500 officials in 70 nations to attend global regulatory meeting


About 500 regulatory officials and CEOs in the insurance industry from 70 nations are set to attend one of the world’s three major financial supervisory meetings, slated for later this month in Korea.

The 18th annual conference of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, will be held at the COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

Around 490 individuals have signed up for the IAIS meeting as participants, said officials at the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea.

The 490 ― a total that could inch up ― include about 200 top-ranking regulatory officials from each country, they said.

“Apart from the purpose of the meeting, aimed at globally standardized oversight of the insurance industry, the conference will be a great opportunity for companies mulling global businesses,” an FSS director general said.

He said the FSS and the Financial Services Commission, or co-hosts for the IAIS 2011 gathering, could be strong sponsors for local insurers seeking to tap the global market.

As main speakers, FSC Chairman Kim Seok-dong and FSS Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se are likely to take the initiative in investor relations for Korean companies such as Samsung Life and Dongbu Insurance.

Over recent decades, the local insurance sector has mostly targeted Korean customers despite saturated market conditions.

Samsung Life, the nation’s largest insurance company, has been striving to make inroads into major Asian countries and is reportedly considering acquisition of a foreign company for global business expansion.

This is the first time that Korea will host the IAIS annual conference, and is its 18th gathering since its establishment in 1994.

Among the main speakers are U.S. National Association of Insurance Commissioners CEO Therese M. Vaughan and Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa.

Sponsors for the conference include Samsung Life, Shinhan Life, Kyobo Life, Dongbu Insurance, Korean Re, Swiss Re, ING, Allianz, Prudential, KPMG, MetLife and Meritiz Insurance.

The IAIS represents the insurance regulators of about 190 jurisdictions in 140 countries, constituting 97 percent of the world’s insurance premiums. It also has more than 120 observers.

The objective of the organization is to promote effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders.

The theme of the Seoul meeting is “Toward a new horizon for insurance supervision ― cross-sector & cross-border harmonization and cooperation.”

“Following the hosting of the Group of 20 Seoul Summit (last November), Korea’s chair of the insurance regulatory meeting is quite meaningful,” an FSS spokeswoman said.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)