Mobile microinsurance introduced in Tanzania
MicroCapital, 22 February 2012
Zantel Tanzania, a telecommunications company owned by Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates, has launched the "Ezy Pesa" mobile payment service, a re-branded version of its Z-Pesa service, which was first introduced in 2008. The upgrades from Z-Pesa include, on top of new microinsurance services, the ability for employers to use the service to pay their employees’ salaries and for customers to access their Cooperative Rural Development Bank (CRDB) bank accounts.
Ezy Pesa offers microinsurance policies that cover accidental death or permanent disability. For daily premiums of TZS 150 (USD 0.09) or monthly premiums of TZS 4,500 (USD 2.8), the policies provide holders coverage up to TZS 3 million (USD 1,855). Zantel Tanzania provides this insurance service, known as Farijika insurance, in partnership with the National Insurance Corporation Tanzania Limited.
Zantel Tanzania has 1 million mobile phone customers. The company expects to add 1,000 new Ezy Pesa customers over the next few weeks and seeks to have one million customers by year end.
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Microinsurance in China continues to develop
International Insurance News, 3 February 2012
China Pacific Life Insurance, China's fourth-largest life insurance company, received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) this week to expand their rural individual life microinsurance pilot programme to seven more Chinese provinces.
China’s insurance regulator is striving to develop the country’s microinsurance market, particularly in rural areas, in a bid to help mainland farmers and low-income families better manage risks, protect their savings, and expand national insurance coverage in 2012.
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Fifty new insurers in the Philippines reach the required capital to operate
Business Mirror, 6 February 2012
The number of non-life insurers that have thus far hurdled the minimum PHP 175 million capital has doubled to around fifty, leaving more or less only 37 with an uncertain near-term future, Deputy Insurance Commissioner Vida Chiong said.
But there is a silver lining to their capital woes, with the Department of Finance having initially agreed to meet them halfway in a scheme in which they may be allowed to operate at less than the minimum capital required provided they set aside a portion of their portfolio for the new business frontier known as microinsurance.
Chiong said Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima remains adamant on the matter of the PHP 175 million minimum capital for all insurers in the country regardless of the focus of their business, and has set the end of March 2012 within which all insurers must show proof of compliance.
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Indian insurance cooperative becomes microinsurance agent
Indian Express, 10 February 2012
VimoSEWA, the national insurance cooperative promoted by SEWA, is all set to be the first microinsurance agent of L&T Insurance with the two entering into a strategic tie up on Thursday.
SEWA, a trade union of poor and self-employed women workers in India, currently has around 1.3 million women under its umbrella. This partnership is specially designed to cater to the diverse needs of women workers of the informal economy and their families.
The premiums for the products are as low as INR 50 (USD 1) per annum to INR 730 (USD 15) per annum. Currently, they are about 800 points of presence across rural India and they plan to strengthen this base.
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Vacancy at Inter Aide in Madagascar programme
Inter Aide is looking for a Microinsurance Programme Manager for a micro health insurance project in Madagascar that aims to increase the access of health care to disadvantaged families in Antananarivo. The successful candidate will oversee and develop the microinsurance programme.
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Generali supports the UN Millennium Development Goals with microinsurance
4-traders, 2 February 2012
Generali have presented the Generali Millennium project for the development of microinsurance activities in India, where the Group operates through Future Generali. The project has been created to support the UN Millennium Development Goals programme to encourage growth and improve social and economic conditions in the emerging countries.
Over the next 5 years, three microinsurance projects will be implemented in India to offer accident and health policies to over 2 million subscribers.
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Microinsurance project officer vacancy at Economica Vietnam
Economica Vietnam is a private sector consulting firm based in Hanoi. Its main areas of work include economic research, policy analysis, development consulting, business consulting, and project management. The firm’s field of practice are private sector development, SME development, microfinance, local economic development, regulatory reform, and economic governance.
The firm is looking for qualified candidates for the position of project officer for its on-going and forthcoming projects, especially in the field of microinsurance, microcredit, lending to private sector SME, and sector competitiveness.
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Zambian insurer launches microinsurance product
Zambia Daily Mail, 31 January 2012
Professional Life Assurance has launched a microinsurance product called Bantu Bonse, an insurance policy that will cover people in the low-income bracket and offer financial protection in the event of death. The insurance policy will enable clients to buy insurance cover at a minimum of 30,000 ZMK (6 USD) annually.
It is believed the insurance plan will entail positive effects on the Zambian insurance market. "Introduction of microinsurance products such as the Bantu Bonse life plan will help to increase insurance market penetration as more and more Zambians will be able to afford to take up insurance services," said Mr Libinga from the Pensions Scheme Authority (PIA).
Insurance penetration in Zambia is very low compared to other developing countries in Africa, largely due to lack of awareness on the benefits of insurance among the public, coupled with high premium levels, which low-income groups cannot afford to pay.
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