CIRM's Health Microinsurance Forum 2011 on video
The Centre for Insurance and Risk Management (CIRM) organised a two day forum on ‘Health Microinsurance’, which took place in July in India. This forum constitutes a platform to bring together innovators and leaders in the space of health microinsurance worldwide.
CIRM has made available videos of the various sessions and presentations including the panel discussion anchored by Jeanna Holtz from the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility and interesting experiences from sector experts such as Mr. Pragnesh Gor (Krupa), Mr. Sundeep Kapila (Swasth India), and Dr. Manjunath (SKDRDP).
Click here to watch videos
MIA calling for expressions of interest
The Micro Insurance Academy (MIA) in Bonn is the international office of the MIA family, which is a not-for-profit technical service provider in microinsurance. MIA is in the process of gradually increasing its team in Bonn, both through hiring new staff as well establishing a network of affiliated consultants.
MIA invites expressions of interest for employment and consultancy from candidates with experience in the following fields:
- Research - particularly impact, market studies;
- Microinsurance implementation or project management - health, agriculture, climate, property;
- Evaluation - ideally with experience in microinsurance;
- Fundraising/proposal writing;
- Public relations - German language skills required.
MIA also invites applications for internships particularly in research and proposal development. The minimum internship duration should be three months.
Interested candidates should submit their CVs here. Please note that receipt will not be confirmed, the CV will be kept in a database and contact will only be established when suitable opportunities arise.
Leapfrog invests in Indian-based financial services company
The Wall Street Journal, 8 September 2011
LeapFrog Investments, a USD 135 million social investment fund, unveiled a USD 15 million investment in a unit of Shriram Group, a Chennai-based financial services company, that is targeting the lower-end mass market with insurance.
Shriram Group already offers financing, insurance and retail brokerage services to the lower income masses across India. Now, through its unit, Shriram Capital, it plans to increase its life insurance coverage of up to USD 11,000, more than double the current USD 4,500, a vast amount for most of its target audience, for a monthly premium of up to USD 22.
"It's very difficult for societies to develop without the ability to transfer risk," says Jim Roth, co-founder of LeapFrog. Insurance, he believes, is key for that.
But Mr. Roth is also clear that such a business needs to make a profit. "If we don't make a profit, this is not going to be sustainable," he said. "We don't make a big margin on each client, but we look at a large number, a large base. And in India where only 2% of [our target audience] has insurance, the potential is huge."
G.S. Sundararajan, managing director of Shriram Capital, says they are targeting people with an average annual income of USD 2,500. "The typical Indian psyche doesn't take insurance, especially at the lower income group where they have a tough time making ends meet," he said.
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MicroEnsure hopes to extend distribution in Africa
FontlineSMS:Credit, 1 September 2011
Microinsurance policies have been designed with viability and ease of distribution in mind; client-centric design is a luxury that most providers haven’t yet been able to breach. Instead, simplicity is the rule—a fair and necessary condition in the provision of financial services, but a the head of MicroEnsure’s Kenya office has recently shed light on the potential for mobile payments to set microinsurance free, both in terms of distribution and product design.
What if, instead of packaging microinsurance as an add-on product, potential customers could purchase stand-alone policies with no frills attached? Some of this is happening already, in the form of one-off policies that can be purchased from retailers’ shelves along with one’s weekly groceries. And already, two mobile insurance products offered by MicroEnsure Ghana in partnership with Tigo and MTN have doubled insurance penetration in the country.
Ms. Kate Waiganjo of MicroEnsure dreams of going two steps further. With mobile money and SMS registration, she envisions a new model by which individuals could opt to purchase life or other insurance schemes as and when they see fit. No longer would they have to belong to a savings or credit group to do so, nor would their options be limited to a one-size-fits-all product. The introduction of mobile payments would allow individuals to pay in instalments, with the possibility of increasing levels of coverage as they go.
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