MR Microinsurance_2012_03_29.indd - International Labour ...

Microinsurance that works for women
from their husbands, a cost that is heightened in countries where alimony is
either not required or not enforced, and are often confronted with significant
legal battles to retain property after divorce. These financial risks become even
more difficult when combined with the cultural barriers and social ostracism that
divorced women may face. While “divorce insurance” may not be feasible, insurers
and delivery channels can encourage women to have their name on the legal
titles of assets being insured, to protect them in the event of divorce or the death
of a husband. MFIs and other delivery outlets could also help divorced women
by providing links to affordable women’s legal services that can help them retain
their property after divorce.
– Own death: Many women worry that their children, especially their daughters,
will not be properly looked after in the event of their own death. Women also
worry about burdening their families with funeral costs and outstanding debt,
and those that earn income fear that their family may not have the resources to
survive without their contribution. Microinsurance is an obvious tool for providing
financial support, including repaying outstanding debts and providing financial
benefits to children, yet some women fear that their spouses, if declared the
beneficiary of the life insurance policy, may spend part or all of an insurance payout
for unintended purposes. To work around this problem, delivery channels
might offer culturally-sensitive counselling to help women think through their
options for naming a beneficiary. Microinsurance can also be designed to provide
practical benefits directly, such as groceries or vouchers for school fees, to better
ensure that women’s needs are met even after their death.
– Domestic violence: Domestic violence not only puts women’s physical and
mental health at risk, but can also threaten their financial security. Women who
suffer from domestic violence can incur serious financial costs for care and rehabilitation,
which has implications for health insurance (Ahmed and Ramm,
2006). They may also find that their ability to earn an income is curtailed if their
work subjects them to abuse or if abuse has rendered them unable to work. For
poor women who do not own property, this risk is exacerbated. Research in
South India found that 49 per cent of married women who owned neither land
nor a house suffered from domestic violence, whereas that figure dropped to 10
to 18 per cent for those who owned either land or a house (Murray, 2008). Thus,
MFIs’ efforts to encourage asset ownership through savings and credit can also be
an important risk management tool for women.
– Job-related risks: Poor women face a range of job-related risks that are often not
covered by available insurance products. Traders who work on streets or in marketplaces
may be vulnerable to theft and physical violence. Sex workers are
highly susceptible to sexually-transmitted diseases, rape and abuse. Women in
home-based businesses are vulnerable because they lack the safety measures
which may be in place in factories and because they are physically isolated from
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