As part of our ongoing interview series with inclusive insurance leaders, we spoke to Dirk Reinhard about the International Conference on Inclusive Insurance (ICII). Since its first edition in 2025, Dirk has been organising the ICII. Now regarded as the industry’s premier annual convention, we asked Dirk about his reflections on inclusive insurance and what attendees can expect at this year’s ICII, which will take place in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 21-25 October 2024.
In October 2024, Nepal will host the 20th edition of the ICII. The event turning 20 is quite a milestone. How have you seen inclusive insurance evolve between the first ICII and today?
We can divide the last 20 years into four different phases. Between 2005 and 2010, which we can call the “early days”, we were trying to establish microinsurance as a sector, and understand how it could target low-income populations in low- and middle-income countries. The aim was to determine insurance’s potential in mitigating the financial risks encountered by low-income communities. At the time, product development was mainly around life and health. There was also an emphasis on running pilots through partner-agent models that involved microfinance institutions and credit life insurers. Donor interest primarily came through the Gates Foundation and GIZ.
After 2010, the focus was on scaling microinsurance programmes and sharing knowledge on best practice for successful distribution. This marked the start of the second phase, where technology was being used to drive the development and distribution of microinsurance products. The growth of mobile technology at the time raised expectations about the potential of mobile-enabled insurance. Some schemes grew rapidly, while several new public-private partnerships emerged. Some organisations began to measure the impact of microinsurance and look at its commercial sustainability. A key concern was whether these new products were creating value for customers. At the same time, we saw several countries starting to develop separate regulations for microinsurance – which the Access to Insurance Initiative continues to facilitate.
“Developing national financial inclusion strategies that include insurance is the most promising way to close the insurance gap and increase resilience of the most vulnerable.” Dirk Reinhard, Vice Chair, Munich Re Foundation |
The third phase saw the scope of microinsurance broaden to become more inclusive: this is when we shifted to using the term “inclusive insurance”. Importantly, this phase is when we saw insurance gain prominence through decisions at the COP: insurance is now considered an important tool to mitigate the impact of climate change. This also generated a lot of donor interest, particularly in climate insurance. A key milestone of this phase was establishing the InsuResilience programme in 2017. InsuResilience focuses on financial and insurance solutions for climate and disaster risks to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable communities.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. By this point, it was clear that technology alone wouldn’t drive the growth of inclusive insurance: mobile-enabled insurance wasn't growing as expected. Insurance providers realised they needed to develop better business models as reaching customers is still a challenge, especially during catastrophes. Existing business models – such as working with microfinance organisations – have continued to show potential in growing inclusive insurance schemes. Today, most discussions revolve around developing climate risk insurance, strengthening established models and distribution channels through technology, reducing costs and improving the value of insurance for customers.
In your experience, what are the two or three main challenges that the industry has yet to overcome and what needs to be done for this to happen?
Distribution, distribution, distribution. This might sound simple, but understanding customers’ needs and finding cost-efficient ways to serve them is still the main barrier to market development. If customers do not understand insurance or see its value, they are unlikely to voluntarily adopt it. At the same time, there is a limited understanding among parts of the industry on how important insurance is for sustainable economic development. Although there are several ongoing corporate social responsibility initiatives, few focus on inclusive insurance. Many major insurers might still not recognise how important their role is in closing the protection gap: growing their businesses by capturing the low-income market is not a priority for many.
Analysing markets, understanding challenges and barriers and understanding what needs to be done to create an enabling environment for inclusive insurance is key. The likelihood of this succeeding is high if key stakeholders work together: the insurance industry, governments, donors, technology companies, distribution channels and microfinance organisations. For insurers, this means having the right organisational setup, skillset and a long-term strategy that is supported by senior management. As an industry, we have to be patient as results typically emerge on a mid- or long-term basis.
You’ve been organising the ICII for some time now. Which sessions on specific themes or topics do you look forward to attending each or in particular in Kathmandu this year?
I always enjoy learning about new things. I also want to understand what major initiatives – such as the Global Shield or UNDP IRFF – have achieved so far, and how established insurance providers, new distribution channels and fintechs have evolved. As the ICII takes place in a different country each year, it is important to learn about the insurance industry in a new market and its efforts to close the protection gap.
As a platform, the ICII is unique: people from around the world can exchange ideas and experiences, and learn from each other. Participants will hear about how others have overcome challenges that they might be facing and share best practice from successful microinsurance implementations. It allows organisations to build their networks and new partnerships, while stakeholder groups that would otherwise rarely interact get the chance to talk to each other. Ideally, the ICII should leave a legacy in the host country by encouraging the government and insurance industry to increase their efforts in closing the insurance gap.