of thesis titled Insurance intermediaries and supervision over their activities. In my thesis I deal with legislation status and activities of insurance intermediaries. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first one is devoted to general insurance and the insurance law. I emphasize the importance of the sector and necessity its legal regulation. I mention the roots and development of insurance legislation since 1989. The core of my work is the second chapter, which describes the importance of insurance intermediaries, their function and relationship to other distribution paths. I am talking about the history of the business and its legal regulation and focusing on the development of regulatory activities of insurance brokers since 1989. View of the earlier legislation is important because the anchor institutions and concepts that are still part of the applicable law. The most important part of my theses is a evaluation od the existing legislation, the Act on Insurance Intermediaries, Insurance Act and the Insurance Contract Act in relation to insurance intermediaries. I describe types of contractual arrangements under the Commercial Code that are applicable to insurance intermediaries cooperation with other entities. From the legislation of the Act on Insurance Intermediaries, I focused...

This MA thesis is concerned with insurance distribution in the Czech Republic. It aims to acquaint the reader with individual distribution channels within the context of current and upcoming regulatory framework. Regarding methodology, it makes use of the descriptive, analytical and empirical approach to legal research. The first chapter, The Insurance Market, introduces the gross written premium as the key metric in the insurance industry and it segments the written premium into the main product lines. Further, it deals with sources that will be relied on throughout the thesis and presents the necessary terminology. The second chapter outlines the distribution channels framework through which the insurance products are sold to customers. From the perspective of an insurance undertaking the main distinction is on the internal and external channels. The legal categories of intermediaries and the methods of communication with the customer do not form any particular channel, instead they are understood as cross-channel. The MA thesis is submitted in the period when the applicable Intermediaries Act is about to be superseded by the forthcoming Insurance Distribution Act. That is reflected in the third chapter that is divided into two subchapters, each dedicated to the analysis of the distribution...

Legal regulation of activities of insurance intermediaries This thesis is focused on an analysis of valid domestic legal regulation of activities of insurance intermediaries and an analysis of the newly adopted EU legislation and its possible impact on domestic legislation. Descriptive, analytic and comparative methods are used in order to achieve the object of this thesis. The first chapter of this thesis is devoted to acquainting the reader with the legal regulation of insurance, the description of insurance as a separate economic branch and to a short excursion into the history of insurance. In the remainder of the chapter I deal with the distribution channels of insurance products. A general introduction into the field of insurance should help the reader to understand the legal regulation of actions of insurance intermediaries. The second chapter is aimed at a description and analysis of the legal regulation of activities of insurance intermediaries currently in force. In the beginning of the chapter I briefly describe the functions of insurance intermediaries and further explain the interpretation of basic statutory definitions. The largest part of this chapter is dedicated to an analysis of the current system of categorization of insurance intermediaries and the conditions for the exercise...

A long period of low interest rates, economic growth and a booming housing market hasresulted in an increase in the debt level of Swedish households. New digital ways of providingfinancial services are changing the traditional banking world and are often praised for beingefficient and inclusive. Financial intermediaries, a party between a buyer and a seller that actsas a mediator to efficiently facilitate transactions, play an important role in the economy andsociety. Approximately 40-55 percent of unsecured consumer loans were taken through a loanintermediary in Sweden during 2020. As a result of the situation of the Swedish credit market,there is a need to understand how the actors in the market are connected and how they createvalue together. Loan intermediaries are an important and interesting actor to analyze furthersince such a large share of unsecured consumer loans are taken through their service, andbecause this kind of service is growing to be an increasing part of the credit ecosystem.According to business ecosystem theory, all actors are viewed within a closed system. In theideal scenario, participants would cooperate to foster stability and systematic benefits andimbalances in the ecosystem have harmful impact on all members. This master thesis aims atdeveloping an ecosystem of the Swedish credit market and to describe loan intermediaries'contribution to a more efficient consumer credit market.First, this study resulted in the development of a methodology to identify, describe, andvisualize ecosystems. A five-step process was identified and implemented to create anunderstandable image of the credit market ecosystem. The method resulted in an ecosystemmap, visualizing 26 generic actors and their interconnections. Second, to gain a deeperunderstanding of how loan intermediaries contribute to an efficient system, semi-structuredinterviews were held with representatives from loan intermediary companies and the SwedishEnforcement Authority. According to this study, loan intermediaries contribute to a moreefficient consumer credit market by providing access to credit, by making information moretransparent and readily available for consumers, and by driving innovation. / En lång period av låga räntor, ekonomisk tillväxt och en blomstrande bostadsmarknad har letttill att de svenska hushållens skuldsättning har ökat. Nya digitala sätt att tillhandahållafinansiella tjänster förändrar den traditionella bankvärlden och hyllas ofta för att vara effektivaoch inkluderande. Finansiella intermediärer, en part mellan en köpare och en säljare som agerarsom medlare för att effektivt underlätta transaktioner, spelar en viktig roll i ekonomin och isamhället. Ungefär 40–55 procent av blancolån togs genom en låneförmedlare i Sverige under2020. Situationen på den svenska kreditmarknaden uppmärksammar ett behov av att förstå hurmarknadens aktörer är sammankopplade och hur de skapar värde tillsammans. Låneförmedlareär en viktig och intressant aktör att analysera vidare eftersom en så stor andel av blancolånentas genom deras tjänster, och eftersom denna typ av tjänst växer till en allt större del avkreditekosystemet. Enligt teorin om ”business ecosystems” betraktas alla aktörer i ett slutetsystem. I ett perfekt scenario skulle deltagarna samarbeta för att främja stabilitet ochsystemfördelar och obalans i ekosystemet har en skadlig inverkan på alla medlemmar. Dennamasteruppsats syftar till att utveckla ett ekosystem över den svenska kreditmarknaden ochbeskriva låneförmedlarnas bidrag till en mer effektiv konsumentkreditmarknad.För det första resulterade studien i utvecklingen av en metod för att identifiera, beskriva ochvisualisera ekosystem. En process i fem steg identifierades och genomfördes för att skapa enbegriplig bild av kreditmarknadens ekosystem. Metoden resulterade i en ekosystemkarta somvisualiserade 26 generiska aktörer och deras inbördes kopplingar. För att få en djupareförståelse för hur låneförmedlare bidrar till ett effektivt system genomfördes semistruktureradeintervjuer med representanter från låneförmedlingsföretag och Kronofogden. Enligt studienbidrar låneförmedlare till en effektivare konsument-kreditmarknad genom att ge tillgång tillkrediter, tillgängliggöra transparent information samt genom att driva innovation.

The protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors is very important. This is mainly because clients are not too knowledgeable about insurance products. This lack of knowledge makes vulnerable to exploitation by insurance advisors. It is the duty of the regulator of insurance to ensure adequate protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. However, this may not be easily attainable in a jurisdiction like Lesotho where there is only one regulator for all financial institutions, the Central Bank of Lesotho. This more so because insurance is very complex as there are different persons and contracts involved. The client has to firstly deal with insurance advisors or intermediaries before an actual contract of insurance comes into existence. In Lesotho the insurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Act 18 of 1976. Although there are systems in place regarding the regulation of the insurance industry, they are not adequate nor guarantee effective protection of the clients. These measures are mainly focused on the relationship between the Commissioner and the insurance advisors and not the relationship between the insurance advisors and the clients. The ineffectiveness of the current regulatory framework in Lesotho was exposed by the MKM situation in 2007 which showed that clients in Lesotho are to a very large extent left unprotected against insurance advisors. Even the proposed Insurance Bill of 2013 which was meant to address problems not addressed by the Insurance Act, does not offer any assistance as it contains no provisions on the protection of clients. The problem with the legal framework in Lesotho is that does not address the most important of protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. This is also due to the fact that there is only one regulator for all financial institutions and this places a very burdensome duty on the Central Bank of Lesotho. In order to find solutions to this problem, a comparative study based on literature was done between Lesotho and South Africa. This is because South Africa on the other hand is more advance. The current legal framework in South Africa ensures the protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. The non-banking institutions such as insurance advisors are regulated by the Financial Services Board. There are systems in place in South Africa regulating the conduct of insurance advisors towards clients. The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act is one of the measures in place meant to ensure that those who render advice are fit and proper by requiring them, amongst others, to be in possession of relevant academic qualifications and operational ability to dispose of their duties in terms of the Act. This is different from the position in Lesotho where the only piece of legislation regulating the insurance advisors is the Insurance Act. Furthermore, by virtue of section 2B of the General Proclamation of 1884, the common law of South Africa is applicable in Lesotho so it is important to examine the changes that South Africa has made to it common law on which Lesotho mostly relies. The results show that the clients in Lesotho are to a very large extent left unprotected against insurance advisors as the current legal framework offers them no protection. The legal framework in South Africa on the other hand affords clients more protection. However, economic position of Lesotho it would not be ideal to take all measures applicable in South Africa and apply them to Lesotho as they are. Based on these findings recommendations made include that the Commissioner must engage in consumer education to ensure that clients know about their rights in dealings with insurance advisors. Another recommendation made is that the current legal framework be amended to include provisions relating to the protection of clients. It is also recommended that the Central Bank of Lesotho is well equipped to deal with matters relating to the protection of clients. / LLM (Estate Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors is very important. This is mainly because clients are not too knowledgeable about insurance products. This lack of knowledge makes vulnerable to exploitation by insurance advisors. It is the duty of the regulator of insurance to ensure adequate protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. However, this may not be easily attainable in a jurisdiction like Lesotho where there is only one regulator for all financial institutions, the Central Bank of Lesotho. This more so because insurance is very complex as there are different persons and contracts involved. The client has to firstly deal with insurance advisors or intermediaries before an actual contract of insurance comes into existence. In Lesotho the insurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Act 18 of 1976. Although there are systems in place regarding the regulation of the insurance industry, they are not adequate nor guarantee effective protection of the clients. These measures are mainly focused on the relationship between the Commissioner and the insurance advisors and not the relationship between the insurance advisors and the clients. The ineffectiveness of the current regulatory framework in Lesotho was exposed by the MKM situation in 2007 which showed that clients in Lesotho are to a very large extent left unprotected against insurance advisors. Even the proposed Insurance Bill of 2013 which was meant to address problems not addressed by the Insurance Act, does not offer any assistance as it contains no provisions on the protection of clients. The problem with the legal framework in Lesotho is that does not address the most important of protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. This is also due to the fact that there is only one regulator for all financial institutions and this places a very burdensome duty on the Central Bank of Lesotho. In order to find solutions to this problem, a comparative study based on literature was done between Lesotho and South Africa. This is because South Africa on the other hand is more advance. The current legal framework in South Africa ensures the protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. The non-banking institutions such as insurance advisors are regulated by the Financial Services Board. There are systems in place in South Africa regulating the conduct of insurance advisors towards clients. The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act is one of the measures in place meant to ensure that those who render advice are fit and proper by requiring them, amongst others, to be in possession of relevant academic qualifications and operational ability to dispose of their duties in terms of the Act. This is different from the position in Lesotho where the only piece of legislation regulating the insurance advisors is the Insurance Act. Furthermore, by virtue of section 2B of the General Proclamation of 1884, the common law of South Africa is applicable in Lesotho so it is important to examine the changes that South Africa has made to it common law on which Lesotho mostly relies. The results show that the clients in Lesotho are to a very large extent left unprotected against insurance advisors as the current legal framework offers them no protection. The legal framework in South Africa on the other hand affords clients more protection. However, economic position of Lesotho it would not be ideal to take all measures applicable in South Africa and apply them to Lesotho as they are. Based on these findings recommendations made include that the Commissioner must engage in consumer education to ensure that clients know about their rights in dealings with insurance advisors. Another recommendation made is that the current legal framework be amended to include provisions relating to the protection of clients. It is also recommended that the Central Bank of Lesotho is well equipped to deal with matters relating to the protection of clients. / LLM (Estate Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

In order for the innovation process to be successful, not only do innovations need to be developed and reached the market, but, once they are available for users, they have to spread on a large scale. In the innovation literature, a complete explanation is lacking of why some innovations reach a phase of large-scale diffusion faster than others, including both actor- and system-level components. For instance, what drives and hinders adopters to decide to adopt the innovation on the actor and system levels, and how adopters who participate in the largescale diffusion handle the adoption process and the implementation of the innovation, are questions still unanswered. As a consequence, it remains unclear how the large-scale diffusion process can be facilitated and speeded up. This thesis addresses these issues by studying the case of renewable electricity (RE) innovations. After decades of technology development and improvements, RE innovations are now mature enough to be bought off-the-shelf by individuals and organizations. Yet, the pace of their large-scale diffusion is still too slow for countries to reach their RE generation targets and to limit global warming. Through qualitative and quantitative methods including 59 semi-structured interviews with adopters, project developers and experts in Sweden, France and Germany as well as a survey sent to the whole population of RE adopters in Sweden, an adopter perspective is taken in order to explore the adoption dynamics shaping large-scale diffusion of innovation. More specifically, the thesis identifies the drivers and challenges of adoption during large-scale diffusion and their impact on adoption decisions and strategies. The outcome of this work is presented in a compiling synthesis and six appended papers. Findings show that adopters are heterogeneous with regard to their characteristics, as well as to the drivers, challenges and strategies that affect their adoption processes. Depending on their perceptions, some adopters are more influenced by drivers and challenges than others and, as a consequence, adopters base their adoption decisions on different motives and follow different strategies to implement the innovation. Moreover, the results suggest that the dynamics that occur during the large-scale diffusion process does not only come from the actor level and the level of the system where the largescale diffusion takes place, but also from parallel systems, which are related to adopters and their contexts, including both the social networks and the industries they primarily belong. This makes adopters the central drivers of the innovation diffusion process and this distinguishes the dynamics of large-scale diffusion from the dynamics of innovation development and early diffusion, in which the innovation is the central component. Based on the findings about the adoption dynamics shaping large-scale diffusion, the thesis raises the need to consider large-scale diffusion as part of a new system, different from the innovation system and that acknowledges the specificities of this process. A tentative model accounting for the central role of adopters and for the interactions between adopters, the diffusion system and parallel systems is introduced. Finally, the implications of these findings for policy makers and managers are put forward. In particular, there is a need for policies acknowledging adopters’ heterogeneity as well as the new challenges of large-scale diffusion. Strategies developed by adopters can be a source of inspiration for policy-makers, who can for instance promote the use of intermediaries, of adopters’ task environment and networks, as well as the formation of coalitions among adopters.

of the thesis The subject of my thesis is existing shortcomings in regulation of insurance mediation and possible ways of their rectification. Its first introductory chapter explains who insurance intermediaries are and how significant role they play in distribution of insurance products and specifies the scope of the thesis, its aims and methods. The second chapter is devoted to the legal regulation of insurance mediation adopted at the level of European Union and its aspects. It provides a brief description of history of the EU regulation of insurance mediation and more detailed description of its recent state represented by the Insurance Mediation Directive. The third chapter of the thesis deals with the legal regulation of insurance mediation adopted at the Czech national level, which is represented by the Act on insurance intermediaries and independent loss adjusters and respective decree of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic. In the fourth chapter I summarize the existing shortcomings in legal regulation of insurance mediation both at EU and Czech level which I have identified on basis of legal literature specialized on this topic, comparison of Czech national regulation with its European model as well as my own analysis, and make proposals how to possibly rectify the existing...

In Chapter 1, I hypothesize that there is a differential response by agents to changes in sovereign credit or default risk in both quiet (low default risk) and turbulent markets (high default risk). These market conditions create two different states of the market (world) or regimes. Investors and policy makers respond differently in the two regimes but the response in the turbulent market condition is amplified as policy makers attempt to smoothen the fluctuations and uncertainty while investors rebalance their portfolios in an attempt to hedge against downside risk of wealth loss. In the two regimes, the short run and long run dynamic relationships between any two cointegrated assets may change. To capture this phenomenon, this study tests for nonlinearities that may characterize the regimes, how cointegration relationships, short term dynamic interaction and price discovery (speed of adjustment to new information between two assets) may change in alternative regimes. To this end, I employ threshold cointegration, threshold vector error correction model (TVECM) asymmetrical return spillover modeling for sovereign credit default swaps (CDS), bonds and equity markets of seventeen emerging markets from four geographical regions. I find that there is non-linear cointegration and momentum in long-run adjustment process in 43/51 spreads analyzed. All countries analyzed have at least 2/6 possible regime specific asymmetric price discovery process. The study also finds evidence in support of asset substitution hypothesis and news-based hypothesis of financial contagions in sovereign CDS, bond and equity markets. The findings have important implications for asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing decisions by investors, policy intervention in financial markets, risk management and regime specific short and/or long term dynamic interactions among assets held in a portfolio as well as nonlinear speed of adjustment to new information. In chapter 2, I hypothesize that financial intermediaries can be categorized into bank-based institutions (BBIs) and market-based institutions (MBIs). MBIs and BBIs are under different regulatory agencies. Traditionally, only BBIs, regulated by the Fed, are used as conduits of transmitting liquidity and monetary policy into real economy and financial markets yet MBIs also play important role in providing liquidity and stability in financial markets. I use two tools of monetary policy (Federal fund rate and monetary aggregate) under two monetary policy regimes to investigate the impact of monetary policy under each regime on the liquidity of MBIs and BBIs. I investigate whether MBIs be used as conduits of transmitting monetary policy and liquidity in the market and if they should, under what economic and financial conditions (Regimes) should they be used. Moreover, what monetary policy tool is more effective for MBIs relative to BBIs under different regimes? Using Threshold vector auto-regressions and regime specific impulse response functions, I find that liquidity of BBIs and MBIs respond differently to different monetary policy tools under different regimes. Moreover, monetary policies are uncertain and vary over time. The Fed cannot continue to ignore MBIs in formulating and implementing monetary policy. Moreover, monetary aggregate policy is more effective when used on MBIs during contractionary monetary policy intervention (economic downturn) while Federal fund rate is more effective when used on BBIs under expansionary monetary policy.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / South Africa is committed to accelerating the roll-out of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support development at all levels. E-inclusion intermediaries (e-IIs) are used in the country to bridge the digital divide and to create equal opportunities for citizens to benefit from using ICTs. E-IIs are established mainly in under-resourced communities by private, public and third-sector organisations to provide physical access to ICT services for free or at a very low cost. The aim of e-IIs is to make ICT services affordable for and accessible to marginalised and poor community members, who can use the ICT to support community development. The debate is ongoing regarding the contribution of e-IIs towards community development due to, in part, the lack of quantifiable evidence to support the impact that the e-IIs have on development in the communities. Furthermore, despite the existence of e-IIs in communities, there still are community members who do not use the e-IIs. This has been attributed to the lack of awareness of the e-IIs and the services they provide. This lack of awareness is often blamed on the ineffective communication strategies of e-IIs. E-IIs are accused of relying heavily on traditional communication channels and conventional mass media, which do not share information and create awareness effectively in the communities. The increased uptake of modern technologies, such as the Internet and mobile devices, in South Africa has created new opportunities to communicate with community members to share information and create awareness. Social media, for instance, which are mostly accessed through mobile devices, have made communication more accessible and inexpensive for community members with limited skills and resources. Social media have also become popular among development actors in their attempt to direct policy, create awareness and garner community members’ support for development interventions. Arguably, e-IIs could also benefit from using social media, which have become popular in some communities, to communicate with community members in order to create awareness of the e-IIs, the services they provide and the benefits of using ICTs to support community development. The investigation undertaken in this study was twofold. Firstly, the quick-scan analysis method was used to analyse fifty e-IIs. Using this method it was possible to explore the services that are provided by e-IIs as well as how e-IIs communicate with community members and other development actors. Secondly, using six in-depth case studies this study further investigated how e-IIs’ services support community development and how the e-IIs communicate for development, paying special attention to their use of social media.