"A Friend Indeed": Evaluation of an Insurance Education Radio Campaign in Kenya

This evaluation report presents the results of research on the Insurance Consumer Education - Kenya (ICE-K) radio campaign conducted with listeners in Kenya and is intended to assess its efficacy before replicating similar media campaigns in the future, in Africa or elsewhere. The project also represented an opportunity to test the adaptability of Microfinance Opportunities (MFO) Risk Management and Insurance training curriculum to a mass media campaign. The program offered technical assistance to select insurance companies and MFIs with an interest in marketing to low-income consumers after the end of the radio campaign. Conclusions include:

• Radio campaign had a measurable impact in changing listener awareness and knowledge towards insurance;
• Lack of trust in insurance companies tends to be tied to negative experiences with insurance and a lack of understanding of how insurance works;
• Radio is an effective tool for encouraging behavior change;
• Listeners may require repeated, prolonged exposure to change their behavior;
• Listeners' willingness to share information with others indicates a potential multiplier effect.