The Micro Insurance Academy (MIA) is a provider of domain-knowledge in microinsurance. MIA was awarded the Educational Services Provider of the Year Award in 2010 and again in 2011, by the Asia Insurance Industry. MIA is an associate member of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).
MIA is now offering free online courses in microinsurance studies to propagate practical microinsurance knowledge. These courses are prepared for students of several disciplines (actuarial, development, health financing, insurance, economics, business, etc.) and microinsurance professionals worldwide.
The courses are structured into 3 key streams: Core, Implementation, and Data for Microinsurance. Each MIA stream is described below.
The courses are free of charge for the students; and students will not receive any certification.
MIA Core: Principles of Risk and Insurance, Governance Structure, and Business Processes
MIA Core begins with an introduction to the principles of risk and insurance. On completion, the candidate would be able to appreciate the need for insurance, and understand the complexities associated with using commercial insurance schemes for the poor. Against this backdrop, the benefits of microinsurance for the poor, and the society as a whole are discussed.
MIA Core also elucidates the 4 major delivery models of health microinsurance, and discusses their features and challenges. An evidence-based approach is used to show how the health CBMAS model helps in solving certain issues that are inherent in the other models. The stream also describes in detail the CBMAS governance structure and business processes. For each key actor of the CBMAS, it describes the roles and responsibilities of the individual/committee.
MIA Implementation: Governance Structure and Key Actors
The courses of the MIA Implementation stream capture significant aspects of the MIA implementation model. The organizational setup of a mutual is discussed in the context of the CBMAS governance structure. The various levels and functionalities of the key actors of CBMAS are defined, chalking out their roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships. Through these courses, the student also understands the community dynamics essential for effective implementation of CBMAS.
Data for Microinsurance: Data Collection, Interpretation, and Presentation
The courses aim to serve as a guide for students and practitioners of microinsurance so that they understand how to collect, interpret and present data. Students will become familiar with the process of using data before the launch of a new scheme (mainly for risk assessment, package design, and pricing), after launch to inform managerial oversight of their operating microinsurance scheme, and for performance evaluation of the insurance and the impact of being insured.
TIA Study
TIA Study
A Modern Learning Platform
- Lessons, practice problems, flashcards, sample exams, and more all scheduled to have you ready on exam day
- Tasks scheduled only on the days you plan to study
- Create your own custom tasks
- Miss a day? Your schedule will automatically redistribute all your remaining tasks
COURSE SAMPLES
- Available soon
Jeff Blacker
- FSA, MAAA |
- MIA Online,
- GH-VR
Jeff is the editor of Actuaries in Microinsurance, published by Actex in 2015. He is also an independent consulting actuary and actuarial exam instructor for the Group & Health exams. Most of his career has been in the U.S. supplemental health insurance market. He worked 10 years in financial reporting and product development roles for a U.S. insurer prior to becoming a consultant in 2007.
Jeff graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis and became a Fellow of the SOA in 2004. He has 18 years of supplemental health insurance experience, including product development, financial reporting, and asset/liability management. Jeff was a managing actuary at Conseco prior to starting Global Insurance Consulting, Inc. He lives with his wife, daughter, and son in Indianapolis.
Professor David M Dror
- PhD, DBA |
- MIA Online
Prof. David M. Dror is the founding Chairman and Managing Director of the Micro Insurance Academy. Prof. Dror is an acclaimed international expert in microinsurance with over 35 years of experience in social protection and health financing. He served as the Social Security Specialist for the International Labour Organization from 1982 - 2003, advising on social and health insurance systems worldwide. Prof. Dror has been working in India since 2005 and has professional experience in numerous countries across Asia and Africa, including Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nepal. He was named Personality of the Year in 2009 by the Asia Insurance Industry for groundbreaking research and study which has helped boost understanding of how the world's poorest communities can benefit from microinsurance. In 2011, he received the Global Citizen Lifetime Achievement Karmaveer Puraskaar Award for Social Justice and Citizen Action, from the Indian Confederation of NGOs. Prof. Dror holds a PhD (Summa cum Laude), a DBA (Magna cum Laude) and was an honorary professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands).
Dr. Swapna Jambhekar
- |
- MIA Online
Dr Swapna Jambhekar has graduated with a Bachelors of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) from Mumbai University. She then completed her Post-graduate diploma in Hospital Administration from All India Institute of Local self-Government followed with Masters of Hospital Administration from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Fellowship in Insurance (FIII). She has worked in the area of health micro insurance as an Administrator with overall responsibility for implementation of Uplift health mutual funds with partner organizations at the grass root level. Later on she worked as External Consultant for micro insurance and in public health with various multi-lateral agencies. She has joined MIA as a Training Specialist with the RES-RISK project.
Dr. Nihar Jangle
- PhD |
- MIA Online
Nihar, Director of Climate Change Program, holds a diploma and a PhD in mathematics from Free University Berlin, Germany. He joined MIA as an actuarial analyst, responsible for developing pricing models and performing risk analysis. As member of MIA's Advisory Services team he led a small project on insurance awareness and client satisfaction. Nihar is now the Director Climate Change Program for the Climate Resilience through Risk Transfer project which is a multi-year intervention on microinsurance solutions for climate-related risks covering health, crop, livestock and natural catastrophe risks. During his studies he spent two years at Brown University in Providence, USA. After a year of post-doctorate studies he joined a consulting company working in the financial industry. His projects were related to risk management and monitoring credit risk (counterparty risk, issuer risk, collateral management, Basel II) for large German banks.
Atanu Majumdar
- Senior Researcher |
- MIA Online
Atanu is a post-graduate in Statistics from Indian Statistical Institute (Kolkata) with over 20 years of experience in commercial and development sectors (particularly in the area of health). His experience in the health sector ranges from HIV/AIDS to reproductive and child health, to improving healthcare delivery system and micro planning. At MIA he works as a Senior Researcher with the primary responsibility of providing technical support to various research initiatives and developing Management Information Systems for microinsurance projects. Previously he has worked for GOPA-EPOS (in the Basic Health Project, Govt. of West Bengal), UNICEF (as a Consultant) and renowned NGOs like Child In Need Institute and Bhoruka Public Welfare Trust.
Jacquiline Roberts Singh
- Actuarial Consultant |
- MIA Online
Jacquiline is an actuarial consultant based in New Delhi, India. Her work focuses on research related to microinsurance. While at the Micro Insurance Academy (India), she was involved in activities related to developing reinsurance as a risk management tool for microinsurance units. Prior to this, she worked with the XL Group as an Actuarial Analyst. Jacquiline also writes articles on development issues related to health and education. She holds an M.Phil degree in Economics from the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Frequently Asked Questions
- If I purchase a product, how often can I use it?
- Can I have an extension if I do not take or if I fail the exam?
- Can I share my account with others?
- The videos aren't working on my personal computer. What can I do?
- The videos will not play on my work PC. What can I do?
- Can I download the videos to my hard drive so that I can view them without an Internet connection?
If I purchase a product, how often can I use it?
You can use it as many times as you want up for 6 months after purchase. If you feel that you are weak in a certain section of the syllabus, then watch the segment for that material again. If you want to simulate an intensive review seminar, watch the entire library of lessons for your exam over a four/five day span. It all depends on your preferences and we believe that it is this kind of convenience, coupled with the best instruction, which will produce great results for our users.
Can I have an extension if I do not take or if I fail the exam?
Yes! If you buy the seminar and don't pass or take the exam, then we give you access for a 2nd sitting for free. Even if the syllabus changes you still get a 2nd sitting (6 months of access) with all the updated lessons. See more information about this here.
Can I share my account with others?
No, we do not allow sharing of accounts. Each registered user should take measure to avoid this as he or she has purchased the rights to our videos and associated bandwidth. If non-paying customers clog up our website traffic, it will negatively impact everyone. We also monitor login histories and have the authority to terminate user accounts for this type of abuse. While the gesture of sharing your account information with a friend or coworker may seem innocent, it can have far-reaching negative implications for you and other legitimate users.
The videos aren't working on my personal computer. What can I do?
You can try the suggestions listed here. Likely, these suggestions will solve the problem you are experiencing: (1) Try a different web browser. We suggest using Firefox for the best results with our website. Other browsers will work but make sure you are using the newest version of the browser. (2) Download the newest version of the movie player that you are using (Windows Media Player, Flash or QuickTime). (3) If one movie player does not work, try the other. (4) Test your bandwidth at the following site. Make sure it is at least 700kbps. Bandwidth Place | Internet Speed Test. (5) Clear the CACHE on your computer by clicking the "CTRL" and "F5" buttons at the same time. (6) Try clearing your browsers cookies. How to delete cookies. (7) Make sure your operating system has all its important updates. If you're on a Mac, run Software Update from your Apple menu (or Mac App Store if you're running OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion or newer). If you're on Windows, click the following link. Microsoft Windows Update. (8) If you are using third-party web browsers like Firefox, make sure you're running the latest version. (9) The previous suggestions should help. However, if you are still unable to open the videos please let customer service know what error message you receive and we will be happy to look further into your situation.
The videos will not play on my work PC. What can I do?
Usually, this is the result of your employer's network placing some restrictions in the company's firewall settings. You need to make sure that there is no block placed on the domain ( edgecastcdn.net ) from where our videos are streamed. Many employers will block sites like these to restrict video content from being streamed to their employee's PCs. Edgecast is a Content Delivery Network where we store all of our content. This network distributes our content to multiple servers all across the world so that if any one server goes down, there are plenty of backups in place. Websites like YouTube use their own CDNs and as a result, CDNs are not high on company's approved website lists. Feel free to call Tech Support (877-883-5275) if you need any further help.
Can I download the videos to my hard drive so that I can view them without an Internet connection?
Our videos are only viewable while logged in and connected to the Internet. While we realize the convenience of having all the files on your local drive, it also puts our company's assets at jeopardy. Our instructors spend hours upon hours creating the content for you. It would only take a few students, who illegally share their material with others, to discourage instructors from ever producing any more content. We do try to make our videos as accessible as possible by offering them in three different formats (Windows Media, Flash and QuickTime) and even through devices like the iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Given the global accessibility to the World Wide Web, we believe that the majority of the actuarial population will be able to view our videos without trouble. However, we do understand the need to study on the go and that internet access is not always accessible. You have two options: (1) Download the MP3 versions of the lessons and follow along in your notes. (2) Open the TIA site and let the video fully load before you leave, but do not press play. Just close the lid on your laptop and leave the browser open. When you are ready to watch the video just open the laptop and press play.
Why can I not download the PDFs? I always get an error message or an empty zip file.
Some computer networks are configured to not allow opening of zip files directly from an external site. Many of our downloadable files are in zip format. After clicking on the link, you should be given an option to either open or save the file. Try saving the file to your hard drive and then opening the zip file from there. You can also try right-clicking on the link and choosing the "Save Link As" option. If those do not work, then please contact customer service. They will determine if the link is incorrect or the file is missing from its proper location. At the minimum, they can email you the needed files so that you can move on with your studying.
Do I need to buy the study notes and textbooks on the syllabus, too?
We strongly recommend purchasing all source materials. This is simply because in our experience, people who read and reference the source materials in addition to using the online seminar have a higher chance of passing than those that don't. The online seminar is designed to make your use of the source materials much more efficient.
How can I obtain a student discount?
This course is not eligible for a student discount.
Can I purchase my next online seminar without knowing if I passed my last exam?
Yes. If you later find out that you didn't pass your last exam, simply email us at [email protected], and we will pause access to your new online seminar. This will preserve your new online seminar allowing you to study for your last exam again. When you are ready to resume the paused online seminar, just email us, and we will reactivate it. You will have access to all current materials (same as anyone else using the online seminar at that time).