description In 2020/21 around one in five (13.4 million) people in the UK were in poverty. This is expected to increase, due partly to job losses brought about by the Covid pandemic and rising energy prices, thereby potentially increasing the need for microinsurance products in the UK market. In this session we aim to discuss: what developed countries (such as the UK) can learn from emerging markets about the use of microinsurance to protect low-income populations against risks like accidents and illness steps developed countries have taken to reduce the poverty premium, which acts as a barrier to low-income populations when purchasing insurance (or essential products and services).