Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA), will participate in a closed-door “Insurance 4 ALL” event in Paris on Wednesday, May 27.
The event is co-organized by CGAP, a think tank focused on financial inclusion housed at the World Bank, and AXA, a global leader in insurance. It forms part of CGAP’s Council of Governors’ annual meeting. Discussions will focus on affordable and accessible insurance and its contribution to financial health.
Insurance has a proven impact on financial health, enabling individuals and families to withstand and recover quickly from shocks. Beyond resilience, insurance can also help households better manage day-to-day finances by reducing unexpected expenses; avoiding harmful emergency borrowing in a crisis; preserving savings and assets; and giving households and small businesses greater confidence to plan for and invest in the future.
At the “Insurance 4 ALL” event, insurers, development banks, policymakers and inter-industry leaders will discuss how to better align solutions with the needs of households facing unexpected risks and costs, as well as new models, trends, and policies necessary to drive innovation and scale.
In her capacity as UNSGSA, Queen Máxima will discuss resilience, insurance, and financial health in a fireside chat with Guillaume Borie, AXA Group’s head of finance, strategy, underwriting, risk and technology. Their conversation will be moderated by Ekhosuehi Iyahen, Secretary-General of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF). The conversation will focus on the responsibility of insurers and the business opportunity at hand to develop attractive, accessible and affordable insurance solutions that contribute to the economic development and financial health of low-income populations.
Over the course of the day, Queen Máxima will also meet bilaterally with leaders working on financial health, including leaders from AXA EssentiALL and AXA Group, the Central Bank of the UAE, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, MetLife, the OECD, and Financial Action Tash Force (FATF).
CGAP and AXA have been partners of the UNSGSA for many years, working closely with Queen Máxima and the office of the UNSGSA to advance financial inclusion and now financial health. CGAP is also a member of the UNSGSA Reference Group, a collective of leading international organizations that advises the UNSGSA on strategic opportunities, shares expertise, and works to advance financial health through advocacy and partnerships.