Jul 05, 2022

This year the Microinsurance Network is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Here we take a look at the past, present and future ambitions of the Network, and discover how it is enabling inclusive insurance for all.

The past few years has seen the global population faced with a number of unprecedented events, from the impacts of the pandemic to the ongoing destruction caused by climate change. To overcome and build resilience to these events, access to financial support – such as insurance – is essential, not only to encourage sustainable and economic development, but in helping protect families, livelihoods and entire communities too.

For around 80% of the world’s population, however, this simply isn’t the case. Already living on the poverty line, insurance is inaccessible to these lower-income households, meaning they have little to no resilience when a disaster strikes. While insurance cannot alone build resilience – it has a key role to play in the risk management of the vulnerable and t the gap between the insured and uninsured – known as the people protection gap – stands at USD 1.24 trillion.

It was this protection gap that motivated a group of 16 representatives in 2002 to establish the CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance (later to be established as the Microinsurance Network (MiN)). With a clear goal of making insurance inclusive for all, the working group set its focus on microinsurance – insurance policies which are both affordable and accessible to low-income households and businesses.

Within the first few years of operation, the working group was delivering ground-breaking pieces of literature on microinsurance initiatives around the world, including case studies under The Good and Bad Practices in Microinsurance project. The findings of these reports contributed not only to Protecting the Poor: A Microinsurance Compendium - Volume I, but were the precursor to the establishment of the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility in 2008.

The influence of the working group was so substantial that a rebrand was needed, and thus the MiN was born. Today, the MiN has some 500 members, a Board of Directors, an Executive Team, and multiple working groups – all of which is made possible thanks to its global membership and the generous support of the Government of Luxembourg.

Alongside its various reports, newsletters and other publications, the MiN holds global events and regional workshops, allowing members to exchange knowledge on relevant products and services - ultimately helping ensure a greater uptake of microinsurance.

Driving the market forward
The MiN’s track record as a thought leader owes itself to its convening power and the critical insight and knowledge generated through its members.The Performance Indicators in Microinsurance - A Handbook for Microinsurance Practitioners, for example, has proved invaluable and to this day, it is still used as a reference point for those operating in the microinsurance sector. The State of Microinsurance series is yet another example of how the MiN has provided qualitative in-depth reviews of topical issues in the inclusive insurance space and shone a light on instrumental work being done in emerging markets.

Alongside the success of these publications, the Network’s flagship programme is, without doubt, The Landscape of Microinsurance Study. Considered the benchmark for tracking insurance uptake in emerging countries, the Landscape has proved influential in highlighting barriers, regulations, trends and opportunities in emerging markets and is the only collection of market data of its kind. Published annually since 2010, the Landscape Study reports cover multiple markets – at first by region – Africa, Asia and Latin America, and the Caribbean, and since 2020 all three regions with a selected focus on some 30 countries.

But as well as uncovering market challenges, the MiN aims to disseminate identified opportunities and solutions too, with insights on best practice for distribution to reach scale and harnessing emerging technology such as digital platforms and smartphones for several processes – including enrolments, sales, premium collection, claims processing and payments.

Trend setting
As well as gaining and sharing market insights, the MiN identifies trends too. Acting as a key mechanism for harnessing greater understanding, reducing costs and improving customer service, the uptake of technology and digitised processes –when employed correctly – has been effective in delivering microinsurance products. From reducing administration costs, automating processes and value-added services – such as telemedicine – to use of satellite imagery technology to provide weather data and even sowing and harvest windows for farmers, digitalisation is proving it can be a solution.

While new technologies can help overcome certain barriers faced by insurers – such as reaching remote communities – and have some undeniable advantages, the human touch is also essential for providing consumer education and building trust.

Collective responsibility
Engaging with and helping deliver inclusive insurance is a way of aligning with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By providing a financial safety net, insurance can help protect the vulnerable from poverty and hunger, improve health and gender equality, encourage economic growth and help build resilience to climate change.

To achieve these goals, however, insurers need to remember that inclusive insurance is still evolving. Delivering products that are accessible, affordable, relevant and sustainable requires multi-stakeholder collaboration and engagement within the inclusive insurance ecosystem – and the MiN is here to help with that.

As the only global platform bringing together insurers, regulators, development agencies, NGOs and policymakers, among others, the role of the MiN is pivotal. It is an enabler of knowledge sharing, identifying emerging trends and best practices from around the world, to ultimately help bring protection to those who need it most.

With The Network now entering a new era, it will continue to evolve and adapt, as it has for the first 20 years, seizing new opportunities and continuing to generate market intelligence and provide thought leadership to drive the inclusive insurance market forward.

Driving inclusion is what being a part of the MiN is all about; and with its active, tight-knit community of expert members and partners by its side, and a proven track record of success to boot, the MiN is well-placed to achieve further sustained success and close the people protection gap and make sure no one is left behind.

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