Women's World Banking seeking microinsurance consultant
Women's World Banking (WWB) is seeking for microinsurance consultant to design a health insurance product in partnership with a network member in Peru. The consultant will work with a small team from WWB, including staff members and field-based consultants, as well as staff from the partner bank and insurance company.
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Microinsurance sales surge in the Philippines
Business World Online, 27 January 2012
A total of 3.5 million microinsurance policies were sold last year after the government and the private sector began promoting the financial protection products for the poor.
National Credit Council Deputy Executive Director, Joselito S. Almario, said the figure could easily rise to 5 million by the end of this year, as the Insurance Commission (IC) and GIZ continue their financial literacy campaign until August, which was launched in February 2011.
Microinsurance is one of the key priorities of the IC and the Aquino administration. A set of insurance guidelines were released as far back as January 2010 for the nascent microinsurance industry. Now, there are currently eight microinsurance providers from the nonlife industry, seven from the life industry and 15 from mutual benefit associations. The products available range from life, credit life insurance, disability benefits, medical expenses reimbursement and micro-investment products.
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Microinsurance regulatory framework to be launched in Pakistan
MicroCapital, 20 January 2012
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), an autonomous body whose purpose is to develop the corporate sector in the country, will launch a microinsurance regulatory framework by June 2012. Muhammad Asif Arif, Commissioner of SECP’s Insurance Division was quoted as having said, “We are working to prepare draft rules on microinsurance in consultation with the stakeholders.” Mr Arif added that the effort has been supported by the World Bank.
SECP’s goal is to ensure that all people have proper and affordable insurance coverage that could support them in case of a natural disaster. The insurance industry in Pakistan reportedly amounts to 0.7% of GDP, a number that the initiative intends to double to 1.4% in the next three years by creating a transparent and enabling environment.
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New targets to drive insurance growth in Uganda
Daily Monitor, 12 January 2012
Insurance penetration in Uganda is about 0.6%, the lowest in the region, compared to Kenya’s 2.6%, and Tanzania and Rwanda’s 1% respectively. After years without a full Commissioner for insurance, the Finance Ministry in June appointed Mr Ibrahim Kaddunabbi Lubega head of Uganda Insurance Commission - the regulator of the insurance industry.
Three months later, parliament passed the long awaited Insurance Amendment Act in September 2011. The Act provided for among others, the rebranding of Uganda Insurance Commission (UIC) to Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda (IRA).
The Act stipulates regulation for microinsurance and health insurance, allows banks to be involved in selling insurance products and delinks IRA from the Bank of Uganda supervision. The Act also demands that a local reinsurance company is created. The proposed Uganda Re will seek to save the country billions of shillings channelled overseas for reinsurance services annually.
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Brazilian insurer teams up with NGO to sell microinsurance policies
Business News America, 4 January 2012
Brazilian insurance company Mongeral Aegon is partnering with microcredit NGO Finsol to sell microinsurance policies, said Mongeral Aegon's commercial director Osmar Navarini. The executive said the microinsurance products will begin to be sold this month and they are part of a strategy to expand the company's product range.
Mongeral Aegon, a joint venture between Dutch insurance group Aegon and local insurer Mongeral, signed a large number of distribution partnerships last year as well as opening 20 new points of sale. Thanks to this strategy, the company saw 13% growth in new clients and a 20% revenue increase last year, he said. The report did not provide the company's client and revenue numbers for 2011.
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PhD position available in a micro health insurance research project
The University of Heidelberg's Institute of Public Health has a PhD position available in a micro health insurance and social protection research project in Malawi. The PhD student will join the Research Group on Health Economics and Health Financing and will work within the framework of a project aimed at evaluating the impact of micro health insurance and microfinance on social health protection.
Deadline to submit applications: 15 January 2012
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