A Growing Need

Insurance companies, with some exceptions, have largely overlooked women as a key consumer segment. Yet women in emerging economies are beginning to enjoy rising incomes and purchasing power. Their risk-mitigation needs, accordingly, are growing. By 2030, for example, the insurance industry is expected to earn more than US$1 trillion from women alone — half of it in just 10 emerging economies.

This panel shared the Women’s Market opportunity for insurance and gave examples of the kinds of products that have been developed in partnership with banks to target this market.

Key Points

• The Women’s Market for insurance is predicted to more than double from US$770 million in 2013 to between US$1.45 trillion and US$1.7 trillion in 2030, according to the SHEforSHIELD report presented at this panel.
• Within insurance products, the value of health insurance premiums is expected to increase 3-4 times between now and 2030.
• Women’s economic rise, their roles inside households and their attitudes toward the need for protection against risk make them a compelling market for insurance.
• Insurance products need to be tailored to lifecycle events: marriage, entering the labor force, buying a house/car, having children, divorce/widowhood and retirement.
• Key levers for insurance companies to take on this market are similar to those for banks, including the need for sex-disaggregated data on women customers, design of targeted value propositions based on needs and mobilization of distribution channels to deliver solutions.
• BHD León shared how they have worked in partnership with Mapfre to do this, an insurance company with a large presence in Latin American and the Caribbean.
• BHD León’s Women’s Market value proposition focuses on four lifecycle needs of women: education, health, business and travel (including auto).

• A product bundle that combines credit, savings, insurance, information, education, networking and support services is offered.
• For example, among the benefits to having BHD León’s credit card for women, ‘Tarjeta Mujer’, is coverage up to US$11,000 for female cancers. For a US$3 a month premium, both card and non-card holders are entitled to house visits from doctors, coverage up to US$3,300 if diagnosed with one of seven major diseases, and access to a doctor on call 24/7 who has the capacity to refer the patient to medical services. In addition, for US$11 a month, it is possible to buy a product that gives medical insurance for domestic employees.
• Challenges that BHD León, as a bank, had in integrating a strong insurance offer within their value proposition to women included translating their needs into simple and easy solutions and offering them in a way that women feel comfortable with.
• Additional changes included integrating the insurance products into the MIS of the bank, ensuring a seamless infrastructure around sales support, integration of insurance products into sales conversations and integration into all distribution channels.
• Porto Seguro is a major Brazilian insurance company with the largest share of the car insurance market in the country. Working with 29,000 brokers and 18,000 service providers, the company offers a comprehensive value proposition to customers.
• Their ‘Auto Mulher’ product is based on particularities of women drivers. For example, women car owners have fewer accidents (although accidents as a result of the driver texting are greater for women than for men), have less severe accidents and their cars are stolen less often.
• Women have multiple roles, are time poor and have specific needs for safety.
• In addition to many benefits associated with Porto Seguro’s car insurance, Auto Mulher offers 24-hour home and vehicle assistance; access to drivers who can pick up children from school or take the parents to a doctor (twice per year); repair and installation of curtains, pictures and clotheslines at home; pickup and delivery of cars to maintenance centers; and discounts on child safety seats and coverage of child safety seats in the event of theft.