Information sharing, insurance decisions and conflict in the household

In collaboration with our implementing partners, short videos were prepared that explain the product attributes, consumer value and customer care procedures of an index insurance and savings financial product. Sample communities were visited by survey teams, who showed the videos to either male or female individuals in treatment households in the process of conducting household surveys

10-minute information videos about index insurance and savings were developed. For the purpose of this study we distinguish between the “product attributes video” and the “treatment video”.

The product attributes video explains basic attributes of the index insurance and savings financial product. For example, the video explains how insurance claim payments are determined and paid, and how pastoral households can register for the product.

The treatment video further describes the different welfare benefits of the insurance and savings financial product for pastoral households, and explains the procedures for pastoralists to address questions or issues in relation to the financial product. This is done using vignettes, presenting pastoralists in relatable situations. For example, one vignette addresses that for a pastoralist who worries a lot about future droughts, a benefit of insurance is that it may help to reduce these worries. Another vignette shows a pastoralist that wants to have more information or address an issue with their registration to the product, and then explains the process of contacting the customer care
system by phone to seek further information about the product, or report grievances.

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2024-03-31

• First- and second-order beliefs about benefits and costs of insurance and savings.
• (Beliefs about) information sharing between spouses.
• Index insurance take-up and savings behaviour.
• Incidence of disagreements.
• Incidence of intimate partner violence (IPV).

• Knowledge of insurance and savings.
• Relationship quality.

Households receive new information about index insurance and savings through a video, and we randomly assign the gender of the spouse that receives it (target spouse): either an adult male household member or their female spouse. Additionally, we cross-randomize whether or not the target spouse can directly share the information with their spouse (non-target spouse), by requesting the video to also be shown to them.

The product attributes video is shown to both a male and female spouse from all treatment households, but not to members of control households. The treatment video is only shown to one of the two spouses in treatment households, the “target spouse”, according to the household’s assignment into one of four treatment arms. We summarise each experimental arm below.
1. Treatment arm 1: Male
• The male spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and the
treatment video.
• The female spouse watches the product attributes video but not the treatment video.

2. Treatment arm 2: Female
• The female spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and
the treatment video.
• The male spouse watches the product attributes video but not the treatment video.

3. Treatment arm 3: Male + sharing option
• The male spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and the
treatment video.
• The female spouse watches the product attributes video but not the treatment video.
• After watching the video, the male spouse decides whether or not to also share the
treatment video with their female spouse.

4. Treatment arm 4: Female + sharing option
• The female spouse is the target spouse and watches the product attributes video and
the treatment video.
• The male spouse watches the product attributes video but not watch the treatment
video.
• After watching the video, the female spouse decides whether or not to also share the
treatment video with their male spouse.

5. Control arm
• Both spouses do not watch any video

Randomization done using statistical software STATA

The level of randomization for treatment versus control is the community, the randomization of the four treatment arms is done at the household level.

Yes

3144 households across 393 communities

6288 respondents (2 per household).

1327 households in the control group, approximately 450 in each of the four treatment arms.

PAP_DRIVE_1_gender_targeting_SUBMITTED_18.6.24.pdf