A surprising item on yesterday's newswires was an Accenture study revealing that two-thirds of the world's biggest insurers were planning to expand operations outside of their home markets over the next 12 months, with 75 percent of respondents viewing the current economy as as opportunity for growth.

On second thought, maybe it isn't that surprising. The study included both property-casualty and life insurers, both of which have been aware for awhile that emerging markets are where large number of people with disposable incomes have people and property to protect, some of them for the first time.

On a related note, I noticed an item about how a Bolivian unit of Zurich Financial Services is teaming up with BancoSol, a microfinance bank, to offer a form of life insurance to Bolivian emigrants in Spain. The coverages come in four forms, all based on a $10,000 coverage to return a decedent's body to Bolivia in case of death, with annual premiums ranging from $57 to $129.

This is a pretty creative way to address a socio-economic trend: Bolivian emigration to Spain has increased dramatically throughout this decade.

There are opportunities like this right in our backyard. A recent study by the Minneapolis Foundation shows that African immigrants in the U.S. represent a growing but “largely untapped” market segment. Most of these immigrants have their own checking and savings accounts, and most have cell phones and e-mail. The results were collected from focus groups in Minneapolis, New York and Los Angeles, and surveys of African immigrants in Minnesota, California, New York and Washington, D.C.

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Toops Scoops: Insurer Expansion Not a Total Surprise

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