Addressing the $162.5 billion protection gap: The next generation of insurance
Despite its existence since the 17th century, insurance, like many financial products and services, has thus far only benefited a few — even though it is a key mechanism by which humans prepare for risk.
The latest Lloyds report found that the global underinsurance gap — the value of assets at risk not covered fully by insurance policies — is now US$162.5 billion. Of that total protection gap, emerging economies account for 96%. Insurance is, without a doubt, an industry much in need of disruption in favor of the underserved.
Evidence about what works for low-income populations is thin because traditional insurance players do not reach them given their distribution models and price points. Digital insurance, microinsurance and embedded finance models are proliferating and aiming to serve millions. How does this work? How are governments involved? What’s the role of emerging technologies? What are the barriers to adoption?
Watch our SOCAP21 panel with Rose Goslinga, Co-Founder and CEO of Pula, Anuj Kumbhat, Co-Founder and CEO of WRMS, and Bessie Schwarz, Co-Founder and CEO of Cloud to Street, moderated by Tim Rann, Managing Partner of Mercy Corps Ventures. Find out about the innovations behind the next generation of insurance and how they can create resilience in a rapidly changing world.
For more on insurtech, follow our latest series, produced in partnership with CASE at Duke University. Each article explores the challenges the microinsurance industry faces to scale to support more than 600 million smallholder farmers around the world in becoming financially included and more climate resilient.
