Developing partnerships to insure the world s poor Corporate Capability Statement is a consulting firm dedicated to generating access to valuable microinsurance products to 3 billion low-income people Introduction across the globe. This is accomplished by working with regulated insurers and appropriate delivery channels who can efficiently provide simple, marketresponsive microinsurance products. Our clients include commercial insurers, foundations, bi- and multi-lateral development agencies, regulators, NGOs and others. These organizations work with us to ensure the best potential for success with their microinsurance activities. Our work with clients includes various aspects of microinsurance, from product development and training to research and advocacy. Our team has implemented microinsurance activities in over 65 countries during the last twenty years. Mission: To get SUAVE (simple, understood, accessible, valuable, and efficient) microinsurance products in the hands of 3 billion people across the globe. The Microinsurance Centre office controls the project management, accounting, and Organization consultant involvement for all of its projects. All projects are led by Michael J. McCord, founder and president of the MicroInsurance Centre, who remains responsible for coordinating with partners and clients and ensuring the success of the projects. Various aspects of certain projects are distributed to consultants based on the expertise, experience and demonstrated ability of the consultant. Michael J. McCord, mjmccord@microinsurancecentre.org, www.microinsurancecentre.org,
Core Team The core team at the MicroInsurance Centre is made up of Michael J. McCord, Clémence Tatin-Jaleran, Roland Steinmann, Eamon Kelly, Felipe Botero and Katie Biese. Michael J. McCord brings over twenty years of experience in microfinance and microinsurance to the table, including time as the Regional Director for microfinance programs in Africa before founding the MicroInsurance Centre in 2000. He has conducted extensive research in microinsurance and microfinance and has published documents on case studies, pilot testing, roll-out, the feedback loop for microfinance institutions, and MFI accounting and analysis. He is based out of Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. Clémence Tatin-Jaleran is an independent consultant with extensive actuarial training. She holds a Master s degree in Financial and Actuarial Sciences from the Financial and Insurance Sciences Institute in Lyon, France, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in France. She has ten years of experience working in the insurance field, including six years in microinsurance. Additionally, she has substantial on-site product development experience and has worked with microfinance institutions (MFIs), insurers, rural banks, and other non-profit organizations in Peru, Bolivia, Mali, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. She is based out of Vancouver, Canada. Roland Steinmann is an independent consultant whose previous experience includes six years as a reinsurance underwriter for Swiss Re and two years as a logistics consultant. Since 2006, Steinmann has run his own consulting business and he has acted as a consultant for the MicroInsurance Centre since 2008. He is also an active member of the MicroInsurance Network and is co-founder of the Fair Trade Insurance Initiative, which promotes innovative insurance solutions for smallholders in developing countries. His work focuses on market research, product development and distribution channel development. He is based out of Zurich, Switzerland. Eamon Kelly has over 20 years of actuarial experience in the private insurance sector in Ireland and Australia, primarily as a general insurance consultant. Eamon was also a fellow at MicroFund for Women, a Jordanian MFI, leading in every aspect of the development and implementation of a hospital cash product. His most recent work has been in the development sector, and he has acted as lead project manager and consultant to insurance initiatives in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the MENA region. He is based out of London, United Kingdom. 2
Felipe Botero recently joined the Microinsurance Centre as an insurance specialist focused on Mass Market programs and Developing partnerships to insure the world s poor. Formerly, Botero was Vice President of Global Technology and Operations at MetLife, where he spent more than 20 years, in a variety of roles. At MetLife Botero applied his insurance industry, technology and program management skills in the implementation of multiple global regulatory and compliance programs, as well as the integration of several multi-national M&A transactions. Over the past decade Botero has worked with various international organizations focused on the development of appropriate insurance products and services for low-income people around the globe. He has participated in research studies, assessments and business development initiatives. Botero holds a Bachelor s Degree in Computer Science from Queens College, a Master s of Science degree in Systems Engineering from New York Polytechnic University and an MBA in Finance from New York University. Botero served four years in the US Army. He is a Fellow of LOMA and the Aspen Institute. Katie Biese is a project manager with five years of international development experience, including two and half years with microfinance initiatives in Moldova and Nepal. She joined the MicroInsurance Centre in 2013 and supports the team with research, coordination, and dissemination of lessons learned. She also manages the landscape studies of microinsurance. She is based out of Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. 3
Services and expertise The Microinsurance Centre promotes quality microinsurance through work in product development, research and advocacy (for a description of each see below). The MicroInsurance Centre has extensive experience in market research, product development, capacity building, pilot testing, process efficiencies, mentoring, partnership development and management, program and product evaluation, actuarial pricing and risk assessment, technical support and microinsurance regulation and supervision. Product Development The MicroInsurance Centre works with organizations all around the globe assisting them through some or all of the product development process to ensure that products are responsible, professional, legal, prudent, marketable and profitable. The product development process includes process planning and assessment, supply and demand side market research, stakeholder workshops and trainings, partner selection, product design, partnership development and management, pilot testing, roll out, review and assessment and continued monitoring to ensure the viability and profitability of the product. Research The MicroInsurance Centre has produced a number of informative research studies including: the MILK series of client math studies, RCT (randomized control trial) studies, and business case studies, as well as institutional case studies, landscape mapping, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on various issues within the industry ranging from regulatory framework to supply and demand. We have worked with many different organizations and in a wide variety of countries. Our research has been published in various academic publications and industry periodicals. Advocacy The MicroInsurance Centre leads training workshops at various levels, speaks in international and national forums and actively participates in, and often leads, various working groups on key topics in microinsurance. working relationships among numerous insurance supervisors and regulators around the world, we facilitate dialog about microinsurance policy between insurers and regulators to promote the best ideas and practices. Advocacy and education are always built into our projects as part of our mission to develop partnerships to insure the world s poor. 4
Guiding philosophies Throughout all consulting work, the MicroInsurance Centre is guided by four core philosophies: SUAVE, the Magical Balance, local capacity building, and evolution of products; all of these have been built from years of experience with dozens of microinsurance programs across the globe. The ultimate goal is to create SUAVE microinsurance products that have value for clients and represent a business case (e.g. are sustainable) for the insurer and distribution channel. SUAVE Magical Balance Product Evolution The MicroInsurance Centre works with institutions to ensure that each of the microinsurance products has the following critical SUAVE characteristics: The Magical Balance philosophy recognizes that there needs to be value on both ends of the value chain: there should be long-term, reasonable profit for insurers and distributors on one end, and a product that provides clear value for clients on the other. These two goals business case and client value can often seem to conflict with each other. The MicroInsurance Centre works with partners to understand the interplay of business case and client value, and to find that magical balance in which they complement and strengthen each other. Value for clients The Magical Balance Business Case for providers and distribution channels We believe in the evolution of products; while credit life can serve as a valuable entry point for insurance, and if done correctly provides good value for clients, an institution s microinsurance offerings should not end there. There are many needs of lowincome clients in terms of risk management, as well as competition from other providers and distribution channels. In order to develop a range of products that benefit clients, and stay ahead of competition by being known as innovative institutions that is always working to help its clients, new products will be necessary. The MicroInsurance Centre works with partners from the outset to consider and plan for an evolution of products that meet the variety of clients risk management needs. Local Capacity As consultants we seek to support the development of local capacity; the MicroInsurance Centre is committed to transferring skills to our partners in a way that they can continue to microinsurance evolution without continually requiring consultant assistance. Though our process does not provide continual business for us from the same clients, it does create a more sustainable environment for the continued expansion of microinsurance that benefits the low-income markets and our partners. 5
Selected Examples of Projects, Clients, and Locations Nature of Assignment Client Geographic Coverage Date of Assignment Project Assessment, Regulatory study GIZ Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand Product Development, Regulatory study Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Belize 2014-2015 Landscape Studies Microinsurance Network (MIN) Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia 2015 2014-2016 RCT on the impact of timing of microinsurance messaging on microfinance client for improved CGAP Colombia 2014-2015 understanding and uptake of insurance Product design and implementation strategy Women s World Banking Morocco, Uganda, Egypt, Brazil, México 2014-2016 Regulatory Assessment GIZ Philippines 2014 Development of a Strategic Framework for Financial Inclusion in Thailand Asian Development Bank (ADB) Thailand 2012 2015 Latin America and the Caribbean Landscape Study Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Latin America and the Caribbean 2013 Product design and implementation strategy Women s World Banking Peru 2012-2013 Africa Landscape Study Munich Re Foundation and Making Finance Work for Africa Africa 2012-2013 Insurer mentoring GIZ Ghana 2012-2013 Client Math study Coffey International Development Cambodia 2012-2013 Major study of value of MI and MI business case (MILK project) Training in microinsurance development, management, delivery A major foundation Global 2010-2014 Boulder Institute, USAID, Zurich Insurance, Bank Acadamie, PMN Pakistan, numerous others 6 Global 2005-2014
Nature of Assignment (cont.) Client Geographic Coverage Date of Assignment Support the microinsurance component of MABS-4 project Chemonics / USAID Philippines 2011-2012 Insurer mentoring GTZ Ghana 2009-2011 Feasibility study with focus on product development USAID/AED West Bank, Palestine 2009-2011 Midterm evaluations of three large microinsurance grantees Africa Landscape study (Identify microinsurance players, schemes, and number of lives covered) A major foundation Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, India, Pakistan, Philippines and others 2010 ILO Sub-Saharan Africa 2010 Strategy development and product design Women s World Banking Jordan 2006-2010 General market evaluation Lloyd s of London Worldwide 2010 Product development, technical assistance to Microfinance Network, microinsurance manual production IFAD Vietnam, Armenia 2007-2010 Microinsurance benchmark data base World Bank Global 2009 and 2010 Opportunities for distribution of microinsurance MICRA/Bank Andara Indonesia 2010 Six pre-feasibility studies KfW Azerbaijan, Albania. Georgia, Ukraine, Uganda, and Romania 2004-2008 Country microinsurance assessment Asian Development Bank (ADB) Sri Lanka 2006-2007 Landscape study A major foundation World s 100 Poorest Countries 2006 Three pre-feasibility landscape studies KfW, UNDP, Allianz, and GTZ India, Indonesia, and Laos 2005 7
Other Major Clients 8
Selected publications Microinsurance Papers Bernhardt, Alex, Roland Steinmann, and Michael J. McCord. Microinsurance Intermediaries. Protecting the poor: A microinsurance compendium II. Ed. Craig Churchill and Michal Matul. p. 503-526. Geneva: ILO, 2012. Ingram, Molly and Michael J. McCord. Defining "Microinsurance": Thoughts for a journey towards a common understanding. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, June 2011. McCord, Michael J., Oliver Zenklusen, and Roland Steinmann. Leveraging Lessons in Microinsurance - Towards a Culture of Learning: The Value of Difficult and Failed Experiments. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, March 2011. Manuals McCord, Michael J. Microinsurance Product Development for Microfinance Providers. Rome: IFAD, October 2012. McCord, Michael J. SUAVE Checklist for Microinsurance Products: Enhancing the potential for success. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, January 2012. Sandmark, Thérèse, Jean-Christophe Debar, and Clémence Tatin-Jaleran. The Emergence and Development of Agriculture Microinsurance. ILO, Geneva, December, 2013. Steinmann, Roland. Process mapping for microinsurance operations. Rome: IFAD, 2012. Microinsurance Learning and Knowledge (MILK) Project documents Bauchet, Jonathan, et al. Protecting those Left Behind: An Experimental Study of Lif e Microinsurance Purchase Decisions of Compartamos Banco s Borrowers in Mexico. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, January 2013. Koven, Richard, John Wipf, Emily Zimmerman and Michael J. McCord. Win-Win-Win: Profitability and client value along the life microinsurance value chain in the Philippines. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, January 2014. McCord, Michael J., Barbara Magnoni, and Emily Zimmerman. MILK Brief #7: A Microinsurance Puzzle: How do Demand Factors link to Client Value? Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, October 2011. Zimmerman, Emily, Barbara Magnoni, and Michael J. McCord. Beyond the actuary s g uess lessons from 15 studies on client value of microinsurance. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, November 2013. 9
Landscape studies McCord, Michael J., Molly Ingram, and Clemence Tatin-Jaleran. The Landscape of Microinsurance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, LLC, September 2013. McCord, Michael J., et al. The Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa 2012. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, 2013. Matul, Michal, et al. The Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa. Geneva: ILO-Microinsurance Innovation Facility, May 2010. Roth, Jim, Michael J. McCord, and Dominic Liber. The Landscape of Microinsurance in the World's 100 Poorest Countries. Appleton: MicroInsurance Centre, 2007. Michael J. McCord with the staff of CARD bank. The MicroInsurance Centre is the Insurance Organization winner of the inaugural Midwestern Insurance Innovation and Leadership Award from the Katie School of Insurance at Illinois State University. 10
Projects by country 11
Staff and consultants CONTACT US 1045 N. Lynndale Drive, Suite 2E Phone: (920) 257-2179 info@microinsurancecentre.or 12