The Microinsurance Network (MiN), in collaboration with the GSMA, hosted a Webinar as part of discussions on mobile-enabled microinsurance.
The webinar brought together leaders from the mobile industry, insurance sector, development organisations, regulators and digital finance practitioners to explore how mobile technology could transform access to risk protection for low-income and underserved populations.
Addressing participants at the panel discussion, Sylvia Otuo Acheampong, Chief Product and Services Officer, MobileMoney Ltd. (MML), underscored the importance of broader insurance solutions tailored to the needs of small businesses, adding that expanding insurance offerings beyond traditional life policies would be critical to improving adoption and delivering meaningful protection to underserved segments of the economy.
Ms Acheampong noted that most digital insurance products available through mobile money platforms currently focus largely on individual life policies, leaving significant gaps for other customer groups.
“About 95% of what we have as insurance products are individual and largely life insurance. There is a whole segment of SMEs and gig workers that are not adequately covered,” Ms Acheampong said.
Ms Acheampong called for the evolution of product innovation to meet the real needs of customers, even though mobile money platforms provided convenient channels for delivering insurance services, including through USSD, mobile applications and agent networks.
She emphasised the need for insurance products to align with how individuals and businesses manage risk and savings. Furthermore, she said, stronger collaboration was required between regulators and industry players to unlock the full potential of embedded and contextual insurance solutions.
Other speakers included Mr Richard Leftly, an independent consultant and industry expert, and Ms Teresa Nyatuka, Principal Officer, Planning, Insurance Regulatory Authority, Kenya.
Mr Leftly noted that early digital insurance models relied heavily on free products offered by mobile operators to encourage customer behaviour such as increased airtime usage or mobile wallet transactions. However, he said, while these products helped achieve rapid scale initially, converting customers from free insurance to paid products proved challenging. On her part, Ms Nyatuka emphasised the critical role of regulation in ensuring consumer protection while enabling innovation in the sector, adding that regulators should strike a balance between encouraging adoption and safeguarding customers through measures such as informed consent, clear product disclosures and accessible complaint mechanisms.
The occasion was also used to launch a joint report titled: From Connectivity to Coverage: Scaling Resilience through Mobile-Enabled Microinsurance.
The report presented fresh evidence, market insights and strategic recommendations on how mobile network operators (MNOs), mobile money providers (MMPs), technical service providers and insurers can work together to close the protection gap through mobile-enabled insurance solutions.
Grounded in the latest findings from the GSMA–MiN report, the discussion identified emerging models, regulatory innovations and enabling factors shaping the future of mobile-enabled insurance.
Source: G.D. Zaney, Esq.
