Protecting the Poor: A Microinsurance Compendium - Volume II

This second volume of the "Microinsurance Compendium" describes the growth of microinsurance and innovations aimed to overcome the challenges of providing viable insurance services to more low-income people. The book discusses the main trends and evolution of the microinsurance sector while also considering where it currently stands from a global perspective. The focus of the book is on how insurance products and services aim to tackle the needs of low-income populations and to help to reduce their vulnerability.

The second volume covers new challenges faced by stakeholders in the sector. These include the potential impact of microinsurance, consumer education and client value, product design for specific groups, distribution and intermediation, price with limited data, conducive regulations and appropriate consumer protection, and innovations in technology.

According to one of the publishers, Munich Re Foundation, "Providing microinsurance effectively requires the involvement of many stakeholders from both the public and private sector who are not used to working together and who often have very different objectives and operating systems. What matters now is the process of getting key stakeholders to work together effectively." For example, new products covering a variety of risks have been piloted and distributed to economically poor households through an increasing diversity of channels (e.g., banks, retailers, or cell phone companies). Commercial insurers have also entered the low-income market, creating greater capacity for scale. At least 33 of the 50 largest commercial insurance companies in the world now offer microinsurance, up from only seven in 2005.

The publishers also state, "When coupled with social protection, risk prevention and mitigation, and supplemented by other risk-managing financial services such as savings and emergency loans, microinsurance can play a critical role at multiple levels to efficiently manage risks, reduce vulnerability and contribute to poverty alleviation."