Generali and the World Bank Group (WBG) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at expanding targeted insurance and investment solutions across emerging markets.
The partnership was announced during the annual meetings of the WBG and the International Monetary Fund in Bangkok, Generali said in a press release on Tuesday.
For insurance solutions, initially focused on Asian markets, the partnership will focus on three priority areas. These include developing coverage options to match the needs of ageing populations in line with the WBG’s Silver Economy Program, providing targeted support to the agricultural sector for climate and crop insurance, and strengthening disaster and climate risk protection.
The parties will also cooperate to support risk pooling across emerging regions, creating diversified and scalable structures for disaster-risk coverage and designing innovative risk-pooling mechanisms linked to climate risks.
For investment, the parties will cooperate to create investable opportunities that channel institutional capital to frontier and emerging markets while meeting Generali’s investment requirements.
Generali Group chairman Andrea Sironi said, “Together with the World Bank Group, we will combine our respective public and private sector expertise and capabilities to mobilise capital at scale and expand access to new solutions that foster resilience as well as sustainable economic development in a meaningful way.”
World Bank Group president Ajay Banga said, “Alongside stronger infrastructure and better policy, insurance can help protect development gains—and make the next investment possible.” He added that the opportunity for the partnership with Generali is to bring together long-term capital and risk expertise with the WBG’s country relationships, financing and guarantees.
The partnership between Generali and the WBG will also focus on advocacy, thought leadership, policy dialogue and awareness-raising activities aimed at improving understanding of the role of insurance in strengthening financial resilience and addressing protection gaps.
The partnership’s initial focus on Asia comes as Generali continues to target growth across the region.
In an interview, Rob Leonardi, Generali’s Asia regional officer, said China and India stand out in particular as the key markets for its next phase of growth in Asia, with Southeast Asia also offering expansion opportunities, particularly in health and savings.
As part of this broader Asia growth strategy, Generali has been strengthening its local platform through partnerships and new capabilities, including the Insurance Innovation Challenge in India with the United Nations Development Programme and the use of Quantified Energy’s autonomous drone technology in Generali China’s underwriting and claims processes for solar power plants.
