Abstract
Compiles an inventory of information technologies that are or could be applicable in the extension of insurance services to low-income households. Classifies technologies according to their applicability to either front office functions, such as client identification, or back office functions such as risk analysis and product design. Case studies illustrate how specific technologies have been applied at the different levels of the business. Provides an assessment framework for a system's cost based on the number of clients it can support. The framework classifies microinsurance platforms into low-end, mid-range and high-end systems that support different volumes of microinsurance business.