that most fijians currently depend on loans from financial institutions, family and friends and moneylenders, to manage financial emergencies. most loans are used to pay for expenses that could otherwise be covered through insurance, such as healthcare and family obligations related to funerals. the recent fijian financial inclusion demand - side survey noted that only about 12 percent of the adult population in fiji are covered by insurance. such a low level of insurance penetration directly implies that the vast majority of our low income communities are vulnerable to sustain financial losses as a result of a disaster, whether this is man - made or natural. this workshop is particularly timely for us in fiji, as we continue to undertake rehabilitation actions after the devastation of tropical cyclone winston. it allows us to ponder on this very important subject and whether inclusive insurance could have assisted the recovery efforts of our people at this time. i am certain it could have. friends and colleagues, i would highlight one issue which i believe is key to the successful implementation of an inclusive insurance framework for developing economies like ours. that is the important role that government plays in this initiative. traditional insurers have tended not to consider low - income segments as attractive, for various reasons. these include : • the individual premium sizes are perceived as too low given the per - policy fixed costs ; • the premium calculation is seen as more complicated due to limited available data ; and, • the nature of the demand and risks of this segment remain unknown. the distribution network which was more comfortable and familiar with the middle or higher income segments also did not find doing business with the low - income segments lucrative. simply put, traditional remuneration structures provide incentives to focus on larger premium products. bis central bankers ’ speeches the insurance industry therefore needs to be incentivised to play an active role in the development of a national inclusive insurance strategy, and the government is the only agency that can provide these incentives. but i will also not downplay the important role that we as insurance regulators have in this regard, and you will be receiving, from the facilitators at this workshop, a lot of advice on how we can be enablers as well. 2016 afi global policy forum ladies and gentlemen, before concluding i wish make a brief reference to the upcoming 8th afi global policy forum that will be convened on this very island just five months from now, from the 6th to the 9th of september. the event will be co - hosted by the reserve bank of fiji and the alliance for financial inclusion,

barry whiteside : fiji - financial inclusion journey and key milestones welcome address by mr barry whiteside, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the pfip / piri / afi inclusive insurance workshop, denarau, nadi, 5 april 2016. * * * your excellency, ms. margaret twomey, the australian high commissioner to fiji, mr mark flaming, regional financial inclusion project manager - pfip mr eliki boletawa, head of policy, programmes and regional initiatives - afi deputy governor gane simbe, chair of the pacific islands regional initiative - piri mr michael carr, regional inclusive insurance specialist - pfip distinguished resource persons and speakers workshop participants ladies and gentlemen ni sa bula vinaka and a very good morning to you all! welcome it is with great pleasure that i welcome you to this inclusive insurance workshop, jointly organised by the alliance for financial inclusion ( afi ), the pacific financial inclusion programme ( pfip ) and the pacific islands regional initiative ( piri ). fiji is indeed privileged to be the host country for this regional workshop designed for officials from insurance supervisory authorities of our piri countries comprising papua new guinea, samoa, solomon island, timor leste, tonga, vanuatu and fiji. an especial thank you to her excellency, ms twomey, for her keen support of all the work we are doing in financial inclusion. i also thank eliki boletawa, who on this occasion is representing afi, but whom i am sure has no qualms about donning his fiji and pacific hats when called upon as one of our own. and finally to all our regional friends, thank you for taking the time to travel to denarau for this very important workshop. no doubt you are coming to fiji at what is a very challenging time for our nation, as we seek to recover from the devastation of tropical cyclone winston, a category 5 cyclone which hit our beautiful islands one short month ago. we truly appreciate your being here, confirming that fiji is still “ open for business ” in terms of our tourism sector and our ability to still host such regional events. may i at the outset, also acknowledge with sincere gratitude the commitment and ongoing assistance, to our region, of the alliance for financial inclusion and the pacific financial inclusion programme. the support provided has enabled piri to be near the forefront of significant developments in financial inclusion, not just in the pacific, but also globally. the financial and