Letter of the Day | The FSC can help

THE EDITOR, Sir:

We write in response to the letter published in The Gleaner on October 26, 2022 under the caption ‘What’s the use of insurance?’

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) was established more than two decades ago with a mandate to protect the interests of consumers of financial services within the non-deposit taking financial institutions operating with the Securities, Insurance, Private Pensions and Trust and Corporate Service Providers industries (“regulated industries”) and to promote integrity and stability in the Jamaican financial sector.

One of the pillars of our mandate is the protection of participants who engage in business with non-deposit taking institutions. In achieving this objective, we are empowered by the legislation to create a framework within which participants are afforded certain protections. This is tri-fold: first, there are guidelines and regulations for the conduct of both businesses and individuals who are licensed and/or registered to operate within the environment; second, the FSC also boasts a robust public education strategy that serves all citizens across Jamaica and it is, in some respects, a standard-bearer for promoting financial literacy among youth regionally; and third, the FSC has a Complaints Unit that investigates matters brought to its attention by the public.

We invite the letter’s author and any other consumers with an unresolved issue with companies and/or individuals operating within the regulated industries to write to the FSC detailing the complaint by way of completion of the FSC’s Complaint In-Take Form, supported by relevant documents.

The form may be accessed via email request at complaints@fscjamaica.org, inquiry@fscjamaica.org or by collection at our offices at 39-43 Barbados Avenue, Kingston 5. The complaint may be submitted for investigation at complaints@fscjamaica.org, as well as postal mail or hand delivered to the office.

We recognise that the writer’s question “what’s the use of insurance?” arose out of frustration with the claims handling process of their insurer and the apparent lack of a timely resolution of their claim. We empathise with the policyholder and indeed, these circumstances highlight the relevant work of the FSC as an impartial regulator, working to protect the interests of consumers.

To this end, the FSC encourages consumers not to be dissuaded but to continue earnestly saving, investing, and insuring their assets for their benefit and that of future generations. This protection often comes through insurance (life and general) and one important outcome is improved financial resilience.

For more information on insurance or building financial resilience, consumers and other groups can invite the FSC to speak at gatherings such as neighbourhood watch meetings, service clubs, conferences, and conventions.

DAVID A. GEDDES

Director Stakeholder

Engagement, Communication

& Int’l Relations, FSC Jamaica