Costa Rican Legislature
Approves End To
Insurance Monopoly
Costa Rica is saying
goodbye to its
84-year-old insurance
monopoly, a monopoly
held by the Institutor
Nacional de Seguros
(INS), as it opens the
industry to national and
international
competition.
Lawmakers late Tuesday
approved second reading
of the legislation to
end the government-run
Insurance Institute.
President Oscar Arias is
expected to sign it into
law.
Last month, the Costa
Rican legislature
approved the end of the
telecommunications
monopoly held by the
Instituto Costarricense
de Electricidad (ICE).
The break of the
monopolies is in line
with the demands made by
Washington as part of
Costa Rica's
implementation of the
Central American Free
Trade Agreements (CAFTA)
or the Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) as it is
known locally, before
October 1, 2008.
The end of the INS and
ICE monopoly does not
mean the disappearance
of the state
institutions, to the
contrary, both
institutions have been
hard at work preparing
for the coming of
competition.
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