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Pakistan

About the country

Population: 196 174 380 (July 2014 estimate)
Population below poverty line: 60,19%
GDP per capita: 3 100 USD (2013)
Informal sector: 78.4%, mainly in construction, trade and transport (2010)
 
Initial market view:

The insurance market in Pakistan is still at an emerging stage. While the current market covers 5.3 million people, this represents 3.1 percent of the total population, indicating that millions of low-income families lack adequate protection.

Our engagement

In 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) called for ILO support to participate more actively with the insurance industry. In October 2014, a training session was organized with 35 participants called "Pathways to greater impact: improving the supply of microinsurance in MFIs". The evaluation of the training was very positive and the participants expressed their satisfaction. According to one of the participants in the insurance sector: "It was more than perfect, since we understood the way forward." Challenges in Pakistan include developing sustainable business models, designing appropriate products, raising awareness and setting adequate benchmarks for monitoring and evaluating performance.

Market development results

Pakistan has already started the market development process by conducting a diagnostic review and in February 2014 specific regulations were introduced for microinsurance.

Lessons

Read more about the lessons learned from Pakistan in our other resources section here.