Features
2024: A year of customer-focused innovation
This final thematic article of the year highlights how 2024 has been a landmark 12 months for customer-focused innovation in inclusive insurance, driven by the growing impacts of climate change and the need to close protection gaps among the most vulnerable. MiN members have launched groundbreaking products like APA SHEild in Kenya and CaféSeguro in Colombia to address gender disparities, support agricultural resilience, and empower MSMEs. Recognised for their contributions, organisations such as EFU Life and MicroNsure have demonstrated how data-driven solutions and cross-industry collaboration can enhance financial inclusion. While challenges remain, these innovations are fostering resilience and setting a promising trajectory for 2025.
Human-wildlife conflict insurance: Early lessons from Kenya’s tech-based pilot
This month we shine the spotlight on how a tech-based pilot in Kenya is addressing the growing challenge of human-wildlife conflict (HWC), which imposes significant costs on communities through crop damage, livestock loss, and human casualties. Led by AB Entheos and partners, the scheme leverages a digital platform to streamline insurance claims, allowing claimants to report incidents via a USSD code, with local officers verifying claims on-site using mobile apps. This innovative approach has enabled faster payouts, increased transparency, and improved claims approval rates. Covering over two million households across six counties, the pilot has processed over 6,000 claims and compensated $80,000 to affected communities, with further scaling and regional interest expected following its conclusion in 2026.
Meet our new institutional members
Aseguradora del Sur, with more than 30 years of experience, is a leading Ecuadorian company in the insurance market. The company offers six specialised lines of business to cater to every sector and need, with innovation and sustainability as fundamental pillars. Its sustained growth and Triple A rating reflect the financial strength underpinning each of its operations. Furthermore, Aseguradora del Sur is backed by top reinsurers both nationally and internationally, ensuring security and confidence for its clients at every step.
MiN, Members & Partners: Upcoming Events
- International Actuarial Association | Hybrid Data Mining Framework for Variable Annuity Portfolio | Online | 21 January 2025 from 09:00 AM EST | Register here
- Feed the Future MRR Innovation Lab | Webinar Series: Behavioral Economics and Beyond | 23 January 2025 | Online | Register here
- International Conference on Inclusive Insurance 2025 (ICII 2025) | 13-17 October 2025 | Quito, Ecuador | Save the date
Recap past events:
- Microinsurance Network (MiN) & Cenfri | Expert Forum by MiN’s MSMEs Best Practice Group: Adopting a data-centric approach to serve MSMEs | Watch the recording / Vea la grabación
- Microinsurance Master | Webinar ¿Cómo prosperar en microseguros? | Vea la grabación
- e-MFP | European Microfinance Week 2024 | Watch the recordings of sessions on financial inclusion for refugees and forcibly displaced people
MiN, Members & Partners: News, Blogs & Resources
- Blue Marble to launch a new program in collaboration with Nescafé in Ivory Coast in January 2025
- EFU Life Becomes Exclusive Partner for Waada’s Life, Health, and Personal Accident Takaful Solutions
- IBISA and VisionFund launch pioneering parametric climate insurance “ClimaCash+”
- ICII 2024 highlights on “Banking Frontiers” (p. 20-21)
- LeapFrog Investments raises $1.15bn in Fourth Fundraising Cycle
- Munich Re Foundation, Shockwave Foundation & Global Resilience Partnership: 11 Initiatives leading the way in sustainable and nature-positive agriculture
Jobs, Internships & RFPs
- ADA | Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer - impact investing initiatives | Apply by 31 December 2024
- AXA | Performance Management & Business Intelligence Senior Analyst | Puteaux, Île-de-France, France | Apply here
- Call for tender: InFiNe.lu is looking for a consultancy firm to map the Luxembourg inclusive finance ecosystem | Apply by 15 January 2025
- Guardian Life Insurance Ltd. | Head of Financial Reporting and Control | Apply by 30 December
- UNCDF | Request for proposals: Pilot of climate disaster risk finance reinsurance solutions in the Pacific | Apply by 30 December 2024
Elsewhere in the sector…
- Accelerating tech-driven insurance for greater inclusivity and accessibility
- Expanding reach: The role of microinsurance in serving underinsured populations in India
- Kenyans’ appetite for microinsurance spurs sector innovation, Association of Kenya Insurers reports
- Parametric microinsurance, a ‘lifesaver’
- Why insurance has not achieved target market penetration in Nigeria