Customer education in agriculture insurance is important to (1) achieve better understanding of how to mitigate risk, (2) create value for customers, and (3) help providers reach more clients and expand markets. There are challenges in developing responsible insurance through education including lack of awareness and poor risk perception, low demand and uptake, and lack of clear roles and adequate regulatory frameworks. Effective customer education approaches include using various engagement activities, marketing collaterals, workshops, and participation in local events to increase awareness and understanding of agricultural insurance.

1. Customer education in agriculture
insurance

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3. Issues and challenges around customer
education in agriculture insurance
3
Presenter:
Brenda Wandera
International Livestock Research
Institute
Presenter:
Lory Camba Opem
International Finance
Corporation
Presenter:
Navin Sharma
ICICI Lombard General Insurance
Company
Facilitator:
Pranav Prashad
Impact Insurance Facility
3

4. Achieve better understanding of how to mitigate
risk
Create value for the customers
Help providers reach more clients and expand
markets
Change behaviours in agricultural communities
Poll: Why is it important to educate
clients
4

5. Customer education at the core of
responsible finance
5
Staying Resilient and Keeping Customers FIRST

6. Why does customer education in
responsible insurance matter
6
 Inadequate understanding and low consumer
protection can lead to further impoverishment of low
income consumers and can limit market expansion
and profitability of product.
 The benefits of insurance products are difficult to
understand for consumers, more so in mandatory
products
 Where products are voluntary and consumers must
make out-of-pocket premium payments, there is a risk
of involuntary lapse of the policy. Better
understanding creates safeguard to minimize this risk.
 Greater focus on consumer’s needs and their better
understanding helps organizations build stronger
relationships with their clients. This enhances trust,
increases client retention, and reduces the risk of
lapses or false claims.
 Adherence to consumer protection goals creates more
socially valuable and financially stable institutions and
products

7. Why it matters to our clients and their
customers
7
Serves customers with products that fit their needs: both traditional
and digital financial services; microenterprises (NGO transformations,
cooperatives, etc), banks (downscaling), NBFIs (insurance, housing)
Builds long-lasting customer relationships: customer education,
product understanding & use; importance of credit reporting, managing
multiple loans; diversified services to retain/obtain customers
Manages risks for more prudent growth: help develop risk
management systems and processes as backbone for more prudent,
resilient business growth, solid customer base for expanded services
Anticipates uncharted risks of opportunities (like use of technology):
low customer uptake, unreliable agents/networks, data/info security,
KYC, fraud

8. Measured by responsible insurance
indicators
8
A number of Social Performance Indicators (SPIs) are tracked so insurers can develop
a better understanding of where consumer protection needs are met and where
challenges remain. This knowledge can inform capacity-building efforts throughout
the value chain.
Consumer Protection Question Indicator
Are products appropriate for the clients they are sold
to?
• Incurred claims ratio
• Claim Settlement Turnaround
time
What safeguards exists to protect client data? • Guidelines on privacy of client
data
What renewal process is used? • Renewal ratio
What process exists to tell consumer a claim is
rejected? Is the ratio appropriate?
• Claim rejection ratio
What opportunities do clients have to file
complaints?
• Complaints ratio
Are clients satisfied? • Client Retention Rate

9. Challenges in developing responsible
insurance through education
9
Challenge 1: Lack of Awareness
and Poor Perception of Risk
Challenge 2: Low Demand
and Uptake
Challenge 3: Need for
Clarification of Roles
Challenge 4: Lack of Adequate
Regulatory Frameworks
• Provide information and education for consumers at
different engagement points
• Partners with known brands to increase trust
• Bundled products and modular products
• Digital Products (not just for distribution)
• Incentive models for voluntary insurance take-up
• Better understanding of partnerships and business
models
• Designing appropriate Risk-pooling mechanisms
• Improve cooperation between entities – better
relationship between insurers and actors in the value
chain
• Promote engagement between regulators and industry
• Develop guidance for providers (for traditional and
digital insurance)

10. Evolution of education tools and approach
10
Index based insurance is a new concept. It is important that clients receive
accurate and complete information. Misinformation leading to unrealistic
expectation and subsequent disappointment will damage the reputation of the
product.
IBLI potential clients
Mostly illiterate or semi illiterate
Have had zero or limited prior experience with insurance
Continuous education on the product and its benefit is key
Tools need to be easy to understand for them
Approaches need to be acceptable and interesting for the clients
Consumer education tools and approach adapted based on
Experience & Feedback

11. Objective of consumer education
11
Proposed theory of change around consumer education

12. Key challenges & possible solutions in
rural segment
12
Improving awareness among
farmer community
Innovative distribution & marketing
activities – promotional activities, add
on services like agro advisory
Optimise costs Using technology &
cross utilization of existing
infrastructure
Manpower and infrastructure
requirement
Creative
distribution+
Use of
technology

13. Engagement activity to create awareness
13
 Creating awareness about Crop
Insurance
 Facilitate better understanding
of the NCIP
 Importance of Insurance as a
collateral security
 Understanding of Roles &
Responsibilities
 Feedback from Banks & Govt.
& Scope for improvement in
our services
 Engagement with channel
partners
 Engagement with government
 Engagement with end users
 Marketing collaterals –
awareness and promotion
 Newspaper & radio spots
Objective Intervention
Use of IEC activities to achieve behavioral change in the target segment

14. Product information – benefits, cost etc.
Process for claims (and enrolment)
Information on risks and insurance principles
Alternative solutions to manage risks
Poll: What topics should insurance
consumer education address
14

15. Consumer awareness and financial
education: customer journey
15Wiedmaier-Pfister & McCord (2012)
Point of Sale
Agent educates consumer before selling
policy
TV, radio, Internet and phones
Drama, talk show, Interactive website
jingles, SMS
Workshops
Train the trainers: Need trainers equipped
to train adults in practical ways
Schools
Financial education included in curriculum
Extra-curriculum activities: clubs, school
visits
Community events
Road show, street theatre, movie
In-community knowledgeable persons
Either community leaders or simple
members
Trained for specific messages and advice

16. Educating customers helps for client-centric
product design via diversified channels
16
Improving Client-
Driven Product
Design
Diversifying
Distribution Channels
Build Consumer
and Local Players’
Awareness
 Develop the reach and diversity the distribution network
 Identify, pitch, enter agreements with, and provide tailored insurance
policies for local distributors
 Increase consumers trust in provider and insurer, training officer to
explain advantages of insurance
 Provide capacity building trainings on index insurance for local actors,
including insurers, distributors, regulators and other stakeholders
 Offer bundled products, insurance + credit, leading to higher uptake
 Assess data modeling methodology and techniques used for calculating
risk, pricing and handling of underlying data to make these more
transparent
 Review and recommend improvements to product coverage terms,
including the claims assessment methodology (i.e. in determining what
qualifies for a payout)
Use feedback for

17. Consumer education approaches
17
• Face to face trainings - Agents endorsed by
community for trust
• Interactive radio programs - Local radio
station and languages
• Pre- recorded radio programs - Local
language
• Insurance games - Based on pastoral
production system
• Edutainment videos - Shown in the evenings
in the villages
• Community meetings - Oral community
• Skits - Local artists
• Use of village chiefs - Trust issues

18. Using Games and “Village Elders” for
“consumer education”
18
Insurance simulation games effective for insurance
understanding
• Used some of the pastoral systems to explain the
difficult concepts
• More sales were recorded in these areas as opposed
to areas where there were no games
• Resource intensive and time consuming
• Not feasible to play the games with the all the
households in the area : choose carefully
Village elders have proven to be some of the most
effective Master Trainers and VIPs
• Convincing the other village elders of the validity of
the insurance product
• Reducing the skepticism of the local population
• Sub division of roles between Master Trainers and VIPs
worked well
• The older men, who were trusted by the
pastoralists, relayed information while the
younger men finished the transaction
• Evolved to lead and sub agent relationship -
commercial

19. Past tools
19
● Cartoon
● General
Video
● Poster
● Insurance
simulation
games
● Quick Ref
● Edutainment
Video
● IBLI Training
Manual
● IBLI Payout Video
● Jingles
● Updated Pictorial
● Issue Cards
● Pocket Guides:
FAQs,
Communication
Skills, Rate Cards
● IBLI Pictorials
for Ethiopia
● Updated
Pictorial for
Kenya
● Updated quick
reference
guides
● Index
announcement
poster
2010 2011 2012/2013 2014

20. Material for clients: pastoralists
20

21. Material for clients (II)
21

22. Material for sales agents
22

23. Latest tools and approach - 2015
23
We pride ourselves in being innovation champions… each setback for us is an
opportunity to do even better!!!

24. Gamification
24
Pocket IBLT
Find out where
you are on the
Leaderboard
Earn Badges

25. Kenya Livestock Insurance Program -
KLIP
25
Consumer education strategy
Level 1: Knowledge and tools for government
and insurance industry policy makers
Level 2: Knowledge, skills and job aids for
IBLI/KLIP sales agents and promoters
Level 3: Awareness raising for potential clients

26. Through community leaders and farmer
cooperatives
Through relevant agriculture input providers
Through mass media – radio and newspapers
Using mobile phones
Poll: What are the most effective ways to
engage with rural agricultural households
on insurance awareness & education
26

27. Stakeholder Mapping – work through
Government
27
The Insurer
District Admn.
DM & Agri.
Deptt
Deptt. of Agri
at State Level
SLBC at
State Level
Dist. Level
Banks
Farmer
Engagement at each level is a pre-requisite to
 Create awareness about scheme
 Earn the buy-in of each stakeholder and use them to promote
 Develop rapport and set up momentum
SLBC: State Level Banking Committee

28. Focused Engagement & Recognition
28
R&R to motivate channel partners for
high penetration
Engaging & explaining to govt. and bank officials –
effective spokespersons

29. Workshops at multiple levels
29
District workshops to sensitize the district
officials about insurance covers and
processes
Pradhans (village chiefs) workshop to mobilize the people’s
representatives
Special women workshop

30. Marketing collaterals - reinforce the
message
30
Posters & Banners
Wall paintings - effective in
health too!

31. IEC Activities
31
Using opinion makers
Reach non motorables via
“hand miking” (Bihar)
Local flavour (Jharkhand) Catching eyeballs (Odisha)
Innovations - Kite festival
(Gujarat)
Mobile van campaigns

32. Participation in local events
32
Nukkad Natak - Skits and drama at Durga Puja in
Bengal
Promotion through most reachable and
relevant media - the radio jingle

33. Innovative practices
33
Innovation in enrollment for increased efficiency - Tab
based enrollment of non loanee farmers

34. Impact of Increased engagement and
customer oriented activities
34
Engagement with stake holders & other interventions helped in terms of extending
reach
• Significant increase in no. of farmers covered as compared to previous year in the
same district speaks volumes about the impact of effective engagement
161000
314760
24433
79300
Farmers covered K 14 Farmers covered K 15
MNAIS WBCIS
95%
224%
*Kharif 2014 and 2015

35. WBG/IFC responsible insurance strategy:
leveraging on Global Index Insurance Facility
(GIIF)
35
•Support Insurance
providers in developing
strategies to
strengthening responsible
insurance practices across
business functions
• Monitor and track
progress against Smart
Campaign social
performance indicators,
using a set framework and
set of indicators
Consumer
Protection &
Responsible
Insurance Delivery
•Develop & distribute trainings
on insurance management for
non-traditional insurance
distribution channels
•Capacity building for local
insurance entities to track
social performance
•Workshops & trainings to build
consumer awareness through
private and public financial
education campaigns
Consumer
Awareness &
Financial Education •Evaluate the impact of
insurance on the lives of
the end-beneficiaries
•Evaluate progress in
social performance
based on indicators
tracking
•Share lessons in
international fora – e.g.
Microinsurance Network,
Consumer Protection
Working Group
Evaluate Lessons &
Share Results

36. Financial education lessons from IFC
projects in India
36
Program should cover the entire delivery spectrum- broad based to
intensive
Appropriate mobilization strategy is critical for client retention-
participatory approach to contextualize content to match client
expectations
Balance should be struck between scale of the program and its
effectiveness
Regular monitoring for quality/evaluation and impact assessment for
motivating HR
Employing appropriate technology can help achieve scale and reinforce
learning among clients- MIS, radio, television, audio-visual content
Delivery of financial education should be followed up with access to
appropriate products to increase retention
Very little evidence of cost benefit analysis. Benefits could be
direct/indirect
Financial Awareness is like a vaccination drive– value unrecognized until
afflicted by disease (in this case high debt levels/erosion of savings)

37. Case study: financial institutions
interventions in financial education
37
An MFI in South Asia provides a 5 week financial literacy program to
clients on basic money management (debt management & savings)
 Facilitates opening of savings accounts
 Graduates get perks:
 Extra Rs.2000 on credit limit
 Eligible for Individual Loan if 2+ year client
 Access to cashless disbursements
An MFI in China uses informal trainings to raise client awareness of
their products and their understanding of financial services via
innovative means: emails, calendars and group trainings
An MFI in India set up a Financial Information Centre to give financial
advice by telephone and uses a variety of interactive teaching
methodologies like games, stories and cases during financial literacy
trainings.
Elaborate Lessons for agri insurance

38. A greater number of countries is
developing national financial education
frameworks
38
Data from OECD/INFE,
PISA Frameworks
• Greater number of
countries are relying
on evidence and the
measurement of
financial literacy to
develop their strategy
based on evidence of
needs and gaps across
their population.
• Most countries have
used national financial
literacy surveys relying
either on available
international tools
WB Global Financial Literacy
Survey

39. Accurate and complete information to clients helps
to create realistic expectations that are more likely to
be met - this helps with building trust.
Proper information and education about insurance is
must for all stakeholders for providing full benefits to
the farmer and create value at each level.
There is a lot work still be done for consumer
education and as we've seen today, for insurance as
a product and more specifically for agricultural
farmers. IFC/WBG remains committed to financial
inclusion.
Concluding thoughts
39

40. Issues and challenges around customer
education in agriculture (index)
insurance
4040
Presenter:
Brenda Wandera
International Livestock Research
Institute
Presenter:
Lory Camba Opem
International Finance
Corporation
Presenter:
Navin Sharma
ICICI Lombard General Insurance
Company
Facilitator:
Pranav Prashad
Impact Insurance Facility