International microinsurance network
With Oxfam Novib and Rabobank Foundation amongst the founders
During a microinsurance conference that was held between 5 and 8 November 2008 in Cartagena Colombia an international microinsurance network was created by, amongst others, the MicroNed members Oxfam Novib and Rabobank Foundation.
President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe opened the conference and urged the poor to think of insurance, not money lenders, as the first option in the event of an emergency. Main topics that were addressed during the venue were: linkages between micro insurance and social protection, the role of the cooperative and mutual sector, capacity building and financial literacy, protection of clients, micro insurance for disasters. More than 400 donors, practitioners, regulators and technical assistance providers were present.
The last day of the conference was dedicated to the formalisation of the Microinsurance Network. This network evolves from the CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance that was established in 2002. There are 65 founding members of the Network, under which ILO, GTZ, World Bank, IFAD, Financial Access Initiative, ADA Luxembourg, BRS, the International Cooperative and Mutual insurance Federation (ICMIF) and Aga Khan Agency and Oxfam Novib.
More information about the network can be found at its website www.microinsurancenetwork.org.