Emerging Insight #26: Product Diversification to Improve Outreach

In order to improve the outreach of mutual insurance organizations, the Centre for International Development and Research in Guinea (CIDR) decided to diversify beyond the common family health product. One of the innovative products introduced was a school health product that covers the health risks of children while at school, and is designed to meet the needs of the schools and parents.

The product meets parents’ needs by providing a guarantee that their children will be taken care of when at school; this is a particular concern of parents as they often work in fields that are far from schools. It meets schools’ needs as it limits the liability of teachers, who otherwise had to cover the cost of treatment when a child falls ill at school, without certainty of a payback from parents.

The product is relatively inexpensive to sell and manage. Acquisition costs are kept low by selling the group product to schools with approval from the school director and parent representatives. The premium is included in the school fees and costs US$ 0.3/child/year.

CIDR believes the product is valued as US$ 0.80/cent of the schools renewed the product after the first year of operation, and it was expanded to 16 other schools in year two, covering a total of 3,500 children. The claim ratio was US$ 0.43/cent in year one and US$ 0.37/cent in year two, though CIDR expects it to increase as the familiarity with the product increases. CIDR continues to monitor the performance of the product and has conducted surveys to assess client satisfaction; results will be out in the coming months.