Working towards promoting equitable and inclusive growth is necessary for the long-term sustainability of ASEAN. The industry should explore these less penetrated markets through new strategies and strengthened capabilities. Nonetheless, expecting markets to effectively provide for the needs of the underserved may be challenging. Markets, driven by financial motives have a tendency to end up instead widening the disparities in income, equality and socio-economic protection. Intervention or even redistribution becomes a necessary tool to correct this, rebalance societal fortunes to enable the economically worst off to benefit and be co-opted back into the mainstream, as part of an overall social agenda that promotes inclusion and cohesiveness. This goal, of inclusion and cohesiveness, may well be a prerequisite to truly maximising society’s economic potential. Consistent with this is another key initiative in Malaysia that targets the underserved. This is the new insurance scheme for the Bottom 40% households. Supported by pioneering contributions from foreign insurers, a fund will be set up to provide insurance cover for those eligible. They will receive income support if they are diagnosed with critical illnesses or hospitalised. This policy intervention attempts to resolve the market’s inability to provide such protection. Perception out there has been that this segment of the population is uninsurable, or from the perspective of insurers, too risky and likely unprofitable. We are taking a view that this is misplaced, and it will take proof to change this. Currently, we are still finalising the details and targeting the scheme to be fully operational in early 2019.

Encik Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid: The ASEAN insurance industry - current state Keynote address by Mr Encik Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia), at the 21st ASEAN Insurance Regulators’ Meeting, 44th ASEAN Insurance Council and 3rd ASEAN Insurance Summit, Kuala Lumpur, 28 November 2018. * * * Bank Negara Malaysia is honoured to host the 21st ASEAN Insurance Regulators’ Meeting and the 44th ASEAN Insurance Council Meeting again after eleven years. It is also our privilege to be part of the 3rd ASEAN Insurance Summit. I trust that the exchange of ideas and knowledge during these events will further strengthen the long tradition of close cooperation among ASEAN insurance regulators and industry players, interventions, and initiatives to build resiliency and liquidity for our market. Introduction Since its formation in 1967, ASEAN has achieved significant strides in advancing regional economic and financial cooperation and integration. This has contributed to sustained social development and stability that we see in the region over the last five decades. Economic improvement has seen member states grow at an average rate of over 5.3% and expanded over 100-fold, supported by significant intra-regional trade. In 2017, the ten-member states recorded a combined gross domestic product of close to USD3 trillion. Together, the regional bloc is currently the sixth-largest economy in the world and by 2020 is forecasted to become the fifthlargest economy after the United States of America, China, Japan and Germany.