Pragati and CARE Join hands to improve resilience of rural communities by introducing micro health insurance

28 June, 2016
Pragati Life Insurance Limited and CARE Bangladesh signed an agreement on 27 June 2016 to jointly introduce a micro health insurance pilot scheme for the rural households. The agreement was signed by M. J. Azim, Managing Director and CEO of the Pragati Life Insurance Limited and Berhanu Moreda, Acting Country Director of CARE Bangladesh in a humble ceremony at the board room of Pragati Insurance building in Kawranbazar.
The collaborative initiative begins with a pilot among 2,477 households with 8,285 members together, in 24 unions from four districts- Rangpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhaat and Gaibandha. The scheme offers a total amount of BDT 20,000 in benefit coverage (outpatient as well as hospitalization) in the first year to each insured household.
The initiative aligns with a shared vision between CARE and Pragati that insurance as a risk mitigating strategy can contribute significantly to the resilience of low-income households. A tailored health insurance offer, targeting this community can ensure better healthcare facilities by providing health financing options. The insurance scheme being introduced by Pragati in partnership with CARE Bangladesh builds on the solidarity of the households as members of community based savings groups facilitated by CARE implemented SETU (Social and Economic Transformation of the Ultra-Poor) project. SETU is a very successful project, supported by GoB, UKAid and SDC through Economic Empowerment of the Poorest Program (EEP), started in 2009 with the aim of helping 45,000 beneficiary households (nearly 180,000 people) to sustainably come out of extreme poverty.
Although SETU project contributes partly to the payment of premium by the participant households for the first year, it is argued that the insured households will continue the insurance scheme by themselves, as a result of appreciation of benefits through usage and experience during this trial phase.