La micro-assurance connaît, dans le monde entier, un intérêt croissant de la part d’un grand nombre de parties prenantes et les activités y afférentes se sont multipliées ces dernières années. Cette étude a pour but de fournir un aperçu du statut et des dynamiques de ce secteur en Afrique. À ce jour, trois vastes études ont été réalisées sur la situation de la micro-assurance: the Landscape of Microinsurance in the World’s 100 Poorest Countries (Roth, et al, 2007), the Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa (Matul, et al, 2010) et the Landscape of Microinsurance in Latin America and the Caribbean (McCord, et al, 2012). La présente étude publiée par La finance au service de l’Afrique et la Fondation Munich Re vise à actualiser et développer l’étude réalisée sur l’Afrique en 2010. Pour la première fois, cette étude inclura une analyse des dynamiques de la micro-assurance en Afrique. Elle a bénéficié du soutien de la Banque africaine de développement, du Fonds pour l’innovation en micro-assurance de l’OIT et du Microinsurance Network. 214 organismes ont répondu à l’étude en fournissant des données sur 5112 prestataires de micro-assurance dans 39 pays, dont sept pays dans lesquels ce secteur n’avait pas été décelé en 2008. 598 produits ont été identifiés, couvrant un total de 44,43 millions de vies et de biens à fin 2011.

This landscape study aims to describe the current state of, and recent trends in, microinsurance in Africa. A total of 214 respondents from 39 countries where microinsurance was identified provided data for 511 providers and 598 products. The study identifies gaps in access to and the supply of microinsurance, as well as key bottlenecks to sustainable expansion of the sector. Its ultimate goal is to help industry stakeholders – insurers, delivery channels, policy makers, regulators, donors and others – identify areas for improvements that will eventually lead to better products and services for low-income clients.

In this paper, we use case studies and information gathered from a large number of interviews with practitioners and market participants in mobile financial services to synthesize some early lessons and provide practical guidance to providers. Our primary set of examples comes from Kenya, where MM is driving rapid industry restructuring and business model innovation. We also draw from select emerging cases in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Tanzania and Uganda. The intended audience for this paper is thus practitioners and market participants in the newly intersecting areas of financial startups, banking, and mobile payments - as well as donors, policy makers, and market observers with interest in this space.

This annual report is organized into three parts: Part 1 summarizes the major outputs of the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility in 2012 and introduces our initial thoughts on the Facility's plans after 2013; Part 2 describes microinsurance development and the experiences of our partners in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, India and Latin America and the Caribbean; and Part 3 presents lessons that were generated by our partners in 2012. The Annexes list our innovation grantees and strategic partners (Annex I), knowledge products (Annex II) and capacity-building activities (Annex III).

This paper aims to explore whether mass media can effectively achieve changes in terms of insurance awareness, knowledge, attitude, and skills. Is it realistic to assume that mass media could have the same type of impact that classroombased training does, while reaching a far wider audience? If so, what is needed to achieve corresponding changes in scale and behaviour? The paper identifies campaign elements that have the potential to turn financial knowledge into effective risk management behaviour and promote up-take. It targets practitioners in the microinsurance arena who seek to understand how to design and implement a successful mass media campaign.

Aunque diferentes estudios han explorado la demanda de productos de microseguro, los factores que influyen en la decisión de compra de un microseguro de vida continúan sin conocerse, así como tampoco aquellos que influyen en su retención.

Con el fin de entender mejor el valor esperado del microseguro de vida por parte del cliente, el proyecto MILK estudió la demanda de un producto de microseguro de vida que se ha ofrecido a 1.8 millones de prestatarios de Compartamos Banco, de México, utilizando una Prueba de Control Aleatorizada (RCT). Compartamos vende un microseguro de vida en módulos de 15.000 pesos mexicanos (equivalente a cerca de US$1.160 cuando se hizo el experimento) de cobertura, y subsidia esta última ofreciendo un módulo gratis a todos los prestatarios de su comunidad. Los prestatarios tienen la opción de comprar hasta 7 módulos adicionales. Este estudio mide el impacto de eliminar la oferta del módulo de cobertura gratis, así como dos enfoques diferentes de marketing para la demanda, ayudando a esclarecer los vínculos entre valor para el cliente, precio, información y demanda.

This handbook describes a framework, which includes a set of principles, guidelines and key performance indicators, that is designed to support microinsurance practitioners to monitor, improve and champion social performance. The 10 social key performance indicators provide insight into four dimensions of social performance for microinsurance. Each dimension is defined by a principle and completed with a set of concrete and practically focused guidelines. The social performance indicators are closely linked to the financial performance indicators for microinsurance and provide a balanced view on the overall performance of microinsurance operations, taking both financial and social dimensions into account.

The social performance indicators described in this handbook are the result of a two year sector wide consensus building process led by the Performance Working Group of the Microinsurance Network, in which a fair representation of microinsurance practitioners from different geographic zones, organisational types and product lines took the lead role. This sector-wide participatory approach ensures that the social key performance indicators are applicable to all microinsurance providers, irrespective of legal structure, environment, delivery model and type of microinsurance product offered. It is an important milestone, as the creation of a common language when referring to social performance will contribute to a more transparent and effective microinsurance sector.

El Proyecto MILK se asoció con la IMF "Compartamos Banco" en México, utilizando su metodología "Client Math" para explorar algunos de los interrogantes que se encuentran abiertos respecto de si un producto de seguro de vida puede ofrecer algún valor a clientes de bajos ingresos. Compartamos ofrece el beneficio de un seguro de vida con todos sus préstamos "Crédito Mujer" y ofrece una cobertura adicional voluntaria a aquellas clientes que quieran aumentar su suma asegurada. El estudio exploró el papel de este producto de microseguro en ayudar a familias de bajos ingresos a hacerle frente a las consecuencias financieras resultantes de la muerte de uno de sus miembros, tratando de entender de qué manera se ajustaba el producto de seguro a la gama de herramientas que estas familias tenían a su disposición.

Can credit life microinsurance provide value to clients?  In its latest Client Math study, MILK partnered with the Cambodian microinsurance provider MEADA to explore the value of a life microinsurance product that combines loan protection with a small cash payout in the even of a microcredit borrower's death. We interviewed family members of recently-deceased individual, some of whom were covered by insurance and some of whom were not, to better understand the costs they faced and how they covered those costs (including the role the insurance played). 

We find that while the loan protection component of the product provided value to insurance beneficiaries by reducing their obligation to pay back the deceased's debt. In many cases, however, it fell short of eliminating the entire debt burden as loans from multiple sources were common. The product also pays a cash refund of the portion of the loan that the borrower had repaid at the time of death. This cash refund was on average too small to provide meaningful financial value, but its tangibility worked to enhance perceived value among clients. Although MEADA’s take-up is very high and its payout is fast, it is not clear whether this service value outweighs the still low limited value that the product provides. Thus, we feel that MEADA is poised to expand the benefits (in amount, form and/or duration) to better match the costs faced by low income people after a family member's death.

El proyecto MILK se asoció con MAPFRE Colombia en el Departamento del Magdalena utilizando su metodología de "Client Math" para explorar la propuesta de valor de una póliza de microseguro integral contra daños a la propiedad para las prestatarias de la IMF "Fundación delamujer". El producto de MAPFRE era un producto de seguro modular y voluntario mediante el cual los clientes de la Fundación delamujer podían combinar de diferentes formas coberturas contra daños a la estructura o a los contenidos, así como una cobertura por tres meses de las cuotas del préstamo o por lucro cesante incidental. El producto estaba diseñado con el fin de hacerlo relevante y asequible hasta para los clientes de más bajos ingresos de la Fundación delamujer, quienes se presumía que escogerían la opción más económica de cobertura de lucro cesante y cuotas del crédito.

The MILK project partnered with MicroEnsure and TSKI to better understand the value of the calamity insurance for TSKI’s clients who made claims on this insurance after this devastating event. We found that aid and government support was made available to most respondents in our study, but was minimal compared to their needs. The support of friends and family was also limited. The need for an additional and efficient source of funds was evident, and the TSKI product played a crucial role in filling this gap. Long delays (averaging 42 days) did reduce the overall value of the product, leading clients to use more inefficient financing strategies for up-front costs in the meantime. However, the knowledge that the insurance benefit was forthcoming may have helped clients access other sources of funds, including low-cost loans from friends and family, which the uninsured did not access to the same degree. Trusting that the payment would arrive, insured families were also less likely than the uninsured to deplete their savings to cover the costs of repairs, preferring instead to reduce their spending while they waited for the payment. Once received, the product played an important role in helping the insured to recover.

The MILK Project partnered with MAPFRE Colombia in the department of Magdalena, using its Client Math methodology to explore the value proposition of a comprehensive property microinsurance policy for borrowers of the MFI Fundación delamujer. MAPFRE's product was a modular, voluntary insurance product, whereby Fundacion delamujer clients could mix and match structural and contents damage coverage as well as coverage for 3 months of loan payments or of incidental loss of income. This design aimed to make the product relevant and accessible for even the lowest income clients of Fundacion delamujer, who could choose the cheapest coverage options for lost income and loan payment. We find that MAPFRE's product fell short of helping families fully recover from flood damages and lost income and that the fungibility of money and timing of payments makes the story of clients' financial responses particularly complex.

This paper aims to help practitioners understand how various determinants affect demand. It blends academic findings with practical examples from the field and presents solutions that practitioners can implement to improve demand. Conducted as a partnership between the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility and the European Development Research Network (EUDN), it builds on the work of De Bock and Gelade (2012), who reviewed more than 30 quantitative and qualitative studies providing empirical evidence on the factors influencing demand for microinsurance.

Is there a business case for microinsurance intermediation?  The MicroInsurance Centre’s MILK project is exploring this question by studying the commercial viability of three microinsurance-only multinational intermediaries: MicroEnsure, PlanetGuarantee, and AKAM. Our first brief on this subject analyzes the performance of these programs through their early years (until 2010), and an update showing their subsequent development is planned for later this year. The short answer to this question, based on the early operations of these three intermediaries, is that there is not a business case for a multinational microinsurance-only intermediary, but that there may be potential for a business case to develop.

The three programs took relatively similar initial approaches and experienced similar struggles, and none had achieved financial sustainability by 2010. In particular, all three struggled to balance the markets' need for comprehensive intermediation services (including research, product development, and support to all parties along the value chain) with their own needs to keep costs low and achieve scale. Unique circumstances and different approaches to the role of intermediation, however, lead to some nuanced lessons about how a business case for microinsurance intermediation may emerge.  

Lea esta versión “condensada” de Informe de MILK #18: “Sacando los cálculos” con el microseguro daños a propiedad en la costa de Colombiaque está disponible aquí en el sitio web del MicroInsurance Centre (Centro de microseguros). En este documento de sólo dos páginas, se presentan los resultados clave de este estudio de caso y también una lista de las publicaciones de MILK.

Lea esta versión “condensada” de MILK Brief #16: "Doing the Math" - Life Microinsurance in Mexico que está disponible aquí en el sitio web del MicroInsurance Centre (Centro de microseguros). En este documento de sólo dos páginas, se presentan los resultados clave de este estudio de caso y también una lista de las publicaciones de MILK.

Life products are the most common types of microinsurance both worldwide and in Mexico, where almost 14 million people are covered by life microinsurance. For these studies, the MILK team partnered with Compartamos Banco in Mexico to study an innovative life product Compartamos offers with all of its Credito Mujer loans, reaching over 1.8 million borrowers. For this life product, Compartamos subsidizes the basic level of coverage, automatically providing it with the loan, and clients can voluntarily purchase greater levels of coverage.

 MILK Brief #16 is a MILK Client Math study exploring the value clients receive from the product and its different levels of coverage. The Brief explores financial value by examining how the product helps low-income families cope with the financial consequences of a death and how the insurance product fits into the range of tools available to those families.

Read this "condensed" version of MILK Brief #15: "Doing the Math" - Catastrophe Insurance in Haiti. This handy, two-page document presents key findings from this case study as well as a one-page overview of the MILK Project and its publications.

Each hurricane season in Haiti threatens to erase the fragile progress made since the 2010 earthquake, and small business owners are among the most vulnerable. MILK partnered with the microfinance institution Fonkoze to explore the value of its Kore W catastrophe insurance in helping clients cope with the consequences of a flood. The product, which is mandatory for Fonkoze borrowers, covers any outstanding loan balance, provides a cash payout of USD125, and pre-approves clients for a new loan. We interviewed insured (some of whose claims were rejected and some approved) and uninsured small business owners in the wake of a 2011 flood to understand the costs they incurred and how they coped. We find that while the insurance payout covered only a small portion of the total losses, in combination with continued access to credit it was instrumental in helping clients to begin the recovery process. Long delays in claims payment (which Fonkoze has since begun to improve but remain long due to the product's design) led clients to undergo difficult financing strategies while waiting for the insurance benefit.  Nonetheless, the Kore W product helped many clients to avoid selling assets as many of the uninsured were forced to do. 

The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to explore the use of value-added services (VAS) in health microinsurance (HMI) schemes; (2) to analyse client value and the business viability of VAS; and (3) to provide tips for the many practitioners who the authors hope will embark on providing VAS. VAS are defined as services that supplement a product that insures against health risks. HMI products can cover inpatient (IP) and/or outpatient (OP) health risks. This paper focuses on VAS which complement IP HMI, commonly known as hospitalization insurance, as this is the HMI product most frequently encountered in this study.