MicroEnsure plans to increase activities in the Philippines
Philstar, 18 May 2010
Insurance intermediary MicroEnsure Philippines has set its sight on P180 million ($4 million) worth of life and non-life insurance premiums this year, after producing P140 million ($3 million) in premiums last year.
MicroEnsure Philippines head, William Martirez, claims that they have a client base of 1.4 million from six groups made up of microfinance institutions (MFIs), cooperatives, non-government organisations (NGOs) and rural banks.
Martirez explained that they offer low-cost insurance products designed to match the needs and financial capabilities of the lower income groups.
“Our aim is to achieve sustainability for insurance companies, product distributors, clients, and our own efforts. To distribute our products, we form partnership with organisations that are currently serving the poor such as MFIs, cooperatives and rural banks,” he explained.
Since MicroEnsure Philippines is an intermediary and not licensed to write policies, it forged working relationships with Malayan Insurance Co. Inc., the leading non-life insurance provider in the Philippines, and the Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. (Grepalife), one of the country’s leading life insurers.
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MIA seeks to fill two vacancies
The Micro Insurance Academy (MIA) is currently looking for two individuals for the following positions which are based in Delhi, India:
- Experienced Drupal developer
MIA are seeking an experienced and flexible Drupal theme designer to take the PDF or Corel Draw file and make it into a drupal theme.
- Training specialist
The applicant will deal with all matters related to the Academy’s training activities and will report to the Deputy Director of Training.
About the Micro Insurance Academy: MIA is a leading institution in New Delhi, India dedicated to training, research, and advisory services for microinsurance units serving the poor.
Call for Proposal: 3rd round of microinsurance research grants
The Microinsurance Innovation Facility and the European Development Research Network (EUDN) invite academic researchers to submit proposals for research that will contribute to new knowledge and support microinsurance development in developing countries.
Deadline for submission: 30 September 2010 12:00 (CET)
Click here for more details
Large reinsurance company joins DID on project in Sri Lanka
Developpement International Desjardins, 11 May 2010
Swiss Re, one of the world's leading reinsurance company, and Developpement International Desjardins (DID) have recently joined with the SANASA Group and the SANASA Insurance Company in Sri Lanka to set up a new index-based crop insurance system for Sri Lankan farmers.
The project to develop an index-based crop insurance system in Sri Lanka has financial support from the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility until 2012. It has a potential market of nearly 400,000 farmers when fully implemented.
One of the major players in the area of agricultural sector solutions, Swiss Re has played an active role since 2003 in the creation and testing of more than 15 innovative farm microinsurance schemes in various countries in Africa, the Americas and Asia.
Insurance is one of the main working groups organised by DID in the area of microfinance. Relying on the extensive experience of specialised subsidiaries with the Desjardins Group, DID is helping improve accessible and easily available insurance products.
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LeapFrog fund achieves record close of $137 million
PRNewswire, 6 May 2010
LeapFrog Investments announced its final close on $137 million for investments in Africa and Asia - a record amount that makes LeapFrog the largest investor in microinsurance worldwide. The fund announced major new investors including J.P. Morgan, TIAA-CREF, and Proparco as well as the Waterloo Foundation and the ACE Group.
"As leaders from around the world and across sectors gather here at IFC headquarters," said Andrew Kuper, President and Founder of LeapFrog, "we mark a historic moment: the birth of a new social-purpose asset class that will generate profits for investors while lifting tens of millions out of poverty."
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Microinsurance regulation and supervision conferences
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) are organising two events that will take place in Berlin, Germany. The conferences are co-organised by the Access to Insurance Initiative:
- 3 May 2010: International Conference: Enabling Microinsurance Markets: Overcoming the challenges for the insurance industry, regulators and supervisors;
- 4 May 2010: Expert Round Table for Insurance Supervisors on the G20 Financial Inclusion Process.
Click here for more details or view events in calendar
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