India Focus Note 86: Microinsurance Product Types in India

Microinsurance products in India can be classified into four different types:

1. Products registered as microinsurance products;
2. Rural and social products not registered as microinsurance products;
3. Community based products in partnership with insurance companies; and
4. Independent community based microinsurance products

Microinsurance products are registered by insurers as a response to the Microinsurance Regulation (2005). These products are mostly delivered through MFIs and are mostly are of the nature of credit-life insurance. Beyond these products, there are lot of group insurance, savings linked products and general insurance products, targeted at the low income clientele. These are filed by different insurers over the last decade and are not registered as microinsurance.

India is also home to a host of community based insurance schemes, either in partnership with insurance companies or run independently. This Note analyses the characteristics and uniqueness of these different microinsurance types with their effectiveness in delivering insurance services to the bottom of the pyramid.

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