After mobile banking, mobile insurance

Mobile phones have transformed banking in Africa and now they might do the same for insurance. That’s the hope of BIMA, a micro-insurance company providing low-price cover via mobile networks to 4m customers in Africa and Asia, and adding 400,000 new subscribers a month.

Read full article in the FT.

Related articles on mobile micro insurance blogged by textually over the years.

Pesinet: Mobile Monitoring and Micro-Insurance For Children in Mali

Mali has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. There are roughly 111 deaths for every 1000 live births in the country and the under-5 mortality rate is 191 out of every 1000 children. The need for early detection of diseases and stronger local health structures led to the creation of Pesinet, a non-profit that uses mobile technology to provide regular health checkups and affordable health insurance for young children in Mali's capital, Bamako. Mobileactive.org reports.

Roughly 600 children are currently enrolled in the program in the neighborhood of Bamako Coura, under the care of four Pesinet agents (each covering around 150 children). Pesinet combines both early warning systems and insurance. Families pay 500 CF a month for each enrolled child; the payments cover doctor examinations and half the cost of any medications the child needs if he or she gets sick.

Enrolled children are tested weekly for symptoms of illness such as fever, cough, diarrhea, low weight, or vomiting by community health workers who enter data from each visit into a custom-designed Java application on their phone. The data is sent via GPRS to an online database. Doctors at local community health centers monitor the patient data for sudden changes in health. If changes occur, the community health workers receive an alert on their phones and then go back, in turn, to alert the family that the doctor needs to give the child a checkup.

Read full article.

Micro-insurance scheme pays off for Kenyan farmers

Some of the farmers who lost their crops in the Horn of Africa drought this year may be able to afford farming next season, with the help of a 'micro-insurance' scheme. SciDev.net reports @ Jody Rank.

Kilimo Salama — Swahili for 'safe farming' — was launched last year, providing small-scale farmers in Kenya with crop insurance by combining mobile phone payment with the data from automated weather stations.

Farmers register with one of 30 solar-powered weather stations, each covering a 15–20 kilometre radius, and purchase insurance when buying seeds and fertilisers. Kilimo Salama uses data from these stations to calculate the severity of droughts — or excessive rainfall. Eligible farmers then receive payouts via their mobile phones.

In March, it paid out US$3,135 each to more than 1,200 farmers for losses after lack of rain, and more than 1,400 farmers received US$9,230 each in September because of prolonged droughts that caused crop failure.

Read full article.

MTN launches life insurance via cell phones in Ghana

Cellular service provider MTN said on Wednesday that it has launched a mobile phone life insurance scheme in Ghana in a bid to expand mobile financial services for low-income markets. The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The South Africa-based company touted the service as "the first of its kind in the world" - not true though - South African insurance company Metropolitan Life introduced a service called Cover2Go in 2007, using Clickatell mobile messaging technology, to offer insurance cover to those on lower incomes in South Africa.

The MTN he service lets mobile phone users buy life insurance by sending a text message to a number that will take them to a series of menus, or by going to an MTN service centre to register for a policy that can then be managed by phone.

Clients will pay their premiums through the company's mobile money service.

Read more.

Links to other Insurance policies b SMS.

Instant Life Insurance by SMS

South African insurance company Metropolitan Life has introduced a new service called Cover2Go, using -- Clickatell mobile messaging technology, to offer insurance cover to those on lower incomes in South Africa. [via
Insurance News.net]

The service costs around R10 (approx $1), which is deducted from the phone's airtime and provides instant life insurance for six days, paying out R60,000 (approx $6,300) in the case of accidental death.

Cover2go has already been offered to the public at taxi ranks in Gauteng, South Africa, in a pilot campaign.

"Every day, a large majority of South Africans have to board minibus taxis, many of which are notoriously unsafe. ...Unfortunately, the common perception is that life assurance is a luxury that's unaffordable and complicated to obtain. With Cover2go, people can get basic cover instantly, at very affordable prices, when they need it most," says Derek Pead, CEO of Cover2go, a division of Metropolitan Life.

As a side note and from first hand experience, Clickatell who is a sponsor on textually.org, is the nicest company in the world to work with.

Brits warned of their on-the-street value

Britons are walking the streets with an average value of £851 ($1,600) in their possession, new research by Zurich Insurance reveals, reports QCK.com.

"Zurich Insurance has warned British consumers that their expensive gadgetry and designer clothing could increase the risk of them becoming a victim of crime.

The company highlights the fact that there was an eight per cent rise in street crime in 2005 - the Home Office suggested that the increase in mobile phones and MP3 players was part of the reason for this. "

UK. Mobile phone stolen every 12 seconds

Thieves steal a mobile phone every 12 seconds in Britain, with Lancaster the worst hotspot, according to insurance company figures released on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

"More than two million phones worth 390 million pounds were stolen in 2005, said Halifax Home Insurance, which collated the figures.

Halifax said the figures were based on its data combined with government statistics. Previous official estimates have suggested about 700,000 phones are stolen each year."

Men's bags pose £1,000 ($1735) insurance question

Though this may be self serving advice and about Britain, it applies to everyone.

Specialist insurer Hiscox points out that an increasing number of young men are carrying around iPods, camera-phones and other valuables in fashionable canvas bags or backpacks which are easy to steal from. And if stolen or lost, add up to over £ 1'000 ($ 1'735), an amount not not usually covered by home insurance policies. [MyFinances]

Word to the wise:read the fine print of your insurance policy. It may need adjusting.

Insurers fret over gadgets

The rising popularity of high-priced cellphones, notebook computers and MP3 players is starting to hit the hip pocket of insurance firms, which are now forking out millions of dollars for lost and broken gadgets, according to stuff.co.nz.

"Tower senior technical manager for general insurance Allan Black says the firm deals with many of these claims which are increasing in volume and value daily.

He says Tower pays out "in excess of $750,000 per annum and rising" in claims for portable electronics.

Alan Perry, executive manager of AMI, says there has been a substantial increase in the number of claims for cellphones and their cost.

The number of cellphones has doubled in the past five years and more than 260,000 notebooks were sold in 2003 and 2004. The number of mp3 players nearly doubled last year, rising to 217,000.

About 1600 mobiles are reported lost or stolen every month in New Zealand, according to figures from Telecom and Vodafone.

Assuming an average price of $250 per phone, this tallies to $4.8 million in lost and stolen cellphones every year.

Mr Perry says many school-aged children and teenagers now have cellphones, adding to the insurance risk. Another concern with cellphones is that the electronics can fail and they can just stop working without being damaged."

Text2Insure First To Sell Insurance Via SMS

In another example of business getting the text message, a new company called text2insure plans to revolutionise the way insurance is sol in the UK by being the first to sell via SMS text messaging.

The service is available through a regular mobile phone and promises to provide quotes to your phone within 60 seconds.

[via bios]

Health records accessible via text messaging

Members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation may now get the latest information on their membership through text messaging, reports The Freeman.

By using Txt PhilHealth, members may now find out what their PhilHealth Identification Numbers are, what benefits they are entitled to and the status of their PhilHealth claims.

Employers, on the other hand, may check on their PhilHealth Employer Numbers, or find out the address and other contact data of the PhilHealth office nearest them, as well as be informed of procedures on ID replacement.

Insurance for lost cell phone gains in popularity in Korea

In Korea, A new insurance product, which indemnifies a lost cell phone, is getting popularity, reports Telecoms Korea.

"Good Time Handset Insurance Service” compensates up to 75% of a lost cell phone when a subscriber pays four thousand won a month ($ 3.50). KTF attracted 1.05 million subscribers to the insurance from last November to August.

Insurance quotes via SMS

The Star reports on one of the duller (albeit useful) text messaging services just launched in Malaysia, allowing mobile users to receive insurance quotes by SMS.

"The system allows car owners to get a quote for car insurance or renew policies by sending an SMS to a special number at standard rates."

Insurance Status by Text Message

An article on Insurance companies in India mentions one company called Bajaj Allianz, who launched a novel text messaging service. Bajaj Allianz sends out SMS status alerts to their motor policyholders who have a claim, until the final settlement. Via manoramaonline.com.

Insurance Policy updates by SMS in India

International Aviva Life Insurance has recently launched an SMS-based service in India, informing customers about premium payments and the policy status on their cell phones. "Updating policyholders about their policies as well as informing them about Aviva Life Insurance products, is another step towards improving customer services", reports the The Times of India