WORKING PAPER Although some transitory crop holders in the joint offer group purchased the insurance, take-up in this group is still far lower than it is for permanent crop holders. This may also be driven by the product’s perceived relevance for different crops. The term of coverage is shorter for transitory crops than for permanents.23 When coupled with higher premiums, this led some clients to perceive coverage for transitory crops as offering lower value-for-money, though it is also more likely to result in a benefit. Further, about half of our sample grew either coffee or cocoa as a primary crop. These are permanent crops that are in general more vulnerable to climate risks than other permanent crops in the region. They are also among the most profitable crops in the region, and require substantial investment and care, suggesting a high return on investment but also high risk. 5.4. Product understanding was relatively high, but recall was low Qualitative interviews with both clients and loan officers suggest that the sales protocol used in this study “[My loan officer] is very helpful; if I have a succeeded in conveying to most clients the information question or need anything, he explains it to they needed to make an informed purchase decision. me.” However, despite this good initial understanding, survey responses reveal low recall of product information, reflecting a possible gap in clients’ ability to maintain and “I didn’t have any doubts after the use their policies effectively without additional support explanation.” from Crezcamos. The low recall we find is consistent with the literature (see Section 2.6). “[The loan officer] didn’t really spend much time explaining the insurance. He said an Qualitative interviews revealed that at the moment the estimate of the price, but I don’t remember. It crop insurance is explained to them, clients generally was very fast—I think he was in a hurry, and I understand the pertinent details quite well. To test also had to get back to work.” this hypothesis, we interviewed clients about the loan officers’ (earlier) insurance offer but also asked loan “We were working on the farm when our officers to repeat sections of the sales protocol during loan officer arrived but we still took the time visits and asked clients for feedback immediately after. to listen to him for a long time so that he This approach enabled us to better understand how could explain [the product].” clients understood and perceived the product at the time it was explained to them. —Crezcamos clients, expressing different views on Clients felt that their loan officers were able to explain the amount of information they were given the product clearly and answer any questions they had. Most felt that they understood the product well enough to make a decision, although a few described the explanation as rushed. Immediately after viewing the video and hearing the loan officer’s explanation of the product, clients could explain the basic features of coverage, including the events covered, the damage their crop must suffer to be eligible for a claim, the approximate price, and the coverage amount. Some were able to point to more detailed features of the 23. Coverage for permanent crops is annual, while the length of coverage for transitory crops is linked to the crop cycle (150–300 days). Crezcamos loan officer and client watch the crop insurance video together. 20