The demand for microinsurance: a literature review

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Microinsurance has recently received much attention as a promising tool to protect poor individuals from important shocks. Yet, voluntary demand from people has been low, shedding doubt on the viability of microinsurance as a useful risk-management tool. To better understand this puzzle, this paper reviews both the theoretical and empirical literature on the demand for insurance. While people's lack of understanding of insurance does seem to limit the demand for it, several more fundamental factors, such as price, quality, limited trust in the insurer, and liquidity constraints also seem to have an important role in explaining the puzzle.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)139-156
Number of pages18
JournalWorld Development
Volume94
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Keywords

  • demand
  • insecurity
  • micro-insurance
  • microfinance
  • risk
  • trust

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