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Moonstone Monitor - 10 May 2018 |
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I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today
- William Allen White |
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Distributed to 52,185 subscribers.
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From the Crow's Nest |
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Continuous Professional Development Refresher |
There is a lot of interest from industry members in obtaining their
required CPD hours. In fact, some are so keen that they want to start before the
time. If you do, it will be wasted money, time and effort as the first CPD cycle
only kicks in from 1 June 2018.
Also bear in mind that not any old training will do. To avoid attending invalid
interventions, you need to ensure that the activity is accredited by a
professional body, who will stipulate a time apportionment to the activity.
A current proposal to amend the definition of a “CPD activity” has the intention
to require of Professional Bodies to only accredit activities that are
verifiable. This term is defined as follows:
"verifiable" in relation to CPD activities means activities that can be
objectively verified and includes
“CPD activity” means an activity that is-
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Accredited by a Professional Body
who confirmed that the activity is
verifiable; and
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Allocated an hour value or part thereof by that Professional Body; and
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Verifiable.
The definition further excludes the following from the definition of a CPD
activity:
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An activity performed towards a qualification and
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Product specific training.
This means that activities performed towards Class of Business training is in
fact a CPD activity, provided that it complies with points a), b) and c) above.
Further requirements
Board Notice 194 of 2017 stipulates that a FSP must establish and maintain
policies and procedures on CPD to ensure that the FSP, key individual and
representative has the required knowledge and skills appropriate for their
activities and responsibilities.
You should also have training plans for each CPD cycle to ensure that activities
are relevant and appropriate for the authorisation, approval and appointment of
the FSP, key individual and representative and continually improves the
professional standards and practices of all three entities.
Am I affected by CPD?
The following categories are excluded:
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Category I FSPs, their KIs and Reps that are only authorised to render
financial services in respect of Long-term Insurance subcategory A and/or
Friendly Society Benefits are excluded.
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A representative of a Category I FSP that is appointed to
only render a
financial service in respect of a Tier 2 financial product; and/or render an
intermediary service in respect of a Tier 1 financial product.
Minimum CPD hours
An FSP, key individual and representative authorised, approved or appointed to
render or manage or oversee the rendering of financial services in respect of -
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a single subclass of business within a single class of business must complete
a minimum of 6 hours of CPD activities per CPD cycle;
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more than one subclass of business within a single class of business must
complete a minimum of 12 hours of CPD activities per CPD cycle; or
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more than one class of business must complete a minimum of 18 hours of CPD
activities per CPD cycle.
How many CPD hours are required?
The minimum number of CPD hours per 12-month cycle that FSPs, KIs and Reps need
to go through depends on how and for what they are authorised. In summary, where
FSPs, KIs and/or Reps are authorised to render or oversee the rendering of
financial services in:
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more than one class of business (e.g. Investments and Long-Term Insurance)
they must complete a minimum of 18 hours of CPD activities (this should be the
case for most Masthead members),
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more than one subclass of business within a single class of business (e.g.
Motor policy and Property policy under ST Insurance: personal lines) – 12 hours
of CPD activities,
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single subclass of business within one class of business must complete
6 hours
of CPD activities.
In certain circumstances, a proportionate “quota” will prevail, for instance
where a rep takes maternity leave, or is appointed during a CPD cycle. Please
see the attachment linked below for more information.
CPD Cycles
A CPD cycle will run for 12 months, from 1 June every year to 31 May of the
following year.
FSPs are required to update the CPD information in their competence register
within 30 days after each cycle. In our view, this is not practical. One should
rather do this at least on a monthly basis to ensure that you do not run out of
time and opportunity as the end of the cycle approaches.
Mind over matter
One can approach CPD as a grudge obligation, or embrace the opportunity as a
further step towards becoming a true professional. Please just make sure you
make use of a professional body whose services are aligned with the requirements
noted above.
Click here to download the
relevant CPD section from the Fit and Proper
Determination. |
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Your Practice Made Perfect |
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Moonstone Regulatory Update Workshops – registration opens tomorrow! |
Moonstone Compliance and Risk Management’s comprehensive, practical
workshops will run in June 2018 as recently published.
This year our workshops will be accredited by a recognized body and will
qualify as a CPD activity towards the accumulation of CPD hours as
required by the FSCA.
The workshops will again be facilitated by Billy Seyffert and Alan
Holton and will cover:
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A concise overview of: |
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The Insurance Regulations, the impact and what’s next? |
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The most important Policyholder Protection Rules
considerations |
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Debarments – What has changed? |
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Financial Sector Regulation Act – What is important to
me? |
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The proposed changes to the General Code of Conduct and
the impact on FSPs |
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An in-depth unpacking of the 12 elements of the New Fit
and Proper Requirements and what it will take to comply. |
The workshops will run from 09h00 until 13h00 and take place on the
following dates and venues:
VENUE |
DATE |
East London - EL Golf Club |
5 June 2018 |
Port Elizabeth - PE Golf Club |
6 June 2018 |
Cape Town - The River Club |
18 June 2018 |
Johannesburg - Houghton Golf Club |
19 June 2018 |
Pretoria - Diep in die Berg |
20 June 2018 |
Durban - Coastlands Hotel Umhlanga |
21 June 2018 |
Bloemfontein - Emoya Estate |
26 June 2018 |
Cost (no increase from 2017)
Moonstone Compliance clients: R650 per person (excl VAT).
Other attendees: R1 000 per person (excl VAT).
Registration opens tomorrow! |
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The Apprentice
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Do You Have What It Takes?
Entries for The Insurance Apprentice 2019 close on 31 August 2018. If
you think you have what it takes to be the next Insurance Apprentice,
why not take a chance and
apply?
After this date, the top thirty candidates will be identified, with
three elimination rounds in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban in
October.
The eight qualifying apprentices for series five of The Insurance
Apprentice will be revealed mid-November and filming will take place
early in January 2019. The series will be aired early 2019 via the FAnews and The Insurance Apprentice websites, YouTube and Facebook.
Don’t wait until the last minute to apply. If we haven’t convinced you
yet, remember that, in addition to promoting and recognising talent, the
exposure provided by The Insurance Apprentice is immeasurable.
The winner, which could be YOU, will:
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fly to London, business class, for a week to visit Lloyds of London;
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receive a bursary from INSETA;
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win a cash prize from Masifunde Training Centre and
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go to the Insurance Conference at Sun City in 2019.
Go on, what have you got to lose? |
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‘Fairer’ Credit Bill balances constitutional rights
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Legalbrief Today recently reported that a sixth draft of the National
Credit Amendment Bill was presented to the National Assembly’s Trade and
Industry Committee. The draft seeks to balance the constitutional rights
of credit providers and those of over-indebted low-income consumers.
According to parliamentary legal adviser Charmaine van der Walt, there
has been no change in the objectives of the National Credit Amendment
Bill. The sixth draft is more explicit in its intention to balance the
constitutional rights of credit providers and those of over-indebted
low-income consumers. Pam Saxby for Legalbrief Policy Watch notes that
the Bill’s impact on credit providers is expected to be far less than
its first draft tended to suggest, as the focus is on providing relief
to consumers whose financial circumstances make it impossible to repay
their debts. It was apparently never the committee’s intention to
propose legislation aimed at ‘writing off all debt’. Instead, the
process envisaged for determining whether an over-indebted consumer
qualifies for relief is underpinned by the principle that, where
possible, the outstanding amounts concerned are paid – if over a longer
timeframe and in accordance with case-specific pre-conditions.
It is Van der Merwe’s view that the process now proposed is
‘procedurally fair’, it ensures that both parties are ‘heard’; and takes
cognisance of the need for ‘proportionality’ in rearranging a consumer’s
debt obligations.
The Bill does provide for retrospectivity in suspending or extinguishing
debt, but there should be compelling reasons for doing so. Van der Merwe
however expressed concern about the constitutionality of empowering the
tribunal to be both investigator and adjudicator. While she would like
to see this addressed, she is confident that, by isolating the
provisions concerned in a single clause, should that section of the
amended Act be declared unconstitutional, this would not impact
negatively on the remainder of the statute.
Click here to download the sixth draft.
Should you have any queries or questions related to the National
Credit Act, please feel free to contact Gerrit Viviers, Moonstone’s NCA
compliance specialist at 021 883 8000 or write to him at
gviviers@moonstonecompliance.co.za. |
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Technologically Speaking
Moonstone Information Refinery
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Insurtech is the new buzzword |
With the emergence of financial technology companies (“fintechs”) the
new buzzword in the insurance industry is “insurtech” or “insurance
technology”. AlphaCode, a club for entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and
businesses and initiative of RMI Holdings recently posted that
“insurtech is transforming a staid industry in SA”. Dominique
Collett, senior investment executive at RMI Holdings commented that
although the insurance industry initially identified insurtech as a
threat it has gained momentum over the last two years as insurers
are now taking a far more proactive approach to grab at
opportunities in this space and are starting to collaborate with
start-ups.
Collette has identified four major trends in South African insurtech:
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The first trend is the digitisation of product distribution and
the exploration of innovative ways to deliver products to customers.
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The second trend is innovation and disruption of the actual
product itself
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The third trend is a combination of distribution and product
innovation
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The fourth trend is companies that are working with insurers to
digitise them.
Click here to read the article where Collette shares more about insurtech and highlights the startups and companies that have seized
the opportunity.
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Regulatory Examinations
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RE Deadline 30 June 2018 |
The table below indicates who has to successfully complete the RE 5 by
30 June 2018.
Representatives’ DOFA |
RE 5 Deadline |
30/06/2015 – 31/12/2015 |
30/06/2018 |
01/01/2016 – 29/06/2016 |
30/06/2018 |
30/06/2016 – 31/12/2016 |
30/06/2019 |
DOFA refers to your date of first appointment. For instance,
if you were appointed on 1 September 2015, you actually have
two years and nine months in which to pass the RE 5 for
representatives.
Unfortunately, time is now running out for those who are
compelled to pass in less than two months.
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Remember that bookings close about two weeks before the
actual exam, for logistical reasons. Today registration
closes for the examination of the 25th of May.
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Not everyone passes at the first attempt. If you wish to
give yourself enough time to re-register in such an event,
bear in mind that you should allow for time for your paper
to be marked and the results sent to you. This means that
you should try and write by 8 June, given that our venues
have always been fully booked in the last few weeks of the DOFA deadline.
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How to prepare for the REs |
The
FSCA Preparation Guide recommends the following approach:
STEP |
ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
1 |
Refer to the
mapping document for the exam you are planning
to write. |
This is the map of
the tasks/criteria that will be assessed in your
exam, and it contains a reference to the
relevant legislation that you are required to
study in order to understand the task /
criteria. Appendix A in the Preparation Guide |
2 |
Look at the number
of criteria for each task. |
These are the
knowledge and skill components you require to be
able to perform.
RE 1 has 16 tasks that will be tested
RE 5 has 8 tasks that will be tested
If you have studied all the criteria for every
task, then you would be properly prepared to
write the RE 1 or RE 5 – whichever exam applies to
you. |
3 |
To prepare for the
exam, you must spend time each day and study the
legislation and supporting training material.
One should systematically select one criteria at
a time. |
Group the criteria
together in groups of 3 or 4 and allocate study
hours per day to prepare. The total number of
hours will individually differ due to ones
circumstances. At least 2 hours per day is the
suggested number of hours. |
4 |
To start, read the
task, and then the first criteria. Then refer to
the legislation for these criteria, and read the
legislation referred to. |
It is important to
first read the legislation so that you can see
what terms are used and how the legislation is
structured. |
5 |
Now refer to the
additional support or training material and study
the section in the training material dealing
with those particular criteria. |
The support
material explains the particular concepts in
simple language so that it is easier to
understand what the legislation is actually
saying and what it means. |
6 |
Then go back to the
legislation itself, and read it again.
NB The
questions are based on the actual legislation,
NOT external training material. |
Now that you have
gained a better understanding of what the
legislation is about, you may find reading the
legislation again will make more sense to you if
you didn’t understand it the first time around. |
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2018 RE Schedules updated |
Please note: Registration cut-off is 11 working days before date of exam. |
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Careers Platform
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Are you hiring? Advertise your position on Moonstone’s Career Platform
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The Moonstone website -
www.moonstone.co.za
- enjoys an average of 20 000 visits and approximately 39 000 page views per month. |
• |
Moonstone boasts an exclusive newsletter mailing list of over 51000
dedicated financial decision makers who receive 2 newsletters per week. |
• |
Our audience is relevant and industry specific: individual and corporate advisors and brokers in the following financial sectors:
Investment, Risk, Healthcare, Banking, Retirement, and Insurance. |
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In Lighter Wyn |
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The job interview |
An applicant was filling out a job application. When he came to the
question, "Have you ever been arrested?" He answered, "No."
The next question, intended for people who had answered in the
affirmative to the last one, was "Why?" The applicant answered it
anyway: "Never got caught."
_________________________________
HR Manager to job candidate: "I see you've had no computer training.
Although that qualifies you for upper management, it means you're
under-qualified for our entry level positions."
_________________________________
'n Vrou kom skaam-skaam by die dokter aan.
Dokter: “Waarmee kan ek help, Mevrou?”
Vrou: “’n By het my gesteek.”
Dokter: “Waar het die by u gesteek?”
Vrou: “Ek wil liewer nie sê nie.”
Dokter: “Maar ek kan u nie behandel as ek nie weet waar die by u
gesteek het nie.”
Vrou: “Ek kan nie sê nie. Die skande is te groot. Niemand wat dit te
hore kom sal ooit weer met my wil vriende wees nie. O, ek wens ek
was dood...”
Dokter (streng): “Mevrou, ons dokters kry elke dag met allerlei
snaakse dinge te doen. Buitendien is ons gebind tot streng
professionele etiket om geen besonderhede oor pasiënte bekend te
maak nie.”
Vrou: “Belowe u om vir niemand te sê nie?”
Dokter: “Ja, ek belowe op my erewoord. Sê nou vir my waar het die by
u gesteek.”
Vrou (skaam): “Op Loftus Versveld."
Voeg die veld van jou keuse by voor jy dit aanstuur. |
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Tel: +27 21 883 8000 | Fax: +27 21 883 8005
info@moonstoneinfo.com
www.moonstone.co.za
P.O. Box 12662, Die Boord, Stellenbosch, 7613, Republic of South Africa
Disclaimer:
Services and products advertised by external product suppliers in
this newsletter are paid for by the respective suppliers. Moonstone
does not endorse any opinions, conclusions, data, products, services
or other information contained in this e-mail which is unrelated to
the official business of Moonstone and furthermore accepts no
liability in respect of the unauthorised use of its e-mail facility
or the sending of e-mail communications for other than strictly
business purposes.
The complete disclaimer can be accessed
here.
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©2015 Moonstone. All rights reserved. |