HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 234835,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/234835/?format=api",
"text_counter": 226,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kenneth",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Finance",
"speaker": {
"id": 167,
"legal_name": "Peter Kenneth",
"slug": "peter-kenneth"
},
"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, I would like to thank the hon. Members who have contributed to this debate for the honest and sincere manner in which they have articulated their views. In particular, I would like to thank hon. Sungu for the manner in which he went through the entire Bill. He has appealed to this House to look at issues in an objective manner that will help the insurance industry. The insurance sector is a very important sector to the extent that it was a general feeling that it had been neglected. I am glad that with the establishment of an Authority, the industry will finally belong where it should have belonged. You have stockbrokers who have their own capital markets, and that is an authority in itself. Pension schemes, which are branches of insurance, have their own authority and have been operating for the last five years. The sector is a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this country, and it is paramount that the sector is looked into. 3628 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 14, 2006 Of importance is the fact that unlike banks where you deposit your money and expect to get it back, when you take an insurance cover, it is really an indemnity, and you expect that if there is a problem in the future, you will be paid. But the matter of regulation for that indemnity has been lacking. It is, therefore, very important that with the establishment of the Authority, we should be able to protect the common man who indemnifies himself in an insurance company. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a few issues have been raised by hon. Members and I am glad that the House is in uniformity in saying that we should bring certain amendments to the Bill at the Committee Stage in order to improve the way the insurance industry is run. Certain issues were raised about the auditors for the new Authority and approval being required by the Controller and Auditor-General. I think it is fair for any Government transaction to be audited by the Controller and Auditor-General. The official responder stated that according to this Bill, we do not have an appeal tribunal. However, an Appeal Tribunal already exists and it is established under Section 169 of the Insurance Act. Clause 3(b) of the Bill states that the Chairman and the five members to be appointed by the Minister ought to have some insurance background. Hon. Members said that these people should be confined to the insurance sector rather than finance or any other sector. I have taken note of that. There is also the issue of bringing in the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI), brokers and agents. In view of the fact that we are establishing an independent Board, I would like to appeal to the hon. Members that when we move to the Committee Stage, they should accept that there could be a conflict of interest. The Chairman of AKI is a chief executive of an insurance company. This means that if he was to serve in this Board, he would have advantage over the other chief executives in the market. Therefore, I would like to appeal to the hon. Members to consider the fact that anybody who comes from the three bodies is a chief executive of a brokerage firm, an agency or an insurance company and, therefore, an interested party. We should look into this issue seriously to make sure that there is no conflict of interest. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, hon. Raila raised the issue of insurance ambulance chasing. This is a very important issue. Many Kenyans have been fleeced through the so-called ambulance chasing. However, you will recall that in the Budget, the Minister amended Cap.405 to limit the amount of damage that can be paid to a third party to an amount of Kshs3 million. This was to curtail what the ambulance chasers have been doing. They have been claiming more money and paying peanuts to the injured person, who was actually the insured. We hope that, that will address that issue. The issue of the Commissioner of Insurance and his appointment thereof has been raised in this House. I would like to assure the House that under guidelines which have been issued by the Office of the President on the recruitment of chief executives, this is going to be transparent. It is expected that the Board will be transparent in the manner in which it will recruit the Commissioner of Insurance, who will be the chief executive. The post will be advertised and the right criteria will be followed. This procedure has been followed to recruit chief executives of the parastatals that are already there. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, an issue was raised on medical insurance and the reputation of some of the medical insurance providers. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure that these are now registered and they do not just give medical covers without being registered by the Commissioner. I would like to appeal to the hon. Members to bring in a law that will cover medical insurance. I agree with hon. Okemo that we need to do an overhaul of the Insurance Act. As I said last week, this Bill, in principle, seeks to establish an Authority and to convert the Premium Tax into the premium levy, so that we can be able to run the Authority. I am sure that some of the November 14, 1006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3629 amendments that were proposed in regard to the Finance Bill, and which the Treasury has agreed to discuss further at the Committee stage, can be looked into. We should probably leave it to the Authority to bring in further amendments as and when it is established. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, today is a very important day to the insurance sector in this country. If we pass this Bill, it will be a milestone to the insurance industry in this country. The industry has felt neglected all these years. Now it will have its capacity to regulate itself and take disciplinary action against any of its members. In doing so, the industry will finally have capacity and the right expertise to encourage the players to come up with innovative products that can be of importance to this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue regarding the Kenya National Assurance Company has been raised. I would like to assure all hon. Members that all life policies are well catered and covered for. However, I want to say that with the establishment of an Authority, the sector will now be able to move into the direction of life, which has completely been under- provided for in this country. I want to thank hon. Members who have contributed and have been here to give the sector a home of its own. With those few words, I beg to move."
}