During 20 – 24 February 2023, the Federation of African National Insurance Companies (known as FANAF, by its French acronym) organized its 47th General Assembly in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Themed: "African insurance: how to maximize its potential for shared prosperity," the event convened nearly 1,000 delegates.

Four sub-themes were elaborated on by industry experts through four interactive panel discussions.

These were:

• Panel 1: The factors blocking microinsurance: what prospects for its development?
• Panel 2: Compulsory insurance in FANAF countries
• Panel 3: How to integrate the agricultural world into insurance?
• Panel 4: How can reinsurance contribute to the development of the insurance industry?

Unpacking the third theme, Ms. Fatou Assah, GIIF Program Manager,  moderated the panel discussion to identify the regulatory challenges and growth opportunities in agricultural insurance in Africa. She was joined by Mr. Mamamoudou Moustapha Fall, the Managing Director of the Compagnie Nationale d’Assurance Agricole du Sénégal (CNAAS) and Mr Lassina Ouattara, the Managing Director of SUNU Assurances IARD Mali, who shared country experiences in designing and rolling out agriculture index insurance products.

Some of the notable success factors of reaching large numbers of farmers with the insurance products were identified as using culturally aligned communications messages and channels, prompt claims’ payments and bundling agricultural index insurance with microcredit or farm inputs. Working through formal organizations that interface with farmers such as producers’ organizations, breeders’ associations, microfinance institutions and agricultural extension systems is vital for building trust.

It was mentioned that the harmonization of regulations on agriculture index insurance in the CIMA zone countries would contribute to increasing private sector appetite for the product line. Premium subsidies funded by national governments and development partners were proposed to increase access for the most vulnerable rural populations to increase their resilience. Several countries have presented proposals to their governments for development of national policies on agriculture index insurance and where these exist, for their harmonization across the CIMA zone. Promising innovations such as insurtech can speed up the processing and payment of claims for instance and contribute to insuring the previously uninsured across Africa. 

Please see event recap video and download technical presentations from the Resources right column.