Gender and Microinsurance: A Study of Ethiopia

Abstract

Microinsurance has been thought of as the cure for poverty in the Global South. In the Ethiopian context, the concept of microinsurance is fairly new. Due to a continuous dependence on agriculture as the main source of income and to low levels of education, most of the population rely on Edir and Equib as methods of coping with risk. This study uses data collected on Ethiopia in 2017 by the consulting firm MicroInsurance Center and focuses on coping mechanisms for agriculture and health crises for peoples in rural areas of the country. This study asks: What is the effect of gender on crop risk coping strategies? What are the perceptions of insurance in rural Ethiopia? An analysis of the data set reveals that few people in rural areas understood what microinsurance was or used it as a coping mechanism. In a crisis, men relied first on cash and savings, while women took on additional employment. Results suggest that policymakers might further the understanding of microinsurance in the country and that insurance companies design gender-sensitive microinsurance programs.