Publication database

This data summary provides a snapshot of more than 2,500 early-stage ventures that applied to over 50 acceleration programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, and includes regional insights for East and West Africa and country-specific information for Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria.

With 1.5 billion people worldwide getting access to financial services through a post office, postal networks are powerful tools to advance financial inclusion. Posts possess or can develop characteristics such as client understanding, product diversification, national outreach, rural advantage, and trust with clients that have the potential to transform postal networks into well-suited providers of insurance. Insurance is a relatively easy way for posts to diversify their sources of revenue.

The microinsurance sector has grown from 78 million policies in 2007 to 500 million in 2012 and the exponential growth is expected to continue, since the potential market is estimated at 3–4 billion policies. However, for every scheme that has succeeded, many more have struggled to reach scale, become viable or provide client value, and some have failed altogether. Many innovations have resulted from efforts to convert these near-misses to successes. Briefing note 36 draws on the experience of 12 such attempts to identify the most common challenges that caused severe problems. The challenges are organized in five clusters: Viability, Client Value, Operations, Partnerships and External.

Across the world, insurers have shifted away from traditional agents and brokers to partner with various alternative distribution channels – ranging from churches, trade unions and mobile network operators to banks, retailers and even civil service organizations - as a way of reaching critical mass at low cost. This brief examines two of these channels – banking and retail correspondents – studying four examples in four countries.

Insurers are using mobile phones to address two main challenges facing the microinsurance sector: increasing efficiency and reaching scale. Briefing note #21 is based on a review of literature and 13 insurance schemes that are using mobile phones in some capacity. The brief reveals good practices and lessons for insurers to consider when implementing mobile-based microinsurance.

Value-added services are an increasingly important component of health microinsurance. Though evidence on their impact is limited, they demonstrate potential to increase demand and improve health outcomes. Briefing Note #16 provides an overview of current developments, highlights the experiences of those already providing them, and points to the potential they hold.

This checklist outlines the elements that companies need to take into account if they are considering an inclusive business project. The first section covers the elements to think about before getting started: “How ready are you?”. The second covers the inclusive business project itself: “How robust is your model?”.

The third-party payment (TPP) mechanism is a model where insured patients are not required to pay the cost of health services covered by the insurance at the time the services are rendered. While the TTP (also called "cashless") mechanism is not new in health insurance, setting up and managing a TPP mechanism for a health microinsurance scheme presents unique challenges. Briefing Note #11 draws on the experience of various health microinsurance schemes and presents the pros and cons of using a TPP mechanism. It also presents key issues to address when establishing and managing a TPP mechanism, as well as tips and solutions collected from cases studies and experts' interviews. 

Are clients benefiting from microinsurance? How do we measure those benefits? How do we improve the value proposition for the clients? Briefing Note #10 contributes to this discussion by focusing on improving client value rather than proving it. It presents results from the analysis of 15 microinsurance schemes in Kenya, India and the Philippines using the ILO's client value assessment tool called PACE (Product, Access, Cost and Experience). The PACE tool looks at the added value for clients from insurance products by comparing them to each other and to alternative means of offering protection from similar risks. The results show that there is a place for microinsurance to add value on the top of informal risk-sharing practices and existing social security schemes to protect low-income populations against life and health risks. The paper presents also a menu of interventions that can further improve client value from microinsurance. 

Is there a business case for microinsurance? Under what circumstances can insurance companies generate profits from microinsurance? These are important questions because insurers are increasingly interested to expand into the low-income market. To encourage this expansion, microinsurance initiatives need to demonstrate that they are commercially viable and sustainable over time. Briefing Note #9 assesses the business case for microinsurance through case studies of five microinsurance initiatives.