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To overcome the social distance in online workshops is hard, even with the right preconditions, such as engaging content and participants who are mostly well-adjusted to using digital tools. As Covid-19 brought the world to a standstill, we chose to reformat our Inclusive Insurance Innovation Lab (iii-lab) - initially envisaged as an 18-months programme of six in-person workshops – into a fully virtual programme and to make it work.

To flatten the curve of Covid-19 and save lives, countries have widely accepted social distancing, setting off the slowdown of economic activity worldwide. Where remote work is not an option, reduced contact measures mean reduced earnings. For populations of low-and-middle-income countries, the cost of social distancing is proving higher than for those in developed countries.

Diferentes jurisdicciones y reguladores sectoriales han dispuesto medidas especiales para la atención de esta crisis, aminorar el riesgo sistémico y asegurar la liquidez de los mercados. Este período pasará y debemos asegurar que las medidas temporales no afecten la sostenibilidad del sistema financiero y asegurador en el mediano y largo plazo.

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, insurance should be a primary mechanism for many people across the world to cope. Instead, the limited penetration of insurance products in developing countries has pushed insurance to the periphery. However, all is not lost. Insurers still have a key role to play in getting societies back to work through the support of enterprises and, in doing so, building consumer confidence in the insurance sector more widely.

South Africa’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic started much later compared to the rest of the world with its first case only reported on 5 March 2020.  The Government immediately responded with swift and decisive action by declaring a National State of Disaster and placing the country in total lockdown.