Building the Skills to Make Insurance Accessible to Underprivileged

Strengthening local capacity to advance inclusive insurance and build financial resilience for vulnerable communities in Bangladesh

August 10, 2026

Participants and national trainers mark the completion of Bangladesh’s International Certification in Inclusive Insurance programme.

©UNDP Bangladesh

For a farmer facing crop loss, a small business owner recovering from a shock, or a low-income family dealing with an unexpected crisis, insurance can provide a significant layer of financial protection. Yet for many underserved communities in Bangladesh, the idea of insurance remains alien and difficult to access.

As Bangladesh explores greater use of inclusive insurance, microinsurance, agricultural insurance, and climate and disaster risk financing, strengthening the skills of the people working across the insurance sector is getting crucial as well.

And, developing effective products to make insurance accessible requires more than policies and regulations. It also requires a workforce that understand customer needs, distribution challenges, claims management and the realities of serving vulnerable populations.

To help build this capacity, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh and the University of Dhaka, through the Centre for Policy Research on Business and Development, introduced the International Certification in Inclusive Insurance, the first structured capacity development programme of its kind in Bangladesh.

Over four months, the programme brought together 10 National Trainers and 35 industry participants from insurance companies, banks, microfinance institutions, development organizations, research and consulting institutions, and other relevant organisations.

The learning focused on four practical areas: customer-centred insurance product design, partnerships and distribution, marketing and claims management, and building the internal capacity needed to provide inclusive insurance.

The programme combined international experience with the Bangladesh context, helping participants connect technical knowledge with the challenges they encounter in their own institutions and markets.

A key part of the initiative was its Training of Trainers approach.

National Trainers received technical and teaching support from an International Master Trainer under UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility. They were then engaged by the University of Dhaka to deliver the certification programme to industry participants.

“This training will help us establish a locally rooted model that can support continued professional development beyond our classroom trainings” said one of the participants.

The programme concluded on 8 August 2026, with certificates awarded to all the National Trainers and 35 industry participants.

At the closing, representatives from the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority, University of Dhaka and UNDP highlighted the importance of stronger cooperation among regulators, academia, government, development partners and industry.

They also emphasised the need to build trust, expand awareness and develop insurance solutions suited to Bangladesh’s realities.

For UNDP, inclusive insurance is closely connected to resilience. Better-designed insurance can help vulnerable and climate-exposed communities manage risks and recover from shocks, while agricultural insurance can provide additional protection for farmers whose livelihoods depend on increasingly uncertain conditions.

Sarder M. Asaduzzaman, Assistant Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh, Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique, Member (Non-Life), Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), Professor Dr. Mahmood Osman Imam, Dean, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka were present at the ceremony.

By investing in skills, local expertise and stronger institutions, the initiative is helping lay the groundwork for an insurance ecosystem that can reach more people and respond better to those who need protection the most.