Publication database

Research Paper #27 provides a legal analysis of the contractual vulnerability of microinsurance consumers and studies mechanisms that effectively protect them. While consumer protection is essential to address contractual vulnerability issues, it should be based on a legal framework and should place obligations on states, insurers, reinsurers and intermediaries who participate in the value chain of microinsurance.

Research Paper #24 evaluates the impact of introducing a new health insurance product in rural Kenya. Health insurance was found to reduce net health expenditure and informal borrowing for medical costs, and to increase non-food and overall consumption. However, the study observed no significant differences in health outcomes between the control and treatment groups.
Demand for the product proved sensitive to price discounts, but not to training in financial and risk literacy. The main determinants of renewal were positive or negative experiences, rather than hospital use or price.

Research Paper #25 looks into the social context within which risk attitudes are formed and participation decisions are made, using microdata from rural households in Gujarat, India. Both caste affiliation and social interaction are found to significantly affect the risk attitudes of farmers. Furthermore, social interaction seems to have a significant influence on the adoption of rainfall insurance.

Based on the experiences of innovative microfinance institutions (MFIs), it is clear that they can provide risk-management services that are valuable for clients and MFIs alike. Microinsurance Paper #18 provides a comprehensive review of the challenges and successes of microfinance institutions and offers ten key recommendations.

Adequate recruitment, training, incentives, and monitoring of a sales force are indispensable for selling microinsurance effectively. Briefing Note #14 summarizes lessons to improve performance throughout these four areas.

Why are demand and renewal rates for microinsurance so low despite the important protection it may offer? To address the puzzle, Research Paper #26 provides a selective overview of the current state of research on demand for microinsurance. It first looks at the theoretical research and then reviews the empirical evidence on the factors influencing demand for insurance.

Research Paper #23 examines how uninsured risk constrains farmers in Northern Ghana. It shows that when provided with insurance against the primary catastrophic risk they face, farmers are able to increase expenditure on their farms and make riskier choices. The study finds a strong demand for insurance among these farmers. Insurance payouts further increase this demand in subsequent years both among recipients and among their social networks.

Research Paper #21 assesses the risk mitigation capacity of weather index-based insurance for cotton growers in Northern Cameroon. It finds that weather index-based insurance is associated with huge basis risk and thus has limited potential for income smoothing. The authors use a tractable definition of basis risk to show that calibrating parameters in sub-regions allows to reduce dramatically basis risk and to avoid non negligible balancing out between distinct geographical zones.

Research Paper #22 analyses free-riding and coordination problems in health microinsurance in Tanzania. Microinsurance games played with microcredit clients confirm that less risk averse clients are tempted to free-ride and forgo individual insurance and demonstrate limited coordination failures under individual insurance. Group insurance increases demand in the games. These findings provide a potential solution for low uptake of microinsurance.

Microinsurance Paper #17 presents lessons from IFFCO-TOKIO's implementation of a livestock insurance product using radio-frequency identification technology. It outlines how IFFCO-TOKIO improved value for clients through new business processes. The case shows that if administered carefully, livestock insurance has the potential to be viable with scale.