About Us
The Caribbean Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CARAIFA) is an umbrella organization of regional Life Underwriting associations whose members are engaged primarily in the sale of the products of Life Insurance and Financial Services companies. The name of the Association was changed in July 2000 from the Caribbean Association of Life Underwriters (CALU) to CARAIFA.
Member Territories include Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and our associate member territories are Guyana, St. Kitts and St. Maarten.
CARAIFA’s Mission/Purpose is to stimulate the educational and professional development of the Life Underwriter /Financial Advisor and foster a spirit of co-operation, togetherness and unity among the territories of the region while ensuring the upholding of high ethical industry standards.
Educational and Professional Development CARAIFA is continually exploring new avenues and programmes to improve the educational standing and level of the life underwriter/financial advisors throughout the region. To this end, we offer educational courses as well as Caribbean Insurance Industry Awards.
Throughout the years CARAIFA has been adjusting, and upgrading its education programme. At this time, the following programmes are being offered by CARAIFA:
- The Financial Services Certified Professional (FSCP), a designation programme
- The Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), a designation programme
CARAIFA is in the process of bringing on stream new courses and programmes to further develop its members.
CARAIFA has also established three industry production awards. These are the CARAIFA Activity Award – in which the emphasis is on activity that is cases settled, the CARAIFA Quality Award – in which the emphasis is on good quality business, and the CARAIFA President’s Award in which emphasis is placed on premium income. You can visit our website to download the application form.
CARAIFA is also in the process of recognizing top sales agents from its member associations on its website.
Our Genesis
In 1976 the National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU), which is based in the USA and with whom LUAJ was affiliated as Associate Member, increased its membership dues significantly. LUAJ’s President, Earle Anglin and a board member the late Owen Thompson visited NALU Headquarters to protest the increase in the dues but NALU was unbending.
Consequently the board of the LUAJ took the decision in August 1976 to withdraw its membership from NALU and seek the formation of a regional Association.
CARAIFA may, however, very well trace its conception to a very passionate appeal for Caribbean unity made by the late Samial Jadoonanan of Trinidad and Tobago to about 400 underwriters who were attending LUAJ’s Biannual Sales Congress in Ocho Rios in May 1977.
During the Congress a small group of representatives from Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago met to discuss some of the points that were made by Samial Jadoonanan and they resolved to continue their discussions after the Congress, incorporating representation from the Life Underwriters Association of Barbados.
The first annual general meeting became a reality on October 31, 1977 in Guyana and present were representatives from Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago.
Vision
To be the regional unifying organization that continuously and effectively anticipates and satisfies the needs of its members and customers through the harmonious process of profitable relationships among all shareholders in the Insurance and Financial Services Sectors for their mutually sustainable growth and development.
Mission
CARAIFA fosters: cooperation, interaction, togetherness and unity among members of the Life Insurance and Financial Service industry in the Caribbean; through its educational courses, annual congresses, meetings and programmes.
We are committed to viability, continuous growth, and development, as well as improving the public image of our members and industry’s high ethical standards, monitoring marketing practices, and pursuing this mission with competence and integrity, to provide maximum service to our membership.
