Improving client value from microinsurance: Insights from India, Kenya and the Philippines

Are clients benefiting from microinsurance? How do we measure those benefits? How do we improve the value proposition for the clients? This paper contributes to this discussion by focusing on improving client value rather than proving it. It presents results from the analysis of 15 microinsurance schemes in Kenya, India and the Philippines using the ILO's client value assessment tool called PACE (Product, Access, Cost and Experience). The PACE tool looks at the added value for clients from insurance products by comparing them to each other and to alternative means of offering protection from similar risks. The results show that there is a place for microinsurance to add value on the top of informal risk-sharing practices and existing social security schemes to protect low-income populations against life and health risks. The paper also presents a menu of interventions that can further improve client value from microinsurance.