This collection of notes and case studies, Mainstreaming Gender and Targeting Women in Inclusive Insurance: Perspectives and Emerging Lessons, covers a number of themes related to the demand and supply of insurance products for women, with a focus on the inclusive insurance market—which seeks to include clients who either don’t have insurance or lack the right insurance coverage.
The publication highlights how the insurance needs of women are different from those of men: women are more at risk of losing their income because of pregnancy, divorce or separation, as well as constraints imposed by society and laws. The insurance industry can play a major role in increasing financial protection for women—including those from low-income levels—through approaches that target their specific needs. Insurance companies can design coverage for their illness, pregnancy, and assets, while protecting their savings to cope with financial challenges.
The report also highlights how insurance industry stakeholders have an important role in bringing a women-oriented focus to inclusive insurance. In particular, insurance regulators and supervisors can play an important role in promoting inclusive insurance for women by removing regulatory barriers that hinder women’s access to insurance, gathering and analysing sex-disaggregated industry data on access and usage of insurance by diverse product types, and adapting complaint infrastructure to ensure it is accessible and responsive to women’s needs in order to address consumer protection concerns for women.
This publication was developed as part of a collaborative effort between GIZ’s Sector Initiatives Social Protection and Global Initiative for Access to Insurance on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), International Finance Corporation, Women’s World Banking, the Access to Insurance Initiative, and the Self-Employed Women’s Association.
