Press releases

April 2012

• Microinsurance coverage expanding at breathtaking pace according to ILO and the Munich Re Foundation
  10 April 2012 - The number of microinsurance schemes worldwide has increased substantially over the past five years and now reaches an estimated 500 million worldwide, according to the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labour Organization and the Munich Re Foundation. Microinsurance aims to protect poor people against risks - such as accidents, illnesses, death in the family, natural disasters and property losses - in exchange for insurance premium payments tailored to their preferences and capacity to pay.

November 2010

• ILO Microinsurance Innovation Facility's New Round of Innovation Grants Focuses on "Scale and Efficiency"
  9 November 2010 - The Microinsurance Innovation Facility, launched in 2008 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has issued a new call for proposals for its innovation grants programme. This new round is focused on 'scale and efficiency' and is funded by the Z Zurich Foundation of Zurich Financial Services. In this round, the Facility seeks to promote microinsurance projects that utilize technology and process innovations to increase operational efficiency to protect low-income households.

May 2010

• Microinsurance, an untapped source of social and economic development in Africa
  5 May 2010 - Little over 2% of Africa's 700 million working poor are covered by insurance, representing a vast untapped opportunity for social and economic development, according to a new study by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labour Office (ILO).

January 2010

• Z Zurich Foundation supports the ILO to improve microinsurance's efficiency and scale
  28 January 2010 - The Zurich Foundation has donated 3 million Swiss Francs (USD 2.8 million) to the ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility to increase insurance coverage among low-income families. The ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility - created in 2008 with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - will use the funds to launch a new round of innovation grants to promote projects that combine scale and efficiency through the use of technology.

December 2009

• Insurance providers get support to invest in low income market
  9 December 2009 - The ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility issued a call for grant proposals to encourage insurance providers to experiment with new products and develop strategic partnerships that will bring affordable insurance products to working poor in developing countries. To overcome the major challenges associated with health financing for low-income households, the Facility proposes a special emphasis on health microinsurance, but also welcomes applications for projects focusing on high-impact products and innovative distribution channels.

February 2009

• Microinsurance Innovation Facility calls for new proposals - Projects would encourage innovation, promote insurance services to the poor
  17 February 2009 - The ILO's Microinsurance Innovation Facility today issued a call for new proposals for grants to encourage insurance providers to experiment with new products and partnerships aimed at bringing effective and affordable risk management solutions to working poor in developing countries.

August 2008

• Swedish Cooperative Centre and Cooperative insurance company of Kenya selected from among over 100 applications to receive grant for providing affordable insurance coverage for the poor - (pdf 105 KB)
  August 2008 - NAIROBI, Kenya (ILO News) - An estimated 200,000 low-income families (approximately 1,000,000 individuals) in Kenya are expected to benefit from a microinsurance package supported by a grant from the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labour Office, the ILO said.

April 2008

• Microinsurance: ILO and Gates foundation join forces to develop range of insurance products in developing countries
  April 2008 - A new partnership between the ILO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to develop new kinds of insurance and improve existing products to promote decent work for tens of millions of low-income people in the developing world. The US$34 million Gates Foundation grant will help create the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, a one-of-a-kind, five-year initiative that will provide grants and technical assistance to dozens of organizations serving the poor.

December 2007

• ILO and Gates foundation join forces to develop range of insurance products in developing countries
  06 December 2007 - ILO launches facility to spark innovation, develop range of insurance products in developing countries - Grant, technical assistance aim to improve insurance services to the poor; funded through us$34 million gates foundation grant. - ref: (ILO/07/63)

April 2007

• 11th African Regional Meeting (Addis Ababa, 24-27 April 2007) - Africa: Community-based micro-insurance for universal health coverage
  24-27 April 2007 - Almost 90 per cent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is not insured against the risk of illness or accident. In order to help the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups cope with life's contingencies, social protection is a powerful means of reducing poverty, emphasizes the report prepared for the Eleventh African Regional Meeting.
• Combining microinsurance and new technologies to protect the poor
  05 April 2007 - Microcredit can help the poor rise above poverty. Microinsurance can help them stay there. By providing protection against certain perils, microinsurance complements other financial and social services. Still, its development relies on significantly reducing operating expenses relative to premiums.