小额保险保费收取:灵活性与交易成本的权衡

Research on the Premium Collection Strategies of Micro-insurance

保费收取问题是小额保险运营商面临的主要挑战之一。收费频次和时机的选择对于提高小额保险的覆盖面具有十分重要的意义,且目标人群的现金流及被保险事物的风险分布是决定保费收取策略制定的两个主要因素。保险商在采取灵活的保费收取策略来提高保险覆盖面的同时,也应注意到由此带来的交易成本的增加。从其它国家的经验来看,一个有效的方法是通过与贴近低收入人群的组织和机构进行合作,以团体为基础进行保费收取。

For the operators of micro-insurance, the process of collecting premiums is a major challenge. The schedule of frequency and timing of premium collection has significance for extending the reach of micro-insurance. And the strategies needed in premium collection would depend very much on （i） the pattern of income stream of the target population, and （ii） the spread of risk for which insurance is sought. Flexibility with premium collection should be emphasized, however, the insurers must make sure that their flexibility does not skyrocket their transaction costs. The lessons from other countries tell us it is an effective method for the insurer by cooperating with the institutions and organizations which closed to the low- income population, for community groups to collect the premiums from their members and make consolidated payments to the insurer.