The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not

necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank

(ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB
does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and
accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries
listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or
independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Designing Gender-sensitive Health Insurance Products:

Experience from the WWB Network

Anna Gincherman
Women’s World Banking

November 12, 2010

Agenda

• Overview of Women’s World Banking

• Demand for microinsurance by low income women entrepreneurs
• Insurance offer by WWB network members and WWB’s technical
assistance
• Caregiver product
• Future projects
Women’s World Banking: Global Footprint
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
Europe, • Egypt
Middle East • Jordan
New York: & North • Morocco
Global Office Africa • Tunisia
• Russian Federation Asia

• Bangladesh
• India
• Indonesia
• Mongolia
• Pakistan
• The Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Bolivia
• Brazil • Benin
Central &
• Chile • Burundi
Latin
• Colombia • Ethiopia
America
• Dominican • The Gambia
Republic • Ghana
• Mexico Africa • Kenya
• Paraguay • Nigeria
• Peru • Uganda
Women’s World Banking: Mission & Impact

To expand the economic assets, participation, and power of

Mission low-income women and their households by helping them
access financial services, knowledge, and markets.

• Largest network in microfinance, built over 30 years

• 40 microfinance providers
• 28 countries: 8 in Africa, 8 in LAC, 6 in Asia, 6 in EMENA
Impact
• 20+ million active clients, 74% women
• $4.2 billion in outstanding loan portfolio
• Average loan size of $955
Our Clients’ Demand for Microinsurance
Socio-Economic Profile Lifecycle Events & Risks
Age: Mostly 25-45 • Health
Marital Status: Mostly married • Childbirth
No. of Children: 3-5 • Death of Husband
Economic Activity: Mostly • Divorce
informal, home-based, trading food,
• Domestic Violence
clothes
• Old Age
HH Disposable Monthly Income:
$30-700 • Death

Current Risk Coping Strategies

• Ex-Ante:
Demand for Microinsurance
• Savings • Health insurance, including maternity
• Investing in property, children and family coverage
• Making risk-averse business decisions
• Life insurance for husbands and
• Ex-Post: protection of children
• Borrowing money
• ―Caregiver‖ insurance to cover losses
• Selling assets
of income
• Reducing HH expenses
• Increasing income-generating activities
• Drawing upon savings
Insurance Offer by WWB Network Members

75% of Network Members offer microinsurance to their clients

Why do Network Members Offer Microinsurance?

• Meet a broad range of clients’ financial needs Increases client outreach, cross-selling and loyalty
• Improve financial security and health of clients
• Provide MFIs with an additional revenue source and added protection on their loan portfolios

Product Offering
• Dominated to date by less complex life insurance programs (mostly credit-life policies)
• Emerging health insurance programs
• Funeral insurance in Latin America, limited property insurance coverage

Modalities
• Mainly operated through partnership models, involving a broad range of institutions including
global and domestic commercial insurance companies
• Limited private MFI-run insurance models
WWB Technical Assistance Support

Support Network Members to introduce & implement health insurance programs

Technical Assistance
• Technical assistance to help network members introduce or improve health micro insurance

Strategic Partnerships
• Network-wide initiative in partnership with Zurich Financial Services Group in which WWB offers a
caregiver health insurance program to help women clients and their families better cope with financial
burdens associated with a medical emergency—loss of income, childcare, transportation, portion of
medical costs.

The caregiver program launched with

Microfund for Women in Jordan onin
April 2010.

Industry Leadership
• ―Gender and Microinsurance‖ paper published in cooperation with ILO,
Microinsurance Centre and ZFS in 2009.
Caregiver Product

Product Summary:
Cash benefit paid to borrowers after hospitalization to help with costs for loss of
business, medical expenses, travel costs and towards hospitalization costs.

Key Features
• Benefit at 10JD per day for up to 30 days, with
max of 45 days in policy period
• Maternity cover for complicated pregnancies after
3 days stay
• No exclusions (for pre existing conditions)
• Policy will match loan term
• Premium at 1JD per month
• Mandatory enrolment for Borrower only
• Voluntary cover for spouse & full family to be
added later
Caregiver Product –Results to Date

As of August 2010

• 3,500 policies sold

• 55 claims submitted and settled
•Half of claims were for pregnancy-
related hospitalization
•Claim settlement – average of 6 days
•Marketing and training materials
developed
•Expressed demand for family
coverage
Caregiver – Investing in Marketing and
Consumer Education
Future Projects

Roll out of Caregiver

• Proposed countries: Peru, Mexico, Egypt, Kenya
• Potential outreach: 3 million people

Caregiver Family Coverage

• High demand by clients in Jordan
• Proposed launch date in December 2010

Life line Product – Dreadful Disease Coverage

• Hospital-cash product that would provide coverage for a specified list of illnesses that
most severely affect low income women
• Proposed countries: India, Bangladesh
Thank you.