Weed out the unscrupulous in insurance - Davies
FINANCE AND Planning Minister, Dr. Omar Davies, has urged members of the insurance industry to help weed out those who engage in unscrupulous activities.
"If you know of colleagues who are cutting corners and doing the wrong thing, they do not belong in the same industry as you. They are not fit and proper and they should go," he emphasised.
The Minister noted that while it was the duty of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to ensure that fit and proper rules are met, "you have a role to play in ensuring that your industry remains vibrant and that it does the right thing."
Addressing the 70th anniversary awards function of the Life Underwriters Association of Jamaica at the Le Meridien Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on the weekend, Davies told members that since the insurance industry primarily handled medium or long-term investments, it was critical to the development of the country.
"You have a direct impact on national development in so far as you are putting together a body of funds which will be available for investment in the long-term. How these funds are managed, protected, and invested become a very critical issue," he said.
Citing the recent crisis in the financial sector, which necessitated Government's intervention through the Financial Sector Adjustment Company (FINSAC), Dr. Davies said that measures had been put in place to ensure that there was not a repeat of that situation.
Defending the creation of FINSAC, Davies said it helped to protect the money of 55,000 pensioners with funds totalling just under $20 billion, 1.5 million deposit accounts, and 570,000 insurance policies with an insured sum of $175 billion.
The Minister also urged insurance agents to inform clients of the importance of having a personal pension plan.
"It is not a savings plan. It is to provide financial security on retirement," he said.
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