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Insurance is a challenging idea to explain to most people, even to those who have some grasp of financial services. Would-be customers need to be aware of future risks, over which they may not have much certainty. How these risks might ultimately affect them may not be clear either. Customers would then have to choose among complicated products and decide which providers and channels might best suit their needs.
Why the prevailing “flyer and sales pitch” model fails customers and providers
Here is a familiar scene: customers are presented with an insurance leaflet when applying for a loan. In many cases, some customers may assume that cover is required to access credit. While low awareness may already be a pressing issue, this example also highlights whether such sales journeys give customers a real understanding of insurance and the opportunity to make a genuine choice. If a customer believes insurance is a necessary condition to receive a loan, can this be deemed financial education – or even informed consent?
This is a scenario that many inclusive insurance providers may recall. Education requirements have led to customers being targeted with pamphlets, generic messages or sales-linked communications. In many cases, distribution is often via partners whose core business is not insurance. As a result, they may be unable or unwilling to dedicate the time and resources to design a financial education programme, train their staff and comply with regulatory requirements.
Handing out leaflets is an easy and practical way of providing product information to prospective customers. But it is not the most effective way to ensure that customers know what they might be about to purchase. This often ignores the need to properly educate customers for them to understand the benefits of being insured. It also raises a well-worn consumer protection concern in microinsurance: education should ideally be part of a national financial-literacy strategy, while product information should be comprehensible and comparable.
So, how does the messaging vary across product information, sales communication and financial education? The narrative used for each of these could end up being the same or similar, even though each serves different purposes (Figure 1). Messaging for financial education should be designed to lead to behavioural change, including the informed decision not to buy a product.
Figure 1: Distinguishing messages by objective
| Providing product information | “Your policy covers personal accidents between these dates.” |
| Sales communication to target market | “Buy this protection now and benefit a lower loan interest rate.” |
| Financial education messaging | “What risks does your household face, what coping options exist and when might insurance be useful for your needs?” |
What a credible programme looks like: The case of Colombia
Several markets have launched insurance-sector financial education programmes. The Philippines has built consumer education into its microinsurance regulatory framework, and comparable efforts exist elsewhere. India and South Africa exemplify supervisor- and association-led insurance awareness campaigns, while financial education work is embedded in Peru’s national financial inclusion strategy.
Among these, and within Latin America in particular, Colombia’s programme stands out for its longevity, its evidence base and its sector-wide reach. Fasecolda, the country’s insurance association, launched Viva Seguro, a segmented financial education model for different customer groups. Viva Seguro was created to improve people’s knowledge and behaviours towards risks and insurance, enabling them to make informed decisions. groups. Viva Seguro was created to improve people’s knowledge and behaviours towards risks and insurance, enabling them to make informed decisions.
Viva Seguro demonstrates how collective action can deliver financial education at a scale that individual insurers might struggle to achieve alone. The programme’s approach is based on an industry association-driven initiative that creates economies of scale: “34 companies, one financial-education programme.” It combines jointly funded technical expertise, research, campaigns and multiple delivery channels. While collective action has worked in Colombia, several insurance providers are now developing their own financial education programmes – some even with Viva Seguro as inspiration.
Viva Seguro: A sector-wide answer to low trust in Colombia
Viva Seguro emerged from a 2008 microinsurance demand study, which found that low-income households were exposed to unemployment, death and illness of the household head. Coping mechanisms included relying on relatives, savings and credit. Insurance use and knowledge were limited: only 26% of households surveyed understood what a premium was, while 36% knew what a claim was; just one in three had asked about the cost of insurance. The main barriers to insurance uptake were perceived high prices (around 40%) and lack of interest (around 27%).[1]
From radio and workshops to hard evidence
The programme was formally launched in 2009, alongside Colombia’s Financial Reform law (Law 1328). Supervised financial institutions were required to provide independent financial education. Initially, Viva Seguro relied on in-person workshops, radio broadcasts and explanatory booklets. An impact evaluation, carried out by Fasecolda between 2011 and 2014, found that both workshops and radio led to greater knowledge of risks and insurance. However, neither substantially changed behaviour.
The conclusion was that mass education can raise awareness, but focused interventions are needed to influence financial behaviour and insurance decisions. A 2014 behavioural diagnosis, run by Fasecolda, further highlighted the challenges to overcome (Figure 2). The results showed that experience – particularly when people heard about others’ (positive) claim outcomes – influenced individuals’ willingness to buy insurance. Policyholders who had read and understood policies and compared claim options were more likely to have higher claims satisfaction.
Figure 2: Perceptions of insurance among surveyed households, 2014
82% | 6 in 10 | 85% |
of households felt insurance was a useful tool to deal with risk | people believed insurance mainly benefited the seller | of households felt insurers would find excuses to not pay claims |
Source: Fasecolda - 2014 behavioural diagnosis.
Different tools for different life stages
In response, Viva Seguro developed behaviourally oriented tools for different customer segments:
Early lessons from the programme showed positive results (Figure 3), demonstrating that financial education should be designed to reach all population groups. Targeted approaches are more likely to lead to customer behaviour change, over mass-market campaigns. The lessons also showed that to be effective, interventions should be researched, piloted, evaluated and adapted. For long-term success, there is a need to ensure sustained coordination with public authorities.
Figure 3: Viva Seguro’s results by 2020
32,000 people trained
| 19 insurance guides produced
| 34 accessible videos produced
| Website that is accessible to all
| Social media presence across several platforms |
Source: Fasecolda
Seguro me aseguro: Taking education online
Viva Seguro has used digital tools to good effect; Seguro me aseguro remains one of its prominent targeted digital campaigns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Viva Seguro launched “Seguro me aseguro” (“I insure myself, for sure”) – a virtual financial-education campaign. It was launched in response to the economic shock experienced by most households in Colombia in 2020, when gross domestic product contracted by 7.2% year on year. Since its launch, it has helped many vulnerable households build resilience by improving their understanding of risk management and insurance.
The programme was designed as a digital competition delivered through Viva Seguro’s social media channels. The target audience is first exposed to lessons on risks and insurance. Using this knowledge, they then complete challenges that require them to produce and disseminate their own insurance-related content on social media. The campaign aims to make people active communicators and resilience leaders within their communities. Winners are recognised as “great insurance influencers.”
Seguro me aseguro is based on behavioural science. It promotes the idea that financial decisions are influenced by knowledge, as well as by biases, social norms, and peer opinions. Based on this, the programme aims to encourage behavioural change rather than just conveying or simplifying technical information. Target individuals and groups are encouraged to consider risks and their impact, develop protective habits and adopt a more open stance to insurance.
Partnerships and digital delivery are the core drivers
Public–private collaboration is a core part of the programme. Fasecolda worked with Banca de las Oportunidades under the “Más Seguro, Más Futuro” agreement. This arrangement supports financial inclusion and the development of inclusive insurance in Colombia. Inclusive insurance is presented as coverage for populations inadequately served by traditional insurance products. Relevant products can include life, personal accident and theft cover, alongside microinsurance and mass-market insurance adapted to the needs of lower-income customers.
As a Viva Seguro-run initiative, the use of digital delivery is an important part of Seguro me aseguro. The COVID-19 pandemic had helped to accelerate the adoption and use of various digital platforms, including social media. Around 69% of the population (approximately 35 million people) were active social media users in 2020. YouTube and Facebook were found to be prominently used by the target audience. As a result, Facebook was used to deliver financial education for Seguro me aseguro.
The lesson from Colombia is participation, not reach
Seguro me aseguro is an early, insurance-sector-driven effort to combine digital engagement, behavioural insights, and community influence to strengthen household resilience. Its lesson for providers elsewhere is that digital channels offer greater participation, as well as cost savings. Leaflets need to be read, while a Facebook challenge is asking to be answered and shared.
Colombia's experience suggests that the most valuable digital tool is the one that turns a customer into an explainer. The moment an individual can describe risk in their own words, adopting insurance becomes an easier decision to make. It is no longer just a document associated with a loan. That is the behavioural shift worth designing for, which starts long before the brochure.
[1] Fasecolda, (2008). Microinsurance demand survey.