Women and Insurance

Say bye to male-centric insurance products as they are history now. The escalating women power has made the insurers pursue the dames to bite into their money-pie.

Women have moved on from being just homemakers to breadwinners, often playing multi-dimensional roles of professionals, homemakers, mother and even financial planner. They are thus offered lesser premiums than their male counterparts.

“As insurance premiums are based on risk assessment and gender may play a role in some risks, the differences between gender should theoretically be factored into pricing,” says Pavanjit Singh Dhingra, vice president, Prudent Insurance Brokers.

Do Women Need Insurance?
"With the concept of nuclear families growing up and both men and women equally contributing to family income and lifestyle, women are also feeling the need for taking cover for themselves as well as their family,” says Sanjay Jain, marketing head, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.

A single mother with young children needs life insurance to help cover child care and other costs, as well as future needs such as college tuition. Also, being the sole breadwinner, such women need to provide financial security to the kids. And if there is no other person who can help them in case something happens to her, then she also needs insurance like a working man does.

Insurance is also supportive for young working couple with children as it provides a safety net for young families with little savings and large responsibilities, like kids and heavy mortgages. Sometimes a woman may be earning alone or her husband might not be working. In such cases also getting insured is a must.

Women also need insurance since they are exposed to certain life risks that men do not face, such as giving birth to a child. In fact, women are prone to death during childbirth. No wonder they also have to undergo additional medical underwriting as they are susceptible to more diseases.

Plans Available
Currently, the women specific insurance plans are paying attention to three potential insurance requirements. Health and medical issues specific to women like pregnancy and breast cancer, short-term investment plans and pension planning to help them meet their future requirements are given stress and are also the ones that are frequently sought.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited offers unit-linked, pension, traditional and term plans as well as specialized policies for women. They have different plans for housewives and working women. The company reduces women’s age by two years while calculating premiums for them.

Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd has launched three women specific schemes. These are Kotak Endowment Plan, Kotak Flexi Plan and Kotak Smart Advantage Plan. These mostly cover health and saving benefits.

Then there is the Jeewan Bharati plan by Life Insurance Corporation Ltd that has been designed exclusively for women and it provides funds at regular intervals so that they can be utilized on occasions such as marriage, sickness and education. All females between 18 & 50 can secure the policy. Physically handicapped women are also eligible to the policy, subject to certain conditions.

Tata AIG Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance also offer exclusive plans for women.

S. Muralidharan, chief marketing officer of SBI Life Insurance sums it all up perfectly when he says, "It makes sense for working women to insure themselves for the benefit of their families. Working women should take a fresh look at insurance and not merely depend on what their spouses may have taken on their own lives."