In the third episode of 'Ganado meets Finance...' podcast, Matthew Bianchi, partner and head of the Insurance practice at Ganado Advocates meets the Malta Insurance Managers' Association Chairperson Elizabeth Carbonaro.
The Birth of the Malta Insurance Managers' Association (''MIMA'')
The interview sets off with Bianchi and Carbonaro tracing back the roots of the Malta Insurance Managers' Association (''MIMA'') to the early days of Malta's European Union membership in mid-2004. With EU membership Malta's insurance market grew exponentially and Malta quickly became a thriving hub for pan-European insurance services driven by an instinct to innovate and improve. As international conglomerates looked to Malta to establish their captive insurance companies or the head offices for their new EU based insurance companies, the international insurance management groups soon established a foothold in Malta to service this new market. It is these insurance management firms that eventually came together to set up the MIMA. Bianchi was the first secretary of the Association and Carbonaro was a founder member, so the two had plenty to reminisce about throughout the interview. MIMA now represents all the active insurance managers including AON, Bee, Marsh, SRS, USA Risk Group, Willis and 2RSElmo which in turn manage most of the insurance companies established in Malta and writing business across Europe.
MIMA's impact within the insurance industry
Carbonaro gave an insight into the role that MIMA within the insurance business ecosystem in Malta, especially in promoting Malta as an attractive jurisdiction for prospective insurers looking to set up their business in Malta. Carbonaro further highlighted the various annual insurance conference and surveys organized and coordinated by MIMA. She also fleshed out the role that MIMA plays when it comes to presenting the common interests of the insurance industry, where amongst others, she highlighted the crucial role that MIMA played in the introduction of Solvency II.
Training of personal working within the insurance industry was one of the points that was discussed at length. Whilst recognizing that MIMA has already been conducting insurance seminars and training towards people who are already working in the insurance industry, Carbonaro noted that MIMA should now move towards addressing the student body. On this matter, Carbonaro indicated that MIMA are keen to become more involved in the academic preparation of students wishing to join the insurance industry. She noted that the financial services industry is often 'undersold' to students and insurance is no exception. The truth, she feels, is that insurance is a very attractive sector in Malta because its is largely an international practice where people travel regularly and work with global brands from all corners of the globe.
New Opportunities within the Maltese Insurance Market
Bianchi underscored the relevance of innovation in this sector as a driver for growth, pointing out the benefits of the Protected Cell Company (''PCC'') model and the opportunities being created in the Insurance Techspace. Bianchi and Carbonaro both highlighted the array of advantages that the PCC model offers, from the capital benefits that the model presents to the cost-saving aspects. Carbonaro expressed that she is confident that Malta will be equally successful in the Insurance Tech area particularly if we fuse this market with the efficiencies in the cellular model of a PCC.
The interview comes a close on a positive note for MIMA members as the two look ahead at the prospect of a hardening insurance market and the opportunities that this will generate in the captive and PCC - which have historically tended to thrive in harder markets.
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