Microinsurance in various forms has been available in East Africa for many generations. More recently, new efforts and formal programmes have been introduced to improve people's ability to manage their risks. Some hospitals and clinics have developed prepayment schemes. Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with lowincome clients have developed risk management products like emergency credit or microinsurance products. Even some commercial insurance companies have begun to identify opportunities in this market. The quality varies from programme to programme, but it is clear that people are identifying a need for risk mitigation and that many are taking advantage of these newly created opportunities.
MicroSave, with The MicroInsurance Centre and Microfinance Opportunities, recognized a need to understand both the demand for and supply of microinsurance in the East Africa region. The goal was to understand what people are looking for in risk management services and match that with what is being offered, to identify market opportunities, and to understand implementation lessons of institutions currently involved in provision of services.
This paper addresses the supply side of microinsurance. The authors identified seven institutions in the region as case studies to help understand supply side products and operations. These institutions were selected based on having an active health care financing product serving the low-income market (except one). The authors wanted these potential elements in the study:
* a variety of delivery mechanisms * a variety of organizational structures * a mix of urban and rural institutions * several cases from each country * one for-profit institution that serves the middle and upper market but that also has an interest in moving towards the low-income market (to learn lessons for professionals).