Caribbean merges supervisors

The failure of Caribbean insurance regulators to protect consumers from company failures, especially in Jamaica where the government had to assume control of several life insurers that became insolvent, has prompted Caribbean governments to merge insurance supervision with that of other sectors of the financial system. Jamaica, with the region’s largest insurance industry, expects to have a new integrated regulatory body in place by April next year, according to acting superintendent of insurance Errol McLean. A taskforce has developed terms of reference for a body that will encompass the Office of the Insurance Superintendent, the Securities Commission and the Pensions Commission.