“Having an insurance cover is very important and I am glad I made the decision to take a Personal Accident Cover in 2019” says Alice, a board member of Vision 4 Youth Housing Cooperative. This is a We Effect partner organisation based in Nakuru, Kenya.
In January 2020, while on her way to work, Alice tripped and fell down a flight of stairs, hurting her head. She was rushed to the hospital where she was attended to and had a scan to make sure she did not have internal injuries in her head. She was later discharged to recover at home with some medicine prescriptions from the doctor.
How did Alice go about getting insurance?
Back in 2019, Vision 4 Youth Housing Cooperative with support from We Effect and Cooperative Bank held a sensitisation drive for members on various types of microinsurance products (policies) that the members could sign up for themselves and their families. The sensitisation was inspired by a need’s assessment exercise undertaken by the cooperative after they observed that many members were unable to pay their monthly contributions and some even withdrew their contributions to cover for family and personal emergencies. These emergencies were mostly related to medical bills, accidents, and funeral expenses.
Through We Effect’s support, it is increasingly becoming easy for women like Alice to access affordable tailor-made insurance products that are developed for members of the cooperative societies. These products include Personal Accident Cover where members pay premiums of as low as KES 450 (SEK 45) annually, last expense Covers, Social insurances, and agricultural insurance covers.
Alice took up a Personal Accident Cover where she paid KES 450 (SEK 45). When she got the accident, without delay, she received KES 14,000 (SEK 140) from her insurer to pay for her medical expenses.
What does this mean to the cooperative?
The members can have protection in the form of microinsurance covers. This ensures that the cooperative is growing and achieving its objectives since members will continue making their contributions to the cooperative and no withdrawals. Protection is important if we are to achieve the dream of adequate housing.