Microinsurance Innovation Facility – As more institutions enter microinsurance, it is efficient to make use of existing tools that work, in order to minimize the resources needed to develop successful tools. An encouraging example comes from Seguros Futuro.
When Seguros Futuro wanted to expand its education efforts it decided to incorporate insurance education in the annual general assemblies of its cooperatives. Instead of designing a new educational game, Seguros Futuro adapted an existing game called Treasure Pot, developed by the Micro Insurance Academy, which had already been tried and tested in different countries.
In Seguros Futuros’ adapted game, each participant receives ten candies and draws a card that represents an emergency or good fortune. In the first round, participants who draw an emergency card must pay the indicated number of candies, and participants who draw a good fortune card retain their candies. In the second round, participants have the option to buy insurance, in which case they pay a two-candy premium upfront. Participants then redraw cards, but now are not required to pay extra for an emergency as the insurance covers the cost. The game was successful in generating interest about insurance among the assemblies, and provided a base for more focused education efforts.
By adapting the existing Treasure Pot game, Seguros Futuro was able to save on preparation time and the resources needed to create a successful education tool.
For more on Seguros Futuro, see their Learning Journey. The Learning Journey is a narrative account of the lessons being learned by the Facility’s innovation partner as it implements its microinsurance project.