ABG enhances financial safeguards through re-establishment of insurance services in Bougainville
Insurance offers a powerful solution to mitigate risks providing individuals, businesses and communities with financial protection and peace of mind in times of adversity.
After thirty years, this vital service has now been formally brought back into the Autonomous Region of Bougainville through a partnership with the Capital Insurance Group. Today, the ABG and the Capital Insurance Group came together to launch the opening of its branch in Bougainville, signifying the return of this vital service.
The re-establishment of insurance services on Bougainville was a key priority of the Toroama-Nisira Government to ensure that the ABG facilitates the provision of safeguard mechanisms for businesses to establish and grow, and to make Bougainville attractive for investment.
Vice President and Minister for Commerce, Hon. Patrick Nisira, said that the Bougainville conflict had turned away investors and this had been a huge stumbling block despite the progress in our peace process since then.
Despite this, his Ministry and Department had overcome this challenge when a breakthrough was made in 2023 which saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Capital Insurance Group Limited.
“Insurance services is one of the crucial element of our economic independence journey that we are embarking towards achieving prosperity and self-determination,” he said.
He said that while Bougainville is blessed with its natural beauty and abundant resources, it is not immune to risks and uncertainties.
“Our community faces a myriad of risks that can threaten our well-being and prosperity of businesses in our economy. Insurance serves as a safety net, enabling swift recovery and rebuilding efforts and ensuring that our progress towards a brighter future remains uninterrupted.”
Minister Nisira called on all business men and women across Bougainville to harness the opportunities provided by Capital Insurance. He also announced that the next target for his Ministry and Department will be to establish fire services on Bougainville.
Secretary for the ABG Department of Commerce, Trade, Industry and Economic Development Alex Kerangpuna shared similar sentiments and thanked the Capital Insurance Group for sharing Bougainville’s aspirations for economic growth and for their commitment to establish their services in Bougainville.
“Our endeavor to bring in insurance services cannot come easily without having an established business partner in the insurance sector that takes up the challenge to invest here. I thank Capital Insurance for the bold step and commitment to partner with the ABG through a Memorandum of Understanding that we signed in 2023 to establish their branch in Bougainville,” he said.
“Our determination to bring insurance services back to Bougainville after the crisis was our response to the business community who encountered business losses as a result of natural disasters and human-made causes.”
Capital Insurance Group Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Norton, announced that their branch will be housed in the same location in the existing TISA office in Buka and interested customers and clients can access their services from there.
The services offered include insurance solutions such as business protection, workers’ compensation, motor and general liability to individuals and businesses.
Mr Norton explained that as their customer group in Bougainville grows, they will begin to build and expand a dataset to create offerings that meet local needs and reflect local conditions.
“This is an important part of our long term commitment and will drive sustainability and provide the foundation for a gradual roll out of services across Bougainville,” Norton said.
“An important function of a good insurance company is to provide its clients with risk management advise and recommendations. This has an important role in minimizing and preventing accidents, fires, break ins, vehicle crashes and workplace accidents.”
He said the company will collaborate with clients in Bougainville to assess their assets and provide recommendations on preventing losses and damages before they occur.
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