In the publication of the Phase 1 proposals it was envisaged that drafts of subordinate legislation to give effect to the majority of the RDR Phase 1 proposals would be published for comment in April 2016, with effective dates of specific provisions staggered between July and November 2016.
Asisa Members were informed this week that this will change due to the legislative timetable.
“National Treasury has requested that consultation on insurance related subordinate legislation be deferred until after Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance (SCOF) has been briefed on the Insurance Bill, 2016. More particularly, this impacts on proposed changes to the Regulations and Policyholder Protection Rules under the Long-term and Short-term Insurance Acts. Although the Insurance Bill will deal with prudential supervision issues, the RDR timing is affected because the same regulatory instruments are to be used to both align to the new Insurance Bill requirements and to update market conduct requirements.”
“As a result, draft amendments to Regulations and Policyholder Protection Rules under the Long-term and Short-term Insurance Acts are now expected to be published for comment in early June. The date of promulgation of these particular instruments will also need to be aligned with the proposed effective date of the Insurance Bill – namely 1 January 2017. However, this timing is still dependent on the SCOF meeting schedule.”
The Regulator points out that some RDR measures can be effected through other types of insurance regulatory instruments or through FAIS subordinate legislation which are not affected by the Parliamentary processes, but do appreciate that many of these changes are interconnected.
“We are therefore in the process of reviewing the timing and implementation of the full set of measures to determine whether all aspects need to be deferred as above, or whether there are some measures that can feasibly be implemented – or at least consulted on – at an earlier stage. Once we have done so and once we have confirmation of the SCOF schedule, we will provide more clarity on the revised timing of the RDR Phase 1 implementation.”
