September 2014
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Autrepart
Migration linked micro-insurance: a false good idea Migrants and their families in Mexico and Latin America are an attractive niche market for microfinance institutions who find it difficult, however, to associate remittances and microcredit for productive investment. The recently introduced micro-insurance scheme specifically targeting them has failed, like other schemes before, despite shifting the paradigm by substituting “vulnerability” for “migration and development”. This sophisticated and inexpensive scheme offering repatriation of the deceased migrant’s body and monthly compensation does not sell. It apparently fails to meet the financial needs of this multilocated financially constrained population for whim remittances are not a fantasy extra income but part of a sophisticated risk management strategy.