Helping Farmers Understand Index Insurance: Guidelines for Consumer Education Interventions

Index-based insurance is an innovative financial service that can help smallholder farmers manage some of the risks related to weather conditions. Considering the lessons and insights gathered from index insurance and financial education projects, as well as from the field of behavioral economics, the Global Action Network to advance agriculture insurance (GAN), coordinated by the International Labour Organisation’s Impact Insurance Facility and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has worked to put together guidelines for index insurance education to support the industry to deal with this task.

These guidelines target five main audiences: insurance providers (including insurers and distribution channels), insurance associations, regulatory and supervisory authorities, governments, and civil society actors (such as NGOs, farmers' associations, and cooperatives). The guidelines emphasize the need to focus on teachable moments, learning by doing, and making learning fun and interactive.