New ILO Report highlights growing value and viability of microinsurance

The ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility has issued its annual report analysing the evolution of microinsurance over the past five years. The report shows that microinsurance can be viable for insurers, while providing value for low-income households.

The report provides evidence that microinsurance is coming of age, with Asia and some parts of Africa and Latin America seeing rapid growth in microinsurance coverage. Overall, an estimated 500 million people now have microinsurance, up from 78 million in 2008, while 33 of the world’s top 50 insurance companies now offer microinsurance, up from just seven in 2005.

The report also:

• Examines how business viability can be achieved based on an analysis of 95 successful microinsurance products that achieved scale
• Highlights the potential of public-private partnerships to achieve public policy objectives, like universal health coverage
• Provides evidence from 31 studies that microinsurance can, and often does, enhance the welfare of low-income populations
• Outlines a five-year strategy for providing access to microinsurance to an additional 100 million low-income persons.

Interviews can be arranged with Facility chief Craig Churchill and other experts by contacting [email protected].