Impact Insurance through Change Management
Application Guidelines
Due by Jan 15, 2016
The ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility, in partnership with FSD Africa, is inviting proposals from insurers that are looking to implement organizational changes in order to provide valuable and scalable insurance solutions to low-income households or small and medium enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa.
To enhance the impact of the insurance industry, and successfully meet the risk management needs of MSMEs and low-income households, insurers need to innovate and develop client-centric products and processes that are cost-effective and viable in the long-term. This is rarely possible without substantial changes to business models or organizational structures. Having supported innovations at over sixty organizations, we have seen that organizations often need to go through a systematic change management process to get ready to effectively serve the low-income market.
The project aims to:
· Spur innovation, build capacity and implement the related organizational changes at three insurers
· Scale the innovations quickly to achieve sustainability, while gradually improving customer and shareholder value
· Develop change management tools and demonstration cases that can be shared with the broader industry to facilitate the generation of innovative insurance solutions for the low-income market
Who is the Impact Insurance Facility?
Housed at the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Impact Insurance Facility enables the insurance industry, governments, and their partners to realise the potential of insurance for social and economic development. Impact insurance reduces vulnerability, promotes stronger enterprises and facilitates better public policies.
The Facility has insurance innovation management experience with 60+ partners, connections to an extensive network, a qualified technical team, leadership in customer-centricity, and the largest one-stop shop for inclusive insurance know-how. Since 2008 the Facility has pushed the innovation frontier in microinsurance through grants and technical support for product and process innovations. The Facility has established itself as a critical knowledge centre, extracting lessons from pioneers, facilitating learning, and sharing successes and challenges with all interested stakeholders
Who is FSD Africa?
FSDA is a non-profit company which promotes financial sector development across sub-Saharan Africa. It sees itself as a catalyst for change, working with partners to
build financial markets that are robust, efficient and, above all, inclusive. It uses funding, research and technical expertise to identify market failures and strengthen the capacity of its partners to improve access to financial services and drive economic growth.
What themes are we focusing on?
We are looking for partners that are interested in implementing innovations in the following areas and have identified specific organizational changes that may be needed to implement these solutions:
· Developing insurance solutions that extend or supplement existing social protection schemes
· Developing insurance products that benefit small-scale farmers and improve financial institutions’ risk management abilities
· Bundling insurance with financial services or value-added services that improve consumers’ ability to manage risk better, but also increase their productivity capabilities
· Providing risk management solutions to MSMEs
In addition, we are seeking partners that are commitment to proving value to clients and are interested in using technology and digital solutions to improve efficiencies.
What support will be provided?
We will work hand-in-hand with the partner to support change management and create strong demonstration cases of providing valuable insurance at scale. We will support partners through a product development process, build capacity, and identify and implement changes needed to effectively serve the low-income market. Support will be provided through technical assistance, the placement of a fellow[1] with the partner for two years to help with technical inputs and project management, and limited grant funding (up to US$ 50,000).
Who may apply?
· Regulated insurance and reinsurance companies
· Relatively mature organizations with a proven track record of delivering insurance to low-income segments
· Organisations with established internal control systems, the capacity to produce financial statements and provide regular updates on defined key performance indicators
· All projects must be based in Sub-Saharan Africa
· Applicants are expected to match the grant funding (up to US $ 50,000)
· The Facility prefers to support efforts to expand, improve or build on existing insurance programmes.
What does the Facility expect from partners?
A central purpose of the Facility is to document and disseminate lessons learned. Partners are expected to participate in an action research process that analyses and documents the lessons from their innovative efforts. This process includes providing financial reports and regular updates of the project, and reflecting why certain outcomes occurred (or did not). Partners would also be expected to actively participate in practitioner forums, both virtual and in person, to share their experiences with other organizations as well as those interested in learning about microinsurance.
How will partners be selected?
We will follow a two-step process. As a first step, partners should submit a short expression of interest that includes a brief description of the project, objectives and organizational capacity. We will select a short-list of candidates to evaluate further. In the second step, we will visit the short-listed candidates and work with them to finalize the project proposal that will be submitted to the selection committee.
To apply, submit a proposal to using the application form provided below. The email should include “Change management proposal” as the subject line. The application deadline is January 15, 2016.
Application Form
1. Applicant information
1.1 Applicant name (e.g. name of company) and contact information
1.2 Type of organization (e.g. insurer, distributor etc.)
1.3 Mission
1.4 Start date of operations
1.5 Start date of microinsurance activity
2. Project overview
2.1 Project title
2.2 Brief description of the project (max 1000 chars)
2.3 Insurance product type and brief description (max 1000 chars)
2.4 Country or countries where the project will take place
2.5 Total duration of project (not to exceed 36 months)
2.6 By the end of the project, how many low-income persons (not families) will benefit
3. Project description
3.1 Why is this project being proposed? What problem are you trying to solve? (2000 characters)
3.2 What organizational changes do you envision making? What support do you need to perform change management (2000 chars)?
3.3 State the 3-5 key questions the projectisdesigned toanswer, and what you expect to learn by undertaking it (1000 chars)
3.4 Explain your capabilities/experience to make this project a success. (2000 chars)
3.5 What are the main risks associated with the project and how will they be mitigated or addressed? (1000 chars)
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[1] Over 2008-13 the Facility managed 32 fellowships. Young professionals with insurance background and strong technical skills were placed at insurance companies or distributors to provide hands-on technical assistance, business analytics and project management support.