MicroEnsure and ImaliPay are partnering to deliver digital insurance products to Africa's gig workers. MicroEnsure is now part of the Micro Insurance Company (MIC).
According to MicroEnsure, the insurance products will provide the under-served sector with a safety net, so when the unexpected happens, people can bounce back swiftly.
Micro Insurance Company (MIC) provides end-to-end microinsurance products to the mass market at affordable premiums.
ImaliPay is a pan-African and VC-backed financial services platform offering credit, savings, and insurance via a single channel or API to Africa’s gig economy platforms.
ImaliPay also deploys short-term finance to enable their customers to generate more revenue from their gig work.
The insurance products will be for a customer base of gig workers in Kenya.
“This partnership will empower gig workers by providing insurance tailored to their needs and their level/proportion of income generation. Furthermore, the addition of this insurance product will help improve the quality of life for delivery, ride-sharing, and mobility sector workers,” the company said.
According to the company, the majority of gig workers, especially in the ride-sharing sector, remained active despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Due to the nature of their jobs, they remain at high risk for contracting Covid-19 with minimal access to insurance coverage to protect them. Therefore, this insurance product will cover Covid-19 as well as a range of other risks including health, death, disability, and property destruction,” it said.
MicroEnsure country manager: East Africa, Wairimu Njoki, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with ImaliPay to boost the rising gig economy by providing social protection through innovative, need-based insurance. This is in line with our audacious goal of insuring the 4 billion un/underinsured lives globally.”
ImaliPay co-founder Tatenda Furusa said: “At the very heart of our business, we are concerned with redefining our customer experience by providing a wider product basket and prioritising the products that are most important/necessary to our customers. Insurance sits right at the forefront of our customer needs and we’re happy to be catering to those needs with this collaboration.”
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