Consumer protection diagnostic study - FSD Kenya

24 • CONSUMER PROTECTION DIAGNOSTIC STUDY: KENYA
8.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations reflect the preliminary work conducted during
the diagnostic. Further appraisal of the insurance sector is recommended.
As in the banking industry, transparency regulations that require
disclosure and specify the calculations and language used to explain
the prices, terms and conditions of services would enable consumers to
make informed choices.
The obligation of insurance companies to provide internal dispute
resolution mechanisms should be standardized through regulation and
enforced through supervision.
The basic tenets of the agent banking regulation should be adapted
to regulation in the insurance industry to clarify the responsibility of
insurance companies vis-à-vis their agents.
The IRA ought to draft regulations on insurance policies, risk and claims
information sharing in the insurance industry (similar in concept to credit
information sharing in banking). There could be the formal set-up of a
database on insurance fraud information under a code of conduct with
data protection protocols in place. In general data protection protocols
ought to be strengthened in the industry specifically with respect to
transparency of information sharing and processing.
The recommendations regarding publication by the CBK apply as well to
the IRA, in regards to :
• A list of all providers that are subject to consumer protection
regulations;
• A description of the regulations including, specifically, the obligations of
the providers;
• A periodic report on the performance of individual providers against the
transparency and recourse regulations; and,
• Data on the dispute resolution statistics and performance of each
provider.