The Fifteenth Meeting of the ASEAN Commissioners was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from October 9-11, 1989. It was attended by the Insurance Commissioners and delegates from ASEAN member countries namely, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Representatives from the Interim Technical Secretariat of the ASEAN Committee on Finance and Banking (COFAB-ITS) and the ASEAN Secretariat were also in attendance. Special sessions were also held with the Chairman of the Committee for Mortality Studies of Assured Lives (COMSAL) and the ASEAN Insurance Council (AIC).
The Brunei Darussalam Delegation was led by Mr. Husain bin Hj. Besar, the Indonesian Delegation by Mr. Bambang Subianto, the Philippine Delegation by Atty. Adelita A. Vergel de Dios, the Singapore Delegation by Mr. Law Song Keng, the Thai Delegation by Mr. Sanit Vorapanya, and the Malaysian Delegation by Datuk Ramly Ahmad.
In declaring the Meeting open, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Malaysia, Dato' Paduka Daim Zainuddin, reflected on ASEAN's outstanding economic success over the last two decades. He noted that the close cooperation in political and strategic issues within ASEAN should now be extended more meaningfully into the financial sphere and commended the ASEAN Insurance Commissioners and the ASEAN Insurance Council for their contributions in enhancing ASEAN cooperation with the establishment of the ASEAN Reinsurance Corporation. The Minister further noted that apart from encouraging greater intra-ASEAN economic cooperation, it is also essential to defend ASEAN's economic interests in the global market. Dato' Paduka Daim also commented that the real challenge for ASEAN insurers will come from finding new ways to manage, finance and transfer risks. He believed that the Meeting would provide the region's insurance regulators with a useful forum to discuss these issues.
The Leader of the Malaysian Delegation, Datuk Ramly Ahmad, and the Leader of the Philippine Delegation, Atty. Adelita A. Vergel de Dios, were elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman of he Meeting, respectively.
The Meeting reviewed the progress in the implementation of the various recommendations made at the last Fourteenth Meeting and expressed satisfaction with the achievements in insurance cooperation in the region. The Meeting took note of the progress made by the ASEAN Insurance Council in the establishment of the ASEAN Reinsurance corporation and commended them for the success achieved so far. It also took note of the request by the ASEAN Insurance Council for the ASEAN Insurance Authorities to accord special treatment to the ASEAN Reinsurance Corporation.
The Meeting agreed on the following major areas of cooperation ;
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to publish and circulate summary review of ASEAN Unified Insurance Statistics for the information of insurers in the region;
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to extend the regional mortality studies on assured lives to include accidental deaths and total and permanent disability;
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to continue updating the comparative study of ASEAN insurance laws, including tax laws on insurance;
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to review and rationalise ASEAN insurance cooperation with Third Countries and international organisations, and to continue pursuing active cooperation with the EC, Japan and the United States, and
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to exchange information and experiences on areas of common interest and concern such as the requirements and provisions for Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) claims and holding companies, limitation of life insurance coverage with respect to AIDS, monitoring persistency of life insurance business, insurance guarantee funds, and treatment of accrued interest on non-performing loans granted by insurers.
The Meeting was held in the traditional spirit of ASEAN solidarity and cordiality.
The Sixteenth Meeting of the ASEAN Insurance Commissioners will be held in Manila in October 1990.
