2007: The year of microinsurance?
Mexican insurance companies are ahead of the curve on microinsurance. They've built new delivery mechanisms to provide the working poor with life insurance. From BusinessWeek:
"The issue isn't that the population doesn't have the economic capacity, disposable income, or an insurance culture, rather we as insurance companies need to adapt to their means," said Alfredo Honsberg, chief executive of insurance company Seguros Azteca, in an interview.
Honsberg hits the nail on the head. No wonder he reports selling 50,000 policies a week.
I think this could be the year that we wake up to the possibilities of microinsurance. Not only life insurance, but also health, crop, livestock and other insurance policies are a classic win-win for the poor and the companies who serve them. Microinsurance is every bit as powerful as microcredit. Even better, insurance products can prevent people from falling into poverty in the first place.
See our microinsurance reading list for more.
Comments (2)
Delicious
E-mail
Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
i think the next few years will the age of the micro investor. microinsurance,micro stock exchanges and micro commodity markets. i foresee a time when micro investments will be part of the ordinary investors portfolio.
in that spirit please checkout my blog
http://theplan2007.blogspot.com/
Posted by: louis | Jan 3, 2007 2:39:39 PM
While these inititiaves (and those discussed in the Wall Street Journal 2/12) generally appear to be win-win. As I note on the new blog www.changingthepyramid.org, one concern, however, would be that by opening up this market and fostering demand, you also end up creating opportunities for extortion and 'sham' suppliers. To the extent this budding industry could be regulated to protect these consumers, the industry overall would stand to benefit. Perhaps this is the place for public-private partnership on regulation, and self-regulation.
Posted by: NRG | Feb 13, 2007 5:42:56 PM