ROSEHALL, Jamaica--With the Caribbean region still in the throes of "weathering the storm" of last year's financial crisis and two major earthquakes, there is concern for "what lies ahead" for the insurance industry. Foremost among those concerns is the catastrophe of a BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
President of the Insurance Association of the Caribbean, Desmond Camacho raised a red flag at Sunday's opening ceremony of the 30th annual Caribbean Insurance Conference noting, "we still don't know what that will mean for all of us in this region and certainly all of those along the coast affected."
In keeping with the theme of the conference-- 'What Lies Ahead' -- Camacho said, "at this time also, from an insurance industry and financial perspective, when we look even into the immediate future, we are faced with a 'Solven C2' being introduced in Europe, which we believe will have serious ramifications for the insurance industry, and by extension from all those who purchase products that will be so affected."
According to Camacho, there is also a move to modernise and upgrade regulation in the Caribbean region.
"As a consequence of the events of the past we are seeing that the tone of the regulation has become far more strict, far less tolerant and far more demanding of us of proper governance and proper structures to carry us forward and to ensure that some of the debacles of the past, particularly in the financial arena, are mitigated against," he said. Jamaica Observer
