Report highlights growing value and viability of Micro-insurance

An International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Micro-insurance Innovation Facility 2013 report shows that micro-insurance could be viable for insurers, while providing value for low-income households.

It provided evidence that micro-insurance was coming of age, with Asia and some parts of Africa and Latin America making rapid growth in its coverage.

The report, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency on Friday by the ILO, analysed the evolution of micro-insurance over the past five years.

It said, overall, an estimated 500 million people now had micro-insurance; up from 78 million in 2008, while 33 of the world’s top 50 insurance companies now offered micro-insurance products, up from just seven in 2005.

The report also examined how business viability could be achieved based on an analysis of 95 successful micro-insurance products.

It also highlighted the potential of public-private partnerships to achieve public policy objectives, like universal health coverage.

It provided evidence from 31 studies that micro-insurance could, and often did enhanced the welfare of low-income populations.