LocationsWinners of the UNDP ICMIF Insurance Innovation Challenge
Increasing the financial resilience of women
March 8, 2024
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its Insurance & Risk Finance Facility and the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) Foundation have today announced 4 winners of the UNDP ICMIF Insurance Innovation Challenge.
The Innovation Challenge was launched as a major Public-private partnership on International Women’s Day in 2023. Mutual and cooperative insurers were called on to innovate affordable and inclusive insurance products tailored to underserved households and MSMEs in developing economies, and with a particular focus on women.
“Four remarkable projects have been selected as winners of the UNDP ICMIF Insurance Innovation Challenge." said Liz Green, CEO Designate, ICMIF "This initiative demonstrates the power of partnerships and the pivotal role of mutual and cooperative insurers in creating affordable insurance solutions for women in underserved communities.”
The winning projects, will receive up to US$100K as well as technical assistance to bring their innovative solutions to life - with a particular focus on increasing the financial resilience of women in low-income communities and women-run micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. These projects are rooted in the mutual and cooperative insurance approach of working with grassroots communities to co-create risk models.
“Women’s financial resilience was a core criteria of the UNDP ICMIF Insurance Innovation Challenge, and is a now core feature of each of the four winning projects, because empowering women isn’t just a matter of equality - it’s an essential strategy for sustainable development.” said Tuga Alaskary, Technical Specialist, Risk Financing, and Gender Lead, UNDP Insurance and Risk Financing Facility
This first round of the UNDP ICMIF Insurance Innovation Challenge is targeting 93,800 policies, which equates to just over 375,000 individuals protected (counting an average of four members in a household). Developing low-cost, inclusive insurance products can open a path to financial protection for tens of millions of women in developing countries.
Meet the winners:
India's National Insurance VimoSEWA Cooperative Ltd.
The ‘Saral Suraksha Yojana’ income loss insurance programme to protect women working in the informal sector in Northeast India from out-of-pocket expenses incurred during a health crisis or hospitalisation.
Kenya's CIC Insurance Group
The “CIC COOP Care Micro Health” product will target 8,800 policies (inpatient, outpatient, maternity, dental, optical and end of life expense) from low-income households in co-operative societies, and specifically women owned cooperatives.
Malawi's CIC Insurance Group
In partnership with Co-operative Life Assurance Ltd, the ‘Abwenzi Rural Health Insurance' project that will target 50,000 policy holders (covering maternity, hospitalization, funeral and out-patient coverage), with a focus on women in rural areas earning less than US$3 per day.
Sri Lanka's Sanasa Life Insurance Public limited Company
An innovative insurance product called "Labandi Ran Wasi” will be developed, which aims to scale up tailored protection for women-run micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
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