The Licensed Insurance Brokers Association of Fiji has relaunched after more than a decade spent inactive.

The group’s new president, Jason Nili, is GM of Insurance Holdings, which is a network partner for Gallagher and WTW.

Mr Nili told insuranceNEWS.com.au it is important the group has returned, given all global brokers have clients in the Pacific nation and need a more formal source of help with placements and advice.

His initial priority is to establish a voice with insurance regulator the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

“First of all, we need to sit down with the regulator and look at the current Insurance Act, which is very old, and it’s time it had a review,” he said.

“We need to sit with the underwriters to work on how we can improve the knowledge bank in the Fiji insurance market from a personnel perspective, and increase education to entice the younger breed into the market, as we’ve got some very good senior people.”

Mr Nili says education about insurance is a key issue in Fiji, where only about 10% of people have any sort of cover and small businesses are price-focused.

“For the mums and dads, it’s an affordability issue, as it’s a developing country. And for some clients, the first question is, ‘Can you do it cheaper?’ which is a challenge in Fiji.

“But we’re very happy to work together and try and find initiatives. It needs all parties, the government, regulator, insurance and broking councils, to come together.”

At the top end, Fiji has a sophisticated market, he says.

“The international brokers have clients in Fiji and come to companies like ours. There are good underwriters here, and capacity is increasing, but there are restrictions on the cover available in the local market compared to what is available overseas.”

Fiji is an “admitted” market for insurers and brokers, requiring a local licence and presence to undertake business.

The strong preference of the regulator is for business to be written locally wherever possible.

But there are exceptions, which is where Mr Nili and others can navigate the intricacies for overseas players.

The proportion of insurance sold via brokers is not where Mr Nili thinks it should be.

“There’s a certain level where as an agent or underwriter you can write things on a direct basis, but where it comes to a sizeable program, an underwriter will only sell an underwriter’s product, same as an agent.

“They’re not giving advice and you’re not getting any options. You could sit down with a broker and get a thorough review. It’s one of the things we will be talking to the regulator about.”