Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper, reports from the 37th Annual African Insurance Conference in Banjul, the Gambia, that African microfinance prospects look bright, but some are concerned about transparency issues.
Unethical business practices were cited as being a central impediment to the success of microinsurance. The conference proposed periodic assessments of performance, a unified code of conduct and appropriate sanctions to deal with those who were in breach of the singular codes. “The human resource development efforts [regarding ethical practices] should not be limited to lower and middle level personnel only but must also be extended to senior management and Board members whose corporate governance responsibilities are crucial to the sustainable development and profitability of companies,” it was noted.
According to a recent study entitled, ‘The Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa’ published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labour Office (ILO), 2.1 percent of Africa’s 700 million working poor have insurance coverage.
The African Insurance Organization (AIO) met with 500 delegates from state-owned insurance companies, brokerage firms, insurance supervisory authorities and international insurers to discuss the future of African insurance, particularly the expansion of microinsurance.
By Matthew Fox, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources:
Daily Independent: African Insurers Tasked on Products for Poor, Low Income Earners, June 29, 2010: http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=16191
MicroCapital Brief: A new Study Published by the Microinsurance Innovation Facility of the International Labor Office Indicated 2.1% of the Potential African Market is Covered by Insurance, May 18, 2010: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-a-new-study-published-by-the-microfinance-insurance-innovation-facility-of-the-international-labour-office-indicates-21-of-the-potential-african-market-is-covered-by-insurance/
Microfinance Innovation Facility: The Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa: http://bravo.ilo.org/employment/Whatwedo/Publications/lang–en/docName–WCMS_124365/index.htm
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ILO, UNCDF to Expand PICAP Climate Microinsurance Program to 8 Pacific Countries
- SPECIAL REPORT: Leveraging Carbon Credits to Insure MSMEs in Climate-vulnerable Nations #SAM2023
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Seeking $1b for African Climate Risk Insurance Facility (ACRIFA) to Boost Microinsurance for Farms, Livestock Against Drought, Floods
- MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Conference on Inclusive Insurance (ICII); October 23-27, 2023; Accra, Ghana
- SPECIAL REPORT: Save the Date for SAM 2023 – African Microfinance Week – in Togo, October 16-20!
