Thanks to ICMIF’s 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy, 1.86 million low-income households in Kenya, India and the Philippines have been covered with mutual or cooperative microinsurance since the Strategy launched in June 2016. This means almost 10 million lives have been protected (averaging five individuals in a household) at a cost of less than one US dollar per household.

ICMIF launched the 5-5-5 Strategy to scale up mutual microinsurance in five countries where its members are already operating – India, Kenya, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Colombia. The ultimate objective is to build resilience in low-income communities and develop insurable populations by providing financial education, risk reduction and affordable need-based insurance products.

ICMIF’s work through the 5-5-5 Strategy and with the help of its project partners in India, Kenya and the Philippines has meant that ICMIF has specifically impacted the following SDGs through its 5-5-5 projects in these countries.

#1 No poverty: the 5-5-5 helps people escape the vicious cycle of poverty and provides a safety net to vulnerable communities.

#2 Zero hunger: the 5-5-5 helps to ensure food security through the delivery of insurance protection to smallholder farmers, amongst others.

# 3 Good health and well-being: in addition to increasing access to health insurance, the 5-5-5 focuses on health prevention/education and access to quality healthcare.

#8 Gender equality: the 5-5-5 positively impacts on women who are most often the policyholders of a mutual microinsurance provider and also usually impacted more severely in the event of a disaster.

#13 Climate action: the target communities of the 5-5-5 are some of the most vulnerable to climate change in the world

The next stage of the 5-5-5 Strategy is to complete the remaining programmes in India, Sri Lanka and Colombia, ICMIF members have been urged to come forward and support the funding requirement outlined in the appeal issued by the Federation in February 2020.

ICMIF CEO Shaun Tarbuck said: “With just one US dollar funding required to cover each household, any donation to the 5-5-5 has a significant impact in both reducing risk and building resilience for people in low-income communities.”

About the 5-5-5

ICMIF launched the 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy in June 2016 to develop mutual microinsurance in five countries over five years, reaching out to 5 million uninsured low-income households. The ultimate objective being to take low-income people out of poverty. The governance of the 5-5-5 is overseen by The ICMIF Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales.

The 5-5-5 is predominantly supported by other ICMIF member companies and like-minded organisations in more developed markets, either through Financial Assistance (in the form of donations) or Technical Assistance projects.

Contact Tina Blain at tina@icmif.org for further information.