SKS Microfinance raises $21.6 million via NCD route
Microfinance Focus, 23 February 2010
Hyderabad-based SKS Microfinance has raised Rs 100 crore by issuing Non Convertible Debentures worth Rs 500 million to insurance major Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Ltd. and commercial papers worth Rs 500 million to Religare Asset Management Company in the last three months. SKS hopes to raise Rs 5,000 million this year.
SKS Microfinance has been on a fundraising exercise by assigning rated pool, its weaker section portfolio, issuance of NCDs, Commercial Papers and listed debt securities etc.
Sashi Krishnan, CIO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Ltd., said, “We are delighted to invest in SKS. Bajaj Allianz supports the growth of the micro-insurance sector in India and one of the ways is to help the sector broaden its fund raising base to support its rapid growth.”
Source
Finding some good in 'bad old corporations'
Business Insurance, 22 February 2010
It's a bad time to be a big company. Bankers know this quite well, having been relegated by politicians and much of the world's media to a status only slightly higher than the Prince of Darkness. It was they, the argument goes, who got us into this economic mess.
Insurers have been able to deflect some of the criticism by shouting long and hard that they are not the same as banks. They argue that they collect money instead of loaning it to people who can't pay it back, and are far less inclined than banks to invest in products no one understands.
This article continues by examining the reputations of large international companies and how their negative persona in the world's media overshadows the positive effects these companies are having in emerging markets.
Read full article
Expanding insurance and regulation in Nepal
Himalayan News Services, 21 February 2010
The Insurance Board (IB), the insurance regulatory authority of Nepal, is including microinsurance as a key sector in the coming year and has included microinsurance in the proposed ‘Insurance Act-2009’ under clause 59 (C).
The draft act has been under discussion by stakeholders since January, and the board will be looking to develop microinsurance regulation after the promulgation of the Act.
Microinsurance is not a new concept for the Nepali insurance sector but it has not developed institutionally. Microfinance institutions, village-based cooperatives and non-governmental organizations have been practicing micro-insurance since 1995.
Read full article
Manulife's programme in Vietnam
The Globe and Mail, 19 February 2010
Manulife Financial Corp.'s customer service agent rolled up his pant-legs as the jungle path became increasingly muddy. Undaunted, he crossed a rickety little bridge made of sticks over a river of rushing brown water. Eventually he reached the customer's home in Tien Giang, and was invited into the small shack where he stood on the mud floor next to the family's rooster.
This is the future of Manulife, Canada's largest life insurer, which is stretching into the far reaches of Asia in search of long-term growth.
The company launched an experimental microinsurance program in Vietnam in September, an alliance with a women's co-operative union.
Read full article
The increasing trend of government-private health insurance
The Economist, 18 February 2010
Otto Von Bismarck believed that the ordinary worker "is unsure if he will always be healthy and he can predict that he will reach old age and be unable to work. If he falls into poverty, and be that only through prolonged illness, he will find himself totally helpless." So in 1883 Germany’s Iron Chancellor introduced a health-insurance law that required both companies and workers to contribute to the costs of care.
Until then health insurance had been essentially a voluntary affair. In many parts of Europe private non-commercial organisations (such as mutuals) had sold health insurance for centuries. Bismarck’s "social" insurance scheme found many imitators. Most of the world’s health care is financed directly by governments, but private insurance, which now makes up nearly a fifth of the total, looks set for a state-sponsored boom.
This article looks at how governments are increasingly turning to private insurance in order to widen access to health care and make it more efficient.
Read full article
PEGNet Conference 2010: Call for Papers
The Poverty Reduction, Equity, and Growth Network’s (PEGNet) conference 2010 on policies to foster and sustain equitable development in times of crises will be held at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Midrand, South Africa, 2-3 September 2010.
This conference sets about finding policies that reduce vulnerabilities of the poor to shocks, sustain the socioeconomic balance and promote development that is equitable in times of growth and crisis alike. We are interested in high-quality papers as well as innovative projects, including comparative works that provide new insights on the scope of Policies to foster and sustain equitable development in times of crises. One of the proposed sub-themes is Insurance Mechanisms.
Contributed papers and projects will be selected on the basis of papers or abstracts of about 500 words. Priority will be given to empirical research with clear implications for policy design and implementation. Furthermore, we encourage practitioners to present case studies and/or share their experiences from the field. Deadline for papers and Best Practice proposals is April 15.
Click here for more details
Over-regulations bocks development of microinsurance in Nigeria
Vanguard, 16 February 2010
Over-regulations in the insurance industry and regulations which overlap other sectors’ laws have all created barriers to the development and growth of microinsurance in the country, cliamed Prof Joe Irukwu, Insurance Law Review Committee Chairman, while delivering a paper entitled 'Microinsurance: Tracing the Possibilities, Tracking the Problems, and Tapping the Potentials' at the Stakeholders Interactive session in Abuja.
Irukwu who is an ardent believer in microinsurance said, “The over regulation of the industry in some jurisdictions constitute barriers to microinsurance, especially where it restricts foreign investment in the industry, which makes it difficult to transfer the know-how”.
Furthermore, he stated, “Overlapping regulations can create problems for microinsurance design and delivery. For example, different supervisors or regulators exercise some modicum of control over the same organisation”
Read full article
Kenyian insurance company launches credit life product
Business Daily Africa, 17 February 2010
Apollo Life Insurance in Kenya has launched a life and credit policy for microfinance borrowers that offers terminal benefits and pays the balance of the loan in case of death or permanent disability.
Members will also benefit from the additional terrorism and political violence cover that is included in the product.
The launch of a microinsurance product by a conventional insurance company marks a turning point in the growth of microinsurance services in Kenya whose entry is seen as critical in improving dismal insurance penetration
It also markets a unique partnership where the underwriter sells the product while the partner organisation, MircroEnsure, develops it and manages claims.
Read full article
Crop insurance: An overview of Bangladesh
The Financial Express, 15 February 2010
This article examines the unique situation of Bangladesh and its agricultural sector with regards to climate change and the capabilities of insuring the farmers.
During normal monsoon, 25-30% of the land area is flooded and in extreme case the area affected is nearly 70%. This is why Bangladesh, seen as the hardest hit by the climate change, will suffer most in the agriculture sector. Agriculture accounts for one quarter of Bangladesh's GDP and is the source of employment for more than 80 per cent of the rural population, 65% of them are directly related to agriculture. Another 15 to 20% are indirectly related to it. Rural people's 60 to 70% income is generated from agriculture; so, the food security and income of these farmers' good harvest and production has to be ensured.
Read full article
Philippines approves microinsurance for rural, cooperative and thrift banks
Business World, 14 February 2010
The poor may now buy microinsurance from rural, cooperative and thrift banks after these institutions were green-lighted by the central bank to serve as distributors.
In a statement issued last Friday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the Monetary Board "approved ... the marketing, sale and servicing of microinsurance products by rural, cooperative and thrift banks."
These banks, the BSP added, "are ideal insurance distribution channels as they are the trusted financial institutions in the countryside and have a deeper knowledge and understanding of the low-income market."
Read full article
Foreign firms establishing a foothold through microinsurance in Africa
allAfrica.com, 12 February 2010
Microinsurance is slowly but surely becoming more popular in Africa. Low-income Africans are purchasing microinsurance to manage their financial risks while mainstream insurance companies see it as a way of establishing a foothold on the continent.
This article continues by looking at a number of key questions regarding the state and future of microinsurance: Who are the major players? What are the types of insurance? Can microinsurance be profitable? and, What is the future for microinsurance?
Read full article
The Index Insurance Innovation Initiative launch in January
In January 2010, BASIS, the United States Agency for International Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility, and Oxfam America announced the creation of the Index Insurance Innovation Initiative (I4). This initiative is a response to the overwhelming evidence that uninsured risk can drive people into poverty and destitution, especially those in low-wealth agricultural and pastoralist households.
It is understood that index insurance will not work in all environments and regions. In order to explore the boundaries of its effectiveness, I4 will roll out up to 10 pilot projects across Africa, Asia and Latin America, strategically choosing a diversity of agroecological, economic and social environments. Each programme will directly impact 5000 small-scale agricultural or pastoralist households.
Click here for more details
Micro-pension Project Manager and team recruitement for Kenyan MFI Pamoja Women Development Programme (PAWDEP)
PAWDEP, a Kenyan MFI with 48.000 clients (all women) in five Kenyan provinces, is mainly active in the field of micro-credit. As a partner of Oikocredit, PAWDEP has recently received a loan of €801.000 in order to further finance its micro-credit activities. Together with the Zimele Asset Management Company Limited (a licensed Kenyan fund manager), PAWDEP is currently exploring the possibilities for developing and implementing a micro-pension scheme.
For the execution of this micro-pension scheme, PAWDEP has requested assistance from the Pension & Development Network in the field of funding, exposure opportunities and resource counseling. In order to respond to this request, the P&D Network is looking for a Project Manager who will set-up (and staff) the PAWDEP Project Team, as well as Project Team Members.
To view the profile of the project manager and team members, visit the P&D network website
New microinsurance rules issued in the Philippines
The Business World, 2 February 2010
Regulators in the Philippines want informal schemes closed within a year. New rules governing microinsurance were issued on Friday, relaying the groundwork for the potentially multi-billion peso industry.
The Insurance Commission (IC), which came out with a new circular, also issued a separate set of rules together with two other regulators that close down informal insurance schemes. Both directives were signed on Friday during the launch of a national microinsurance strategy and regulatory framework.
The government is pushing microinsurance for the poor, noting that they risk getting poorer as a result of calamities. Given its insufficient funds, the state is pushing for the development of a private sector-driven microinsurance market.
Read full article
Sompo launches its first agriculture insurance product in Thailand
Trading Markets, 26 January 2010
Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.'s Thailand subsidiary has rolled out a microinsurance product, weather index insurance, to farmers in Thailand's northeastern province of Khon Kaen.
In cooperation with Japan Bank for International Cooperation, a public financial institution that promotes international economic programs, this agriculture insurance policy offers a private funding mechanism to mitigate economic damage caused by abnormal climate.
In an effort to mitigate loss due to drought, the weather index insurance offers protection for damage to rice farmers in Thailand. Sompo Japan said this is "a world-first" insurance initiative.
With a premium of about 1,000 yen (US$11) to 5,000 yen per farmer, the product will be distributed by Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives. The public agricultural financial services institution also handles claim management for farmers.
Read full article
|
