MR Microinsurance_2012_03_29.indd - International Labour ...

334 Insurance and the low-income market
16.1.3 Heightened vulnerability to risk for poor women
Women’s risk management needs are shaped by the specific and unique risks they
face due to their physiology and position in the household and society. The key
risks facing poor women are:
– Health: Health shocks are among the biggest and least predictable risks that poor
households face. Mounting medical costs and lost wages can push otherwise stable
households into poverty (Chen et al., 2008). Women face a dual challenge when it
comes to health risks: they are more susceptible to health problems and more likely
to be responsible for caring for others’ health problems. Examples of greater susceptibility
to illness for women include issues in reproductive health, as seen by the
estimated 300 million women suffering permanent health damage resulting from
pregnancy and childbirth (Ahmed and Ramm, 2006). Women are also more susceptible
to sexually-transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, as they are often in
weaker positions to negotiate safe sex (UNAIDS, 2008). Women’s health can also
be threatened through increased exposure to unsanitary water while cleaning their
homes and to harmful firewood or charcoal fumes while cooking (Ahmed and
Ramm, 2006). Poor women may be less likely to use their limited resources for
treatment when they are sick, preferring instead to use resources to treat sick family
members, especially children (Kern and Ritzen, 2002).
– Death of husband: In most countries, women tend to outlive their husbands.
The likelihood increases in communities where women are likely to marry older
men, and where male life expectancy is shortened by violence, unsafe working
conditions or military participation. For poor women, the death of a husband can
be devastating – not just emotionally, but also financially and legally. Widows
who may have depended on their spouses for financial support must learn to survive
independently, with few opportunities to remarry. The risk is magnified for
women with young children to support and educate. Widows may also face significant
legal and cultural battles to retain property upon their husband’s death.
The loss of property can leave them without a home to live in and can threaten
income and food security. Insurers might play a positive role in such situations by
requiring that insured assets be in the woman’s name (Ahmed and Ramm, 2006).
– Old age: Old age exerts substantial pressure on poor households through the
need for financial support and living assistance, and increased healthcare costs.
Traditionally, women have primarily coped with this risk by relying upon their
adult children to support them. Increasingly, however, women are worried that
their children will be unable or unwilling to provide this support. This breakdown
of traditional roles leaves many women vulnerable, particularly widows.
– Divorce: WWB research reveals that many divorced women are under intense
financial pressure – a pressure that is heightened if they have children to care for.
As in the death of a spouse, divorced women face the loss of financial support