Insurance Agents

An insurance agent is required to be registered with the OCI and may not simultaneously serve as an insurance broker. Insurance agents cannot represent more than one Long-Term and General Insurance Company at a time. The Insurance Association of Guyana (IAG) is actively involved with the OCI in supervising insurance agents, and moreso, the IAG has been delegated responsibility for upholding the OCI principles and requirements that ensure agents are and remain suitably qualified and able to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.

An insurance agent is any individual, firm or company that holds an appointment in writing from an insurer to solicit applications for insurance or negotiate insurance business on its behalf and, where authorized so to do by the insurer, to effectuate and countersign insurance contracts. Firms and companies acting as agents are also referred to as corporate agents. The Insurance Act 1998 covers both individual and corporate agents.

Part of the supervisory process requires formal and on-going training qualification and assessment. As such, insurance companies are required and responsible for ensuring that their agents are fit and proper.