Professionals in the insurance industry can therefore expect to play an important role in this environment of increasing complexity in financial services that is accompanied by the increasingly sophisticated demands by businesses and consumers. In this environment, insurance professionals are expected to not only raise the service standards, but also to align themselves to be a part of a workforce that is productive, innovative and strategically more focused in advancing the insurance industry to the fore front of the financial services sector. While the regulatory authorities have given considerable attention to efforts to empower, educate and safeguard consumer interests, sound market conduct practices and a commitment to raise the standards in consumer protection remains largely in the hands of insurance professionals. Apart from the need to constantly acquire new knowledge and skills, the observance of ethical practices and a professional code of conduct must be complete and comprehensive. Indeed, an unrelenting adoption of the highest standards of professionalism and integrity is essential in generating public confidence in the insurance industry. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is therefore, recognised that we need to continuously invest in human capital to create a pool of high-caliber professionals with the necessary competencies that can deliver high value-added insurance products and services, adopt advanced business practices, build public trust and confidence, and thus advance the industry to greater heights. MII, being the premier insurance education and training institute in Malaysia , shoulders an important responsibility in developing the human capital for the insurance industry.
Assets of the insurance industry have now reached over RM100 billion and annual premiums generated by the industry are in excess of RM23 billion a year. The market penetration, that is, the number of policies in force as a ratio of the total population, has more than tripled to 38.7% from over a decade ago. At the same time, this growth has been underpinned by a transformation of the industry in terms of the distribution systems, product diversity, sophistication of business models and practices,  BIS Review 76/2006  1  and the state of the art technological advances. With this track record and the structural changes in the environment that are occurring, the prospects for continued growth will remain strong going forward. Importantly, the insurance industry continues to play an important socio-economic role within the economy. It is a signifant institutional investor in the capital market, with over RM49 billion invested in corporate and debt securities. In addition to providing basic insurance protection to individuals and corporations, insurance products have also contributed significantly towards expanding the breadth of financial planning options for individuals. This includes solutions that provide for individuals to finance their retirement needs, medical expenses and children's education, as well as solutions that enhance their investment income. All of you are therefore part of a key industry that forms an integral component of our social and economic fabric.