Backgroud and Evolution
Since 2008, financial inclusion in insurance became relevant in Fasecolda’s agenda, the Microinsurance Committee, known today as the Financial Inclusion Committee, was established. The same year, the Munich Re Foundation, in collaboration with the Microinsurance Network, held the International Microinsurance Conference (IMC) for the first time in Latin America; Colombia was chosen as the host country and Fasecolda actively participated in the event organization. Since then, Fasecolda has led the agenda of financial inclusion in insurance in Colombia, which has meant not only its local recognition but also international positioning as a leader in the region and the world.
Current Status
a) Fostering a favorable regulatory environment
To ensure that an inclusive insurance market can be competitive, regulatory and public policy conditions that enable its development are required, so they must have an important place in the countries’ financial inclusion and development agendas. Likewise, the regulatory and supervisory framework must be applied proportionally, according to the scale and complexity of the business; it should promote supply, innovation in products design, the use of channels and technology, consumer protection, and a healthy balance between this purpose and that of inclusion. Currently, the insurance sector is contributing to the development of the Conpes document on financial inclusion and education and to some regulatory amendments that the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (SFC) and the Financial Regulation Unit (URF) are working on.
b) Public-private alliance: Programa Más Seguro, Más Futuro
The Más Seguro, Más Futuro (More Insurance, Better Future) program is part of the cooperation agreement signed in 2016 between Fasecolda and Banca de las Oportunidades, which is the national government’s initiative to promote financial inclusion in Colombia; this public-private alliance is intended to boost inclusive insurance in the country until 2021.
Currently, in the Más Seguro, Más Futuro program we are working on the development of an inclusive insurance roadmap for rural areas in Colombia, on the technical support for a modular personal accident product, which will be co-financed by the program, and on a new call to co-finance projects that boost the supply of inclusive insurance.
Más Seguro, Más Futuro has a memorandum of understanding with the ILO’s Impact Insurance program, which will help achieve common objectives for the development of the inclusive insurance market in Colombia.
c) Insurance sector representation: international and regional strategic alliances
Representing the interests of the insurance sector in different scenarios is essential for the Colombian Insurers Association, for this, Fasecolda is an active member of the Microinsurance Network, the only global network that brings together more than 90 insurance and reinsurance companies and associations, donors, and governments, that work on promoting microinsurance in the world. Besides it, we coordinate the Inclusive Insurance Working Group (GTSI) of the Inter-American Federation of Insurance Companies (Fides), in which 29 members from 13 insurance associations participate at the regional level. Since 2019, Fides and Fasecolda, together with Microinsurance Network and the Impact Insurance program of the International Labor Organization (ILO), have been working on a program to support the inclusive and responsible insurance market in Latin America and the Caribbean, through the permanent support of a regional coordinator.
