Assessing the opportunity for remittance-linked insurance products in sub-Saharan Africa

The study examines the risk management needs of migrants in South Africa sending money to Ghana, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. It finds that senders are primarily concerned with health events, death, and job loss, as these risks threaten their ability to provide financial support to families. While there is interest in insurance for health and funeral costs for both senders and receivers, most currently rely on informal coping mechanisms like savings and borrowing from family. The report suggests that RLIPs should feature clear terms, small discretionary premiums, and a focus on the resilience of loved ones to be successful.

• Remittance senders in the studied corridors share similar primary concerns for their own well-being, specifically events related to death, health issues, and loss of income, as these events directly impact their ability to send money home.
• There is a strong preference among senders for insurance products that cover health costs, funeral or burial expenses (including repatriation of the body), and income loss due to unemployment.
• For receivers, senders are most concerned about education costs, health events, and funeral expenses, though there is a mismatch between these concerns and the products they are willing to buy; they are most willing to purchase insurance for death, education, and health costs.
• Current risk management for both senders and receivers relies almost exclusively on informal mechanisms, such as personal savings and borrowing from friends or family, with very little use of formal insurance or registered financial institutions.
• Ghanaian remittance senders exhibit a higher level of mistrust toward formal financial services compared to other corridors, emphasizing a need for detailed terms and conditions and evidence of the product's success for others.
• Effective RLIP design should prioritize microinsurance with small, discretionary premiums collected per remittance, clear and concise terms, and the potential for targeted savings wallets to provide more flexibility than traditional insurance.

APA

Thom, M., Rinehart-Smit, K., Allen, M., & Scribante, K. (2022). Assessing the opportunity for remittance-linked insurance products in sub-Saharan Africa. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Assessing-the-opportunity-for-remittance-linked-insurance-products-in-sub-Saharan-Africa_January-2022.pdf

Chicago

Thom, Mia, Kate Rinehart-Smit, Michaella Allen, and Karien Scribante. Assessing the opportunity for remittance-linked insurance products in sub-Saharan Africa. FSD Africa, 2022. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Assessing-the-opportunity-for-remittance-linked-insurance-products-in-sub-Saharan-Africa_January-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Thom |first1=Mia |last2=Rinehart-Smit |first2=Kate |last3=Allen |first3=Michaella |last4=Scribante |first4=Karien |title=Assessing the opportunity for remittance-linked insurance products in sub-Saharan Africa |publisher=FSD Africa |date=January 2022 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Assessing-the-opportunity-for-remittance-linked-insurance-products-in-sub-Saharan-Africa_January-2022.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{thom2022assessing, author = {Thom, Mia and Rinehart-Smit, Kate and Allen, Michaella and Scribante, Karien}, title = {{Assessing the opportunity for remittance-linked insurance products in sub-Saharan Africa}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Assessing-the-opportunity-for-remittance-linked-insurance-products-in-sub-Saharan-Africa_January-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }