Reaching the Poor at Scale through Mobile Phones

Transcription

1 MicroEnsure Mobile Insurance Reaching the Poor at Scale through Mobile Phones Peter Gross General Manager - MicroEnsure Ghana 9 November 2011

2 Mobile Insurance Introduction Africa: the M-Insurance Boom 2 of 3 of live mobile insurance products are in Africa (GSMA) Lowest insurance penetration; early mobile money success Live Products in Africa: Life: 9 Health: 2 Personal Accident: 1 Agriculture: 1

3 Mobile Insurance Introduction Customer Access: 50% of global poor have a mobile phone Financial Transactions: Faster, cheaper, easier, safer Why Mobile Insurance? Information Transfer: Efficient i marketing, enrolment, administration Consumer Trust: Reputation, ti familiarity of telecoms vs. insurers

4 Mobile Insurance Network - Africa Insurers Facilitation Partners Telecoms

5 MicroEnsure Experience Launched life m-insurance products in January, March, and July 2011 Serve 500, active customers via mobile insurance today, expect to serve 5-7 million within two years Roles: product and operations design, insurance and re-insurance brokerage, policy administration, client education consultancy Varying degrees of success with similar il products Winner of 2011 Financial Times/IFC Sustainable Finance Award Achievement in Financing at Base of Pyramid

6 MicroEnsure Experience MTN Ghana Mi-Life Insurance: MTN Ghana Life insurance sold via Mobile Money Buy, manage and claim via phone Monthly premium/life: US$0.35 $1.75 Life insurance benefit: US$350 - $1,500 Mi-Life Insurance Dial Number or Select Option 1. Manage my Insurance 2. Claims 3. Customer Support 4. Authorised Agent Recurring deduction of premium via Mobile Money

7 MicroEnsure Experience - Tigo Tigo Family Care Insurance: Tigo Ghana & Tanzania Life insurance sold to Tigo subscribers Free to subscribers on an opt-in basis Distributed by dedicated agents SMS sent to customer once per month Thank you for using Tigo! Based on your Tigo usage in December, your free life insurance is XXX cedis for January. Use more Tigo, get more insurance! Cover based on monthly airtime usage

8 MicroEnsure Experience Tigo Tigo Agent meets clients in Tigo store or in market Agent explains insurance using policy brochure Agent registers customer on phone Customer calls single point of contact for questions/claims Tigo sends monthly SMS messages to inform client of insurance earned Registration confirmed

9 MicroEnsure Experience Tigo Client Nana Enrolled during original pilot in Q Registered her father Eugene, a teacher Used Tigo loyally for all her calls and SMS Earned GHS 800-1,000 (USD ) in cover per month Father passed away unexpectedly on Christmas Day of a heart attack Made a claim & received cheque in 2 days Nana Yaa Konadu with her cheque for 800 Ghana cedis, just 2 days after reporting her claim Now works for Tigo explaining the insurance product

10 Mobile Insurance Conflicts Sophisticated Technology Simple Value Proposition Conventional Underwriting Mobile Scale Insurance Demand Mobile Money Penetration

11 Perspectives Must Change Telecoms Insurance is not like an airtime promotion Your brand is critical to insurance uptake Broaden your conception of Rate of Return Insurers Telecoms aren t interested in 100s or 1000s Existing products and processes will not suit Key risk is not (usually) fraud, but partner risk Facilitation Insurance is not simply a mobile payment Be ready to work at scale, today Tech must satisfy the telecom, insurer, and client Partners

12 Perspectives Must Change Simplify everything, then do it again... Account for illiteracy, poor document access, inconsistent i cash flow, low financial i literacy, etc All Parties p y KYC requirements will likely be insufficient for insurance policy administration Focus on win-win-win first, not premium splits Involve regulators earlier than usual Build product for multiple countries from Day 1

13 Perspectives Must Change Typical Life Insurance Terms & Conditions Waiting Period of 3-6 months before cover commences Medical Examination required for underwriting Family Medical History shows genetic linkage to disease Exclusions for HIV/AIDS, death by heart/lung disease or other pre-existing medical conditions, mountain climbing, paragliding, mental illness, asthma, diabetes, hypertension Cover, surrender value lapses if premium paid late Cover terminates when subscriber reaches a certain age Complex documents and forms required for claims

14 Perspectives Must Change Typical Life Insurance Terms & Conditions Waiting Period of 3-6 months before cover commences Medical Examination required for underwriting Family Medical History shows genetic linkage to disease Exclusions for HIV/AIDS, death by heart/lung disease or other pre-existing medical conditions, mountain climbing, paragliding, mental illness, asthma, diabetes, hypertension Cover, surrender value lapses if premium paid late Cover terminates when subscriber reaches a certain age Complex documents and forms required for claims Claims Processors paid by claims denial rate Scale requires simplicity... which is justified by scale!

15 Technology Critical Decisions Client Education Sustainable value depends on customer understanding...do scale and efficiency undermine quality for the customer? Product Visibilityibilit To push or pull Information? Pushing is costly, but engages the customer; ;pulling is cheap, but do customers value the product? Premium Collection Will customers pay premiums? Can airtime be deducted based on regulatory or behavioural constraints? Does subscription work? Technology offers attractive efficiencies - but at what cost?

16 Technology Critical Decisions Client Education Td Today agents, brochures, SMS; 5-7 minutes with each customer Tomorrow - advertising, in-store resources, SMS, USSD menus? Product Visibility Today push information to customers to maintain engagement Tomorrow - how do we avoid sending unwanted information? Premium Collection Today - use subscription and implicit payment wherever possible Tomorrow what will become possible as the market develops? Often, we have avoided a technology-heavy solution in favour of simplicity and quality

17 Mobile Insurance - Conclusion Requirements for Mobile Insurance Success: 1. Product must enhance the channel s core business in order to justify: 2. Reliance on the channel s brand 3. Product, process, technology must be simple 4. Premium collection requires creativity 5. Partnership incentives must be aligned 6. Technology should serve - not drive - the product 7. Capital must be patient...

18 Mobile Insurance Conclusion The Mobile Insurance Ecosystem International Remittance Services Micro Finance Institutions Not Just Telecoms... Mobile Financial Service Providers Retailers, Switches, Mobile- Based Networks...

19 MicroEnsure Mobile Insurance Thank You! Phone: Peter Gross General Manager