Technical Analysis for Inclusive Insurance global market trends and insights

UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Team, (https://irff.undp.org) housed within the Sustainable Finance Hub’s Private Finance portfolio, is building countries’ long-term financial resilience by facilitating tailored, scalable financial protection solutions for governments, households, smallholder farmers, small businesses and nature. Currently active in 39 countries, the Insurance and Risk Finance team is working with over 100 public and private partners, and contributes to the Sustainable Finance Hub’s public, private and global policy portfolios. The team is creating the right environment for sovereign, sub-sovereign and inclusive insurance solutions to scale, working with governments to develop supportive insurance regulations and policies, and building the capacity of local industry to develop inclusive products, services and distribution channels. The team also provides technical assistance to help governments integrate risk finance and insurance into all aspects of public financial planning and management.

Inclusive insurance is an important component of this agenda. By extending financial protection to low-income and underserved populations, inclusive insurance can help households and businesses manage shocks, protect livelihoods and assets, and strengthen financial resilience. Over the past decade, the inclusive insurance landscape has continued to evolve, influenced by digitalisation, new distribution models, product innovation, changing regulatory approaches and growing demand for protection against climate, health, agricultural and livelihood risks.

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide UNDP and its partners with an evidence-based understanding of the current state and evolution of the global inclusive insurance landscape and identify the implications for future policy, market development and development cooperation.

The assignment will consolidate and analyse existing inclusive insurance data to examine the reach and characteristics of the market across countries and regions, identify major trends and persistent protection gaps, and assess what these developments mean for the future of inclusive insurance. The findings will be translated into a concise policy brief and disseminated to relevant stakeholders through a global webinar.

Specifically, the assignment will:

1.      Analyse the inclusive insurance global trends using existing multi-country and regional data to assess market reach, products, customer segments, distribution models and key market trends.

2.      Identify key trends and gaps, including underserved populations and risks, emerging business and distribution models, and areas where inclusive insurance markets are expanding or continuing to face constraints.

3.      Assess policy and market implications arising from the findings, including priorities and opportunities for policymakers, regulators, insurers and development partners to support more inclusive and sustainable insurance markets.

4.      Support global knowledge sharing by translating and disseminating the findings through a concise policy brief and a global stakeholder webinar.

(More details of required scope of work and results are given in the Terms of Reference)