Evolving Climatic Adaptation through Crop Insurance

Project Basics

Development of Humane Action (DHAN) Foundation, a professional development organization, was initiated on October 2, 1997 with a mission to build people and institutions for development innovations and scale-up to enable poor communities to reduce poverty and be self-reliant.

People Mutuals is the insurance initiative of DHAN Foundation and is promoted by the thematic federations of DHAN Foundation. The primary purpose is to provide insurance services to address the risks and vulnerabilities of the poor. The initiative is a collaboration between DHAN Foundation, Oxfam Novib, Rabobank Foundation and Eureko Achmea Foundation. DHAN Foundation deputes professional staff to manage the activities and provides strategic guidance and support.

The project seeks to develop various mutual crop insurance products as adaptation measures to climate change related issues faced by the small farmers. The project is being carried out across eight districts in two states of India involving 15 blocks. The product is designed and implemented by a Mutual Insurance Committee (MIC), which consists of older and wiser farmers from each covered village. The MIC decides on the risks to be insured and the level of retention of risk by the insured farmers.  Given the highly location specific nature of issues emerging from climate change, the MIC of each location can decide on which risks they would like to address through insurance and which they could address by themselves or through other means. The community itself will decide on the method of claim payment.

People Mutuals has developed innovative mutual insurance products on whole life insurance, comprehensive health insurance and income indemnification crop insurance. They have defined the member administration, policy administration, financial administration and claim administration systems, and developed in-house software for microinsurance.

Date of last Learning Journey update: January 2012