No abstract

This article first investigates the microfinance-principally microinsurance-market at the global level and the business structure of over 600 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 83 countries that were in operation during 1998-2007. It then empirically examines the impact of organisational, market and socio-cultural factors on the supply of insurance, lending and savings services by MFIs in developing countries. Findings from a series of probit analyses indicate that a rise in the financial expense ratio, loan repayments in arrears, years of operation, number of borrowers, woman borrower ratio, life insurance penetration ratio and family size positively affect MFIs' willingness to expand their operations, certainly to microinsurance business. In contrast, they are likely to stay away from the insurance market when their loan asset ratio, bad loan write-off ratio or average loan size in comparison to GNI per capita is on the rise. It seems MFIs focus on lending service in Muslim populous countries. Finally, we find no evidence that presence of insurance affects availability of savings service, and vice versa, in the microfinance market.

There has been a rise of innovative parametric insurance solutions in recent years covering a wide range of risks and serving clients from individuals, to businesses, and to governments. These parametric insurance products cover risks that are otherwise uninsured or underinsured, by simplifying product design and reducing transaction costs. This paper offers a comprehensive review of parametric insurance including a classification of the types of contract and an overview of market practices. We outline the benefits and concerns of parametric insurance in comparison with indemnity insurance, and discuss the legal principle and regulatory compliance matters. We then survey the current global market and identify areas where insurance and reinsurance companies can play important roles in offering or supporting parametric insurance operations. Lastly, we offer a case study on a type of parametric insurance designed to cover earthquake risk in California.

This article provides an overview of the analytical tools used by insurance regulators and supervisors for the purposes of market and macro-prudential surveillance. It is largely based on responses from 24 OECD and non-OECD countries to a questionnaire on the use and relative importance of a set of common indicators and analytical tools that provide information on the soundness, performance and competitiveness of the insurance market. The article therefore provides a point of reference on the use of analytical tools for market surveillance and is intended to inform the further development of the OECD Global Insurance Statistics framework.

The human capital attraction and retention challenges in the insurance industry intensify due to a combining effect of demographic, social, economic and market-specific factors. In addition, there is human capital obsolescence risk. The study findings indicate that: the financial services occupation group requires high competency in cognitive abilities, social perspectives, management knowledge and communication skills, but not much in technical, physical/sensory or engineering skills; the insurance industry and most insurance companies have not attained a high reputation; and insurance is not a widely recognised profession by the public and many college students. Based on our macro-and micro-spective investigation of the industry and university education, we recommend: more public relations activities, closer work with local universities and their faculties for adoption of the field as a major; better talent recruitment, training and retention programmes; and preparedness for talent morbidity across financial services sectors and countries.