IFC
Financial Institutions Group (FIG)

Insurance
Industry Context

IFC Strategy and Portfolio

While emerging markets today make up only about

IFC helps clients create insurance markets to serve emerging

20% of global premiums, they are the fastest growing

market consumers and enables insurers to invest in both

insurance markets. With growth rates consistently four

capital markets and real sectors.

to five percentage points or more above advanced
countries, developing markets represent a significant
opportunity for IFC and other investors.
Insurance enables enterprises to take on more risk
and provides a safety net for individuals. Additionally,insurance companies deploy assets into long-term
investments in local and regional economies, as well as
bonds, equities, real estate and infrastructure, driving thedevelopment of deeper local capital markets. Life, non-life,and health insurance products can improve recovery afterdisasters, support health and social security systems andpromote food security.
Diverse trends are shaping the insurance sector andgenerating new challenges and opportunities:• Climate change• Demographic shifts• Evolving regulatory landscapes and adoption ofhigher standards• IFC is a leading private equity investor and advisor to insurancecompanies in emerging markets, deploying its own capital fora finite duration and often as the anchor investor that attracts
additional investors. IFC specialists provide technical advice
and initiate operational improvements. We also provide ourESG frameworks and can offer investment products across thecapital structure from common equity to senior debt facilities.
• IFC has invested over $2 billion in insurance companies,
primarily through direct equity investments, and currently has
a portfolio of equity investments valued at about $400 million
across 22 insurance companies (including 11 Insurtech/earlystage investments). Looking ahead, IFC intends to grow its
portfolio of insurance investments to $1 billion by 2030.
• IFC utilizes non-payment insurance from highly rated global
insurance companies as a mobilization and risk management
tool for its own account lending programs. IFC has sourced
approximately $10 billion of capital through credit insurance
to support long-term lending to financial institutions andinfrastructure projects, as well as short-term trade finance.

• The rise of insurance technology (Insurtech)

Strategic Initiatives
The IFC Women’s insurance advisory program leverages

educational activities to develop a local skill base that is thethe private sector to create new women’s insurance

backbone of insurance infrastructure.

markets in some of the most difficult environments. We
work closely with our clients to increase their customer baseand revenue from women, and by doing so we help increase
women’s access to insurance and boost their employment
opportunities as agents and distributors.

The MCPP FIG platform has mobilized $6.5 billion of
insurance capacity through an innovative reinsurance
structure that sources non-payment insurance to increase
IFC’s long-term lending to FIs in EMDEs; currently, there are
13 global insurance partners participating in this program.

In Agricultural Index Insurance, IFC advisory teams work

Other DFIs are now replicating this approach. IFC supports

with (re)insurance companies, MFIs, co-ops, agribusinesses,

our insurance investees to invest in more climate finance,data providers, brokers, and risk modeling firms to provide

including real estate and green and blue bonds. We continue

technical assistance in product design, data collection,

to explore catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities andmodelling and pricing. IFC also sponsors a variety ofrisk sharing for natural disasters and extreme weather events.

Project Examples
ASSUPOL

AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE - IFC ADVISORY(SOUTH AFRICA)SERVICES (SRI LANKA & KENYA)

Assupol, a former mutual, provides life insurance products

IFC Advisory projects leverage the use of technology andand services to disadvantaged individuals in South Africa.

innovation within agriculture insurance: (1) In Sri Lanka, aIFC invested during its demutualization process andmobile and web application was developed to digitize

provided an important validation for the process that

information and land mapping, capturing +80,000 farmer

eventually led to a public listing. The equity investment

and farmland data points to date; (2) In Kenya, since 2010

facilitated a restructuring of the capital and shareholder

mobile network operator M-PESA and local input providers

base, enabling Assupol to gain increased recognition andleverage satellite technologies to locate and monitor risks

traction among investors to continue its strategy to serveand disburse claims payments into farmers’ mobile walletthe low-income population.

or as an automatic discount on the next input purchase.
ROOJAI

AXA MANSARD – IFC ADVISORY SERVICES(THAILAND)(NIGERIA)
Roojai is a “digitally native” insurance company whose
AXA Mansard, one of Nigeria’s largest insurance

direct-to-consumer model is expected to improvecompanies, engaged with IFC to tap into the women’scompetitiveness in the market by demonstrating themarket potential in the country through the IFC Women’sviability of a technology-led business model capable of

Insurance program. By the end of 2019, the company

improving service quality and reducing operating costs.

achieved gender parity in its customer count—a key target

The company lowers distribution costs by avoiding thewhich the company set in 2017.

middlemen and letting customers use online channels tobuy directly from Roojai. IFC supported the company’s
growth with a direct equity investment.

FIG has invested $2.5 billion* in the Insurance Sector (as of end-June 2024)~$400 million active equity portfolio in 22 companies operating in 29 countries

9%

EUROPE

21%
ASIA

35%

LATAM

35%

AFRICA% represents share of portfolio based on current company valuations*through direct investments and PE funds since 2001

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