Inclusive Index Insurance: New Insights From SCBF-Supported Projects

This new insights report synthesizes evidence from five SCBF-supported index insurance case studies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to examine how inclusive index insurance can strengthen smallholder resilience amid growing climate risks. 

The report highlights that index insurance is most effective when embedded within broader financial and agricultural service bundles and delivered through trusted local aggregators such as cooperatives, MFIs, and farmer organizations, generating benefits beyond payouts, including reduced negative coping strategies and improved recovery and investment. It also identifies persistent challenges around basis risk, affordability, distribution costs, and subsidy dependence, and offers practical recommendations for donors and practitioners on smarter subsidy design, shared data infrastructure, gender-sensitive outreach, and enabling regulatory frameworks, contributing to SCBF’s wider learning agenda on climate resilience and inclusive finance.