It took 4 days of hard work by 12 diverse teams from Colombia's insurance ecosystem to design a cost-efficient insurance solution for small hotels in Colombia.  This was part of the innovation challenge, one of the first activities to be developed over the next 3 years as part of the partnership between UNDP (UNDP Insurance and Risk Finance Facility and the UNDP Accelerator Lab), Fasecolda, Banca de las Oportunidades and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism (MinCIT). 

Alliances were made between insurers, reinsurers, market channels, microfinance companies, traditional banking, fintech, insurtech and tourism associations to design innovative products. These alliances are being built on a commitment to use collective intelligence, exploring diverse visions, and addressing the challenges faced by small hotels of the country in an innovative way.  

The teams participating in this challenge deserve a big thank you, including Seguros Bolivar; Bancolombia; SBSS- Agencia de Seguros Falabella -Sekure; Banco Agrario- Axa Colpatria - Correcol; Assurant Services Colombia SA; Compañía Aseguradora Solidaria; Positiva Compañía de Seguros S.A.; Previsora Seguros; Contractum; Pan-American Life de Colombia S.A; Seguros Mundial and Aseguradora Sura. 

Likewise, over 10 allied entities participated as mentors, thematic experts, and companions of the process. They contributed to the design of comprehensive solutions, which consider the bottlenecks of small hotels and their users, as well as the opportunities and problems to solve from the point of view of the market, public policy, and regulation. 

The 12 teams presented their proposals to an evaluation panel made up of Juan Camilo Vargas (Asohost Executive Director), Barbara Magnoni (International Expert in Inclusive Insurance), Giovanny Suarez (Vice Ministry of Tourism Advisor), Edwin Muñoz (5th SARoCo Holding Manager), Wilson Mayorga (Actuarial Expert), Daniel Tocaría (Financial Regulation Unit Advisor), and Lina Gaitan (UNDP Gender Expert). 

The design of innovative products with parametric, embedded, and modular insurance stood out among the presented proposals. They generally included added value such as financial education programs, gender focus and dynamic strategies for their commercialization based on the promotion of the connectivity of the small hotels. 

The awards session was chaired by Alejandro Pacheco, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Colombia; Gustavo Morales, President of Fasecolda; Arturo Bravo, Vice Minister of Tourism; Soraya Caro, Vice Minister of Business Development of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and Paola Andrea Arias, Director of Banca de las Oportunidades. 

The initiatives that were selected for first and second place are listed below: 

1. Banco Agrario- Axa Colpatria - Correcol: Embedded insurance focused on the comprehensive protection of the small hotel in its infrastructure; protection of the client's safe stay through pet insurance while on vacation and protection of a foreigner's health care; and insurance for hotel employees focused on their social well-being. 

2. SURA Insurance: Embedded insurance for small hotels focused on material damage, damage to third parties, cyber incidents, with a digitalization strategy, financial education, and formalization. 

The Banco Agrario- Axa Colpatria – Correcol that received first place will be able to participate directly in the Insurance Innovation Laboratory that will be launched by Banca de las Oportunidades, Fasecolda and UNDP, in coordination with MinCIT and the National Government.  Winners will receive U$30K in technical assistance for the structuring, design, and implementation of the solution.  

The second place, awarded to SURA Insurance, will have access to up to 4 places in the Certified Expert in Microinsurance virtual course taught by the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, whose value reaches EUR 1,350 per place, which will be held in 2024.  

This type of exercise allows the insurance sector, with the support of UNDP’s IRFF and Accelerator Lab, to position itself as actively closing socioeconomic gaps, generating resilience, and protecting the most vulnerable populations in the country.  

The event had the methodological and logistical support of KPMG and Colombia Fintech.