The Icmif Foundation and the Microinsurance Network (MIN) have announced a joint initiative to map the landscape of mutual, co-operative and community-based organisations (MCCOs) that provide insurance and informal risk-sharing mechanisms to underserved populations.
Beginning in late 2025, to coincide with the International Year of Cooperatives, the initiative aims to improve understanding of how member-led models support financial resilience, foster trust, and help close the protection gap, says Icmif, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation.
Although MCCOs play an important role in inclusive insurance, Icmif warns that they remain underrepresented in current data. In the 2024 Landscape of Microinsurance report, fewer than 20 of the 294 participating organisations were identified as MCCOs.
“The silent power of inclusive insurance lies in organisations people trust,” said Sabbir Patel, CEO, Icmif Foundation (UK). “Co-operatives and community-based insurers reach populations often overlooked by commercial insurance, providing a safety net that can protect livelihoods, enable recovery and build long-term resilience.”
Matthew Genazzini, executive director, Microinsurance Network (Luxembourg), added: “Documenting these organisations is critical. By understanding how they operate and the challenges they face, we can strengthen peer learning, inform policy and support the growth of inclusive, community-rooted insurance solutions worldwide.”
The initiative responds to growing evidence that informal and semi-formal risk-sharing systems continue to serve as essential safety nets, particularly in contexts where commercial insurance overlooks low-income communities and where these mechanisms often remain undocumented. As Genazzini explains, “With 3 million cooperatives worldwide serving over 1 billion members, they represent a vast, decentralised network for delivering inclusive financial services, ensuring products are designed with local needs in mind and fostering strong and sustained uptake.”
Related: Meet Liz Green, CEO, International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation
Through this collaboration, MIN and the Icmif Foundation aim to strengthen representation of mutual microinsurance within global reporting, support knowledge exchange among practitioners and identify opportunities for further project development.
It is hoped the joint report will help identify MCCOs for the 2026 Landscape of Microinsurance and ensure they are better represented in the current data. The MCCO report will be published at the end of 2026, with the team promising updated insights into how mutual and community-based approaches can expand inclusive insurance coverage for low-income and vulnerable communities.
More information on how co-ops, mutuals, and community-based self-help organisations are expanding access to insurance for low-income communities can be found at Patel and Genazzini’s blog Cooperatives and inclusive insurance: Unlocking protection for low-income communities.
