The Landscape of Microinsurance in Sri Lanka

This report provides an analysis of the microinsurance sector in Sri Lanka with related data to the years 2013-2015. Microinsurance in Sri Lanka initially started as a service to support the microfinance sector, focusing on providing loan protection, insurance and life savings. The insurance business extended its services to provide welfare and health products to low-income people. With almost 24% of the population living on less than USD 2 a day (World Bank Statistics, 2015), it was found that health is the largest risk faced by poor households, followed by property risk, which came as a consequence of the tsunami that hit the country in 2004. Microinsurance policies issued (1.46 million) reached 6.9% of the total population in 2015. There are also a number of social security services in the country, including those provided by the government and the informal sector. The majority of these are however fragmented and provide inadequate benefits.