Over ten years, more than 10,000 women received above fifteen million rupees (about $ 326,000) through this, scheme. It is a concrete economic support for these women in times of crises. In the process we learned some important and useful lessons. These are given below.

1. Social Security including health care, child care, insurance and housing is an essential need of poor people.
2. Insurance gives a solid economic support to poor people. Moreover it also enhances their productivity and helps them to attain full employment and self-reliance.
3. The poor are always busy struggling for their daily bread. So to plan for unseen crises is a new concept. It needs constant educational inputs and contact to make them understand the concept of insurance. Regular training is very useful in this regard.
4. Poor people, particularly women, face multiple risks, multiple crises. Therefore all the insurance services provided to them should be integrated and preferably available as a packing.
5. Linkages with banking and saving products for example deposit linked insurance is useful for women and reduces administrative costs.
6. Services need to be tailor-made to women's needs. For example, insurance products and procedures should be designed according to their needs and their lives.
7. Services need to be contributory. Women are ready to contribute from their hard-earned income towards the services provided that they get timely, efficient, satisfactory and good quality service at their doorsteps.
8. Insurance encourages forward planning among women for the first-time. They started thinking about their future including crises.
9. It also encourages women's health seeking behaviour. For poor women their own health is at the last priority in the family. But once they take insurance then become aware of their own health.
10. It builds good linkages with local health providers. In fact it has created a demand for a formal linkages with health providing systems. However, quality of health care is still an issue, as women choose their own care but it is not necessarily of standard quality.
11. Developing Management Information Systems (MIS) Updating the current MIS would help us get online with premium collection and claims servicing.
12. At present the premium is collected once a year. While facilitating the members to pay premium throughout the year would increase the membership, and help members enrol as and when they can.
13. With a rapid growth in membership there rises a strong need for the upgrading the capacity and skills of our insurance team and other linked services of SEWA. It will help to provide a satisfactory and efficient service to the members.
14. Decentralisation is a useful tool in providing fast, efficient and satisfactory service. Thus insurance services should be decentralized.
15. In spite of all these efforts repeated disasters is a major issue for viability. Therefore reinsurance or linking with insurance companies is essential for sustainability.
16. Insurance for the poor is not only possible but also financially viable. The risk has to be spread out among large numbers and across income groups.

Insurance can only be achieved if the poor women are organized. Once they are organized they can form their own banks, collective business or cooperatives. They can run their own social security programmes. Through that they are able to come out of poverty and have a better quality of life.

Insureds :
Total Fixed Deposits (F.D.s) since July 1 = 255.

2. Operations

Earthquake claims –

1. To start a company, SEWA needs a capital of Rs 100 crores ($23 million) as per the law in India. Currently SEWA is looking into the possibilities of partnering to develop the proposed insurance company or cooperative and to raise the required capital.
2. In order to manage the enhanced volume of business and services it requires professionals with technical and managerial skills different from those required by a trade union.
3. The members of SEWA, repeatedly face crises and disasters. In last five years they have faced one flood, two cyclones, three droughts, one epidemic and the worst of all, this year's earthquake. Therefore reinsurance is a must. Vimo SEWA is looking for suitable reinsurance to run a sustainable and financially-viable insurance business.

Lastly, SEWA has always stood firm in the marketplace, in the banking sector and, in general, on equal terms. We have struggled for the past thirty years for visibility and a voice for women workers, thus putting an end to their marginalisation. We have always favoured entering the mainstream based on our collective strength and bargaining power. For us it is important to be a part of the mainstream, for we firmly believe that we are the mainstream, because we represent the mass of people in this country who are poor, working people, the poorest being women. We want to move from the periphery to the center, where we believe women workers belong.

Thus being an insurance company or cooperative on equal terms with other such companies, being registered and licensed by the IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, India) is part of our efforts to be in the mainstream of our country's economic life.