ASEAN was originally formed in 1967 by the governments of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In April 1978 the insurers of these countries met in Jakarta and decided to establish a council, which would be a non-governmental organization (NGO), where regional cooperation in the insurance industry can be attained.
On April 4, 1978, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed establishing the Asean Insurance Council (AIC), at that time as an informal adjunct of Asean. It was only on June 23, 1983, during the Fifth Meeting of the Asean Standing Committee in Bangkok, that the council was formally affiliated as an Asean NGO. Its principal objective is to promote and stimulate the development of the insurance industry within Asean and to build relationships among insurance companies in Asean.
On January 7, 1984, Negara Brunei Darussalam (Brunei) was formally admitted as the sixth member of the Asean through a Declaration of Admission signed in Jakarta. A year later, or on October 3, 1985, the insurance council passed a resolution admitting the national insurance association of Brunei as a member of the council. In August 2001 Vietnam was admitted as the seventh member of the AIC during its 27th meeting held in Singapore.
Representation in the council is through the life and nonlife insurance associations of the Asean member-countries. As stated in Article II of its MOA: “No association or organization shall be admitted to membership of the council unless it represents member-companies that collectively write more than 50 percent of their business in life insurance and general insurance in the respective member-country.”
As of 2003 the Philippines is represented by the Philippine Life Insurance Association Inc. and the Insurance and Surety Association of the Philippines, now the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association. Brunei is represented by the General Insurance Association of Brunei Darussalam. Malaysia is represented by Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia and the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia. Singapore is represented by the General Insurance Association of Singapore and the Life Insurance Association. Thailand is represented by the General Insurance Association and the Thai Life Assurance Association. Vietnam is represented by the Association of Vietnamese Insurers. Each member-organization is, in turn, represented by an individual it nominates.
On December 17, 2002, during the 28th meeting of the council in Thailand, the Indonesian membership was replaced. The Dewan Asuransi Indonesia (Insurance Council of Indonesia) was replaced by Asosiasi Asuransi Umum Indonesia (Indonesia General Insurance Association) and the Asosiasi Asuransi Jiwa Indonesia (Indonesia Life Assurance Association).
On September 19, 2013, the AIC inaugurated its Permanent Secretariat office in Permata Building in Kuningan, South of Jakarta. The council consists of the following members: the chairman of the council, six vice chairmen, the secretary-general, and six individuals (now revised), one from each member-country of Asean. The secretary-general holds office for a term of two years, but eligible for reelection.
The present (2015) secretary-general of the AIC is Evelina F. Pietruschka from Indonesia. Pietruschka was the chairman of the Indonesia Life Insurance Association and the Federation of Indonesia Insurance Association. She is also the president commissioner of the Wanaartha Life, a leading insurance company in Indonesia founded in 1974. She holds a masteral degree from Pepperdine University in California, USA. She also holds insurance professional degrees of Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant from Singapore College of Insurance.
The present chairman is Vincent Kwo who succeeded Kornelius Simanjutak. Kwo is the president of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia, while Simanjutak is the president of the General Insurance Association of Indonesia.
The AIC undertakes a number of projects, among them are the Inaugural Asean Insurance Summit held at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, last October 1, 2014, and the conduct of the School of Advanced Insurance Leadership.
****
Atty. Dennis B. Funa is the Insurance Commission’s deputy commissioner for legal services. Send comments to dennisfuna@yahoo.com.