Abstract
Microinsurance is developing rapidly. Globally, lives covered by microinsurance were up nearly 300 per cent in 2011 since just 2009 and are projected to double by the end of this decade. Extending current trends into the near future makes it very clear that the microinsurance market will need to embrace the reinsurance market and vice versa. In an effort to bring these two market segments closer together, Microinsurance Paper #35 explains what reinsurance is, why it is relevant to microinsurance and how it is being used in microinsurance today. It will also attempt to identify gaps between current microreinsurance supply and demand, with the primary goal of devising strategies for the development of more reinsurance activities supportive of microinsurance market growth and sustainability.