INSURANCE SYMPOSIUM SAYS GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO ENCOURAGE THE PURCHASE OF INSURANCE BY BUSINESSES AND HOUSEHOLDS
Insurance Symposium Says “Government Needs to Encourage the Purchase of Insurance” by Businesses and Households
The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture hosted its 2018 Disaster Mitigation Symposium focusing primarily on Insurance as a mitigation measure on Tuesday 8th of May 2018, attended by over 60 persons at the Financial Centre, Point Serpahine. The symposium examined critical components of effective and adequate Insurance services that can help firms and individuals recover should a disaster occur.
Utilizing industry experts, issues such as Risk Management Strategies and how to utilize Insurance as a tool for economic recovery and business continuity. These and other issues were also elaborated on a sector specific basis sector. A highly enjoyed and interactive session was led by President of the Insurance Council, Claudius Francis on “the Dominican Experience” and his perspective as a Loss Adjustor.
The support of the Insurance Council and Insurance Consultant Leathon Khan was invaluable as was that of SAGICOR, NAGICO and Grace Kennedy/EC Global as sponsors and Insurance Experts. In light of the enthusiastic response and calls for more clinic type engagements, the Chamber has agreed to host clinics on Risk Management Strategies and Business Continuity in the near future to aid firms in these critical areas.
A clear signal arising from Symposium was the need for Government to support Insurance as an important business continuity tool. In that regard, it was felt that if more firms and households were insured, as opposed to only 20%, if a disaster struck, the demand and the need for Government support would be reduced. It was recommended that the Chamber should advocate for Government to waive the taxes on insurance premium. Also discussed extensively was the importance of having proper and correct information on the insurance service one was purchasing and that, buyers of insurance must be prepared and should ask questions and read their policy carefully so they will know exactly what they are buying and paying for.
