Exploring the Obligations to Complete Insurance Reforms in Lesotho

Abstract

In 2014, Lesotho reformed the insurance business sector by adopting the Insurance Act 12 of 2014 and repealing the Insurance Act 18 of 1976. These reforms resulted from the government’s recognition that the Insurance Act of 1976 was outdated and not in keeping with modern insurance principles and practices. This state of affairs made it difficult for the government to regulate and supervise insurance companies. However, in 2019, the Revenue Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) decided an important case that revealed that the executive branch had not fully implemented these reforms through the Central Bank of Lesotho. In the Insurance Act of 2014, the Central Bank of Lesotho is defined as the Commissioner. There are gaps in the Insurance Act of 2014. This article investigates the gap in the insurance legislation identified by the Tribunal and the obligations of the Commissioner to complete the reforms. It argues that the Commissioner is compelled to fill this gap in the law for at least two reasons. First, the Commissioner has national and international legal obligations to define funeral insurance policies and fully implement the insurance reforms. Second, it is submitted that with the advent of the Pension Funds Act 5 of 2019, the need to complete the insurance reforms is even more significant because this will enable pension funds to cost-effectively procure long-term insurance products, such as funeral benefits, for the advantage of their members and their members’ beneficiaries.