Women Organizing for Social Protection: The Self-employed Women's Association's Integrated Insurance Scheme, India
This study captures the experience of Self-employed Women Association (SEWA) in managing the Integrated Insurance Scheme for its women members. The paper discusses issues relevant to insurance scheme, such as the information related to the SEWA movement and the social environment in which the scheme operates, and provides a brief overview of the social protection schemes in India.
The study states that the integrated scheme is consistent with SEWA's philosophy of comprehensive work security and defines the following unique requirements of SEWA members leading to its development:
- Insurance coverage for hospitalization;
- Introduction of asset loss component in the scheme to take care of asset loss risk;
- Prevention of misuse of life insurance payments by the husbands.
The paper profiles the non-financial and financial features of the integrated insurance scheme such as:
- Target group, members and beneficiaries;
- Benefits and premium;
- Administration and management;
- Accounting policies;
- Claims and premium ratio.
The paper commends the role of SEWA in conceiving and managing a complex insurance activity and seeks subsidy on premium for continued operation of the integrated insurance scheme.
