I firmly believe major demographics shifts are going to have massive social, political, economic, financial market and commercial impacts in the coming decades. The balance of savers and borrowers, investors, producers and consumers will change with complex effects. For example: 📊 Having fewer children has a temporary impact to boost productivity as resources aren’t spent…
About a decade ago, a compelling idea percolated up through academia and into industry – including the insurance industry: Signing forms at the top, rather than the bottom, could boost honesty. Researchers Francesco Gino and Dan Ariely championed this concept, which quickly gained traction. The logic seemed sound – remind people to be truthful before…
40,000. That’s the ballpark figure I usually work with as the minimum number of micro insurance policies required for scale. The expenses of running even a micro insurer are not that trivial. For underwritten products within a full life licence? Larger premiums per policy but definitely more complexity. Competition is tougher too. Hyper local brands…
Navigating Complexity in Queue Management: Slightly serious insights from the Motor Vehicle Licence Renewal Office Queue management at the motor vehicle licence renewal office offers a window into a realm of complexity that extends far beyond the waiting room. Exploring priority queuing and weighted fair queuing (WFQ), we uncover a world of probabilistic models, dynamic…
As the insurance industry evolves, so do the complexities of distribution. When distribution channels don’t perform, it can be hard to just diagnose the problem. Have we stopped doing the right things? Are our competitors getting better? Do we have the right product and is our pricing still right? It’s tempting to chalk it up to…
I’ve had reasons to think about Nigeria recently, in general but also from an insurance market and acquisition environment. I’ve helped several investors looking at Nigerian insurers over the years. Familiarity with the market and the expectations of these investors has bred complexity rather than contempt. This isn’t an easy diagnosis of land of plenty…
After a recent Actuarial Society sessional presentation I gave on micro insurance and the regulatory developments, I was asked why there aren’t more micro insurers operating in South Africa. Here is a slightly paraphrased version of the full question: The larger insurance players seem reluctant to enter the market. Why do you think this market…
Credit Life regulations have been live for long enough now that insurers are starting to feel the impact and the shake-up of amongst industry players is starting to emerge. There have been plenty of debate around the regulations, in part because of the dramatic financial and operational impact they will have, and partly because of…
