Friday, January 15, 2016

What we read at MIC this week

Links to some interesting reads:

  •  Tech Relief for the High Cost of Field Research
    • The MicroInsurance Centre is managing this client-centered research project working with Crezcamos MFI in rural Colombia. The purpose is to see whether receiving an Ag insurance product bundled with the loan or receiving it separately after loan approval leads to take up or differences in understanding a product. Read more here.  
  • Drones to assess crop loss under new insurance policy
    • The New Crop Insurance Scheme (NCIS) for farmers in India is set to be approved next week by the Cabinet. This will entail drones being deployed to assess crop damage. Among other goals, this scheme will aim to keep premium rates lower than the existing program. Read more here.  
  • Monitoring hazards from the sky
    • The Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) program in the Philippines, which started in 2012, is currently using laser scanners inside of airplanes to create hazard maps and a flood advisory system. This will facilitate the development of of new strategies for disaster risk management. Read more here.  
  • Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena wins 2016 Pritzker prize
    • “One of the biggest mistakes that architects make is that they tend to deal with problems that only interest other architects,”...“The biggest challenge is to engage with the important non-architectural issues – poverty, pollution, congestion, segregation – and apply our specific knowledge. It’s not enough to raise awareness. I want people to leave with more tools. We must share the challenges so we are aware of the coming battles.” - Aravena. Read more here
  • Credit shield insurance - piloting microinsurance products in Bangladesh
    • BRAC offers the Credit Shield Insurance as an opt-in product for its microfinance borrowers. Though making clients aware and comfortable with this product was a challenge, it was found that "investing in BRAC's human relationships was the most effective in earning clients' confidence". Read more here
      investing in BRAC’s human relationships was the most effective in earning clients’ confidence - See more at: http://blog.brac.net/2016/01/credit-shield-insurance-piloting-microinsurance-products-in-bangladesh/#sthash.8gakxbzU.dpuf
      investing in BRAC’s human relationships was the most effective in earning clients’ confidence - See more at: http://blog.brac.net/2016/01/credit-shield-insurance-piloting-microinsurance-products-in-bangladesh/#sthash.8gakxbzU.dpuf
      investing in BRAC’s human relationships was the most effective in earning clients’ confidence - See more at: http://blog.brac.net/2016/01/credit-shield-insurance-piloting-microinsurance-products-in-bangladesh/#sthash.8gakxbzU.dpuf
  • Microinsurance is the answer to the insurance industry
    •  A critique of the current system of insurance in the U.S. and a proposal of why and how it should change..."Leveraging microinsurance, fintech startups will take the lead not just in rethinking this antiquated insurance system, but also creating completely new kinds of insurance the will meet the dynamic needs of millennials". Read more here