A carpenter prepares to align a flower wreath on a newly built wooden coffin at a workshop in Nairobi May 23, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Noor Khamis
Family members of a deceased person walk along a road near a cemetery during a funeral ceremony in Lagos, May 31, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye
A woman stitches material to be used as the inner lining in coffins at a roadside workshop in Nairobi May 20, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Noor Khamis
A street vendor passes a coffin made in the shape of a fish at the workshop of Kane Kwei in the Teshi area of Accra, May 16, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
Tailors handle funeral clothes at a workshop near the mortuary of Yopougon in Abidjan, May 23, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
A coffin in the shape of a film projector is seen in the workshop of Kane Kwei in the Teshi area of Accra, May 16, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
An employee works on a coffin in the shape of a fish in the workshop of Kane Kwei in the Teshi area of Accra, May 16, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
A coffin maker places his hand on sandpaper as he prepares a coffin for spraying at a coffin workshop in the Odunlami district of Lagos May 31, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye
Sculptures mounted on tombstones are seen at a cemetery in Lagos May 31, 2013. From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. Many of the insurance industry’s big money-spinners in developed markets, like motor insurance and cover for household goods, are irrelevant to the majority of Africans who cannot afford a range of expensive personal possessions. But high death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye
