
December 2025 Insurance as a Core Elementof Financial Inclusion inEmerging Economies Kai-Uwe SchanzDirector Financial Inclusion, Geneva Association Geneva Association The Geneva Association was created in 1973 and is the only global association ofinsurance companies; our members are insurance and reinsurance Chief ExecutiveOfficers (CEOs). Based on rigorous research conducted in collaboration with ourmembers, academic institutions and multilateral organisations, our mission is toidentify and investigate key trends that are likely to shape or impact the insuranceindustry in the future, highlighting what is at stake for the industry; developrecommendations for the industry and for policymakers; provide a platform to ourmembers and other stakeholders to discuss these trends and recommendations;and reach out to global opinion leaders and influential organisations to highlightthe positive contributions of insurance to better understanding risks and to buildingresilient and prosperous economies and societies, and thus a more sustainable world. Photo credits:Cover page – Carlos Castilla for ShutterstockSection 1 – Josiah Poyugao for UnsplashSection 2 – Alex Shuper for Unsplash+Section 3 – Resource Database for Unsplash+Section 4 – Claudiu Constantin for UnsplashSection 5 – Katelyn Perry for Unsplash+Section 6 – Alex Shuper for Unsplash+ Suggested citation: Geneva Association. 2025.Insurance as a Core Element of Financial Inclusion in Emerging Economies.Author: Kai-Uwe Schanz. December. © Geneva Association, 2025 All rights reservedwww.genevaassociation.org Contents Acknowledgements4 5 Foreword Executive summary6 1.Introduction8 2.Financial inclusion as a driver of economic development 2.1Mobilisation of savings and investments142.2Promotion of entrepreneurial activities142.3Poverty alleviation152.4Enhancement of financial stability15 17 3.The unique role of insurance in financial inclusion 4.Addressing evidence gaps: New and comparative survey-based data 4.1Personal risk perceptions224.2Familiarity with financial services234.3Usage of financial services244.4Perceived usefulness of financial services254.5Relevance for key financial objectives264.6Access to insurance274.7Awareness and usage of specific insurance products284.8Reasons for non-ownership of insurance30 5.Success factors of insurance inclusion: An integrated perspective 5.1Commercial success factors5.2Public-policy success factors5.3Regulatory success factors 323844 6.Conclusions and recommendations47 References 50 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is a product of the Financial Inclusion work stream of the Geneva Association,co-sponsored by Antonio Huertas, Chairman and CEO of MAPFRE, and Markus Riess, CEO of ERGO. We are very grateful to the following executives and experts who made themselves available forin-depth interviews in support of this research or made editorial contributions: •Antonio Huertas (MAPFRE)•Markus Riess (ERGO)•Chakib Abouzaid (General Arab Insurance Federation)•Manuel Aguilera Verduzco (MAPFRE Economics)•Luciana Amano (Prudential Financial)•Butch Bacani (United Nations Environment Programme)•Louisa Basitere, Lezanne Botha, and Kershia Singh (Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa)•Salma Berrada Souni (Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare, Morocco)•Lorenzo Chan (Pioneer Insurance)•Amita Chaudhury (AIA Group)•Steward Doss and Shalini Pathak Tiwari (National Insurance Academy, India)•Elif Horasan (AKSigorta)•Iwan Juwono (Grab Financial Group)•Corneille Karekezi (Africa Re)•Christoph Krieg (Peak3)•Juana Francisca Llano Cadavid (Suramericana)•Yunlong LIU (People’s Insurance Company of China)•Bongani Madikiza (Sanlam Retail Mass)•Vinicius Marinho da Cruz (Bradesco Seguros)•Uwe Michel (Allianz)•Nicole Ngeow (Prudence Foundation)•Gregorio Santos (MAPFRE)•Utako Saoshiro (Prudential plc)•Mirko Sartori (Generali)•Richard Sheng (Ping An)•Tapan Singhel (Bajaj General Insurance)•Satyajit Tripathy (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India)•Garance Wattez-Richard (AXA EssentiALL)•Li XING (Renmin University, China Academy of Financial Inclusion, and the China InclusiveInsurance Network) We are also indebted to the members of the Working Group, established in support of our FinancialInclusion research activities, namely: Manuel Aguilera Verduzco and Gregorio Santos (MAPFRE);Ricardo Anzaldua and Phelecia Barnett (Everest); Clara Armengol Vivas, Jordi Balcells and JessicaLopez (VidaCaixa); Tomo Asaka (Tokio Marine); Matthew Blakely (Reinsurance Group of America);Martine Bolhuis (Achmea); Marjolaine Chaintreau and Constance Marchal (AXA); Sen CHEN (ChinaPacific Insurance Company); Desiree Green (Prudential Financial); Thomas Holzheu (Swiss Re);Yunlong LIU (People’s Insurance Company of China); Klaus Mühleder (Vienna Insurance Group);Gisela Plassmann (ERGO); Antonio Tome Ribeiro (Fidelidade); Bahar Rokni and Chelsey Sprong(Beazley); Camila Serna (Chubb); Benoit Waltregny (Lloyd’s); and Sa