Micro-assurance: macro-enjeux ?

[fre] Assurer rentablement les populations a faible revenu des pays en developpement : tel est l’objectif de la micro-assurance. Un objectif deja atteint par certains grands assureurs qui voient dans ce secteur emergent la clef d’une internationalisation reussie. Le developpement de la micro-assurance ne doit rien au hasard : se posant comme une alternative attendue aux strategies informelles de gestion du risque largement deficientes et pourtant si omnipresentes, la micro-assurance s’appuie sur un partenariat entre des assureurs professionnels et des institutions de micro-finance qui disposent deja d’un veritable reseau de confiance aupres des populations. Ainsi, les pays emergents ou en voie d’emerger sont bel et bien en train de structurer un veritable marche de la «micro-bancassurance», a la mesure des pauvretes a combattre. . Classification JEL : G22, O16 [eng] The objective of micro-insurance is to insure in a profitable way low-income population in developing countries. As difficult as it may seem, it has already been achieved by large insurers, who see this emergent sector as key for successful internationalization. Micro-insurance is indeed gaining speed for a reason : It represents a long awaited alternative to households’ informal risk management strategies, which despite their omnipresence often prove defective. Micro-insurance products mainly rely on partnerships between professional insurers and microfinance institutions (MFI) having already built significant confidence among their population. Emerging countries are thus in the process of structuring genuine «microbankinsurance» markets, whose aspiration levels are at par with the challenges of poverty alleviation. . JEL classification : G22, O16