India's LICI launched Fiji's first microinsurance product
Fiji Times Online, 26 August 2011
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) entered the insurance market in Fiji and opens a network of offices. Through these initiatives, LICI proposes to greatly enhance its footprint across Fiji and is part of its strategic initiatives for the future.
It is also important to note that recently LICI launched Fiji's first microinsurance product Micro Life and more recently tied up with Vodafone Fiji for the first ever premium paying facility through M-PAiSA.
See TV commercial for Micro Life
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Mercy Corps is looking for a consultant
Mercy Corps is looking for a consultant to carry out a feasibility assessment (and to design an eventual intervention) for microinsurance systems for community water infrastructure in the Central African Republic.
The language of the assignement is French. If you interested, request the ToR from Carron Beaumont. Deadline for applications are 10 September 2011.
Jordan Insurance Company partners with Microfund for Women
Microfinance Focus, 11 August 2011
Jordan Insurance Company (JIC) has recently entered into an agreement with Jordan’s Microfund for Women to provide fund’s beneficiaries with insurance programme ‘Caring Programme’ to insure hospital expenditures in case of emergencies.
JIC becomes one of the first microinsurance service providers in Jordan. Its Protection Programme will benefit 100, 000 Microfund’s female beneficiaries and their beneficiaries. Under this agreement, JIC recently supported a free medical day for the clients of Microfund.
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Improvements in insurance penetration in Zambia
Times of Zambia, 8 August 2011
The reclassification of Zambia as a middle income country should be used as a vehicle to improve the insurance uptake in the country, said the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) deputy registrar in charge of Insurance, Muyoya Chibiya.
Mr Chibiya said one of the key features which should come out from the reclassification of Zambia was the protection against potential losses. The insurance uptake in Zambia was still low when compared to other countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). "Only 5% of Zambians have an insurance product of any kind, 95% do not have any insurance cover or are unaware."
In response to the low uptake of insurance, the authority in Zambia has launched an educational campaign aimed at increasing the levels of understanding of insurance and its benefits.
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Pioneer Life sets stage for microinsurance in the Philippines
PhilStar.com, 8 August 2011
Pioneer Life, the first to be granted approval by the Insurance Commission for their microinsurance programmes, recognises the pressing need of all Filipinos for access to financial services that allow them to cope after various shocks that leave them in deep water. To come to the aid of the Filipino, Pioneer Life has forged partnerships with various organisations to extend its microinsurance products to more Filipinos to better equip individuals and communities to withstand dents in their financial capacity.
Designed to tailor-fit the needs of various stakeholders and clients, Pioneer Life has developed products that provide accident, life, or property coverage. One of the company’s most recent partnerships was forged with Wellness Harvest, a Filipino-owned multilevel marketing company, where Pioneer Life supports the Wellness Harvest group with a Personal Accident Group Policy with Accidental Death and Dismemberment benefits. Wellness Harvest belongs to the new line of Filipino entrepreneurs marketing products even outside of the country; distributing superior quality products such as Wellness Coffee and Wellness Green Tea.
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The Brazilian situation and the role of microinsurance
Revista Cobertura, 31 July 2011
Brazil has already reached a level of consumption of a developed country, where the lower-income segments of the population are in contact with products and services that were previously only in the imagination of families. The economic stability and GDP growth over the past 16 years have enabled a significant gain in income and social mobility of the population.
A study commissioned by CNSeg and released earlier this year showed that over the past ten years, approximately 20 million people have escaped poverty in Brazil, joining in the higher income groups of the population.
The advance social and income-earning population are reflected positively on consumption, especially with the abundance of credit. Thus, these families will spend more, and at the same time go into debt. The point is that these consumers are not saving because they have no culture of financial planning.
Three different polls confirmed that the Brazilian debt has reached record levels in 2011 and defaults are increasing. That is, despite the income gains of the Brazilian population, there are clear indicators that the debts are snapping up a growing share of income of the Brazilians. This is because the consumer has no culture of finance and planning to mitigate the risks.
In this context, microinsurance presents itself as a viable alternative and a means for financial education, which can ensure and protect the gains in income and social mobility.
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ZONG launches Pakistan’s first insurance product accessible via mobile phone
Mobile Money for the Unbanked, 29 July 2011
There is an increasing number of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) leveraging the mobile channel to sell and distribute insurance, including some which are specifically using the mobile money platform to improve premium collection and claims handling. However, there are different approaches emerging. While all these models use the mobile phone as an access point, they vary in the ways premiums are paid, claims are initiated and pay-outs are disbursed to name a few.
One of the approaches is to provide insurance "free" to a subscriber in return for use of airtime. This loyalty-based approach is currently offered in Ghana with Tigo and Microensure. A second approach is to sell insurance via the mobile money platform as in the case of MTN Ghana, M-KESHO and Kilimo Salama in Kenya, where a client signs up via an agent or the mobile money menu and premiums are deducted monthly or weekly from their m-wallets.
A third model is based on subscription fees which are deducted automatically from the customers’ airtime balance. Following this approach, ZONG in collaboration with Adamjee Life has launched, Pakistan’s first m-insurance. The product covers accidental death or disability caused due to an accident or terrorism. Users can now subscribe to the insurance service simply by sending an SMS. To complete the process the user is prompted to confirm their ID number. After verification, the user is allowed to choose from three different plans, add the beneficiary’s details and finally receives the policy number as confirmation.
Customers don’t require any documentation and daily deductions are automatically made from the airtime balance according to the insurance plan. In case of accidental death or disability, the insurance policy can either be claimed by sending an SMS or by submitting the claim form to Adamjee.
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