Micro Insurance Agency staff observed that the risks the poor face can often set them back months and years behind where their loans and savings products offered by Opportunity had taken them. For instance, a death of a family member from HIV/AIDS – a “pre-condition” most insurance companies would not cover – would often mean expensive funeral costs and the loss of a breadwinner, resulting in increased economic hardship for the family. In response, Micro Insurance Agency staff developed an affordable funeral benefit product that did not exclude any pre-conditions, including HIV/AIDS. This transformed the mindset of retail insurance providers in the country, who later developed similar non-exclusive products in light of the competing environment.

Through the experience of serving Opportunity’s microfinance institutions and their clients, Micro Insurance Agency staff observed that the products most demanded by the poor are not always the ones available. Health insurance, for example, is a critical need of the poor but the most limited in terms of supply. In addition, policies that are available are often based on first world practices and are too complex for the simple coverage demanded. Further, when offered on an individual, one-off basis, high premium requirements and a need to pay in a single lump sum preclude a huge sector of the market from access. New distribution models and channels were needed to increase access and reduce the effective price charged to clients.

In 2005, the Micro Insurance Agency was founded by Opportunity International as a fully-owned subsidiary capable of offering insurance products and services to a wide range of customers.

Our mission is to empower the materially poor to transform their lives by insuring them against financial risk and its consequences. Specifically, we seek to serve the economically active poor who live on $4 per day or less in developing countries and provide a safety net to reduce economic setbacks.