Vulnerability for the poor is an everyday reality and has been described as the inability of individuals and households to deal with risk. While the shocks that the poor experience may be the same as conventional insurance clients, they are more vulnerable because they have fewer reserves to draw upon. This paper seeks to understand what people in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are looking for in microinsurance and how attributes that meet the needs and preferences of the poor can be incorporated into the design of microinsurance products. This paper complements another study which examines the lessons from formal institutions currently providing health insurance services.