Piloting a life-insurance product: a coproduction between UCCFS and Sanlam

Financer: Agriterra.

In an effort to reduce Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCO) members’ vulnerability, the UCCFS with technical assistance from MIAN and financial support from AGRITERA is executing an insurance pilot project at Mateete SACCO and Kakuuto SACCO in Sembabule and Rakai Districts respectively. In 2011, several activities, like sensitisation and mobilisation meetings, recruitment of an micro-insurance officer to follow up actively, monitoring visits and the development of brochures, were undertaken under the insurance pilot project. The main challenges can be found in the areas of irregular income and difficulties with paying the premiums. Other challenges are the reluctance reducing risks of insurance and the fact that this is a new concept. Other constraints are the level of UCCFS: not sufficiently well trained staff and limits in time.

In an effort to reduce SACCO members’ vulnerability, the UCA with technical assistance from MIAN and financial support from Agriterra conducted a study to establish the insurance needs of the members of the SACCOs of Mateete and Kakuuto in Sembabule and Rakai Districts respectively. Against this background, UCA consulted a number of insurance companies to help develop two insurance products (Health and funeral insurance covers) for these communities that will reduce the difficulties quite often experienced by the SACCO members’ families whenever there is illness or death in a household. Finding a committed insurance company appeared to be rather challenging. Finally, in March 2011, UCCFS has entered a partnership with SANLAM Life Insurance (U) Ltd and an Memorandum of Understanding was signed. Sanlam and UCCFS with technical assistance of MIAN developed an insurance product, called family protection plan. A life insurance product covering for the death of family members of the following five groups: policyholder (compulsory), spouse, children, parents and extended family. Since March, this product is currently being piloted at two SACCO’s. If the pilots appear to be successful, the insurance initiative can be up scaled and implemented at more SACCO’s.

The proposed project seeks to support the two micro-insurance pilots with:
• Promotion and sensitization meetings.
• Developing insurance manual.
• Marketing & publicity (Promotional materials).
• Evaluation of the pilots (December/January 2011).