This report contains the findings of a diagnostic study on the provision of microinsurance to rural workers in China. The study was commissioned by the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) and approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) in 2010. The study covers the provision of personal and property (including agriculture) microinsurance to China’s 674 m (2010) rural residents. At the request of the CIRC it includes an evaluation of the personal microinsurance pilots authorised by the Life Insurance Supervisory Department of the CIRC since 2008.

The project was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Natural Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). Whereas the full microinsurance market in China would also include a substantial component of the “urban” market, the urban microinsurance market is not included in this study.