Origin of SUGESE - Insurance Regulatory Agency

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In Law #8653 – the Regulation of the Insurance Market – that deposed the INS monopoly, law makers introduced the SUGESE (literally the General Superintendency of Insurance) Recognizing that Costa Ricans do not have experience with multiple options in the insurance industry, they sought to avoid the sale of inadequate policies by companies that were not meeting high standards. The law established these objectives for SUGESE, “... regulate the stability and efficiency of the insurance market, as well as provide full information to the insured people. Therefore, it will authorize, regulate and supervise the individuals and companies that will participate in the activities related to insurance, re-insurance, public offering of insurance and the carrying out of the insurance business.” (Article 29)

The SUGESE carries out this mission in different ways as the market develops, with their first priority was to establish the regulatory framework. They took the procedures and standards the law called for and determined ways to implement them, or provided more detailed instructions where the law was not specific enough.

The current focus of the agency is on making sure that the companies offering insurance are reputable, and from that foundation ensuring that the policies these companies offer are viable. As the market matures, the agency will focus on educating consumers as to ways they may obtain information about different policies, and in making sure that the companies operating in the market are paying legitimate claims, as well as having the liquidity necessary to satisfy possible claims based on the level of risk they are taking on in their business.

The regulatory agency does have a consumer affairs office, where clients and citizens may file complaints about policies or insurance companies. The SUGESE is particularly interested in unauthorized parties offering insurance locally, but will also take complaints about policy rates or unpaid claims. Actually almost any complaint regarding the consumer-insurer relationship, or between competitors in the market could be investigated by the legal team, although some cases they would not follow through on if the complaint was unfounded.

Currently the agency has 38 employees, with another 6 places opening early in 2011.