A2ii initiated the Inclusive Insurance Innovation Lab (iii-lab) series to support the development of inclusive insurance markets. Given low insurance penetrations in many economies world-wide and vast populations still unserved or underserved, A2ii recognized that inclusive insurance development requires collaboration of different actors, both in the public and private sector as well as civil society. The iii-lab provides a space for intensive collaboration between key stakeholders in a year-long process.
The iii-lab has three main objectives:
- Enable dialogue and mutual learning amongst key stakeholders in the inclusive insurance sector.
- Equip participants to take leadership within their sector and/or organization.
- Inspire participants to take action and support initial implementation of innovations developed in the iii-lab process.
Methodology
The iii-lab is based on a social lab methodology which involves gathering a diverse set of people to analyze insurance-related problems in their respective country context, gather relevant insights and collaborate to develop and test innovative solutions. Innovation methodologies like Design Thinking and its elements like user research, designing solution prototypes, testing, and redefinition are included in the program design.
In the context of the iii-lab, an innovation is defined as any type of change that is new within a particular jurisdiction. Innovations could be new regulations, new regulatory tools or approaches, innovation of products, processes, distribution channels, payment systems, service (e.g., a new value-added service that can make insurance more tangible), activities (e.g., insurance education program), or a combination. The iii-lab consists of a series of national level and international workshops. The process has been conducted both as a face-to-face and a virtual process so far.
The philosophy of the lab is that no one in the room understands all facets of an issue nor has the perfect solution to existing challenges. This means that everybody needs to work together, and, with the appropriate time and tools, the participants can find the answers together.
Main components of the iii-lab process
Before the lab
- Based on supervisors’ applications, A2ii selects four countries to participate in the lab.
- Country teams are formed, each composed of up to 16 key stakeholders (eight institutions) from the inclusive insurance sector.
During the lab
- Teams start a dialogue, build networks in the national insurance sector and internationally.
- Teams analyze their country systems, decide on a focus area and beneficiary group.
- Participants conduct user research including interviews with representatives from the selected beneficiary group.
- Teams prototype innovative solutions to advance the inclusive insurance market.
- Teams implement their prototypes and test them in the real world. Prototypes are refined.
- Throughout the program, teams receive expert input and benefit from peer exchange across country teams.
After the lab
- Teams decide about a potential institutionalization of their collaboration and may receive seed funding to support further implementation of their innovations.
Participating countries
- The fourth iii-lab took place in 2023/24 with Armenia, Nepal and Senegal and is the second iii-lab focusing on climate risk resilience.
- The third iii-lab took place in 2021/22 with Costa Rica, Grenada, Zambia and Zimbabwe and is focusing on climate risk resilience.
- The second iii-lab took place in 2020/21 with Argentina, India, Morocco and Rwanda.
- The first iii-lab took place in 2017/18 with Albania, Ghana, Kenya and Mongolia.