Skees Keynote Address at 2012 Research Conference on MicroInsurance

Written by admin on August 19, 2012. Posted in Seminars & Workshops

 

The 2012 Research Conference on MicroInsurance was organized by the Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies, a research institute of the University of  Twente, in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as various international (research) institutes in the field of microfinance.

The potential of microinsurance as a market mechanism for the reduction of vulnerability of low income households has attracted the attention of the commercial sectors as well as donors, government and NGOs. It is recently being estimated that the global micro insurance market is worth USD 40 billion to the insurance industry and that it could reach out to 2.6 billion low income people worldwide (Swiss Re, 2010). The characteristics of this young and fast growing field imply that there is a large role to play for innovative research focusing on many different aspects of microinsurance.

The aim of the 2012 Research Conference on MicroInsurance was two-fold. First of all its objective was to assess the state of the art in microinsurance research and to provide a platform for further in-depth academic  discussions, as a complement and follow-up to the Annual International Microinsurance Conferences. In addition, the conference aimed to create a dialogue between researchers from different geographical regions and the variety of research disciplines.


Dr. Jerry Skees
presented a Keynote Address during this conference on the topic of Agriculture and Natural Disaster Insurance. Other Keynote speeches were provided by Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, Craig Churchill, Chair of the Microinsurance Network and Team Leader of ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility, Xavier Giné, World Bank and Bart Criel of the Institute for Tropical Medicine Antwerp.

Click here to view the Keynote Address provided by Dr. Skees.
Click here to download conference papers.

Enhancing Financial Services through Portfolio-Level Disaster Insurance

Written by admin on July 25, 2012. Posted in Climate Change, Financial Institutions, Parametric Insurance, Peru

Benjamin Collier and Jerry Skees recently published an article in the journal Natural Hazards documenting their work with financial intermediaries in Peru entitled, “Enhancing Financial Services through Portfolio-Level Disaster Insurance.” Here is a link to the publication on SpringerLink and its abstract is below. A prior version of the paper is also available in our library, click here.

Abstract

 

Financial intermediaries [FIs] in developing and emerging economies are poorly equipped to manage natural disasters. These events create losses for FIs, eroding capital reserves and compromising their ability to lend. Portfolio-level insurance against disasters can improve FI management of these events. We model microfinance intermediaries [MFIs] exposed to severe El Niño in Peru that can now insure against this disaster risk. Our analyses suggest that insurance allows these lenders to manage this risk more efficiently and effectively. is ebay site down right now . These risk management improvements can translate into better financial performance, expansion of banking service outreach, lower interest rates, and reduced volatility in access to credit. Based on these analyses, a large MFI in Peru with which we collaborated is now managing its disaster risk using El Niño insurance

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MicroInsurance Innovation Facility Interview

Written by admin on July 11, 2012. Posted in Parametric Insurance, Seminars & Workshops

Dr. Skees was recently interviewed by the ILO MicroInsurance Innovation Facility in Geneva, Switzerland where he also provided a workshop to the Facility’s staff.

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