By Michael J. McCord, Roland Steinmann and Molly Ingram; published by Deutche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Munich Re Foundation; 2012; 11 pages; available at: http://www.microinsurancecentre.org/resources/documents/doc_download/918-briefing-note-the-landscape-of-microinsurance-in-africa-2012.html
This report presents an analysis of the status and characteristics of the microinsurance industry in Africa.
“MILK Brief #18: Doing the Math with Property Microinsurance in Coastal Colombia;” by Barbara Magnoni and Derek Poulton; published by Microinsurance Centre; October 2012; 2 pages; available at: http://www.microinsurancecentre.org/milk-project/milk-docs/doc_details/914-condensed-milk-18-doing-the-math-with-property-microinsurance-in-coastal-colombia.html
The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the issuer of government identity cards in Pakistan, reportedly has designated the government-owned State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan as the low bidder in a procurement process through which NADRA will fund accidental death insurance for all Pakistani citizens.
By Premasis Mukherjee, Rosalind Piggot and Sunil Bhat; published by MicroSave; December 2012; 63 pages; available at: http://www.microsave.org/sites/default/files/research_papers/Securing_the_Silent_MI_Report.pdf
This paper examines the microinsurance industry in India, specifically the industry for life and health microinsurance.
“A Guide to Regulation and Supervision of Microfinance;” by Robert Peck Christen, Kate Lauer, et al; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); October 2012; 120 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/publications/guide-regulation-and-supervision-microfinance
Event Name: Africa Microinsurance Microfinance Conference 2013
Event Date: March 26-28, 2013
Event Location: Accra, Ghana
Out of concern that the policy has hindered financial inclusion, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), India’s insurance regulator, will no longer require written confirmation from banks as proof of residence from those seeking to purchase microinsurance products.
Beema Samiti, the insurance regulatory authority of Nepal, reportedly plans to introduce an Agriculture and Livestock Insurance Directive making it obligatory for non-life insurance companies to offer insurance policies on crops, livestock and poultry.
“Pathways Towards Greater Impact: Better Microinsurance Models, Products and Processes for MFIs;” by Craig Churchill, Aparna Dalal and Josh Ling; published by International Labour Organization; November 2012; 52 pages; available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/mifacility/download/mpaper18_models.pdf
Event Name: 4th Latin America Microinsurance Summit
Event Date: March 18 – March 21, 2013
Event Location: Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel and Towers, Mexico City, Mexico
“Current Trends in Cross-Border Funding for Microfinance;” by Estelle Lahaye and Ralitsa Rizvanolli; published by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor); December 2012; 4 pages; available at: http://www.cgap.org/sites/default/files/Brief-Current-Trends-in-Cross-Border-Funding-for-Microfinance-Nov-2012.pdf
At a recent “Roundtable on Microinsurance” held in Karachi, Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), in concert with the Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening (FIRST) Initiative, a program of the World Bank that funds technical assistance for financial sectors in low- and middle-income countries, released a diagnostic report on the demand for and supply of microinsurance in the country.
The Ghanaian arm of MicroEnsure UK, a microinsurance intermediary and subsidiary of US-based nonprofit Opportunity International, recently unveiled Edusave, a savings-linked life insurance and education finance product.
The Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), a project of the German re-insurance company Munich Re, and EC Global Insurance, a subsidiary insurance arm of the St. Lucia-based East Caribbean Financial Holding Group, recently unveiled a microinsurance product “Livelihood Protection Policy” (LPP).Speaking at the product launch, Leathon Khan, CEO of EC Global, reportedly noted, “This is for us a very proud accomplishment and a very proud moment in our continued development as a very innovative and forward thinking insurance provider. We really appreciate the positive response from the regulators and we can now move forward very confidently to offer this product to the public. This is a socially responsible investment in our people.”
Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO), a reinsurance company based in Barbados that provides tropical storm and earthquake reinsurance to microinsurance schemes, is due to make a payout of an undetermined amount to Fonkoze, a Haitian microfinance institution, to help its borrowers, who are largely female microentrepreneurs, recover from Hurricane Sandy, which struck the country in November.
This morning, representatives of Luxembourg-based nonprofit Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) and the Red Centroamericana y del Caribe de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF), a network of seven national microfinance networks, presented their progress to date on their joint effort to promote product innovation and capacity building among microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The partnership, which was launched earlier in 2012, has a budget of EUR 5.5 million (USD 7 million) to be disbursed over a period of 4.5 years. The organizations have completed a survey of client needs in the region and have dedicated approximately 15 percent of the project budget to support networks in becoming self-sufficient, including through a fund to support national networks in developing products they can sell to their member MFIs.
A recent study being released this week by Making Finance Work For Africa (MFW4A), an initiative that aims to coordinate financial sector development among African governments, and Munich Re Foundation, the charitable arm of the German reinsurance company, indicates the microinsurance market in Africa has grown by 200 percent in the past 3 years.
Applied Industrial Logic (AIL), UK-based information technology company specializing in serving the insurance market, recently informed MicroCapital that it is currently building OpenQuote 2.0, an open-source software package with features intended to be of particular interest to microinsurance firms including microinsurance-specific policy administration, claims management, reporting and distribution channel support.