The Determinants of Microinsurance Demand

The purpose of this article is to structure the extant knowledge on the determinants of microinsurance demand in a manner that achieves several outcomes. First is to offer a specific economic structure to the review through use of Outreville’s insurance demand framework. Second is to identify key questions that arise out of structuring the material in this way. In particular, we attempt to clarify the critical open questions in microinsurance demand through use of Outreville’s framework. Third, through comparison with literature on traditional insurance demand, we identify opportunities to understand not only the microinsurance market better, but also the traditional market. To achieve these outcomes, we review the academic literature on microinsurance demand published between 2000 and early 2014 and compare these results with evidence in the literature regarding traditional insurance markets. The review identifies 12 key factors affecting microinsurance demand, and further highlights that research focused on the role of contract performance (including basis risk and quality), trust, financial literacy and informal risk-sharing mechanisms may be most fruitful in expanding microinsurance markets.