Opportunity International, a US-based development nonprofit, and its subsidiary MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, have announced the launch in Malawi of a savings-linked education insurance product called EduSave.
Category: Microinsurance
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Poverty Scorecard for Nicaragua, Financial Inclusion in Russia, Health Microinsurance in India
“A Simple Poverty Scorecard for Nicaragua;” by Mark Schreiner; January 2013; 189 pages; available at http://www.microfinance.com/English/Papers/Scoring_Poverty_Nicaragua_2009_EN.pdf
This document introduces an “easy-to-use” poverty scorecard based on household expenditure data from Nicaragua’s 2009 Living Standards Measurement Survey.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure to Retail “Triple 10” Microinsurance in the Philippines
MicroEnsure, a UK-based nonprofit microinsurance intermediary, has partnered with Bankers Assurance Corporation, a Filipino for-profit insurance company, and MI Central Corporation, a Filipino marketing and distribution company, to roll out a retail microinsurance product called Triple 10 in the Philippines.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ears Earth Environment Monitoring of the Netherlands Offers Climate-based Crop Microinsurance System FESA Free to Microinsurance Retailers in Africa
Ears Earth Environment Monitoring Limited, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based remote sensing company Ears Holding, is offering its Food Early Solutions for Africa (FESA) microinsurance system free of charge to microinsurance providers.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “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, Microinsurance Innovation Facility
By Craig Churchill, Aparna Dalal and Josh Ling; published by International Labour Organization, Microinsurance Innovation Facility; 2013; 8 pages; available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/mifacility/download/brnote15_en.pdf
This paper examines the challenges faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs) that provide microinsurance products to low-income individuals and businesses.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Survey: Two Thirds of Poor Insured South Africans Choose Funeral Microinsurance
A study by Ikapadata, a South Africa-based data collection company, indicates that 20 percent of South Africans with low incomes have formal health insurance while 66 percent have no formal insurance at all, excluding those who receive coverage from their employers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Women’s World Banking (WWB) Partners with Australia’s AusAID on Microinsurance, 90k Jordanians Reached by Microfund for Women
The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), an agency of the federal government of Australia, reportedly has pledged its support to Women’s World Banking (WWB), a US-based nonprofit microfinance network, to assist with the expansion of international microinsurance services.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uganda’s Insurance Regulator, Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A), Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) Seek to Expand Access to Microinsurance, Perhaps Mobile Money
The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), Uganda’s insurance industry regulator, reportedly is partnering with Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A), a multilateral platform that aims to coordinate financial sector activities among African governments, and the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), a global program hosted by Germany’s international cooperation agency (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), to create regulation that make access to microinsurance more efficient, mainly for low-income earners.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) Plans Policy Framework to Regulate Microinsurance
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the county’s central bank, is reportedly planning to draft a policy framework to regulate the microinsurance industry.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: China Requires Provinces to Purchase Medical Insurance for Farmers Through Private Providers
The Chinese government reportedly is requiring provincial governments to purchase commercial health insurance for farmers through the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS), a social security program run independently by each province and funded by the central government, local governments, farmers’ cooperatives and families.
MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: The Role of Business in Society; Life Microinsurance in Mexico; Social Performance Report for India
“Invisible Giants;” by Lindsay Levin; published by Vala Publishing; March 2013; 176 pages, available for purchase at: http://vala.wazala.com/?page=product_det&id=112381
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SKS Microfinance Fined $92k for Collecting Improper Fees as Agent of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the insurance regulator of India, recently issued Indian microfinance institution (MFI) SKS Microfinance a fine of INR 5 million (USD 91,800) for collecting corporate insurance agent fees beyond the premium price.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Microinsurance Product Development for Microinsurance Providers;” by Michael J. McCord; published by Microfinance Centre, Microinsurance Centre, International Fund for Agricultural Development
By Michael J. McCord; published by the Microfinance Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, the Microinsurance Centre and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); 2012; 124 pages; available at: http://www.ifad.org/ruralfinance/wrmf/manual.pdf
In this manual, Mr. McCord proposes a “systematic new-product development process” for the microinsurance market.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: 7-Eleven to Sell Microinsurance in Thailand
7-Eleven, a convenience store subsidiary of Japan-based retail group Seven and I Holdings, reportedly has been licensed to sell microinsurance policies in Thailand.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinsurance Network Expects Industry to Double, Reaching 1b Customers by 2020
The Microinsurance Network, a nonprofit membership organization in Luxembourg that aims to expand access to insurance services for low-income people around the world, has stated that it expects the global microinsurance industry to double its reach by 2020 to serve 1 billion customers.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: National Insurance Commission of Ghana Announces New Regulatory Regime, New Book Released on Promoting Microinsurance in the Country
The National Insurance Commission (NIC) of Ghana, the country’s regulatory authority for the industry, reportedly has announced a new set of regulations that aims to formalize and facilitate the sale of microinsurance products.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) to Donate $2m to Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organization (MiCRO) of Barbados, Insurer to Haiti’s Fonkoze
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group, recently announced plans to donate USD 1.96 million to the Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organization (MiCRO), a Barbados-based company that was established in 2011.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Launches Weather-index Microinsurance in Khushab, Chakwal
The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), a public-private partnership, reportedly has launched a weather-indexed microinsurance pilot project covering crop and livestock in the districts of Khushab and Chakwal.