Research in Microinsurance: A Bibliometric Analysis and Review

Abstract

The term microinsurance was introduced as a new term in the vocabulary of development and social protection through the publication of an article in 1999 by the International Social Security Review. Today, the concept of microinsurance is becoming increasingly popular in developing countries, and the need for financial services for the poor has become universally acknowledged. Therefore, it is necessary to study the current state of microinsurance research to date. Thus, the study attempts to explore the consolidated picture of the microinsurance literature since 1999 using bibliometric analysis. The study mainly addressed four objectives: (1) to find the growth and trends of microinsurance research; (2) to find the institutions, countries, journals, and authors who have made outstanding contributions to microinsurance; (3) to visually assess the relationship between sources, countries, keywords, authors, cited sources, and affiliations; and (4) to find the trending topics in the research domain of microinsurance. This study used the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Following certain inclusion and exclusion criteria, 305 documents were extracted, including journal articles, book chapters, reviews, conference papers, books, notes, editorials, erratums, conference reviews, short surveys, and retractions published between 2000 and 2022 from the 'Scopus' database. The findings show a significant increase in microinsurance publications compared to the early years, with most being published in 2014 due to a special issue in a leading insurance journal. The most significant journal was the Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance: Issues and Practice, with David Mark Dror as the most influential author. The USA is the country that contributes the most to microinsurance literature, with the Micro Insurance Academy providing the most support for scientific research. Key terms in microinsurance publications include microfinance, insurance, health insurance, microcredit, health microinsurance, and index insurance. Financial literacy and consumer protection are potential topics that need to be closely associated with microinsurance.