ALLIANZ MAKES MICRO MOVES IN INDONESIA

The Indonesian life assurance unit of European insurer Allianz has begun offering a life product to low income earners. Policies can be bought for annual premiums of less than the equivalent of US$1, the company said. PT Asuransai Allianz president Jens Reisch said that the “family umbrella” scheme, known locally as Payung Keluarga , would offer low-income households “a level of protection they have never enjoyed before”. The average life premium in Indonesia is more than the equivalent of US$100 a year. A recent study conducted by PT Asuransai Allianz with the United Nations Development Programme founds that there was a high demand for micro insurance in Indonesia, with only 5m of the country’s 238m population covered by more conventional programmes. The company said that it expected 50,000 customers to join the micro insurance scheme in the next 12 months during its roll-out in the Greater Jakarta region.