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Types of micro-insurance products.
Loan protection insurance ensures that in the event of death all outstanding repayments are written off.
Health and disability insurance enables the poor to cover the costs of medicine, hospital stay and treatment
as well as protecting the loss of income due to sickness or injury . Funeral insurance covers the costs of
burial, and property insurance replaces assets lost due to theft, damage or destruction (Brown & Churchill 1999).
Livestock insurance is important in developing countries where animals are not only a source of food but are
used for agricultural production and transport (IDB 1977). Life savings insurance, which pays the deceased
beneficiary the amount held in the savings account plus a benefit enables funeral expenses to be taken care
of and replaces some of the loss of income source (Brown & Churchill 2000) . Insurance can cover the
risks of damage, piracy and theft of goods in transit which is much greater in developing countries, particularly
for those that are landlocked. Commodities account for about 34 per cent of the export earnings of developing
countries, in Africa they represent 79 percent. Producers are vulnerable to a number of geological and
environmental risks including floods, earthquakes, droughts, typhoons and hurricanes. Crop insurance schemes
can protect the producer from the losses of climatic and natural disasters . The availability of agricultural
insurance including crop insurance, machinery, raw materials and even life-insurance gives greater assurance
to credit providers to service the poor (Matringe 1997). Insurance is vital to ensure the continued access to
credit and greater security for the individual. For the MFI, providing insurance products lowers default rates
and reduces the clients need to draw down on savings, which improves the profitability and sustainability of
the organisation (Ford Foundation 2000, Brown & Churchill 1999, Hulme & Mosley 1996).
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Site map.
About insurance.
Life insurance.
Home insurance.
Car insurance.
Travel insurance.
Contacts.
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