Relations between the Ministry of Finance and the insurance market

By virtue of the Treaty of Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA), the Ministry of Finance (MINFI), through the Directorate General of Treasury, Financial and Monetary Cooperation, ensures the regulation of the insurance market in Cameroon.

It should be noted that looking at the CIMA Treaty, MINFI exercises as a relay of the Conference whose competences are regional. To this end, one of its functions is to authorise the practice of the profession of insurance intermediary by ensuring the respect of the conditions of professional competence, honourableness and credibility attached to that profession.

The main reference texts in terms of the regulation of the insurance market are:

• The CIMA Treaty which establishes an integrated organisation of the insurance industry in African States.
• The CIMA Code which is the Community code organising the insurance sector in States that have ratified the treaty. It came into force since 15 February 1995.
• The OHADA Uniform Act on the Law of Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups.
• All national laws and regulations organising the sector like law No. 90/037 of 08/10/1990 relating to the practice and the organisation of technical expert profession, Decree No. 92 / 238/PM of 24.06.1992 on the implementation of the previous law, order No. 00380 of 16.11.1994 to fix insurance tariffs, the civil responsibility for land vehicles and engines, Order No. 00022/MINEFI/DCEA /A setting maximum and minimum rates of commissions allocated to insurance brokers and brokerage firms, etc.

Other key stakeholders in the insurance market in Cameroon are the market operators and related occupations:

Operators of the market

We distinguish:

• insurance companies whose role is to provide the public with insurance products under two major divisions: property and casualty (fire, accident and diverse risks and Transport) and Life.
• insurance intermediaries who are in charge of intermediation between the public and insurance companies by bringing business to these companies negotiated on their behalf with potential subscribers.

Related Occupations

• These are mainly represented by the profession of technical experts. These are the individuals who practise in that capacity, with the main tasks of evaluation on request of third parties, incurred claims or studies related to the determination of the value of repairs of such claims.
• Technical experts are grouped in an assembly called \”Professional Chamber of Technical Experts\” (PCTE). This enforces the ethical rules of the profession, the authorisation of its members as well as defence of their interests.
• Supervision of the profession is assured by the Minister in charge of Insurance, who ensures compliance with the provisions of Law No. 90/037 of 10/08/1990 on the organisation of this profession. As such, the Supervisory Authority is charged with auditing the firms of technical experts with the power of injunction and sanction.

It should be noted that the exercise of all these activities is subject to obtaining an authorisation issued by the MINFI.

Obtaining authorisations