Microinsurance news

We’ve written about the application of weather index insurance products, where payouts are based on parametric indices of actual climatic conditions such as temperature, moisture or rainfall, many times in our coverage of the growing microinsurance sector. Use of weather index insurance has enabled microinsurance to become more widespread as the policy terms and conditions […]

The development of microinsurance products using satellite data to create index-based insurance products is a growing industry and one which is showing increasing promise as the pilot projects scale out to encompass thousands of policyholders. The application of satellite technologies to create indices against which insurance products can be triggered is changing the way farmers […]

Yesterday we wrote about the impending payouts from microfinance organisation Fonkoze in Haiti who had told policyholders that they were ready to give all clients in areas hit by intense rain and wind from tropical storm Isaac a $125 payout, forgive their existing loan balance, and give them a new loan when they require it. […]

While attention is focused on the damage caused by hurricane Isaac when it ploughed into the Louisiana coastline it is easy to forget that before Isaac reached the U.S. the storm caused extensive damage in the Caribbean. The worst affected island appears to have been Haiti, which Isaac struck while a strong tropical storm bringing […]

The economies of countries such as Bangladesh, Philippines, Myanmar, India and Viet Nam are among the most exposed economically to the impacts of natural disasters and weather or climate catastrophes, according to the second Natural Hazards Risk Atlas published by risk analysis and mapping firm Maplecroft.

According to the International Labour Organisation micro-insurance alone may not be enough to protect the poor in developing nations from natural disasters and weather related catastrophe events. Where extreme weather events and disasters are concerned the ILO recommends the use of what they have termed meso-insurance or macro-insurance schemes as micro-insurance may be too localised […]

The IFC (International Finance Corporation), part of the World Bank Group, has partnered with micro-insurance company SANASA Insurance to pilot affordable, index-based weather insurance products to farmers in Sri Lanka to help minimise the impact of crop losses due to flooding or drought. It’s another example of index-based insurance products being used to bring insurance […]

The uptake of microinsurance by low-income earners in parts of the developing world is growing rapidly according to data in the annual report of the International Labour Organisation’s Micro-insurance Innovation Facility. Many types of products make up the microinsurance universe, from life and health, to property, to livestock, but one area playing a key role […]

The Asian Development Bank has published a report today on the topic of climate change, adaptation and the expected surge in migration that the variations in our climate will likely cause. The report, titled Addressing Climate Change and Migration in Asia and the Pacific, highlights that 42 million people in the region were displaced by […]

Tea growers in Kenya could soon have access to a new way to protect themselves against loss of earnings caused by frost damaging their tea plantations according to this article in Business Daily Africa. The Kenya Tea Development Agency, which is a marketing agency for half a million small farmers, is looking to launch an […]