The National Assembly has invited Kenyans to submit their representations on the Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2018 and the Capital Markets (Amendment) Bill 2018. This is in accordance with Article 118 (1) (b) of the Constitution which states: Parliament shall “Facilitate public participation and involvement in the legislative and other business of Parliament and its committees” and Standing Order (127) (3) which states: “The Departmental Committee to which a Bill is committed shall facilitate public participation and shall take into account views and recommendations of the public when the Committee makes its report to the House.”
The Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2018
Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury Henry Rotich submitted the Bill to Parliament earlier this year which contained proposals made in the 2017/18 budget.
The Bill seeks to amend the Insurance Act with the intention to provide solutions for the “adverse selection and high costs of loss assessment related to traditional indemnity-based agriculture insurance by providing for index-based insurance as an alternative with the intention to reduce moral hazard, adverse selection, underwriting and claim assessment costs while speeding up claim settlements.”
The Bill also intends to introduce penalties for insurance fraud, a problem that is affecting the sector, and to comply with the standards of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) on addressing insurance fraud.
The Capital Markets (Amendment) Bill 2018
This Bill seeks to amend the Capital Markets Act by providing punishment for those involved in embezzlement and to ensure that the administrative enforcement action applied on employees of listed companies is clear.
The two Bills have undergone the first reading and are under the consideration of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. The Committee will later report to the House.
