Scor invests in Leapfrog microinsurance fund
Microfinance Focus, 23 November 2009
Paris-based fund Scor has invested unspecified amount in social PE fund Leapfrog in a bid to gain ‘experience and expertise’ of the microinsurance sector, said a report. Online insurance news tracker ‘The Review’ said Leapfrog has been chosen by Scor after due diligence to invest in microinsurance companies in markets like India, Pakistan, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya.
Tom Brunner, Leapfrog’s general counsel said that Scor’s investment aimed to allow the re/insurer to gain ‘experience and expertise’ in the field of microinsurance. The target of the fund, when completed will be worth $100m. “The expectation is that the fund will be effective from a commercial perspective,” the report quoted him saying.
Scor said that the microinsurance sector was a market that had ‘the potential to expand very quickly’. “It represents more than one billion individuals without access to traditional insurance services such as life, health, disability or livestock insurance,” said a statement by the company. “Our investment in Leapfrog is a demonstration of its support of a socially-responsible sector such as microinsurance.”
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IDB's Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) develop new microinsurance strategy
The Interamerican Development Bank program 'Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF)' are currently in the process of developing a microinsurance strategy. Besides the importance of microinsurance itself, this topic is very timely. It comes to complete the tasks done so far in financial inclusion, which until recently were based almost exclusively on credit and savings, and therefore the insurance pillar was lacking.
In this process, MIF have been opening spaces for microinsurance and during the past FOROMIC they held a very interesting panel, and are now paving more the way through a series of articles posted in MicAmericas, and starting in January MIF will have a permanent blog in English and Spanish. For the time being MIF invites you to visit MicAmericas and read their first 3 short articles and post comments. Unfortunately, in this issue the articles are only in Spanish. However, if you are interested, you can always go to the Google language tools.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to click on the comment button below!
MicroEnsure and CARE announce new product
13 November 2009
MicroEnsure has announced the launch of its partnership with CARE International to sell voluntary funeral insurance to its Village Savings and Loan clients (VSLA) via community-based trainers (CBTs).
The interesting aspects of this project include:
- Extremely low income group – the VSLA is made up of rural women who save small amounts weekly and then allocate loans from the groups savings. Typically the loans are tens of dollars and so the ability to pay premiums is limited.
- Uses a group opt in or opt out to ensure that the clients receive education and have an opportunity to understand the product.
- The lack of a regular interface with the group (e.g. loan officer) and historical training to “never pay an outsider anything” posed challenges for how to economically collect premiums and disburse claims resulting in a field office being established by MicroEnsure to see whether the model could support specific sales infrastructure in a rural setting.
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Asia Insurance Industry Awards 2009
The 2009 Asia Insurance Industry “Personality of the Year” Award was bestowed upon Dr David Dror, Chairman of the Micro Insurance Academy, “for his groundbreaking research and study which has helped boost understanding of how the world’s poorest communities can benefit from microinsurance.”
This is the first time in the 13 year history of the Asia Insurance Industry Awards that microinsurance is recognized with such an honor, and MIA should be proud to be associated with this recognition of their microinsurance work by the mainstream of the insurance and reinsurance industry.
The award press release by the Asian Insurance Review highlights MIA’s “structured technical assistance to community-based insurance schemes”, and how MIA’s research activities are leveraged to adapting products and distribution channels in microinsurance.
Read full press release.
Strengthening Access to Insurance Initiative: GB announced
Microfinance Focus, 5 November 2009
The Access to Insurance Initiative announced that Jonathon Dixon, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Financial Services Board, South Africa and Ramesh Rai Bhattrai, Executive Director of Beema Samiti (Insurance Board), Nepal have been elected as the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Board. The board members include insurance supervisors from Brazil, Ghana and the sponsors of the Initiative CGAP, ILO, BMZ, Fin Mark Trust, IAIS Secretariat and GTZ.
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Hollard and MicroEnsure Partner to Launch World’s First Virtual Cell Captive
MicroEnsure and Hollard Insurance Group have announced a global partnership to launch the world’s first “virtual cell captive” in order to implement affordable insurance solutions in developing markets.
The virtual cell captive will utilise Hollard’s balance sheet to underwrite a range of health, life and weather index risk across Africa and Asia; enabling products like health and weather index to be offered where previously underwriting capacity was a major constraint on market development.
The partnership sees MicroEnsure, a world leading microinsurance intermediary and Hollard, one of the leading insurance innovators in the South African market with a growing international footprint, join forces to research, develop and offer a range of insurance products, tailor-made for people who would not ordinarily be able to afford insurance.
Click here for the press release
SAFOBS and Hollard Insurance Announce Partnership
The South African Federation of Burial Societies Co-operative Limited (SAFOBS) and Hollard have announced the signing of a partnership to create SAFOBS Insurance Services. SAFOBS Insurance Services will provide tailored, affordable and high quality insurance benefits for SAFOBS’ members countrywide.
SAFOBS is a secondary co-operative federation which seeks to unite, represent and serve its member-burial societies. In making the announcement on Saturday, SAFOBS General Secretary, Thulane Mabuza, said “This partnership takes SAFOBS to a new level in its ability to provide additional value for our members.
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