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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

“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 Continue Reading »

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 Continue Reading »

“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 Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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.” Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

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. Continue Reading »

The Ministry of Health of Vietnam and Vietnam Social Insurance, a government-funded organization that offers insurance to workers, reportedly will issue health insurance cards free of charge to families living close to or below the poverty line. Continue Reading »

Grameen Koota, a India-based microfinance division of Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (GFSPL), plans to expand into housing microfinance in areas of rural India that have limited microfinance institution (MFI) penetration. Continue Reading »

Event Name: 3rd Annual Microinsurance Conference

Event Date: January 22 – January 24, 2013

Event Location: The Wanderers Club, Ilovo, Johannesburg, South Africa
Continue Reading »

Government Savings Bank (GSB), a government-owned bank providing personal and corporate services in Thailand, reportedly plans to offer new microfinance products and otherwise expand services in advance of the anticipated 2015 launch of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC). Continue Reading »

Appui au Developpement Autonome (ADA), a Luxembourg-based nonprofit organisation, recently partnered with Confédération des Institutions Financières (CIF), a Burkina-Faso-based association of six West African savings cooperatives, to implement microinsurance projects across five countries in West Africa. Continue Reading »

YuMobile, a Kenyan mobile phone service provider; MicroEnsure, a UK-based subsidiary of Opportunity International; and Jubilee Insurance, a Kenyan insurance provider, recently partnered to offer life and disability insurance called yuCover for yuMobile’s pre-pay subscribers. Continue Reading »