Demand for Insurance in Ghana: Do Poverty, Employment Status and Demographic Characteristics Matter?

Abstract

The paper answers the question of whether poverty, employment status and demographic characteristics matter in the demand for insurance in Ghana. Using binary logit estimation on the GLSS6 data, we found that the poor have a lower probability of demand for insurance, with locational influence being more pronounced for the poor in the rural areas, while formal salaried workers have higher demand for insurance than self-employed. Again, residents in small cities and rural areas purchase more insurance than metropolitan residents and also, the influence of employment status is more of a rural phenomenon than an urban one. Demand for insurance differ depending on poverty and employment status. Policy must focus on segregating the insurance market to cater for different classes of people.