Carifa commits to securing market against outside competition

The Caribbean Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (Carifa) has committed itself to ensuring that its members secure so much of the Caribbean market that outside competition would have little impact in any free trade environment, Barbados Nation Online reported. Carifa ex-president Marilyn Rice-Bowen said increased coverage not only in life insurance, but also in medical and pensions are important as North American competitors enter local markets. "If we really get in there and make sure we have the region covered, when the other players come in from North America we would have our region so well covered and saturated that there would not be much left for them. You can't stop the competition so rather than fighting them we have to prepare the landscape for our people to be fully covered," she was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Carifa president Amando Marcano, with Guardian Life of Trinidad and Tobago, expressed some concern about the level of health insurance coverage. "There is also a need for Caribbean citizens to have a higher level of critical insurance coverage. That is where a great deal of penetration has to take place as well as in the areas of pensions," he said. Amando called on regional governments to lead by example by providing a higher level of health coverage for public sector workers.