Microinsurance aspects in agriculture

Edited by Thomas Levin and Dirk Reinhard

Agricultural microinsurance in the context of this discussion paper involves the broad question of how low-income farmers close to or below the poverty level can be indemnified for agricultural losses due to severe weather conditions – regardless of the level of the insured (micro: individual; meso: community, farmer association, etc.; macro: national institution, government). In other words, it should be differentiated from the term “microinsurance” used purely to describe the level of the insured (individual).

This paper is a joint effort between GTZ (Thomas Levin) and the Munich Re Foundation (Dirk Reinhard) to provide a short overview of the current discussions about agricultural insurance in developing countries. It is based on literature research and analysis of more than 70 publications as well as on interviews with reinsurance experts from Munich Re, a global reinsurance company. This discussion paper is not intended to be an exhaustive compendium. However, it can serve as a basis for more detailed research and for triggering further discussion on the way forward for the CGAP Sub Group on Microinsurance in Agriculture.