microinsurance

Micro-scale life insurance, with annual payments of $10 a year or less, has exploded in the Philippines thanks to close partnerships with microfinance institutions. Photo: <a href="http://flic.kr/p/5ZzWFe">Lemuel Cantos (Flickr)</a>

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Financial Inclusion

Philippine life insurers find runaway success in MFI partnerships

It's taken 40 years of experimentation, but in the Philippines, a unique business model has found a way to sell life insurance hand over fist to poor people.

Women with small businesses who lost inventories can make up the loss with the Kore W loan product offered by MiCRO and Fonkoze. Photo: Jeremy Barnicle for Mercy Corps.

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Financial Inclusion

Hurricane Sandy triggers largest Haiti microinsurance payout to date

The reinsurance company Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO) will make a significant payout to the Haitian microfinance institution Fonkoze following Hurricane Sandy.

A new study shows that once farmers trust that index insurance will pay out as promised, they'll give up money to get it. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciat/5366709673/in/photostream/">CIAT (Flickr)</a>

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Financial Inclusion

Underdeveloped farm? This looks like a case for ... an insurance seller

A new study of farmers in northern Ghana found that given a choice between quick cash or index insurance coverage, they'll often opt for protection from risk.

Satellites orbiting the Earth may turn out to be much cheaper than either insurance adjusters or local weather stations. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasaearthobservatory/7420745884/in/photostream/">NASA Earth Observatory</a>

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Financial Inclusion

Satellite maps of African weather promise a microinsurance breakthrough

High above Africa, a fleet of satellites are now staring like hawks at the continent's weather patterns. Their goal: cheap farm insurance.

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A closer look at India's new health microinsurance scheme

As mentioned in last week's post, India set out four years ago to achieve universal health coverage for poor families using a massive system of state-subsidized private microinsurance.

As an insurance holder, she knows the next big storm won't wipe out all her assets. Photo: Fabiola Coupet/Mercy Corps

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Inside microinsurance, a view from Haiti

As Tropical Storm Isaac hit Haiti in late August, all eyes were watching to see whether the country would be overwhelmed by the latest storm.

India is subsidizing more than 100 million small-value insurance policies in an effort to help people treat health problems without falling into poverty. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nadya/4789818776/in/photostream/">Nadya Peek(flickr)</a>

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Financial Inclusion

India: Knocking the poor back on their feet with microinsurance

Hospitalization can save a life--at the cost, sometimes, of throwing it permanently off track. Two very different countries, India and the United States, recently chose a similar solution: subsidized insurance.

Many of the women who will receive insurance payouts earn less than $2 a day selling small wares and staple foods. Photo: Jeremy Barnicle/Mercy Corps

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Tropical Storm Isaac triggers microinsurance payout for small business owners in Haiti

This article was republished by The Christian Science Monitor.

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Five clear steps we can take to fight food insecurity

Four years after a global crisis sent food prices soaring, the world continues to struggle with hunger and food price volatility. To combat global hunger, we clearly need a new strategy.