MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Airtel Ghana, MicroEnsure, Enterprise Life Roll Out Free Mobile Accident Insurance in Ghana

Airtel Ghana, a subsidiary of Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel; MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance company founded by US-based Opportunity International; and Enterprise Life, an insurance company that is part of Ghana-based Enterprise Group, recently announced that 100,000 Airtel Ghana customers have registered for Airtel Insurance. The three companies partnered to launch Airtel Insurance at the beginning of 2014. This product is free for Airtel customers who use GHS 5 (USD 1.7) or more in airtime credit per month and covers accidental permanent disability and hospitalization. The amount of coverage ranges from GHS 525 (USD 187) to GHS 5,150 (USD 1,830) based on the amount of money recharged to customers accounts each month. Policyholders can make claims through their phones and allegedly are paid within 3 business days of the time of the claim. The service is part of a planned 17-country rollout that was covered by MicroCapital in August 2013.

Bharti Airtel claimed approximately 287 million subscribers in 20 countries across Africa and Asia as of December 2013. MicroEnsure provides a range of products including health, life, property and index-based insurance to approximately 3.5 million clients in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean as of 2012. Enterprise Life was founded in 2000 by Enterprise Insurance Company (now Enterprise Group), a general insurance company in Ghana; African Life (now Sanlam Sky), a South African life insurance company; and the International Finance Corporation, a US-based multilateral development bank and member of the World Bank Group.

By Juan Blanco, Research Associate

About Bharti Airtel

Founded in 1995, Bharti Airtel (Airtel) is an Indian telecommunications company headquartered in New Delhi, India. Airtel operates Airtel Money, whereby users can transfer money, pay bills and perform financial transactions directly from their mobile phones. As of August 2012, Airtel’s total assets were at USD 636 billion. As of December 2013, Airtel claimed approximately 287 million subscribers in 20 countries across Africa and Asia.

About MicroEnsure

Formerly known as Micro Insurance Agency, MicroEnsure was founded in 2005 in the UK as a subsidiary of US-based nonprofit microfinance network Opportunity International. As of 2013, MicroEnsure is owned by members of its management as well as US-based NGO Omidyar Network and the World Bank Groups’ International Finance Corporation (IFC). As of 2012, MicroEnsure provides products including health, life, property and weather-index insurance to approximately 3.5 million clients in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

About Enterprise Life

Enterprise Life was founded in 2000 by Enterprise Insurance Company (now Enterprise Group), a general insurance company in Ghana; African Life (now Sanlam Sky), a South African life insurance company; and the International Finance Corporation,a US-based multilateral development bank and member of the World Bank Group. Enterprise Life provides life and accident insurance. Financial information on the company is unavailable.

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] Business Ghana, “Airtel Insurance Now Serves More Than 100,000 Customers in Ghana,” April 2014, http://www.businessghana.com/portal/news/index.php?op=getNews&id=197522

MicroCapital Story, April 17, 2014, “Airtel, MTN Group Partner to Provide Mobile Money Transfers Between Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-airtel-mtn-group-partner-to-provide-mobile-money-transfers-between-burkina-faso-ivory-coast/

MicroCapital Story, March 10, 2014, “Airtel Zambia to Include Life Insurance Coverage In Mobile Subscriber Plans,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-airtel-zambia-to-include-life-insurance-coverage-in-mobile-subscriber-plans/

MicroCapital Story, August 28, 2013, “Bharti Airtel, MicroEnsure Launch Mobile Microinsurance Service in Africa,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-bharti-airtel-microensure-launch-mobile-microinsurance-service-in-africa/

MicroCapital Story, October 10, 2013, “Airtel Kenya, MicroEnsure, Pan Africa Life Announce Launch of Mobile Life Insurance in Kenya,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-airtel-kenya-microensure-pan-africa-life-announce-launch-of-mobile-life-insurance-in-kenya/

MicroCapital Story, November 11, 2013, “MicroEnsure, Telenor Pakistan, Jubilee Life Insurance Company to Offer Free Life Insurance to Prepaid Mobile Customers in Pakistan,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microensure-telenor-pakistan-jubilee-life-insurance-company-to-offer-free-life-insurance-to-prepaid-mobile-customers-in-pakistan/

MicroCapital Story, April 7, 2012, “Airtel, UT Bank Launch Mobile Savings Product FONBank in Ghana,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-airtel-ut-bank-launch-mobile-savings-product-fonbank-in-ghana/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Bharti Airtel, http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bharti+Airtel

MicroCapital Universe Profiel: MicroEnsure, http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MicroEnsure

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