Committee for improving legislation

The Committee for the Improvement of Legislative Acts is a standing body of the Association of Insurance Agents and Brokers. It is responsible for the Association's legislative work: it reviews draft laws and regulatory legal acts affecting insurance intermediation, prepares proposals and amendments, and presents the agreed position of insurance agents and brokers in dialogue with the regulator and government bodies.

Committee Objectives

• Monitoring and analysis of draft laws and regulatory legal acts, primarily within the scope of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Insurance Activity", as well as related rules on consumer protection and personal data.
• Assessment of the impact of proposed changes on insurance agents, insurance brokers and their clients.
• Preparation of comments, proposals and draft amendments on behalf of the Association.
• Organization of public discussion of drafts and initiatives of Association members on the website.
• Interaction with the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market and participation in working groups of government bodies.
• Consolidation of proposals received from other committees of the Association and its members.

Committee Goals

The Committee seeks to ensure that legislation on insurance activity takes into account the practice of insurance intermediation, is clear to market participants and protects consumers' interests. The Committee's goals are the timely participation of the Association in the preparation of regulatory acts, the soundness of its proposals and the openness of legislative work to all members of the Association. The Committee also assesses whether new requirements are feasible for insurance agents and small brokerage firms and whether they create an excessive burden on market participants.

Committee Regulations

The Committee's procedures are set out in the Regulations on the Committee for the Improvement of Legislative Acts. Key provisions of the document:

• the Committee operates on the basis of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the constituent and internal documents of the Association;
• the Committee Chair is appointed or elected by the Management Board; Committee members are drawn from Association members with experience in legal aspects of insurance;
• meetings are held at least once a quarter; decisions are taken by a simple majority of votes with a quorum of more than half of the Committee members;
• proposals on draft acts are submitted on behalf of the Association after approval by the Management Board.

The full text of the Regulations and the Memorandum of Cooperation with professional associations and expert organizations are attached below in PDF format.

Committee Structure

• Committee Chair — organizes the work, chairs meetings and represents the Committee before the Management Board.
• Committee members — representatives of insurance agents and insurance brokers from among the members of the Association.
• Committee Secretary — maintains the list of drafts under review and prepares meeting materials and minutes.

To analyze individual drafts, the Committee sets up working groups and may involve lawyers, financial market experts and representatives of other committees.

Reporting Line

The Committee is accountable to the Management Board of the Association. It reports on its work and submits opinions and proposals on draft acts for the Management Board's consideration. The Association's position is formed after approval by the Management Board, so proposals sent to government bodies express the agreed opinion of insurance intermediaries.

Role of the Committee

The Committee links the practice of insurance agents and brokers with the law-making process. Draft laws and initiatives are published for discussion in the "Legislation" section, in the "Draft Laws" and "Initiatives" subsections. Association members can review a draft, leave comments and propose their own initiative. The Committee consolidates the views expressed and, on that basis, prepares the Association's position for the regulator and working groups of government bodies.

Extended participation in legislative work is provided for under the Association's membership plans. Questions and proposals on draft regulatory acts can also be sent via the Association's contacts.