The Role of Micro Insurance on Poverty Reduction: A Study of Insurance Companies in Ghana (Published)
Purpose- The purpose of this paper to investigate, explore and assess the role of Micro-insurance in poverty reduction Design/ methodology/approach- This paper is a qualitative analysis based on three case studies. Non-probability sampling techniques are used for choosing the unit of analysis which resulted in 4 firms (4 managers). Also, data were collected via a questionnaire and an in-depth interview. Findings- The study identified that Micro-insurance provides financial support to the poor in the event of a disaster, social protection against disasters and shocks, savings, employment, and as well as enhances asset accumulation among clients. The study found that the lack of innovative micro-insurance product, inadequate distribution channels, the lack of supportive micro-insurance legal framework, uncompetitive pricing of micro-insurance products, low government support in micro-insurance programs, low-income levels of respondents, the religious or cultural factors influence the demand of insurance products and low public trust are the factors that affect the demand of micro-insurance products. Also, the study found that the development of innovative products, establishing processes that build trust in clients, instituting efficient service delivery channels, documentation should be simplified and the government should support micro-insurance products are the ways to increase patronage of micro-insurance products.Research limitations- the sample size is still limited and in the future, a quantitative analysis should be used. The study is limited in terms of geographical area. The findings of the study are more likely to hold for another Sub-Saharan context. However, the applicability of these findings to other contexts needs further investigation. Originality/value- while interest in micro-insurance is increasing in emerging markets, there is little known and written on micro-insurance. Therefore, the role of micro-insurance has not been explored so far.
Keywords: Constraints, Ghana, Insurance, Microcredit, Poverty Alleviation, microinsurance, sub-Saharan Africa