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In celebration of 15 years of service to South Africa’s financial intermediaries, the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA) would like to highlight some of the significant regulatory impacts the association has achieved on behalf of intermediaries during the period.
The FIA played a key role in securing binder holder administration income streams for intermediaries when the new Binder Regulations were negotiated.
The FIA negotiated with SASRIA to increase broker remuneration from 7.5% to 11%.
On an annual basis the FIA engages with the Minister of Health to ensure that the annual review of fees payable by medical schemes to medical scheme brokers takes place. An inflation-linked increase has been announced each year since.
Continuous pressure from the FIA resulted in the Ombudsman for Short Term Insurance publishing complaints statistics for the first time in its 2012/13 Annual Report. These statistics have been produced annually since.
The FIA won concessions for our members in the Regulatory Examination (RE) process, including intermediaries being able to sit the exam in Afrikaans; however as the take up was low, this was discontinued.
Thanks to the FIA, the suitability of RE questions and the pass mark were reviewed.
Input from the FIA saw the application of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) being revised in content and implementation.
Following engagements with the FSCA, the FIA ensured that insurers could still pay brokers their full commission where premium relief was offered to policyholders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In collaboration with the FSCA, the FIA assisted in the development of content on the importance of financial advice and provided it to the ASISA Foundation to incorporate into their existing programmes.
The FIA sourced R3.6m in funding from INSETA to put towards CPD; Class of Business (COB); RE training and exams; skills development programmes; learnerships and bursaries.
The FIA has actively engaged the FSCA in respect of premium collection. As a result of our submissions and facilitation of engagements with our members, the Regulator has a greater understanding of the complexity and variety of business models, to inform their future position.
Following extensive engagements by the FIA, National Treasury made proposals to reduce the FSP levies that intermediaries will pay to the FSCA in terms of the Financial Sector and Deposit Insurance Levies Bill.
The FIA gave input on the demarcation debate in 2012, which ensured the continuation of gap cover, top-up insurance and other alternative covers.
In January 2022, the CMS announced that the demarcation exemption period for insurers would be extended until 31 March 2024. The FIA is still active in the CMS working committees dealing with proposals relating to LCBO products.
The FIA is among the industry associations that successfully lobbied for non-life insurers and intermediaries to be excluded from the accountable institutions list under the FIC Act.
The FIA actively engaged in the COFI Bill Task Team meetings through Business Unity South Africa. A number of amendments were made to the previous draft version of the Bill, following submissions made. We await the final version of the Bill in 2023.
The FIA made a detailed submission to the FSCA regarding the Conduct of Business Returns (Omni -CBRs) as concerns over the cost and volume of work required to complete these quarterly returns grow.
Following meetings with the Department of Employment and Labour, the FIA engaged the services of Adv. Khumalo to prepare and represent the FIA in the parliamentary hearing process on the Employment Equity Amendment Bill. We have also raised concerns with the FSCA insofar the impact of non-compliance with the Bill.
Over the years, the FIA has grown to be an influential and respected collective voice for the intermediary market, lobbying both government and the financial services authorities to ensure that intermediaries and their respective clients are not adversely impacted by regulatory changes.
The association continues to engage with the authorities to the benefit of intermediaries, the country’s financial services clients and the broader financial services industry. We would like to thank our members (1700 FSPs) for their invaluable contribution to protecting the broader intermediary market.
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