Working Women Ahead Of Men In Life Insurance Ownership: Max Life IPQ 6.0 Survey

Insurance company Max Life’s India Protection Quotient Survey (IPQ), said for the first time, working women have surpassed men in life insurance ownership, with 79 per cent now owning life insurance plans. The survey that interviewed 4,700 people said women's ownership of life insurance products, rose from 59 per cent in the first edition of this survey six years ago to 73 per cent now. The survey highlighted that the financial protection levels amongst urban Indian women have risen from 33 to 41 points over the past 6 years. In the last year, it rose by 4 points. However, the same metric for homemakers dipped from 38 last year to 36 last year.

Huge Gender Gap In Financial Preparedness

Despite a positive trend in life insurance ownership, a significant gender gap in financial preparedness persists. As per the IPQ 6.0 survey, 35 per cent of working women now own a term insurance policy, as compared to 33 per cent of men in urban India. In contrast, homemaker women trail with a term insurance ownership rate of 18 per cent though half of them are aware of term insurance.

Urban India’s men take the lead in financial protection at 46 points, surpassing the overall average for urban India of 45 points.

The survey also measured how many people were aware of categories of life insurance products with a knowledge index. Men led the list with a knowledge Index of 64 while women lag behind at 54 points, the insurer said. According to IPQ 6.0, 64 per cent of women perceive they are financially security, down from pre-pandemic levels of 65 per cent.

Urban Indian women are strongly bent on safeguarding their families from life’s uncertainties, gradually closing the gap from past years, with men now with life insurance ownership at 76 per cent vs 73 per cent for women.

Prashant Tripathy, CEO and Managing Director, of Max Life said, “The insights from the latest IPQ 6.0 survey underscore the remarkable strides women have taken in proactively securing their financial well-being through life insurance investments. However, the survey also sheds light on the enduring gender disparity in financial awareness.”

Around 68 per cent of respondents expressed worry about retirement, where working women are more anxious about sustaining lifestyle expenses than men.