Microfund for Women's Caregiver Experience: Lessons from Jordan on Health Microinsurance

This paper explores the factors that contributed to the success of Caregiver, Jordan's first private health microinsurance offering piloted by Jordan's Microfund for Women (MFW) in partnership with Women's World Banking (WWB) in 2010. It also discusses the lessons learned during the first two years of operation in Jordan, and priority considerations for Caregiver's planned replication in other markets.The Caregiver product was mandatory for all MFW clients as a condition of access to credit. As the first movers, MFW faced significant work to educate the local market. Client feedback was positive from the start, especially about the inclusion of pregnancy coverage, which would ultimately account for half of all claims filed during Caregiver's first two years. An important success factor was the decision to offer coverage to bridge the gap between the direct costs of care and the full costs clients actually face when confronted with a health episode. Lessons learned highlight the importance of:

• Use of a supplemental hospital cash product;
• Client and field staff understanding;
• Building and maintaining successful partnerships;
• Product design;
• Designing new processes.