FAQ
Is Microinsurance Master right for me?
You are a decision maker in microinsurance: either at an insurer, an insurance intermediary like a microfinance organisation, a funder or support organisation or a regulator.
You have a thirst for learning about microinsurance and are motivated to make your microinsurance activities thrive.
You prefer real experience over theoretical learning and are looking forward to working hard with your fellow participants to solve a burning microinsurance issue in a real-world situation.
Ideally, you already have some years of experience working in the insurance or financial inclusion sector.
You may have been searching for this type of programme for a while and are motivated to learn, contribute, and apply your learning to your home organisation.
In this way, we all contribute to strengthening the microinsurance sector.
We will have a mixture of 20 highly motivated executives just like you. It will be a diverse group from different countries, different types of organisations (insurers, intermediaries, funders and regulators) with a variety of experiences in the microinsurance sector.
You will not only learn a lot from the host, facilitators and coaches but also from your colleagues in the programme.
Luckily not ;-). The success of microinsurance depends on the contributions of various players – from insurers to distributors who are well connected to the beneficiaries, as well as regulators and some funders or other support organisations.
Our aim is to have this variety of professionals in the programme.
Yes. Microinsurance Master will be instrumental in giving you a head start in the industry. You will learn the latest from industry leaders. The programme will inspire and strengthen you in your microinsurance activities.
However, because we are seeking a diverse group of participants with different levels of expertise, there are only a few places reserved for new entrants. So apply now!
You will gain lots of valuable insight from attending. The programme will expose you to the experience and insights from leading microinsurance organisations and experts. How better can we support you in shaping your vision and strategy?
Note that we only have a few places for market entrants, so be sure to apply now.
The programme
Above all, the programme seeks to challenge your thinking about microinsurance and inspire and strengthen you to level up your microinsurance activities.
The programme focuses on setting the right ambition with microinsurance (helping you explore your ‘why’) and client-centric product development.
Beyond learning from our host and other participants, you will get acquainted with tools and frameworks that will be instrumental in developing your activities.
Then you get the chance to collaborate with others and apply what you learn in real-world, practical situations so that you can take them back to implement in your home organisation.
Client-centricity is about providing solutions based on a deep understanding of clients’ needs, preferences, and behaviours.
By providing insurance solutions that fit your clients’ needs, you create a win-win for both clients and your company.
With the involvement of CGAP, Pioneer Microinsurance has embarked on a journey to improve its client-centricity. The CGAP Customer Centric Guide serves as a reference. We will tap into this experience and you will learn greatly from it to inspire your own client-centric journey back home.
Different client-centric methods have been developed: Human-Centered Design and the Lean Startup methodology are two of the most prominent ones.
Key to client centricity is to get out of the building and discover your clients and their needs. You can then build a prototype or a minimal viable product that is further developed through later exchanges with your clients.
During the Microinsurance Master programme, you will experience client discovery when working on your assignment for our host company.
Pioneer Insurance in the Philippines kindly accepted our invitation to host this edition of Microinsurance Master.
The leadership of Pioneer is eager to share honest lessons about their start, development, and outstanding challenges in the field of microinsurance.
You will learn about their vision, strategy, and lessons learnt, all the way from the boardroom to the practical implementation in the sales and claims departments.
We will talk to the people who are on the job so that there will be little left uncovered by the time we return home.
During the 2-week immersion, we camp out at the offices of Hollard Insurance. We will get out of the office as often as possible to experience and gain insight from real-world practise.
We will visit clients, distributors, and the back office of Hollard whenever it’s relevant to the subject we’re discussing.
The immersion in South Africawill be moderated by Bert Opdebeeck, designer of the Microinsurance Master programme.
The leadership and staff of Hollard, partners and external experts (by video) will intervene wherever applicable.
Most likely, yes. By necessity, the programme is quite tough and challenging. That’s partly why it’s so transformative.
There will be 3 evening activities, and, alongside your colleagues, you will work on an assignment for the host organisation by the end of the programme.
We foresee time available to work on this assignment during class hours, but it will be likely that you will have some further homework during some evenings and over the weekend.
We’ll have some fun…and work…and hopefully have fun while working.
There will be some work on your assignment with your colleagues during the weekend, but we will definitely take time to get to know Johannesburg.
The 8 weeks of coaching in Microinsurance Master is scheduled immediately after the immersion to help you translate your key takeaways to the context of your organisation and get support in advancing your activities.
A microinsurance leadership coach will be at your disposal for 8 full weeks. It is up to you to get the most of out of this.
During the immersion, you will draft a work plan that you will further elaborate on and kickstart at your organisation, with the support of your coach.
We propose to schedule at least a weekly call to follow-up on your progress and to support your development. If you want to get more out of it, we surely will encourage you to do so.
Microinsurance Master works with a variety of experienced coaches. All coaches have been selected for expertise in their domain ranging from microinsurance strategy development to client-centric product design and claims handling.
You will be assigned the coach that best meets your requirements.
Our coaches have served as, or worked with, leaders of organisations like yours, so they are well placed to challenge and support the boldest of plans.
Absolutely. If there is more work you would like to tackle with your coach, we can surely extend the collaboration on a paid basis.
The 8 weeks of coaching starts immediately after the immersion in South Africa – for maximum benefit.
From experience, unless the coaching is scheduled after the immersion, many of the key takeaways from the programme are not implemented successfully.
No, the programme includes 8-week offsite coaching.
We strongly encourage you to maximise what you can get out of this support. If you want your coach to visit your organisation or extend the exchange, it can be accommodated on a paid basis.
We are working hard to make Microinsurance Master the must-attend programme for existing and future microinsurance leaders.
Microinsurance Master runs one accelerator per year with changing host organisations. So leave us your contact details if you want to stay informed about future events.
Maybe at your organisation! We honestly don’t know yet, but if you are a client-centric microinsurance champion (or know one), let us know.
No – but that’s a good thing!
Accreditation may make sense for some institutions that deliver a standard curriculum. But this is ultimately limiting, in our opinion.
Microinsurance Master is a practical-oriented programme. We go out of the class as often as possible to share real-life and practical insights and tools. We are a learning organisation and will continue to update our programme with the latest insights from the microinsurance sector and our host companies.
We’ll be delighted to offer you a certificate of completion when you complete the programme.
The application processes
There are 3 simple steps to enrol in the programme:
- Apply: to reserve a seat (only 20 available).
- Get accepted: We will interview you to review:
- Your profile
- The profile of your organisation
- Your motivations for applying
- Your potential group fit
- Any conflict of interests with the host organisation, Hollard Insurance (they are serious about sharing their insights and we want to make sure this will be treated in an appropriate manner).
- Payment: to confirm your enrolment
Please note that places will be awarded on a first come first serve basis. We will choose a diverse group, so the sooner you apply the better your chance of approval.
When reviewing your application, we will be looking at the following:
- ideally, you’re a decision maker who has been searching for this programme for a while and are motivated to learn, contribute, and apply your learning to your home organisation.
- how can you contribute to advance microinsurance?
- how your organisation contribute to advance microinsurance?
- a profound understanding is required to benefit and contribute to the programme
- we want to protect the interests of Hollard Insurance, who is kindly hosting the programme.
- Fit with the existing group: we seek to have different industry players represented, for a variety of expertise and work experience.
Providing you are approved, places will be awarded on a first come first serve basis.
Places will be awarded on a first come first serve basis. We will choose a diverse group, so the sooner you apply the better your chance of approval.
The sooner you apply the sooner we can review your application for overall fit into the group. You can expect a confirmation within 3 business days.
Yes – with colleagues participating, it will leverage the investment of your organisation because you can discuss issues based on a shared frame of reference. It will also strengthen the opportunity to build upon your insights when you return to work.
Please contact us to discuss a potential group discount if multiple leaders from the same workplace are planning to apply.
The investment to join the accelerator
The investment for the accelerator is 11950 US Dollar. It is a serious investment to make your microinsurance activities thrive.
The investment includes all tuition, training materials, 8 mentoring sessions by industry leaders, field trips, breakfast, lunch, and a spacious 4-star hotel room in Manila.
The fee includes all tuition, training materials, 8 tailored mentoring sessions, field trips, breakfast, lunch, and 2-week hotel accommodation. Plus more fun stuff like weekend trips and some evening events.
The fee does not include your flight, travel and medical insurance, visa for the Philippines, dinners or leisure expenses in Manila.
Microinsurance Master is undoubtedly a serious investment for the future. It will provide a crucial foundation for your microinsurance activities to thrive in the years ahead.
We have systematically focused on quality throughout the programme: from the training and facilities through to the mentoring you will receive.
The accelerator includes access to the latest insights by industry leaders like the ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility and Pioneer Microinsurance.
It also provides a unique combination of hands-on learning and guidance by microinsurance coaches who are considered experts in the field – including Michael McCord and Richard Leftley. There will also be networking opportunities with like-minded leaders that will outlast the programme.
Clearly, this involves significant costs for us and an investment on your part.
The results, in combination, are considerably more than a single company visit or a consulting assignment alone can provide; and the investment is more than comparable with other programmes of this nature.
Apply the insights from the accelerator to your microinsurance practice and Microinsurance Master will prove an exceptional return on investment!
Contact us if you’re looking for proof.
We really don’t want you to fail to apply for the accelerator because of financial constraints. We don’t provide scholarships but talk to us and we will be happy to support you in finding the finances through your funders or other donors.
Microinsurance Master involves commitments from both sides. You need to spend the time, money and energy to actively contribute to the accelerator; and we need to deliver on our promises.
As insurers we know life can get in the way of the best-made plans.
For this reason, if you let us know as soon as possible of your inability to make the programme, we will attempt to find a replacement attendee from your organisation or our waitlist.
The 500 USD registration fee is non-refundable, but the remaining fee is fully refundable from the day we receive it until 30 days before the start of the accelerator.
Cancellation 10-30 days before the start of the accelerator will incur a 50% cancellation fee. Within 10 days before the training, no refunds are possible.
In the unlikely event that the programme is cancelled, your full registration fee will, of course, be refunded.