Abstract
Led by the Women's World Banking and the Zurich Insurance Company, this research is intended to generate discussion of a gendered approach to microinsurance. While insurance companies are beginning to design and deliver a variety of products to the poor, the paper focuses primarily on health and life insurance because these two risks typically are reported to exert significant financial pressure on poor women. The authors explore how health and life microinsurance could be designed to more effectively respond to women's needs, and offer practical advice to insurance companies for delivering such schemes. They conclude with a call to action for insurance companies, delivery channels, researchers and donors to make insurance more gender-sensitive, which will serve the dual mission of poverty alleviation and profitability.