Vörður is an insurance company serving individuals and corporates in Iceland. Founded in 2007, it now has 18.5 percent market share in the country with 69,000 customers—50 percent of whom are women. Vörður has been recognized for its strong focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), most recently earning the Exemplary Governance award from the Governance Indicator Association in 2024.
This month, we spoke with CEO Guðbjörg Heiða Guðmundsdóttir about her commitment to serving Women’s Markets.
Alliance: Can you elaborate on Vörður’s current market position in Iceland and the company’s overarching strategic vision for the future?
Guðbjörg Heiða Guðmundsdóttir (GG): Vörður Insurance is a challenger in the Icelandic insurance market where we have outpaced the other players in terms of growth for the past years.
Recently we have been sharpening our vision and want to be even bolder when it comes to being committed to our community and staying relevant as an insurer with the protection and services we want to provide. We will do this by bringing new ideas and insights to the market.
Being the smallest player with the biggest heart, we do our utmost to support our customers and provide them with great service. We aim to continuously improve and adapt to the changing needs of our community.
The Icelandic insurance industry is characterized by four key players, Sjóvá, VÍS, TM and Vörður. As of September 2024, Vörður held an 18.5% market share, with an 11 percent CAGR over the last 5 years. We are now the second largest player in the life segment. This expansion can be attributed to Vörður’s strategic focus on enhancing its corporate customer base and strengthening its partnership with Arion Bank, its parent company since 2016.
Alliance: Globally, women are often under-insured or uninsured. Is this trend reflected in Iceland, and if so, what are the key factors driving it?
GG: Iceland has been named the most gender-equal country over and over again and we have one of the highest rate of women’s labor force participation in the OECD. This is reflected in our customer base; our customers are almost an equal split 50/50 men and women.
So, we know that women are actively insuring themselves, but the question remained for us: are we insuring them? Do we understand their needs and are we providing them with the right kinds of protection?
To understand this, we conducted in-depth interviews with women to learn what is going on in their lives and where insurance is not meeting their needs. We wanted to understand how we could take further steps to stay relevant to them.
We also discussed their overall financial health. While women tend to be adept at saving money, they are less likely than men to invest their savings, which ultimately leads to having fewer financial resources available upon retirement. We see an opportunity here to cooperate with our parent company and take a holistic approach to supporting them.
Regarding the unpaid work women do, they talked a lot about burnout. This manifests itself in the growing number of women seeking support from The Icelandic Vocational Rehabilitation Fund in recent years. This fund supports women unable to work due to illness. We have not found the solution for this yet, and hopefully I can have discussions with other leaders in the Alliance to seek inspiration.
Women also highlighted the issue of gender-based violence. It is a tragic reality that the home, which should be the safest place for everyone, is often the most dangerous place for a woman. As a society, we have the power and responsibility to change this, and we must act. As an insurance company, we are committed to being part of the solution.
Alliance: What motivated Vörður to specifically target Women’s Market, and what unique value proposition does the company offer to female customers?
GG: I have always had a keen interest in gender equality matters. I studied engineering and this was very often discussed between us ladies that were studying together. We still all remain very close and have kept the discussion ongoing.
In my previous role as an EVP at a global equipment provider to the food processing market, I prioritized hiring women and creating a workplace environment that would be attractive to them. This was successful and well received.
It has been two years since I entered the insurance world. I initially assumed that there would not necessarily be equality perspectives that needed to be addressed. I was wrong. Of course there are issues. We are committed to stepping purposefully into this and address any disparities we find. This will be our value proposition in a journey for the years to come. A journey that is in a very early phase now.
I must also highlight the inspiring commitment of our parent company, Arion Bank, to women’s financial empowerment. In 2024, Arion launched the Women Invest initiative, designed to encourage women in Iceland to engage more actively in the financial sector through a series of educational events. This initiative provided a natural platform for us to begin conversations with women about insurance.
Alliance: In many markets, there’s a lack of understanding about the benefits of insurance. How does Vörður plan to address this issue and effectively reach women to encourage them to adopt insurance products?
GG: I believe we can play a role in shifting the negative perception that we see here in Iceland towards the financial sector. We can do this by staying relevant and transparent. We do also see certain needs from women, and if we listen and meet their needs, we can create mutual trust. One example is that they asked for more education and every time we offer education they show up.
Alliance: Successfully targeting Women’s Markets requires alignment across distribution channels, including training and incentivizing teams. What challenges do you anticipate in this process, and how does Vörður plan to address them?
GG: We have drawn out a few scenarios in this regard. We are enhancing our training program to include the specifics about the program and have subject matter experts on certain topics.
Additionally, we are collaborating with female-focused organizations to reinforce the importance of effectively engaging and serving Women’s Markets. Through these efforts, we aim to ensure greater alignment in these discussions. Most important will be to listen, learn and adapt. This is a journey.
Alliance: A strong Employee Value Proposition is critical for effectively serving Women’s Markets. What initiatives has Vörður implemented to engage employees and foster an inclusive workplace culture?
We have a good balance in gender ratio in the workplace: 83 percent of our executive team is female. I could give a very long answer to this question but will name a few points I feel are important:
- Wellbeing: Every other month we send surveys where we measure the wellbeing of our organization. And every year we do the Gallup Engagement Survey.
- Payment: We have equal pay for all Certifications, and we watch this in real time. And we have no discrimination when it comes to salaries.
- Benefits: Women and men have the same rights to maternity leave, and in addition to the governmental support we pay to that ensure they reach 80 percent of their regular salary, so that they can take their maternity leave without being in a financial struggle.
- Culture: We have teamed up with experts on analyzing our culture and measuring unconscious biases.
In addition to the above and on a personal note I have also learned that an inclusive workplace is a workplace where information is shared, processes are clear, and roles and responsibilities are understood. There are no secret meetings or decisions being made in the corridors.
Alliance: Why did you decide to join the Alliance, and what are you looking forward to learning from and/or sharing with the network?
GG: We should stay connected, learn and support each other. This has always been my mindset. Coming from a global company in my previous role, where I also found it very natural to start making connections to people in the industry.
I heard about this Alliance when I reached out to a woman in the industry. She made the connection. After our introductory meeting, I was sure that I wanted to join. Very much to the point and full of insights. Real advice and content.
I have a lot to learn and I have a lot to share. I am looking forward to the journey ahead and thank you for welcoming me.
