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CIC M-Bima -- CIC Insurance Group

About the Project

 
Project Name: CIC M-Bima -- CIC Insurance Group
Type of Facility Project: Microinsurance innovation grantee
Country of Operation: Kenya
Region: Africa
Sub Topics: Business viability, Client interface, Premium collection, Renewals, Enrollment, Sales, Promotion, Product development, Improving value, Demand, Life
Type of Risk Carrier: Regulated insurance company
Type of Distribution Channel: Direct sales, own agent network
 

Organizational Overview

CIC Insurance Group is the third largest insurance company in Kenya with a total premium volume of Kshs. 6.7 Billion (US$ 78.8 Million) in 2011. It is fully owned by approximately 1,562 cooperative societies and 3,875 individual members. CIC has a strategic focus on microinsurance and has a vision of becoming a household name for the microinsurance market in Kenya and the region. CIC ventured into microinsurance in 2001, piloting microcredit life insurance with KADET, a leading MFI and later expanded distribution through Faulu Kenya, K-Rep development agency, Eclof Kenya, and Opportunity International (now Opportunity Kenya), among others.

 

Project Description

CIC has introduced a new technology platform called M-Bima (mobile insurance in Kiswahili) to strengthen the scale and efficiency of its microinsurance operations. The platform uses a money transfer service such as M-PESA for the collection of premium. M-PESA is currently used by more than 15 million people in Kenya to store and transfer money. The M-Bima platform can be also used for customer relationship management functions such as checking account balance, sending reminders or educating...READ MORE
 

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the project are low-income households, mostly self-employed with irregular incomes. The project will start with a core group of savers in Nairobi. CIC hopes that others in the communities will follow the example of the core group, thus promoting saving and insuring with formal financial institutions.

 

Learning Agenda

  1. What are the success factors in stimulating regular savings?
  2. Which elements of the marketing strategy are the most cost-effective?
  3. What is the value of a savings-linked product to low-income households?
  4. What are the success factors for a retail distribution model? How to develop a sales force within this model?