday, December 7, 2007
NAIC Fall 2007 International Internship Program
United States
The head of the on-site and off-site supervision department and the head of the regulatory and market analysis department of the Financial Supervision Commission of Bulgaria participated in the fall 2007 international internship program organized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) from October 20, 2007 to December 7, 2007.
Following a one-week introductory training program in Kansas City, MO each of the interns undertook a one-month internship, one with the California Department of Insurance and the other with the Department of Insurance, State of New York. Thereafter, both interns participated in the NAIC National Meeting in Houston, TX. At the end of the internship program, the interns participated in close-out activities in Washington, DC organized by the NAIC’s internship coordinator.
The PFS Program emphasizes peer-assisted learning as an effective professional development mechanism. This internship program provided an excellent opportunity for the two staff members of the Financial Supervision Commission of Bulgaria to expand their knowledge base and skills. Each of the participating institutions contributed towards the cost of this program.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - Thursday, October 18, 2007
Regional Workshop on Insurance Supervision
Ljubljana, Slovenia
On Wednesday, October 17 and Thursday, October 18, 2007 the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) and the PFS Program held a second annual Regional Workshop on Insurance Supervision at the CEF in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The title of the interdisciplinary workshop was: Regional Workshop on Insurance Supervision: Financial Crime Utilizing the Insurance Industry and Insurance Products - Practical Experiences in the European Union (EU), South East Europe (SEE) and the United States of America (US).
This event was a follow-up to an inaugural Regional Workshop organized by the CEF and the PFS Program in October 2006. Through this now ongoing regional initiative, both co-sponsors and all participating institutions aim to raise consciousness about these issues and share practical experiences through the presentation of case studies. Both the PFS Program and the CEF emphasize peer based learning in their respective training programs.
At the outset of the Workshop, each of the participants introduced her/himself and provided information about her/his respective institution that was requested in a questionnaire distributed beforehand. 12 persons representing the following institutions participated in the Workshop: Financial Supervisory Authority - Albania; Insurance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Insurance Agency of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Center for Combating Economic Crimes – Moldova; National Commission for Financial Market – Moldova; Insurance Supervisory Commission - Romania; National Office for Prevention of Money Laundering – Romania; National Bank of Serbia; Commission for the Prevention of Corruption – Slovenia; and Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering – Slovenia.
Boris Persak, Zavarovalnica Maribor d.d., provided insights into how criminal organizations used staged accidents to defraud insurance companies. Pawel Dudzicz, Polish Financial Supervision Authority, shared the Polish experience in regulating and supervising the activities of an insurance company acting in a manner contrary to policies and procedures. The PFS Program presented a case of a Swedish insurer whose corporate governance system collapsed, thereby allowing excessive and unauthorized executive compensation. Cindy Schmell, Iowa Insurance Division, presented cases from the US and practical strategies for the analysis, investigation and prosecution of insurance fraud. J. Joseph Cohen, United States Department of Treasury, Office of Technical Assistance, presented a number of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) typologies and case studies, related to insurance fraud and the use of insurance to launder money.
The Workshop was successful, both conceptually and practically. Each participant found numerous opportunities to ask questions, answer questions posed by the speakers and comment on the current situation in her/his country. During each session, speakers and participants engaged in discussions regarding the specific cases as well as practical strategies for investigating fraud and money laundering.
The PFS Program appreciates the contribution of speakers from Poland, Slovenia and the US to this Workshop, part of an ongoing PFS Program regional initiative in the area of financial crime, insurance supervision and prevention of money laundering. The current mandate of the PFS Program is to engage financial sector institutions in SEE target countries in programs that help promote the identification of best practice and the adoption of international standards. Within this mandate, one important element of each PFS Program activity is the exchange of experience of the new member states of the EU with EU accession countries in SEE.
To download the Workshop agenda, a brief biography of each speaker, the presentations, the questionnaire sent to participants prior to the Workshop and the list of participants, please click on the links below:
Saturday, April 21, 2007 - Saturday, June 9, 2007
NAIC Spring 2007 International Internship Program
United States
An off-site financial analyst of the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority participated in the spring 2007 international internship program organized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) from April 21 through June 9, 2007.
Following a one-week introductory training program in Kansas City, MO the intern undertook a one-month internship with the Department of Insurance, State of Georgia. Thereafter, the intern participated in the NAIC National Meeting in San Francisco, CA. At the end of the internship program, the intern participated in close-out activities in Washington, DC organized by the NAIC’s internship coordinator.
The PFS Program emphasizes peer-assisted learning as an effective professional development mechanism. This internship program provided an excellent opportunity for the off-site financial analyst of the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority to expand her knowledge base and skills. Each of the participating institutions contributed towards the cost of this program.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - Thursday, October 26, 2006
Regional Workshop on Insurance Supervision
Ljubljana, Slovenia
On Wednesday, October 25 and Thursday, October 26, 2006 the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) and the PFS Program held a Workshop on Insurance Supervision at the CEF in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The title of the interdisciplinary workshop was: Regional Workshop on Insurance Supervision: Financial Crime Utilizing the Insurance Industry and Insurance Products - Practical Experiences in the European Union (EU), Israel, South East Europe (SEE) and the United States of America (USA).
Experts with a variety of specialized expertise from the following institutions presented information about the regulatory environment and/or specific case studies related to insurance fraud: Ministry of Finance (Israel); De Nederlandsche Bank (The Netherlands); Insurance Supervision Agency (Slovenia); Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering, Ministry of Finance (Slovenia); and National Association of Insurance Commissioners (USA). An invited speaker from the United Kingdom was unable to attend the Workshop; however she sent a synopsis of her case study. An invited speaker from Poland was also unable to attend the Workshop; in order to compensate the PFS Program prepared some statistics about financial crime in Poland.
17 participants representing the following institutions participated in the seminar: Insurance Supervision Agency – Bosnia and Herzegovina; Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering – Montenegro; Insurance Supervisory Commission - Romania; Ministry of Public Finance – Romania; National Office for Prevention of Money Laundering – Romania; Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering – Serbia; Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering – Slovenia; and Tax Administration – Slovenia.
This Regional Workshop on insurance fraud and financial crime utilizing the insurance industry was the first event of its kind organized by the CEF and the PFS Program. Through it, both co-sponsors and all participating institutions aimed to raise consciousness about these issues and share practical experiences through the presentation of case studies. The workshop provided an excellent opportunity for speakers and participants to: analyze case studies based on real situations; identify international standards in this field; exchange/share experiences with colleagues; and discuss strategies for implementing best practices. Both the CEF and the PFS Program emphasize peer based learning in their respective training programs.
To download the Workshop agenda, a brief biography of each speaker, the presentations, the questionnaire sent to participants prior to the Workshop and the list of participants, please click on the links below:
| Agenda - Regional Workshop - Insurance Supervision - CEF - PFS Program - October 25-26, 2006.pdf - 14 KB |
| Brief Bio - Jernej Merhar - October 2006.pdf - 12 KB |
| Presentation - Insurance Supervision Agency - Slovenia - October 25, 2006.pdf - 72 KB |
| Brief Bio - Andrej Plausteiner - October 2006.pdf - 12 KB |
| Presentation - Agency for ML Prevention - Slovenia - October 25, 2006.pdf - 147 KB |
| Brief Bio - Veronique Hijl - October 2006.pdf - 11 KB |
| Presentation - De Nederlandsche Bank - The Netherlands - October 25, 2006.pdf - 1,720 KB |
| Brief Bio - Teddy Lin - October 2006.pdf - 12 KB |
| Presentation - Ministry of Finance - Israel - October 26, 2006.pdf - 67 KB |
| Brief Bio - Alan Haskins - October 2006.pdf - 14 KB |
| Presentation - NAIC - USA - October 26, 2006.pdf - 590 KB |
| Synopsis - Royal&SunAlliance Insurance - October 25, 2006.pdf - 13 KB |
| Presentation - PFS Program - October 25-26, 2006.pdf - 57 KB |
| Questionnaire - Workshop on Insurance Supervision - October 25-26, 2006.pdf - 11 KB |
| List of Participants - Insurance Supervision Workshop - October 25-26, 2006.pdf - 51 KB |
Monday, July 18, 2005 - Friday, July 22, 2005
16TH Warsaw Actuarial Summer School
Warsaw, Poland
From July 18-22, 2005 the 16TH Warsaw Actuarial Summer School took place at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw. The Summer School is a joint venture of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw and the Polish Society of Actuaries. This year’s Summer School was the 16th edition of the Summer School, which since 2003 has focused on continuing education of actuaries who have already completed basic academic training in actuarial science. The program included two lectures: statistical methods of data mining; and hedging of life insurance and pension guarantees.
58 participants attended this year’s Summer School, including seven participants from Albania, Latvia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. The PFS Program financed the tuition costs of actuaries from public sector institutions in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Study Visit for Insurance Regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia to the Polish Supervisory Commission for Insurance and Pension Funds
Warsaw, Poland
On June 28-29, 2005 the PFS Program organized a study visit to the Polish Supervisory Commission for Insurance and Pension Funds (KNUiFE) for insurance regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia. Two insurance regulators from the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission and three regulators from the National Bank of Serbia, Insurance Supervision Department participated in the study visit.
Prior to the study visit, the regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia submitted to the PFS Program a list of questions and an impact statement regarding the expected consequences of the study visit. The PFS Program forwarded these documents to KNUiFE in order for it to prepare for the study visit.
Over the course of two days, the colleagues from Bulgaria and Serbia met with a total of more than 20 insurance regulators from the following departments of KNUiFE: Commission Bureau; Communication and European Integration Department (Consumer Protection Unit); Information Systems and Supervision Standards Department; Legal-Authorization Department; Life Insurance Supervision Department; Non-Life Insurance Supervision Department; Intermediaries Supervision Department; and Pension Funds Supervision Department.
The Polish regulators prepared a number of tailor-made presentations for the visit. In addition, in order to answer questions raised by the Bulgarian and Serbian colleagues, they directed them to documents available on the KNUiFE website.
Impact: The study visit was organized in response to specific requests from the Bulgarian and Serbian insurance regulators. During the May 2004 PFS Program financial sector assessment visit to Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission requested that the PFS Program organize secondments for its staff to financial sector regulatory and supervisory authorities in the new member states of the European Union (EU). During the February 2005 PFS Program financial sector assessment visit to Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia, Insurance Supervision Department requested that the PFS Program organize a study visit to Poland to learn from the Polish experience in insurance regulation/supervision.
The study visit enabled the insurance regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia to analyze the Polish experience in insurance regulation and supervision. It also provided a first hand understanding of how KNUiFE implemented EU directives, best practice and international standards (for example, those proposed by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors [IAIS].) Furthermore, the study visit promoted the exchange of experiences, information and strategies between the Bulgarian and Serbian colleagues.
As a follow-up to the study visit, the PFS Program provided the insurance regulators from Bulgaria and Serbia with information on the Warsaw Actuarial Summer School.
Wednesday, October 9, 2002
Trend towards Consolidated Financial Supervisory Authorities (FSAs)
On April 1, 2000, Hungary merged four separate regulatory authorities into one institution - the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority - and thereby became the first CEE country to establish a consolidated financial supervisory authority. At that time, Dr. Laszlo Gyorgy Asztalos, President of the Hungarian State Supervisory Authority of Insurance between 1992-2000, drafted a paper entitled, "Independence of Financial Supervisory Authorities" for the publication series of Central European Banker Online.
(To download the report, please click on this hyperlink:
http://www.mkb.hu/english/download/ceb/2000/aszteng.pdf)
Ironically, although the Hungarian consolidated model was based on the British example, the UK Financial Services Authority began operations later than its Hungarian brainchild, namely on December 1, 2001. (The actual consolidation process in the UK took place between May 1997 and December 2001.) With over 10,000 companies, the UK has the largest financial market in Europe and the FSA some 2,000 employees to regulate it.
Denmark was the first EU country to embark on consolidated supervision: In 1988, Denmark established the Financial Supervisory Authority, merging several regulatory agencies supervising specific sectors such as banking and insurance. The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority was established in 1991 and the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority in 1993. As noted above, by 2000 the trend spread to CEE, with the establishment on April 1, 2000 of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority.
While a number of European countries still have separate supervisory authorities for banking, capital markets, insurance and pension reform, the current trend among EU member states and candidate countries is towards consolidated supervision.
Consolidation of supervision mirrors the growth over the past decade of larger, horizontally-integrated financial institutions providing a wide range of services, including asset management, credit (business, consumer, institutional, mortgage and other), insurance and investment services. As the distinctions among financial institutions became blurred, a change in the regulatory regime became necessary. Proponents of consolidated supervision maintain that a consolidated authority can better supervise the many business segments of complex financial institutions. Furthermore, a consolidated authority also addresses issues such as acquisitions, mergers and takeovers; financial fraud; insider trading; and money laundering.
Please click on the hyperlink below to download the table which presents the situation in 15 countries as of September 1, 2002.
Thursday, March 14, 2002 - Friday, March 15, 2002
Seminar: Procedures of Asset and Liability Management of the Insurance Company
Warsaw, Poland
On Thursday and Friday, March 14-15, 2002 the then Polish State Office for Insurance Supervision (as of April 1, 2002 the Polish Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Commission), in cooperation with the International Insurance Foundation, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the PFS Program organized a Seminar: Procedures of Asset and Liability Management of the Insurance Company at the office of the then Polish State Office for Insurance Supervision in Warsaw, Poland. Participants from the Insurance Supervisory Agencies of several countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine) attended the seminar. Speakers from these countries as well as the sponsoring institutions shared their expertise and presented case studies for discussion.
To download the agenda and presentations, please click on the links below:
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