Health Insurance Participation: Evidence from Kenya

This paper describes the main findings of a field experiment offering health insurance to tea farmers in Kenya. Insurance demand increases substantially when price discount is offered, but contrary to expectations, the education campaign did not have any significant effect on insurance demand despite the evidence of improved insurance literacy among participants. Also, referral incentives had a negative influence on insurance demand which suggests that trust is an important element to promote insurance uptake. Additionally, reduction in price has a significant impact on insurance demand, a lesson to be considered when pricing microinsurance products.