Originally published: February 27, 2008
Source: Aga Khan Development Network
The Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) has promoted the first dedicated microinsurance agency in Pakistan. The First Microinsurance Agency (FMiA) will provide innovative life and health microinsurance products that are tailored to the needs of poor families. FMiA has partnered with New Jubilee Life, a subsidiary of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), as its principal insurer. AKAM has invested PKR 30 million (US$500,000) as start up capital in FMiA. It is AKAM’s second affiliate institution in Pakistan, the first one being First MicroFinanceBank Ltd.
Kaleem Abbas, the CEO of FMiA said, "Microinsurance is a relatively new phenomenon, but is attracting increasing interest worldwide by commercial insurance companies. The provision of low cost insurance to millions of Pakistan’s poor families constitutes a vast market potential. Microcredit is a rapidly expanding business in Pakistan and by offering insurance we are expanding the range of financial services available to families which previously had been excluded."
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