Delivering on the Promise of Microinsurance: Putting Clients First

DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE OF MICROINSURANCE
Putting Clients First - A Panel Discussion by Industry Experts
July 9, 2013, 6:30 – 8:00 PM EDT
Reception to follow

Where: Paul Calello Auditorium (2B), Credit Suisse, 11 Madison Avenue,
New York
When: July 9, 2013
6:00 pm EDT: Registration opens
6:30 – 7:45 pm EDT: Panel discussion with in-person and online participants
7:45 – 8:00 pm EDT: Questions and answers with in-person participants

To register for in-person participation, please go to http://www.microinsurancefacility.org/node/add/event-attendees?eventid=4668;

To register for online participation from 6:30 – 7:45 pm EDT, please go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/243185614.

Today, microinsurance covers nearly half a billion risks, including the lives and health of low-income people, as well as their crops, animals and other property. That is a dramatic leap from 2009, when an estimated 135 million were insured. Despite massive growth, millions of poor households lack access to good value products. Impressive results in countries like India, South Africa, Kenya and Peru are just pockets of success. What can we learn from the pioneers about their struggle to offer quality products in a viable way? What product types and designs provide the best value for the poor? How does client orientation contribute to the insurer’s bottom line?

Welcome Remarks: Evelyn Stark, Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Speakers:
Nelson Kuria, Chief Executive Officer, CIC Insurance Group, Kenya
Lourdes del Carpio Gómez de la Torre, Director, Rural Insurance, La Positiva Seguros y Reaseguros, Peru
Thembisa Mapukata, Executive Head, Foundation Market at Old Mutual, South Africa
Birendra Mohanty, Vice President, Financial Inclusion Solutions Groups of ICICI Lombard, India
Janice Angove, Actuary & lecturer in actuarial science, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Moderator: Craig Churchill, Team Leader, Microinsurance Innovation Facility, International Labour Office, Switzerland

Speaker bios:

Nelson Kuria, Chief Executive Officer of CIC Insurance Group based in Kenya, is a former chairman of the Association of Kenya Insurers and Deputy Chairman of Federation of Kenya Employers. An economist with 34 years of experience in development finance and insurance, Nelson has been honored with two awards by the president of Kenya for his contribution in co-operative development (Order of the Grand Warrior- OGW and Moran of the Burning Spear- MBS) and was recently given the Life Time Achievement Award for his role in insurance development.

Lourdes del Carpio Gómez de la Torre, Director of Rural Insurance of La Positiva Seguros y Reaseguros based in Peru, is responsible for introducing new microinsurance products including a crop insurance for the poor, crop insurance for small farmers that have access to credit, life microinsurance for farmers and index insurance for catastrophic events, in the Peruvian market. With a Master’s degree in Public Administration, she began her work in insurance at the Ministry of Agriculture in Peru where she acted as Coordinator of the Insurance Development Unit, leading the project to regulate agricultural insurance for the first time in Peru.

Thembisa Mapukata, Executive Head, Foundation Market at Old Mutual based in South Africa, is responsible for developing solutions and strategies to increase access to financial services by the lower end of the market. A chartered marketer, Thembisa spent 17 years of her career in marketing, particularly in developing and implementing community based marketing solutions. A big part of her career was spent in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry until 2008 when she decided to join the financial services industry.

Birendra Mohanty heads the Financial Inclusion Solutions portfolio at ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd in India. He is in-charge of the implementation and execution of the mass health insurance schemes of the Central Government of India, as well as its various States. His role involves enhancing the use of technology and driving innovation in microinsurance for the expansion and sustainability of various health schemes.

Janice Angove is a qualified actuary and lecturer in actuarial science at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her main areas of interest are research into the viability and management of risk for microinsurance initiatives. Janice also consults to insurance regulators in Southern Africa assisting regulators in developing markets to foster stable insurance industries.

Craig Churchill, Team Leader of the ILO Microinsurance Innovation Facility based in Switzerland, is a pioneer and leader in the microinsurance field with over two decades of microfinance and microinsurance experience. Craig serves as the Chair of the Microinsurance Network and is on the governing body of the Access to Insurance Initiative. He has authored and edited over 40 articles, papers, monographs and training manuals on various microfinance topics. Protecting the poor: A microinsurance compendium, Volumes I (2006) and II (2012), which he edited, are the most authoritative books on the subject.

About the organizers:

The Microinsurance Innovation Facility (http://www.ilo.org/microinsurance) housed at the International Labour Office pushes the frontiers of microinsurance by generating valuable new knowledge. Since 2008 and with an aid of a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Facility has provided innovation, research and capacity building grants which are catalysts for experimenting and learning with organizations across Africa, Asia and Latin America. With its partners, the Facility forms a critical knowledge hub, extracting lessons from pioneers, and sharing their successes and challenges with all interested parties. Additionally, the Facility offers fellowships to insurance professionals, and conducts trainings and workshops to disseminate valuable lessons learned.

The Microfinance Club of New York (MFCNY) (http://mfcny.org/front) is a forum for the exchange and dissemination of information and ideas about microfinance. Founded in 2003, it now has over 400 members who are mostly professionals with a background in financial services or microfinance. The club sponsors around 10 events per year, from panel discussions to informal round table discussions, on different topics currently relevant to microfinance.

A.M. Best (http://www.ambest.com/) is a full-service credit rating organization founded in 1899 dedicated to serving the insurance industry. Policyholders refer to A.M. Best's ratings and analysis as a means of assessing the financial strength and creditworthiness of risk-bearing entities and investment vehicles. It is also a publisher of books, directories, CD-ROM products and Internet-based services pertaining to the insurance industry, as well as a recognized source of insurance news.