MIRERC 045/2025: Examining How Users Navigate, Select, and Understand Insurance Options: Addressing Information Gaps

Abstract

3.0 Executive Summary
There is a growing need to enhance public understanding of insurance to increase adoption, improve
financial literacy, and empower individuals to make informed decisions. However, two major
challenges hinder progress:
1. Stakeholders often lack clear insights into the actual knowledge gaps, misconceptions, and
barriers—such as mistrust, complexity, or misinformation—that prevent people from
engaging effectively with insurance products.
2. Educational efforts and materials are rarely tested for their impact on understanding and
behavior change.
This study explores these issues through the lens of Social Health Insurance (SHA) in Kenya, focusing
on how users discover, choose, and interpret insurance options. By examining experiences across
urban, peri-urban, and rural contexts, the research will uncover critical gaps and obstacles in user
understanding.
The insights will go beyond health, offering practical recommendations for insurance design and
education in other sectors like agriculture and education. Using a mixed-methods
approach—combining in-depth interviews, quantitative analysis, and eye-tracking —the study aims to
shape evidence-based, user-centered interventions that improve insurance literacy and empower
better decision-making.