Munich Re Foundation
From Knowledge to Action
24 - 26July 2023, Nairobi, Kenya
© Dirk Reinhard

Inclusive Insurance Business Models for Africa

8th Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Conference on Inclusive Insurance
24 - 26 April 2023, Nairobi, Kenya

8th Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Conference on Inclusive Insurance
© IRA
8th Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Conference on Inclusive Insurance
2023
The 2023 Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Conference on Inclusive Insurance is part of the series of regional learning sessions aimed at contributing to the development of inclusive insurance markets in Africa. The 8th regional conference will be hosted by the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya (IRA), Munich Re Foundation and FinProbity Solutions in Nairobi from April 24-26, 2023. The conference is supported by the FSD Africa, Association of Kenya Insurers, APA insurance, AB Consultants and the Microinsurance Network.

About the conference

This regional conference is a combination of high-quality training and plenary sessions aimed at sharing insights on inclusive insurance business models that are making access to low-income market segments in Africa possible.

The organisation and implementation of this conference is based on the strong belief of the power of learning and sharing; the conference therefore brings international, regional and local professionals who will exchange experiences and discuss a number of key themes and topics on inclusive insurance business. They include representatives from insurance and reinsurance companies, brokers, distribution channels, international organisations, NGOs, development-aid agencies, policymakers, regulators and supervisors in Africa. The sub themes for this conference are:

  • The Landscape of Inclusive Insurance in Kenya Insights from Kenya inclusive insurance landscape up-to-date portrait of the state of the inclusive insurance market in Kenya covering various themes including innovation, products, regulation and impact.
  • Digital insurance: Exploratory insights and lessons from trends and business models on inclusive digital insurance solutions; taking stock of what has worked and what has not worked in digital inclusive insurance solutions and business models.
  • MSME Insurance: Emerging as a key growth area for inclusivity of insurance in a number of countries; an exploration of emerging and promising models for extending insurance to micro, small and medium sized enterprises.
  • Health insurance: Exploration on client value and viability dimensions of national health insurance schemes in Africa.
  • Agriculture insurance: Sharing experiences and lessons learned from various inclusive agricultural insurance schemes; taking stock of emerging and promising models.
  • Developing and regulating inclusive insurance markets: Sharing lessons and experiences on strategies employed to catalyse the development of insurance sectors for inclusivity and innovation. This includes lessons from insurance regulators on how to balance market development and supervisory roles.

Preliminary draft agenda

Pre conference events - April 24

09:00 – 12:30: Topline and bottomline strategies for inclusive insurance

Inclusive insurance remains a blue ocean for insurance companies in many developing financial markets. Over the years, there has been steady growth recorded in some markets. Retreat presents insights on strategies and business models from successful inclusive insurance providers. This interactive work retreat is designed for CEOs or senior executives in insurance companies who interested increasing their investments and footprint in inclusive insurance business. The sessions aim to demonstrate how inclusive insurance providers can make inclusive insurance viable and profitable while providing superior client value for their customers. Hosted by FinProbity Solutions and AB Consultants, the retreat is a pre-conference event to the 8th Eastern and Southern Africa Conference on inclusive insurance. The retreat features international and regional inclusive insurance leaders. The retreat will address the following:

  • What business strategies can be employed by market players to achieve better results in inclusive insurance business?
  • What organizational structure is ideal for pushing inclusive insurance in a company? • What sort of institutional culture and work-style is ideal?
  • How can shareholders support senior management in pushing inclusive insurance in insurance companies?

This retreat brings together international, regional and national CEOs to share strategies that can be used to make inclusive insurance work in Africa.

Conference agenda - April 24

14:00 - 15:00: Opening

15:00 - 15:30: Coffee break

15:30 - 16:30: Session 1: The landscape of inclusive insurance in Southern and Eastern Africa

In this session, current figures on the Landscape of Inclusive Insurance in Southern and Eastern Africa as well as in Kenya will be presented.  It will provide the basis for further discussions during the conference.

19:00 Welcome cocktail

Conference agenda - April 25

9:00 - 10:30: Session 2: How to enable market development

Reducing this insurance gap is not the exclusive responsibility of the insurance sector. It is also a responsibility of governments and states through their public policies and developing an enabling regulatory environment. It is a task that must be carried out in a framework of public-private collaboration. Due to the low existing coverage of climatic and catastrophic risks, states must spend more and more to cover losses to the population, losses that should be insured. That is why the definition and proposals of national strategies and policies for insurance inclusion are needed. Policies and action plans defined at the highest level of government are required. It is important to give a greater priority and level of importance to the dialogue between the insurance sector and government authorities. The session will discuss how to design a national inclusive insurance strategy and explore how insurance supervisors can create environments that enable scale and innovation while at the same time protecting consumers, and that look at what lessons can be learnt from around the world.

10:30 – 11:00: Coffee break

11:00 – 12:30: Session 3: Climate risk and agricultural insurance

Households, farmers, entrepreneurs and enterprises need to prepare for various risks and safeguard their economic activities. Insurance generally provides the most cost-effective cover against severe events, while risk retention, contingent credit or shock-responsive loans or reserve funds are usually well suited to cover less severe events with higher frequencies. The affordability of climate risk insurance solutions remains a key issue. Developing effective climate and disaster risk finance solutions requires ‘risk layering’. The combination of macro-, meso- and micro-level climate and disaster risk finance and insurance plays a vital role in strengthening the resilience of the vulnerable and poor. The session will discuss the current development of insurance schemes, including parametric (index-based) products aimed at protecting low-income clients/farmers/MSMEs against natural disasters in the region and beyond. 

12:30 - 14:00: Lunch break

14:00 – 15:30: Session 4: Health insurance

Ensuring health insurance coverage for all members of society is a viable way to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The rise of (mobile technology) offers the prospect to transform health insurance by increasing coverage, building transparency, and reducing costs. The session will feature examples how mobile technology and digital solutions are increasing health insurance enrolment and improving access to quality healthcare. Panellists will also discuss current challenges, and the opportunities for scaling digital health tools to improve financing and delivery of care. 

 

 

15:30 – 16:00: Coffee break

16:00 - 17:30: Session 5: Inclusive digital insurance models

Inclusive insurance represents a gigantic business opportunity. However, entry barriers are high and inclusive insurance programmes must be self-sustainable and profitable. Technology is a key enabler for innovation and hence plays a particular role in developing sustainable business models. Digital platforms and new data aggregators are broadening the potential for digital finance services to reach clients who were previously excluded. At the same time, a digital service frequently requires offline backup, and technical applications have various limitations. The session will discuss the benefits and challenges of using the technology.

19:00 Gala Dinner

TBC

Conference agenda - April 26

9:00 – 10:30: Session 6: MSME insurance

MSMEs are the backbone of many developing economies that represent large shares of global business and employment. Businesses need to prepare for climate change impacts and safeguard their business continuity. Appropriate risk management, including access to insurance, is key to catalysing business growth. This session will consider the insurer business model constraints when serving MSMEs and discuss how insurance providers can meet different MSMEs’ risk management needs. While microbusinesses, which often blur the lines between business and personal needs, are usually the prime target market for inclusive insurance, the distinct risk management needs of larger, aspirational but still small enterprises go largely unmet. 

10:30 – 11:00: Coffee break

11:00 – 12:30: Session 6: Closing, outlook and next steps

This session will summarize some learnings from the conference and discuss the next steps. It will also discuss the findings from the IDF working group in Inclusive Insurance Kenya Meeting and develop tasks and a workplan for the future.

12:30 – 13:30: Lunch

13:30 – 18:30: Field Trip

TBC
8th Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Conference on Inclusive Insurance
© IRA
8th Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Conference on Inclusive Insurance
2023