CARD Pioneer Microinsurance model eyed by global players

MANILA, Philippines — Major players in the global microinsurance ecosystem are looking at duplicating the sustainable framework of CARD Pioneer Microinsurance Inc. (CPMI), the first microinsurance company in the Philippines.

Microinsurance master founder Bert Opdebeeck said the challenges being experienced by countries like Thailand and Nigeria are similar in the Philippines.

“We are talking about the unbanked, uninsured population that has very little understanding of what insurance is all about. Our goal is to better serve the low-income segments. We gathered these delegates to learn how Pioneer really made a difference in microinsurance,” Opdebeeck said.

Global accelerator Microinsurance Master and Pioneer Insurance organized a two-week immersion in the Philippines, which included talks, interviews and site visits. This will be followed by a three-month online mentorship from Microinsurance Master when participants return to their home countries.

“Pioneer’s 18.5 million microinsurance enrollees here in the Philippines is a level not yet attained by any other insurer globally. That is such a high penetration of the population. CARD Pioneer is globally recognized as a microinsurance leader that is setting the pace and being an inspiration for many global players,” Opdebeeck said.

National Insurance Commission of Nigeria deputy commissioner Sabiu Abubakar said that his mission is to learn and apply CPMI’s best practices to help address Nigeria’s financial inclusion gap as there are many low-income earners.

“Many are excluded from financial protection benefits, particularly insurance hence the government sought for the formulation of a financial inclusion instrument. With microinsurance, they will have access [to financial protection]. Microinsurance exists to take care of these people. We are here to learn from Pioneer’s experience and successes,” Abubakar said.

Mallika Uswachoke, vice president for emerging customer and strategic development of Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance, said that while the Philippines and Thailand face similar challenges, the former has set the pace in terms of penetrating the low-income segment.

Uswachoke said the Philippines has led the way in ensuring that the majority of the population has access to insurance.

“In Thailand, we are still getting into that status. At Krungthai-AXA, we’re trying to make insurance more accessible and valuable to the majority of our country’s population,” Uswachoke said.

After completing the two-week immersion program, Uswachoke hopes to bring home some of the key lessons she learned from the program, such as Pioneer’s fast settlement of claims, collaborative public-private partnership, and customer-centric framework.

Ikpeme Neto, founder and CEO of Nigeria-based Wella Health, said Pioneer is the global leader in microinsurance.