MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: Microinsurance that Works for Women: Making Gender-Sensitive Microinsurance Programs by Anjali Banthia, Susan Johnson, Michael McCord, and Brandon Mathews

Written by Anjali Banthia, Women’s World Banking; Susan Johnson, Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath; Michael J. McCord, The MicroInsurance Centre; and Brandon Mathews, Zurich Financial Services. Published by the International Labour Office (ILO), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Women’s World Banking as Microinsurance Paper No. 3 in 2009; Research supported by the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility and the Swiss Development Corporation; 37 pages, available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.9.40879/microinsurance%20that%20work%20for%20women.pdf

This paper intends to analyze what the authors call a “gendered approach” towards providing microinsurance to the impoverished by discussing how microinsurance schemes can be designed to help poor women, who are especially vulnerable to health and income shocks. Microinsurance is a financial service that allows the poor to make regular premium payments (proportionate to the probability of risk they face) in order to protect themselves against vulnerability shocks. For microfinance institutions (MFIs), microinsurance services can serve as an additional source of revenue. This study is based on research that has shown that women face very specific roles as managers of risk for not only themselves, but their households as well.

Women face gender-specific risks that must be accounted for when designing microinsurance schemes. First, they face special health risks relating to pregnancy and childbirth and are more susceptible to diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Second, in most developing countries, women take on the role of caregivers to the household, which means that their income-generating activities are often subordinate to their responsibility to their children and husbands. Because of this, often only informal sector jobs are available for women, which makes them “more likely to fall victim to risks such as theft of assets and harassment by authorities,” the authors state.

Microinsurance addresses these risks by reducing women’s needs to rely on inefficient forms of savings, thus mitigating risk of household health and income shocks. The authors recommend that organizations must consider the following characteristics when designing microinsurance plans for impoverished women: (a) coverage that is affordable for women with specific health or maternity issues (b) extended health coverage for entire families, (c) extended life coverage in the event of death of spouse, (d) property and asset insurance under the woman’s name, so in the event of the husband’s death, assets will not be taken control of by his relatives, (e) insurance for children in the event of a mother’s death.

The process through which microinsurance is provided should also be specifically tailored towards the needs of women by ensuring that (a) microinsurance services are available to clients of MFIs, (b) life coverage is on flexible terms, (c) women sales agents are utilized to make female clients feel more comfortable during communication, education, and marketing efforts, and (d) insurance policies are clear and simple to understand. Women should also have the ability to receive assistance to better understand the insurance policies and claims process.

The authors conclude the paper by proclaiming that further research is required by MFIs in order to develop microinsurance initiatives that are more responsive to women’s needs. They recommend that insurance companies work with MFIs to develop these schemes, and argue that donors are essential to this process in order to fund research, improve client education, provide technical assistance, and assist with building the capacity of MFIs.

Similar Posts: