Managing Microinsurance Partnerships (Paper)
This paper analyzes microinsurance partnerships and identifies key themes based on the experiences of various organizations. It provides a framework to analyze both new and existing partnerships, and provides recommendations and strategies to monitor and improve them.The paper defines partnership as any structured long-term collaboration between organizations to implement a microinsurance program, as well as formal legal partnerships arrangements. It presents the concept of a Partnership Life Cycle to provide a framework to guide microinsurance practitioners in partnership management. Various stages of the life cycle include search, assessment and selection, implementation, maintenance, evaluation, and termination. The case studies suggest that there is no one prescribed recipe for success. The most successful microinsurance partnerships appear to be those that:
- Have a strong alignment of interests and objectives, where the microinsurance program contributes to the core business of each partner;
- Approach the initial phase as a learning environment, with a long term commitment to developing sustainability;
- Set realistic goals and expectations, in a joint process;
- Collaborate at some level in all areas of program development and implementation;
- Are flexible, especially around problem resolution and change.
