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Background information on Bajaj Allianz, India
Thilo Kunzemann, 9 June 2009
Allianz Knowledge has uploaded a new article on the Bajaj Allianz product that combines life insurance and savings. People in rural parts of India have few means of putting aside money for future investments. Realizing this need, Bajaj Allianz started offering a savings life insurance.
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MicroEnsure wins FT Sustainable Banking Award 2009
MicroEnsure, a Microinsurance Network member, has won the FT Sustainable Banking Award in Achievement in Basic Needs Financing. The awards, organised by the Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, were announced at a ceremony in London on 4 June attended by more than 250 senior bankers and decision makers in the field of sustainability.
MicroEnsure was selected from 165 entries from 117 institutions in 42 countries entered in five award categories. The judges in the Achievement in Basic Needs Financing category were looking for innovative programmes with significant social, environmental, and financial benefits that can be replicated in the developing world.
The MicroEnsure submission was based on its pioneering development of weather index crop insurance in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. 70% of the global poor are rural and agriculture is a mainstay of rural livelihoods. Smallholder farmers in the developing world often find it difficult or impossible to access credit because lenders view them as too high risk. Weather index crop insurance provides a safety net that protects farmers from the financial risks associated with adverse weather conditions such as drought, excess water, or even typhoons. But it has the benefit of enabling secure extension of credit for the purchase of quality farm inputs such as drought-resistant seed and fertilizer.
The mechanism is very simple, easy to administer, and has an automatic payout process that makes it appropriate and affordable for poor farmers. With improved farm inputs, farmers achieve higher yields, often 200% plus, higher incomes, diversification into cash crops, and non-crop revenue streams.
There are also social benefits including higher living standards, opportunities for saving, and better education. MicroEnsure has piloted crop insurance schemes in Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, India, and the Philippines, covering a variety of crops including rice, maize, and tomatoes. The aim now is to continue geographical expansion, cover a wider range of crops, and achieve significant global scale.
More information: www.microensure.com
GTZ are laying the groundwork for the development of health insurance for the poor in Manila
BusinessWorld Online, 3 June 2009
Dante Portula, GTZ Senior Finance Adviser, said this is in line with the GTZ’s Microinsurance Innovations Program for Social Security (MIPSS), which seeks to provide poor households social security by encouraging insurers to cover low-income households.
"The GTZ will be providing expertise, resources and modules [to insurers] to create public awareness about microinsurance. This will also involve product development. GTZ will teach them to adjust their products to allow them to provide service to the poor," he said during the inauguration of the GTZ’s office yesterday in Manila."
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See also article in Philstar.com, 5 June 2009
UAE based PlaNET Finance plans to introduce credit life product in the region
Zawya, 31 May 2009
Through PlaNet Guarantee, a company specialised in the distribution of micro-insurance products, the group intends to spread micro-insurance facilities in several Mena countries. The company has a tie up with the global insurance company Allianz and successfully implemented a microinsurance scheme in Egypt.
Under PlaNet Finance's tie up with Allianz, it is providing microinsurance schemes for the first time in Middle East in Egypt, where premium rates are as low as $1 and cover loans of $1,500 (Dh5,509) to $2,000 availed by micro entrepreneurs.
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Read related article in Emirates Business 24/7, 31 May 2009
CGAP launches new look Microfinance Gateway with Microinsurance Hot Topic
The Microfinance Gateway is the most comprehensive online resource for the global microfinance community. The website features research and publications, original articles, organization and consultant profiles, and the latest industry announcements, news, events, and job opportunities.
This online resource, which is provided as a service by CGAP, has received a new look. Microinsurance is one of the website's Hot Topics, where you can find, for example, the latest publications, a glossary and FAQs.
Visit the Microinsurance Hot Topic pages
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