TOP FIVE tips to build a successful microinsurance partnership

Microinsurance Innovation Facility – Highlights on the recently conducted webinar on Managing Partnerships in Microinsurance:

  1. A successful partnership requires a clear understanding of the business problem that a distribution partner has and how insurance is going to fix it. Financial incentives such as commissions may not be sufficient (see Emerging Insights #32). Will insurance help partners manage internal risk, attract new customers, or retain existing customers?
  2. An alignment of vision and interest is critical.  An assessment questionnaire or a third-party facilitator can help partners have a genuine dialogue and identify potential issues upfront.
  3. Trust and commitment are crucial and are required from both the executive and operational teams. Working through issues and challenges together is a necessary part of developing trust and commitment.
  4. Clear expectations of what the partnership can achieve are needed. Developing a joint business plan helps. The business plan need not be comprehensive, but it should

Why reinvent the wheel? Use existing tools that work

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 …

RBAP-MABS Participates in the Microinsurance Advocacy Training

In celebration of Microinsurance Month, a three-day Training on Microinsurance Advocacy (TOMA) was held in Tagaytay City from January 18-20. The Microinsurance Teams of the United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) and RBAP-Rural Bankers Research Development Foundation Inc. participated.  The event was the third in a series of workshops under the Financial Literacy Roadshow on Microinsurance Advocacy that will be conducted in sixteen (16) regions of the country. Collaborators include German International Cooperation-Microinsurance Innovations Program for Social Security (GIZ-MIPSS), Insurance Commission, National Credit Council (NCC) of the Department of Finance (DOF) and Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction Program of the Asian Development Bank.

The event sought to enhance the knowledge and skills of participants to become advocates of microinsurance in the Philippines. Thirty-eight (38) individuals from various national government agencies, intermediaries, donor agencies, support institutions, local government units and …

More Rural Banks Complete Microinsurance Training Course

Eighteen rural banks based in Luzon and Mindanao recently completed the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) Basic Microinsurance Training during two separate sessions. Twenty-nine (29) bank officers and staff from ten (10) rural bank-members of the Cagayan-Kalinga Federation attended the training held in Cooperative Bank, Tuguegarao City, on November 24-25 while eleven (11) bank officers and staff from eight (8) rural banks participated in the course held on December 7-8 in Manila. Altogether, one hundred and sixty (160) rural banks have been trained under the RBAP Basic Microinsurance Training course since January 2011.

The two-day training covers the fundamental concepts and principles of microinsurance through lecture, group exercises and simulation activities. More importantly, participants are guided on the procedures and requirements of the Insurance Company and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for Microinsurance Agent licensing.

The course is part of the activities of the Rural Bankers Association of …

Northern Bicol Federation Rural Banks Completed Microinsurance Training Course

Thirteen rural bank-members of the Northern Bicol Federation participated in the 16th Basic Microinsurance Training Course on December 16-17 at Café Frederico in Naga City. To date, 354 rural bank officers and staff from 168 rural banks have completed the training.

The two-day course is designed to guide and qualify rural banks to properly complete the licensing and approval process prescribed by the Insurance Commission, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission. After successful completion of the course training and the examination, participants will be certified as trained by RBAP, qualifying them as microinsurance soliciting officers of their respective banks.

Northern Bicol Federation rural banks represented were: Bangko Rural ng Pasacao, Municipal Rural Bank of Libmanan, Municipal Rural Bank of Nabua, Peñafrancia Rural Bank of Calabanga, Rural Bank of Goa, Rural Bank of Jose Panganiban, Rural Bank of Ocampo, Rural Bank of Paracale, Rural Bank of …

Video: Microinsurance Services of Rural Banks

This video documents the microinsurance efforts of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines in partnership with United States Agency for International Development/Philippines through the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program and the International Labour Organization under the Microinsurance Innovation Facility.

Northwestern Mindanao Rural Bankers Complete the Microinsurance Basic Training Course

The Northwestern Mindanao Federation rural bank members participated in the Microinsurance (MI) Basic Training Course held at the Bethany Gardens Resort in Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental last August 11 and 12. Twenty-two (22) officers and staff from eleven (11) rural banks attended the course which covers the fundamentals of microinsurance, including marketing and servicing of clients.

The two-day MI Basic Training Course is part of the Insurance Commissions requirements for Microinsurance Agent Licensing. In addition, participating banks must also pass the qualifying exam administered at the end of the course and amend the bank’s article of incorporation to include microinsurance as its new service.

The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program has been assisting the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation Inc. (RBRDFI) in offering a turn-key solution for rural banks to become licensed microinsurance agents. To facilitate rural bank microinsurance agent licensing applications, …

Luzon Rural Bankers Complete Microinsurance Basic Training Course

Ten rural banks from Luzon attended the Microinsurance Basic Training Course held at the Orchid Garden Hotel in Manila on August 2-3, 2011.  Nineteen (19) of the course participants also successfully completed the qualifying examinations administered at the end of the course, which is the first step to becoming a qualified Microinsurance Soliciting Officer.

The two-day training covers the fundamentals of microinsurance, marketing and servicing. One of the tools used in the training is the Microinsurance Agent Tool Kit which includes all the requirements from the Insurance Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to apply for a Microinsurance Agent License.

Since its launch in January 2011, 208 rural bank representatives from 99 rural banks have been trained under the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation Inc. Microinsurance Basic Training Course. Upcoming course will also be held on August 11-12 in Ozamiz City, August 18-19 in Davao City and in …

Microinsurance Basic Training Batch 7 conducted by RBAP with the Metro Manila Federation

Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program assisted Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation Inc. (RBRDFI) conduct the seventh (7th) batch of rural banks for the two-day Microinsurance Basic Training Course last July 14-15, 2011. This qualifies the represented rural banks to apply for Microinsurance Agent licensing with the Insurance Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Organized by the Metro Manila Federation under the leadership of Mr. Davidson Pascual, the largest Microinsurance Basic Training was attended by thirty-three (33) participants comprised of officers, managers and front liners from thirteen (13) rural banks from Metro Manila and its peripheral municipalities. The RBAP MI Training employed a mix of group workshops and simulation activities that kept the trainees engaged and active.

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Participants listened as Ms. Liamzon-Miller delivers her message during the training

RBAP training for rural banks covers the fundamentals of microinsurance selling, marketing and …

More Rural Banks in Leyte Complete Microinsurance Basic Training Course

Twenty-one (21) bank officers, managers and staff from sixteen (16) rural bank members of the Leyte-Samar-Biliran Federation completed the Microinsurance Basic Training Course conducted by USAID-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program and Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation Inc (RBRDFI) on July 29, 2011. The training course is an initial requirement for a rural bank’s application as Microinsurance Agent licensed by the Insurance Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The course participants also successfully completed the qualifying examinations administered at the end of the course, which may qualify them as Microinsurance Soliciting Officers.

The Leyte-Samar-Biliran Federation, led by Federation President Rosario Ong Veloso, threw in their full support, making the course the most attended by rural banks since the course was launched in January 2011. This training brings to ninety (90) the total number of rural banks that have been trained in …