Confronting the Climate and Health Nexus: Lessons From Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)

This case study is part of CGAP's series on scaling inclusive insurance while preserving consumer value. The primary audience is distribution networks (especially grassroots networks) and insurers. The case study draws on SEWA's heat insurance program in India to explore how customer-centered design can transform inclusive insurance into a practical tool for building resilience to climate shocks, with concrete lessons on what it takes to achieve scale. 

Key findings include:

• Direct insights from women workers enabled SEWA to develop an innovative heat insurance product tailored to members' real risks delivering meaningful financial support when climate shocks threaten members' health and livelihoods. 
• Scaling inclusive insurance demands both deep connections to beneficiaries and sufficient organizational scale. Backed by the proximity and credibility of grassroots leaders, the program grew from 20,000 members in year one to more than 225,000 by year three. 
• By absorbing the first layer of losses and integrating savings, loans, and insurance with early warning systems, SEWA's Climate Welfare Facility offers a model for making inclusive climate insurance both affordable and sustainable — one that goes beyond payouts to actively reduce risk for vulnerable communities.