Monday, August 29, 2011
MBABNE, Swaziland – International standards are useful to protect Oklahoma’s insurance policyholders. Assistant Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Dr. Rick Farmer discussed these standards with insurance regulators in Johannesburg, South Africa and Mbabane, Swaziland last week.
Farmer met with the Financial Services Board in Johannesburg, which regulates insurance in South Africa. In addition, he met with the Retirement and Insurance Registrar in Mbabane. Several companies that do business in Oklahoma also operate in those countries.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said, “International exchanges are important to our department. Through these interactions we gain new ideas and a different perspective on insurance.”
In April, Doak noted, the Oklahoma department hosted two international fellows, one from Kenya and the other from India, as part of a program administered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Farmer was in southern Africa working with the Bethany First Church of the Nazarene’s Swaziland Partnership. He traveled at his own expense, but set aside time for these meetings.
Farmer’s discussions with African officials focused on policy development. The topic of international best practices arose multiple times.
“International standards make it easier for the companies to navigate the bureaucracy while guaranteeing quality control across international boundaries,” Farmer explained. “It is good for business and it protects consumers.”
While in Manzini, Swaziland, Farmer also met with two insurance agents. These meetings provided insight into local insurance markets and the nation’s regulatory environment.
“This summer, Commissioner Doak and staff members from the Oklahoma Insurance Department have been meeting with Oklahoma insurance agents all around the state. Meeting the Swazi agents brought a valuable contrast to those local meetings,” Farmer said.
In addition to the insurance meetings Farmer met with the American Embassy in South Africa and spoke at a public forum on parliamentary government and elections held at Southern Africa Nazarene University in Manzini. Farmer is a past president of the Oklahoma Political Science Association.
The Nazarene Swaziland Partnership is a force mobilization of several groups to support Swaziland in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The partners include: Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital and its 17 rural clinics, Southern Africa Nazarene University, Faculty of Health Sciences (formerly Nazarene College of Nursing), Swaziland Church of the Nazarene, Swaziland HIV/AIDS Task Force, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Bethany First Church of the Nazarene and Southern Nazarene University.
Last week the Nazarene partnership expanded a child development center in Ntondozi, worked at a children’s center in Manzini, conducted health clinics with The Luke Commission and Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, and hosted a Nazarene Swazi pastors’ conference. The conference focused on the Christian response to HIV/AIDS. Pastors discussed how to extend the grace of God to those who are suffering from this terrible disease.
The Swaziland Partnership can be found on the Web at http://www.swazipartners.org/.
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About the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.
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