MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure, Telenor Pakistan, Jubilee Life Insurance Company to Offer Free Life Insurance to Prepaid Mobile Customers in Pakistan

The Pakistani arm of MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance intermediary, has announced the launch of “Talkshawk Mohafiz Zindagi Beema,” a free mobile life insurance service, in collaboration with Telenor Pakistan, a unit of Norway’s Telenor Group. The insurance will be provided by Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited, a Pakistani insurance provider [1]. The service is available to Telenor’s prepaid mobile phone customers whose airtime usage is a minimum of PKR 200 (USD 1.86) per month. The amount of monthly airtime usage will determine the level of coverage for the next month, with the compensation amount ranging from PKR 20,000 (USD 186) for customers using the minimum airtime to PKR 100,000 (USD 931) for customers using airtime of PKR 900 (USD 8.4) or more. Customers need to call to enroll in the service; enrollment does not require medical examination or paperwork.

As of 2012, MicroEnsure reported approximately 3.5 million clients in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. At the end of October 2012, Telenor Pakistan reported a subscriber base of 30 million. As of the same year, Telenor Group reported total assets of NOK 169 billion (USD 27.5 billion).

Jubilee Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of the Switzerland-based Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). Financial information on the company is not available.

By Nisha Koul, Research Associate

About MicroEnsure: MicroEnsure was founded in 2005 in the UK as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit microfinance network created in 1974. MicroEnsure was known as the Micro Insurance Agency until 2008. As an insurance intermediary, it provides a range of products including health, life, property and weather index- based insurance to approximately 3.5 million clients in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia as of 2012.

About Telenor Pakistan: Telenor Pakistan is fully owned by the Telenor Group, a Norwegian communication services provider operating in 12 countries and serves approximately 160 million mobile subscribers as of 2013. Telenor Pakistan began commercial operations in Pakistan on March 15, 2005. Telenor Pakistan acquired 51 percent of the shares of Tameer Microfinance Bank in November 2008. In 2009, it launched Easypaisa to offer branchless banking services. As of 2013, there are approximately 4 million Easypaisa users and 22,000 Easypaisa agents in 750 cities and towns in Pakistan. At the end of October 2012, Telenor Pakistan reported a subscriber base of 30 million.

About Telenor Group: Founded in 1855, Telenor Group is a telecommunications company based in Norway. As of 2013, Telenor Group provides mobile services in 12 countries and serves approximately 148 million subscribers.  For the year 2012, Telenor Group reported total assets of NOK 169 billion (USD 27.5 billion).

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] MicroEnsure News, “Telenor Pakistan introduces cellular industry’s first free insurance offering for its mobile customers,” http://www.microensure.com/news.asp?id=284&start=0

ProPakistani, “Telenor introduces free life insurance facility for prepaid subscribers,” http://propakistani.pk/2013/11/08/telenor-introduces-free-mobile-insurance-facility-for-prepaid-subscribers/

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, September 24, 2013, “Microfinance Providers in Pakistan Report 19.4% Increase in Savings, 5.55% Increase in Microinsurance Clients in Second Quarter of 2013,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-providers-in-pakistan-report-19-4-increase-in-savings-5-55-increase-in-microinsurance-clients-in-second-quarter-of-2013/

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, January 23, 2013, “Telenor Participates in Launch of MicroEnsure Asia, Opportunity International Sells Stakes in MicroEnsure to International Finance Corporation (IFC), Omidyar Network,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-telenor-participates-in-launch-of-microensure-asia-opportunity-international-sells-stakes-in-microensure-to-international-finance-corporation-ifc-omidyar-network/

MicroCapital Story, October 13, 2012, “YuMobile, MicroEnsure, Jubilee Insurance Partner to Offer Life, Disability Insurance to Mobile Subscribers in Kenya,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-yumobile-microensure-jubilee-insurance-partner-to-offer-life-disability-insurance-to-mobile-subscribers-in-kenya/

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

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

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Telenor Group, http://microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=telenor

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