Helping Communities Manage risks from the ground up.

About Us

The Micro Insurance Academy (MIA) is a not-for-profit organization providing technical assistance in microinsurance to organizations that focus on low-income communities. The MIA is among the largest microinsurance resource centre’s globally. It works in liaison with partners from civil society, academia, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, the (re)insurance industry and national governments. The organization’s rapidly growing geographical spread covers several countries across Asia and Africa, including Cambodia, Fiji, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Tanzania.

The MIA has developed a model that empowers poor communities to access and manage financial risks through tailored insurance solutions that match people's needs and ability to pay. We do this through a process that the beneficiaries understand, trust and take responsibility for. Our aim is to “help communities manage risks from the ground up”.

In May 2011, catering to the growing need for our expertise from all over the world, the MIA opened its international office in Bonn, Germany. The international office will be able to reach out to new and current partners in Europe, access new ones in northern America and also help MIA to efficiently services countries in Africa. The majority of the team, however, continues to be based at New Delhi, India, where the MIA was launched in May 2007, as a project of Sarvajan Unnati Bodhini Charitable Trust. Even as MIA expands globally, with a special eye on Africa, it intends to increase its penetration in countries where it has existing activities, including those in South Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. The MIA has been awarded the international quality management standard ISO9001: 2008 certification for its provision of training on microinsurance implementation process of a contextualized pro-poor insurance system. MIA is the first organization in the microinsurance sector to receive this international quality management standard relating to microinsurance. With ISO 9001:2008 certification in hand, the MIA implementation, monitoring and management processes are systemically designed for replication.

MIA's holistic approach to microinsurance (combining research, structured technical assistance, capacity building, advocacy and advisory services) and innovative training methods, has won international recognition. At the Asia Insurance Industry Awards for 2010, MIA was honoured with the ‘Educational Service Provider of the Year’ award. In 2009, MIA’s chairman Prof. Dr. David Dror received the “Personality of the Year”.

Our Mission

Our mission is to empower and enable poor communities to play an active role reducing their financial vulnerabilities through innovative approaches in microinsurance.

Our Vision

For every person to have access to relevant risk management techniques to improve their livelihoods and uplift themselves out of poverty.

MIA's Approach

The MIA conducts state of the art research to build a comprehensive knowledge base within the sector and develop efficient tools and frameworks for successful integration of microinsurance schemes into the existing social protection structures. Our microinsurance schemes offer superior information technology systems and links to reinsurance to enhance operational management and sustainability. Our schemes are also complimentary by nature, meaning that they build on existing capacities within communities and enhance public systems.

Click here to download our 2011 brochure briefly describing the Micro Insurance Academy.