The Growth of Inclusive Insurance in Zambia: Catalysing the Market through Industry Leadership

This case study examines the development of the microinsurance (inclusive insurance) market in Zambia, focusing on the role of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and FSD Zambia in catalyzing systemic change through industry leadership and coordination.

• The Technical Advisory Group (TAG), established in August 2009, serves as a multi-stakeholder platform to provide leadership and coordination for the microinsurance industry. It includes private sector stakeholders (insurers, brokers, microfinance institutions, and the IAZ), regulatory bodies (Pensions and Insurance Authority and the Bank of Zambia), public sector stakeholders (Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour and Social Security), and market development agencies like FSD Zambia.
• Microinsurance coverage in Zambia grew significantly between 2009 and 2014, reaching three million people. However, this growth was heavily influenced by a loyalty insurance scheme via Airtel, MicroEnsure, and African Life Assurance Zambia, which accounted for 64% of life and funeral coverage in 2014.
• The microinsurance market has seen an increase in commercial viability and product diversity. Nine of the 33 registered insurance companies are now engaged in microinsurance. Offerings have expanded from credit life to include funeral, life, weather-index, rural bicycle, and travel insurance, as well as loan collateral cover for purchases under US$2,000.
• Distribution channels for microinsurance have diversified beyond microfinance institutions to include bank networks, mobile network operators (MNOs), workers' unions, the Zambian post office, microenterprise associations, community-based agents, agribusinesses, and farmer groups.
• The Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) has been an active member of the TAG since 2010 and began drafting specific microinsurance regulations in 2011. However, the process has stalled due to government bureaucracy and debates over licensing categorisation, minimum capital requirements, and a 30% local ownership provision.
• FSD Zambia utilizes the Microinsurance Acceleration Facility (MAF), launched in 2011, as a competitive cost-sharing grant mechanism. It requires 50% counterpart funding to support providers in testing innovative product design and delivery ideas.
• FSD Zambia's strategic ambition is to stimulate a competitive market with at least five insurers reaching scale, serving 100,000 low-income persons (with half being women, MSMEs, or smallholder farmers), and ensuring 30,000 consumers use health or agriculture-related products.

APA

Gibson, A., Elliott, D., & Johnson, D. (2016). The Growth of Inclusive Insurance in Zambia: Catalysing the Market through Industry Leadership. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Zambia-Microinsurance-2.pdf

Chicago

Gibson, Alan, David Elliott, and Diane Johnson. The Growth of Inclusive Insurance in Zambia: Catalysing the Market through Industry Leadership. FSD Africa, 2016. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Zambia-Microinsurance-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gibson |first1=Alan |last2=Elliott |first2=David |last3=Johnson |first3=Diane |title=The Growth of Inclusive Insurance in Zambia: Catalysing the Market through Industry Leadership |publisher=FSD Africa |date=December 2016 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Zambia-Microinsurance-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gibson2016growth, author = {Gibson, Alan and Elliott, David and Johnson, Diane}, title = {{The Growth of Inclusive Insurance in Zambia: Catalysing the Market through Industry Leadership}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Zambia-Microinsurance-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }