The Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) provides innovative insurance solutions to help livestock keepers cope with drought-related livestock losses in East Africa. The IBLI-Ethiopia project is designed and implemented by Oromia Insurance Co., ILRI, and Cornell University. IBLI recently underwent a shift from an ‘Asset Replacement’ to an ‘Asset Protection’ Contract, as the program scaled up to areas without sufficient livestock mortality data to estimate a statistical response function.

From 15-17 July, a 3-day training workshop was organized in Addis Ababa by IBLI, Cornell university, USAID, Australian Aid and other partners with the following objectives:

• Capacitate its Ethiopia partners, Oromia Insurance Company’s (OIC) Micro insurance Department on IBLI’s new product – ‘Asset Protection’;
• Introduce ‘Asset Protection’ Contract to insurance companies who have interest on Livestock/Index Insurance;
• Increase awareness of the IBLI project.

The training was given by Andrew Mude, Brenda Wandera, Wako Gobo and Masresha Taye.

This training aimed to help the insurance companies understand how the contract works so they can lead in the capacity development aspects for this product.

“We’ve been the one doing it at ILRI, training their sales agents and their partners, but a lot of the times the product has been perceived at an ILRI product so now we are building their capacity so that they will be the ones training their product. And the agents and communities can now start to see this as a commercial product for which they should pay for” said Brenda Wandera—Market and Capacity Development Manager in the IBLI project.

Masresha Taye—IBLI-Ethiopia Program Coordinator explained that “this is training of trainers, mainly for partners working with IBLI in the Borena region, Ethiopia. Aiming to address two birds in one stone, we have also invited two bid insurance companies who have been working with us in designing ‘asset protection’ contract.”

The outcome of this training is to have trained and knowledgeable people within the insurance company and to have the ‘Asset Protection’ product start to take more of a commercial angle than the research angle it has been taking before.

Story by Liya Dejene