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Resilience & Insurance


Cenfri has deep insurance expertise from working with the insurance markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Insurance penetration in these markets is often low and we understand the need for responsible market innovation so that insurance fulfils its optimal role in building resilience, supporting business growth, and contributing to broader policy and development objectives.

The breadth of Cenfri’s insurance and resilience work spans diagnostic studies, development of global and regional standards and national regulations, technical assistance and innovation support (to regulators and the private sector), innovation studiesMSME-tailored resilience solutionsimproved risk management in response to climate-related events, and definitive work on cell captives.

Our partners include GIZ, Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), the UK’s FCDO (formerly DFID), the FSD Africa and other financial sector deepening trusts, the Swiss Capacity Building Fund, FSCA, Hollard, Santam, Old Mutual, AXA, Britam, Generali, the Microinsurance Network, UNCDF, UNDP, The World Bank, IFC, IADB and ADB. 

Resilience & Insurance

Update on microinsurance innovation in South Africa

South Africa has one of the most innovative insurance markets in the world. It is also considered one of the leading microinsurance jurisdictions. Commercial insurers have reached significant penetration in the low-income market, albeit largely through funeral and credit life insurance. FinMark Trust therefore commissioned Cenfri to provide an update

Financial Inclusion

Mzansi and Zimele product standards in South Africa

Insurance usage in South Africa has for a long time been out of reach of the majority of the low-income population. In 2004, the FinScope survey of financial services usage reported that only 13% of the country’s low-income population had at least one long-term insurance product. The usage figure for

Financial Inclusion

Funeral insurance

Funeral insurance is not just insurance business as usual and requires a dedicated understanding of the dynamics driving funeral insurance markets. This applies to both insurers seeking to effectively target and distribute it, as well as for regulators seeking to find the right regulatory approach to it. Published by ILO

Financial Inclusion

Swaziland’s microinsurance landscape

Microinsurance (or insurance in general) may not be affordable to all Swazis. Below a certain income threshold, non-market interventions such as public social safety nets can play the role of insurance. With this in mind, the market opportunity for microinsurance in Swaziland is estimated to stand at about 633,000 people.

Digital Transformation & Data

Microinsurance innovation in Brazil

These 2011 case studies on microinsurance innovation in Brazil forms part of a series on alternative, innovative microinsurance distribution models. These case studies are focused on retailer, utility and telecommunications distribution of microinsurance. The first case study covers the partnerships between Mapfre, an insurance company, and Casas Bahia and Vivo,

Financial Inclusion

Informal insurance markets

This 2010 presentation tackled the issue of informal insurance markets at the Financial Stability Institute’s meeting on microinsurance.

Financial Inclusion

Microinsurance innovation in Colombia

This 2011 case study on microinsurance innovation in Colombia forms part of a series of case studies on alternative, innovative microinsurance distribution models prepared for the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility. The case study covers three channels, namely the partnership between Codensa, an electricity utility company, and the insurance company Mapfre;

Digital Transformation & Data

New frontiers in microinsurance distribution

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF) commissioned Cenfri to compare innovative distribution models from India, South Africa, Colombia and Brazil. The study was based on several case studies conducted and commissioned by Cenfri. The aim was to create a typology for innovative microinsurance distribution channels and extract

Financial Inclusion

Microinsurance in Mozambique

This body of work aimed to map the landscape of microinsurance in Mozambique with the objective to identify the barriers to and opportunities for insurance market development and to make regulatory and market-related recommendations for future development. This document provides summaries of the regulatory and insurance industry analyses, the take-up