More than 75,000 tsunami-affected people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu are to be offered insurance for the first time, following the launch of a new partnership between leading insurer Allianz and humanitarian agency CARE International.

The three-year Allianz-CARE partnership will design a series of tailor-made micro-insurance products specifically for those living near the coast and who work in fishing, agriculture and plantations. Vulnerable communities like these are often particularly exposed to risks, but can't afford to pay for insurance cover or are not even aware of it.

Geoffrey Dennis, chief executive of CARE International UK, says: "In the wake of a devastating disaster like the tsunami, a major part of helping rebuild people's lives in the long-term is to help them to feel more secure."

"This micro-insurance scheme adds another important ingredient to CARE's long-term work to help people get their lives back on track after the tsunami, in one of the areas of India worst hit by the disaster."

Allianz AG board member Werner Zedelius comments: "It is poor people like those affected by the tsunami who are most in need of a social security net – yet all too often there are no options that are either affordable or available to them."

"We see this partnership as both an opportunity for Allianz to give something back to one of the communities hardest hit by the tsunami in December 2004 and to show how micro-insurance can also be a viable business. Our ambition is to see this model replicated elsewhere, offering more services to poor and vulnerable communities."

Allianz has already gathered experience in micro-insurance in India. The Indian joint venture company Bajaj Allianz provides coverage to some 80,000 people in rural communities through different grassroots organizations. Together with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Allianz has been focusing on life insurance protection in India.

In Tamil Nadu, the program will be delivered on the ground by CARE in partnership with Allianz's Indian subsidiary Bajaj Allianz. In addition to designing and providing micro-insurance products, the project will build up the infrastructure needed to administer micro-insurance through community groups and self-help networks.

The partnership expects to offer life and non-life insurance products such as assets, disability, accident and term life insurance for fishermen and farm workers.

The initial phase of the project will determine precise levels of demand and develop appropriate products for the communities. The first products are likely to be available in 2007.

In India, micro-insurance is defined by the size of the policy (5,000- 50,000 rupees, about 85 - 850 euros) and can cover accident, household, fire, cattle, motor insurance and life portfolios that are non-commercial or of lower asset value.

CARE has extensive experience of micro-finance in India, with one of its most successful savings and loans schemes, CASHE, helping more than 250,000 people to earn a decent living since it was set up by providing them with access to savings and loans.

Nearly 10,000 people were killed in southern India by the tsunami and more than three million were affected. CARE is rebuilding 1,600 homes, funding employment projects, re-building water and sanitation facilities, and providing trained teachers to give emotional support to children and community members suffering from trauma.


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