Estimating Willingness-to-Pay for health insurance among rural poor in India by reference to Engel's law

► Access to health insurance seems to be considered by rural poor groups in India a necessary good rather than a luxury good. ► Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) for health insurance can be estimated as a percentage of average food expenditure. ► This novel method to estimate WTP can replace household surveys when implementing Community-Based Health Insurance.