The nature of microinsurance products suggests that they should be effective in protecting the poor from shocks. However at this stage there is not enough evidence that proves that microinsurance offers better value to the poor than traditional risk strategies. This study reviews existing literature and ongoing studies on the value of insurance to poor clients. It aggregates and organizes the literature, summarizes its key findings and identifies its most significant gaps. This study is intended to inform the direction of new research on the topic by the MILK project. This study is the result of extensive research on documents that relate to microinsurance client value as well as identification of on-going and planned projects looking at aspects of the client value question. The document includes a summary of lessons from the study, as well as a grid linking studies with components of the value question, and an extensive annotated bibliography.