Microfinance Focus, September 12, 2011: According to the latest insight from the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility, the nature of the relationship between the sender and receiver of remittances influences the decision to buy microinsurance.

Remittance receivers perceive their migrant family members as “people to be grateful to” (parents or spouses) and “people to protect” (sons and daughters); and remittance receivers are almost three times more likely to purchase insurance for “people to protect”.

These findings are based on interviews and surveys with receivers as well as cooperative staff of Seguros Futuro, a cooperative insurance company in El Salvador.

Seguros Futuro offers a repatriation and remittance insurance product that provides cover in case of death of migrant family members. The product is offered to the receivers of remittances who decide whether to insure their migrant family members.

Although spouses and parents sent more money on average, US$200-US$500 against US$0-US$200 sent by sons or daughters, sons and daughters were more likely to be insured by their remittance-receiving parents.

Migrant sons and daughters were 53 per cent of the insured sample (insurance bought by parents), husbands 17 per cent, parents 8 per cent and other relatives 22 per cent.