ICII 2022

The International Conference on Inclusive Insurance (ICII) 2022 will take place from 24-28 October 2022. Over 400 experts from 50+ countries will discuss and identify ways of accelerating growth and economic viability in inclusive insurance for emerging markets. The conference will be hosted by the Munich Re Foundation, the Microinsurance Network and the Insurance Association of Jamaica.

The Consortium of Excellence for the 17 Goals (C-17): University of Lausanne (Switzerland), University of Liverpool (United Kingdom), and York University (Canada) has the pleasure to host the following session:

Parallel Session 12 – Inclusive Insurance: When Academia Meets Practice

The goal of this session is to show how the quantitative tools scholars across Risk Management and Insurance (RMI)-related disciplines rely upon can help promote the development and implementation of individually and socially impactful inclusive insurance products and services. Realizing the full potential of science-driven results requires a practice-informed approach and thus close collaboration among academics, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders. To stimulate discussions on bridging the gap between academia and practice, the session includes four presentations.

In the first presentation, we assess the benefits of coordination and partnerships between governments and private insurers and provide further evidence for inclusive insurance products as powerful and cost-effective tools for achieving poverty reduction. Our results are based on a rigorous mathematical framework that analytically proves the benefits of such partnerships.

In the second presentation, we discuss some new insurance paradigms, namely, parametric insurance and risk pooling, and how they can help developing countries’ governments tackle the aftermath of extreme events, via new partnerships and insurance coverage, as opposed to post-event financial aid/charity. As a contextual example, we focus on floods or droughts in African countries.

In the third presentation, we examine empirically whether microinsurance leaves a lasting impact on the aggregate economy using a sample of African countries. Results suggest a nuanced relationship, with the long-term effect of microinsurance on economic growth exceeding the short-term one and the poorest countries benefiting the most from microinsurance.

Speakers

José Miguel Flores-Contró

PhD Candidate in Actuarial Science, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

José Miguel Flores-Contró is a PhD Candidate in Actuarial Science in the Department of Actuarial Science (DSA) at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He holds a Master of Science in Intelligent Interactive Systems from Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona. His research interests are inclusive insurance, ruin theory and machine learning.

Email: josemiguel.florescontro@unil.ch

Michael McCord

Managing Director, Microinsurance Centre at Milliman, United States

Michael is one of the world’s leading experts in developing and managing microinsurance products. His decades of experience include working as controller of a U.S. commercial bank, chief executive officer of a microfinance institution in Uganda, and regional director for microfinance programs in Africa with FINCA International.

Email: michael.mccord@milliman.com

Corina Constantinescu

Professor, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

Corina Constantinescu is Professor of Mathematics and Director of the Institute for Financial and Actuarial Mathematics, in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, at the University of Liverpool. Prior to being an academic, Corina worked as an actuary and led the life insurance department of one of the first private Romanian insurance companies.

Email: constanc@liverpool.ac.uk

Tsvetanka Karagyozova

Assistant Professor, York University, Canada

Tsvetanka Karagyozova is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in the Department of Economics at York University. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Connecticut. Her research interests are in financial economics, the economics of insurance, and development economics.

Email: tkarag@yorku.ca

Facilitator

Ida Ferrara

Assistant Professor, York University, Canada

Ida Ferrara is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at York University. As an applied micro economist, she relies mostly on theoretical frameworks to analyze policy questions, particularly as they relate to the environment. Some of her recent theoretical works include analyses of the linkages between trade and the environment, social/moral considerations in voluntary contributions and environmental decisions, and the cultural transmission of environmental attitudes. Her empirical works include analyses of household environment-based consumption and the environmental management of industrial emissions.

Email: iferrara@yorku.ca