Twenty participants from the region will attend a 3 day training workshop on key financial performance Indicators for Microinsurance in Nadi. The workshop been organized by the partners of Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) and Inclusive Finance for the Underserved (INFUSE) in partnership with ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility and the Microinsurance Network. 

This highly interactive workshop has gathered insurance providers and regulators from Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Fiji and aims to improve the skill-set of microinsurance managers for the analysis and interpretation of financial performance ratios.  

Every year, the global Microinsurance Network and its partners hold several microinsurance training globally and this training on Key Performance Indicators is the first to be held in this region.   

In opening the event, UNDP Pacific Centre Manager, Garry Wiseman, indicated that the UN was delighted to be a part of this initiative and acknowledged that microinsurance has great significance to the recent International Day of Eradication of Poverty which was celebrated on October 17th. In addressing the participants, Mr Wiseman was stated, “Our goal is to empower you with the tools and knowledge needed to go back to your respective countries, develop an insurance culture and help develop microinsurance products that are designed for the low income market. Microinsurance is a means for low income earners to mitigate against shocks, these are events such as recurring sickness, death of the primary income earner or destruction of crops, assets and sources of livelihoods –which is a regular occurrence in the Pacific. In other words to provide them a social safety net.”  

The lead facilitator, Ms. Kelly Rendek, expressed high hopes for the Pacific, “I’ve been involved in these global trainings for three years and just very excited to bring this training to the this region for the very first time and to help these providers to be leaders in the microinsurance world.”In partnership with the Microinsurance network, global partners GIZ, ADA and BRS have collaborated to provide materials and resources for this regional workshop. 

Earlier in the workshop, the participants collectively mentioned that, “while Microinsurance is the current buzzword globally, they would like to get past this buzz- to expand their knowledge base and determine best products and legislations for microinsurance in the Pacific.”  

Regional Financial Inclusion Advisor and PFIP Manger, Mr. Tillman Bruett, said, “PFIP enjoys bringing new knowledge to the region, getting people together and new ideas to fruition.  We expect great things to come out from this training.” 

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) is a Pacific-wide programme helping to provide sustainable financial services to low income households. It is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and operates from the UNDP Pacific Centre.