The Data and Protection Gap
The Africa Insurance Pulse 2026 identifies the continent's insurance protection gap as partly a data gap, noting that incomplete or inconsistent information causes insurers to charge more, restrict cover, or decline business entirely. While all 17 organisations contributing to the report rated high-quality insurance and reinsurance data as critical to their strategies, none reported using every available data source. Agriculture illustrates the challenge directly, with approximately 95% of African agriculture relying on rainfall while the agricultural insurance protection gap is estimated at 97%.
Technology and Distribution Solutions
Satellite imagery, weather observations, and geospatial information offer alternative views of risk and support parametric insurance models. Pula, a 2026 Earthshot Prize finalist, uses satellite insights and field teams to track crop performance through Area Yield Index Insurance, triggering payouts when harvests fall below agreed thresholds. The model has reached 24 million farmers across Africa, protected over US$2.8 billion in farming investment, and paid US$136.5 million directly to farmers by embedding cover into existing services such as farm loans and government support. Alongside technology, mobile money provides distribution routes to customers conventional banking has struggled to reach, though data must be properly governed and matched by investment in professional capabilities including risk modelling, data analytics, and regulatory expertise.