Insurance and Poverty Reduction: Evidence from Philippine Urban and Rural Households

The poor are the most vulnerable class to risks and shocks and yet are also the least likely to be insured. In this essay, I explore the relationship between insurance and poverty reduction using a nationally representative household panel data from the Philippines. I find that the main pathway through which insurance coverage diminishes vulnerability to poverty is by aiding already non-poor households from falling into poverty in the face of shocks. In contrast, insurance coverage is insignificant in aiding escape from poverty among already poor households. However, a difference-in-difference (DID) analysis that exploit the occurrence of super-typhoon Reming in 2006 in the Bicol region of the Philippines suggest that insurance coverage enabled poor households to escape from poverty in the face of a natural disaster. Hence, while insurance may not be a magic cure to fundamental roots of poverty, it remains a critical tool in diminishing the exposure to poverty of the most vulnerable sectors of Philippine society.