ICMIF

International Cooperative &

Mutual Insurance
Federation
www.icmif.org

Key points

About ICMIF
Linkage with Takaful concept
Avenues for collaboration
The development function of ICMIF
Importance of insurance to poverty alleviation
Providing microinsurance products
The need and possibilities in Muslim
countries

About ICMIF

Established in 1922
Not-for-profit voluntary trade association
Represents 127 members from 67 countries
Member driven
Strengthen and promote the cooperative and mutual
insurance sector

Linkage with Takaful concept

Policyholders co-operate among themselves for their
common good
Every policyholder pays his subscription to help those that
need assistance
Losses are divided and liabilities spread according to the
community pooling system
It does not derive advantage at the cost of others

Avenues for collaboration

Reinsurance
Information
Training
Establishing Takaful windows with members
Development

ICMIF development function

Objectives
Provide support to small members
Assist cooperative bodies to establish
insurance operations
Increase access to insurance to excluded
sectors of society

ICMIF development function

Methodology
ICMIF Fees
Technical expertise provided by members
Development projects led by members
Partnerships with national and international
donor agencies

ICMIF development function

Progress
Established 25 people-orientated insurance
organisations
Unique Insurance Company Ghana
Financial support received for Latin America
Contract to write guidelines on microinsurance
Turkmenistan State Insurance Organisation
Health Mutual scheme Mali
Currently involved in 22 countries

Insurance is being
recognized as an
important tool for
poverty alleviation

Insurance and Poverty Alleviation

The poor are the most vulnerable

The impact of losses are more severe
They have minimum means of recovery
Success of microfinance schemes show the
poor can and want to save
Savings and credit are used unproductively
The poor need a safety net to escape poverty

Providing microinsurance
The challenges

Coverage
Regulation
Moral hazard and Fraud
Adverse selection
Education and trust
Technical expertise
Affordability
Retention
Sustainability

Providing microinsurance
The possibilities
The cooperative microinsurance model
History of organising the poor
Operate for the interest of members by
members
Trust
Ownership and loyalty
Peer pressure
Surplus reinvested or redistributed

Providing microinsurance
The partner agent model
No-risk fee for microinsurance provider
Better coverage for policyholder
Access to new market
Pooling of risks between informal and formal
sector

Providing microinsurance
The donor agent model
Access to expertise
Financial sustainability
Guiding hand

The need in Muslim countries

Social services inadequate or unavailable
Large sectors of poverty in many Muslim
countries
Over half of worlds lowest developed countries
have a majority Muslim population
Increasing inequality in Middle East and Gulf
countries

Takaful is the second

most important social
institution to counter
poverty and
deprivation
Omar Fisher,1999

How can we provide microtakaful

products?

Establish informal microtakaful schemes

Encouragement of pro-poor organisations
Education of government and donor agencies
Involvement of Takaful sector
Technical expertise
Financial assistance
Partner-agent model

Bear ye one anothers burden

A Global reach for

local strength
Thank you for your attention