At Zurich we recognize a significant unmet need for insurance among disadvantaged populations, especially in emerging markets. We aim to provide insurance that low-income people can use and will purchase. We are currently serving customers in countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Global Microinsurance Practice
Our Global Microinsurance Practice leads the business globally, fosters development locally and directs functional expertise to specific projects in various countries. By designing products, services, partnerships, and business models that recognize and include the needs of low-income people, we create valuable business propositions that are sustainable over the long-term. We are focused on profitable growth and innovation, capitalizing on our own experiences and on our cooperation with other institutions to maintain our position of thought leadership.
Growth and innovation
We have introduced several new products such as personal accident insurance with education benefits for bereaved children in Bolivia and insurance for social housing residents to protect household contents in the UK. We also launched a motorcycle & personal accident product in Indonesia. New China Life (NCL) launched together with Zurich three new personal accident and disability products linked to savings accounts, microloans, and covering women of childbearing age in rural areas in the province of Henan, China.
We substantially expanded our delivery channel network in Latin America. Besides increased numbers of microfinance institutions and credit unions, new channels also include non-financial services channels like supermarkets and utilities.
Thought leadership and partnerships
We have continued to work with both public and private actors to progress microinsurance as a business. This includes the ongoing public-private partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). We share our ideas, business expertise and insights by collaborating with multilateral institutions in a number of forums such as the Joint Working Group with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the Microinsurance Network.
We also support various projects with academic institutions such as the research into the demand for microinsurance products by the Nan Kai University’s Department of Risk Management and Insurance or a project to assess the demand of agricultural farmers for index-based weather insurance, both in rural China.
We also are actively engaged with the Chinese insurance regulator and the Chinese insurance industry in sharing our international microinsurance expertise to support China’s goals of uplifting the rural population. Together with the ILO and other partners, we are conducting Microinsurance workshops for potential distribution channels in a number of countries.
For more information on microinsurance, please contact us at microinsurance@zurich.com, or contact the Zurich office in your country of interest.
