Microinsurance is becoming an increasingly important item on the agenda of supervisors globally. The 16th Annual IAIS conference was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 21 – 24 October 2009. Emerging markets make up the bulk of the IAIS membership and have been catalytic in placing the issues of developing countries on the agenda of the IAIS. Demonstrating the growing importance of microinsurance and market development to the membership of the IAIS, the theme of this conference was “Insurance as a Means of Socio Economic Development” and the opening plenary was dedicated to the topic of microinsurance. Presentations were made by Cenfri, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and Fasecolda (the Colombian insurance industry association). Click here for Cenfri's presentation on increasing access to insurance (PDF: 361KB)

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF) commissioned Cenfri to compare innovative distribution models from India, South Africa, Colombia and Brazil. The study was based on several case studies conducted and commissioned by Cenfri (click here to access the South Africa case studies). The aim was to create a typology for innovative microinsurance distribution channels and extract cross cutting lessons on successes and failures from both a consumer and business perspective. Click here to download the synthesis note (PDF: 676KB) Click here to download the briefing note (PDF: 919KB)

The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) commissioned a study to investigate the challenges and opportunities to financial inclusion faced by five different developing countries in applying international standards as set by five main Standards setting bodies (SSBs). The countries covered in the study were Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines and South Africa while the SSBs considered include the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision (BCBS), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Committee on Payments and Settlement Systems (CPSS), the International Association for Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the International Association for Deposit Insurance (IADI). The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), on behalf of the GPFI, contracted Cenfri to produce three of the five case studies (South Africa, Kenya and Brazil). In addition, Cenfri was responsible for the drafting of a document that draws together the impacts of the SSBs and their standards in the five countries, as well as how regulators in the five countries are choosing to respond to the SSBs and their standards in order to create room for financial inclusion.   Below we provide links to the above documents on the GPFI website:   South African case study Kenyan case study Brazillian case study Global standards setting bodies…

Cenfri was commissioned by the insurance regulator in Swaziland, the Registrar of Insurance and Retirement Funds (RIRF), to conduct a demand, supply and regulatory study for the potential of microinsurance development in the country. The study forms part of a series of Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) studies that assess the potential for microinsurance development across many developing and emerging economies. The findings of the study were presented at a stakeholder workshop in Manzini, Swaziland on 22ndJune 2011.  Click here for the stakeholder workshop (PDF, 1.62MB)   The diagnostic included focus group discussion facilitated by Corporate Research Consulting (CRC) with funded from the FinMark Trust. Click here download focus group discussion report (PDF, 1.92MB)  

  To support the development of microinsurance markets a project was launched under the auspices of the International association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)-Microinsurance Network (MIN) Joint Working Group on Microinsurance (JWGMII) aimed at mapping the experience of five developing countries – Colombia, India, the Philippines, South Africa and Uganda – where microinsurance markets have evolved in varying degrees. The objective was to assess how much regulation has affected the evolution of these markets and gain insights which can guide policy-makers, regulators and supervisors looking to support the development of microinsurance in their jurisdiction. To disseminate the findings of this project, a number of focus notes have been written to highlight key themes that emerged from the research.

USB Executive Development (USB-ED) in collaboration with the Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri) presents a Programme in Microinsurance Business Strategies for African Markets (26-29 July 2011, Cape Town) that will provide participants with a thorough understanding of microinsurance issues and business strategies for African markets. During this programme, participants will gain access to the latest developments in microinsurance innovation; gain global and African perspectives on the development of microinsurance markets and learn from practitioners operating at the microinsurance frontier. Click here for more information

Cenfri made a presentation on the issue of informal insurance markets at the Financial Stability Institute’s meeting on microinsurance in Basel (6-8 July 2010). The meeting was hosted in collaboration with the Access to Insurance Initiative (click here to read more) and attended by an audience of supervisors from 21 developing countries. The focus was on discussing the latest developments in microinsurance and particularly the implications for policy and regulation. To download the presentation click here