Insurance regulatory and supervisory approaches have the potential to facilitate women’s access to inclusive insurance, improve their financial resilience, and advance the cause of gender equality, writes JOSEPH INOKOTONG.
Insurance supervisors can contribute to women’s access to insurance by maintaining a fair, safe, and stable insurance market, and more broadly, sustainable development. Despite this, the potential of women’s insurance is still to be realised as available data indicates women are currently underserved by the insurance industry.
This much reflects the wider context of the persistent financial inclusion gender gap. While it is generally understood that women’s access to insurance is low in emerging markets, the precise situation is unclear due to insufficient sex-disaggregated data at the national, regional, or international level.
Nevertheless, many multi-stakeholder partnerships are advancing women’s access to insurance by increasing the supply of tailored solutions. These customer-centric products address women-specific risks, vulnerabilities, and access constraints and have proven successful in increasing insurance penetration among women in some markets.
Experts say insurance regulatory and supervisory approaches have the potential to facilitate women’s access to inclusive insurance and hence, improve their financial resilience and advance the cause of gender equality.
Insurance supervisors can play a crucial role in boosting women’s access to insurance through collecting and using sex-disaggregated supply and demand-side insurance data. This data can track progress on inclusive access inform evidence-based policymaking and highlight the business case to insurers of serving the women’s market.
In addition, the gender dimensions of inclusive insurance can be integrated into national financial inclusion strategies (NFIS). Supervisors can promote market development opportunities for new types of insurance products tailored to the needs of different client groups. They can also incentivise gender-smart innovation in insurance through proportionate regulation, product approval, and regulatory sandboxes. There is also an important role for supervisors to increase women’s participation in their operations and the broader insurance sector.
Experts have identified several ways that women can be brought into the insurance industry. One way is to make sure that there are more female role models in the industry. This can be done by showcasing successful women in the insurance industry, as well as creating mentorship programmes for women who are interested in pursuing an insurance career.
Another way to bring more women into the industry is to create a more supportive work environment by implementing policies that make it easier for women to balance their work and personal lives, as well as providing flexible work options.
In addition to those strategies, it is important to make sure that the insurance industry is marketed in a way that appeals to women. This could involve creating campaigns that focus on the benefits of insurance for women, as well as highlighting the ways that insurance can help women achieve their financial goals.
One way to get women to embrace insurance products is to make sure that the products are designed with women’s needs in mind. For example, there could be policies that are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of women, such as policies that cover maternity leave or policies that provide coverage for domestic violence.
In addition, the language used to describe insurance products should be gender-neutral and free of any bias.
Another way to make insurance products more appealing to women is to ensure that the sales process is tailored to their needs. For example, when talking to a female customer, it is important to give a detailed explanation of the products in a way that is easy to understand and devoid of too many jargons. Also, the salesperson should be respectful and not pushy.
A tailored sales process is important. Insurers should make sure that the claims process is efficient and fair.
Many women report feeling frustrated with the claims process, as it can be long and drawn out. To address this issue, insurance companies could implement measures to speed up the claims process, such as using technology to streamline the process or hiring more staff to handle claims.
The importance of streamlining the claims process cannot be overemphasised. In addition to improving the claims process, it is also important to make sure that women feel heard and respected when they have a claim. This can be done by listening to their concerns and providing clear communication throughout the process. This would help women to have a more positive experience with insurance.
The importance of educating women about insurance is essential. Many women report feeling confused about insurance and this can lead to them not buying policies or not understanding the policies they do have. By providing clear and easy-to-understand educational materials, women can feel more confident about their insurance decisions.
By making sure that insurance products are designed with women’s needs in mind, the sales process is tailored to their needs, the claims process is streamlined and efficient, and women are provided with educational materials, it is possible to make insurance more appealing to women. This could lead to more women buying insurance policies.
It is important to make insurance more appealing to women, as women make up a significant portion of the population and are often the ones who make decisions about insurance for their families. If insurance companies can make these changes, they could see a significant increase in the number of policies sold to women.
The impact of this on the insurance industry as a whole may translate to a huge benefit, making insurance more appealing to women. Not only would there be an increase in the number of policies sold, but there could also be an increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty. In the long run, this could lead to a more stable and profitable industry.
There are many reasons why women might be reluctant to take out insurance policies. One reason is that they may not feel like they have the time or energy to research and understand insurance policies. Also, they may feel like insurance is too complicated or expensive, and some women may have had negative experiences with insurance companies in the past, which can make them hesitant to work with them again.
Addressing these reasons could help make insurance more appealing to women. For example, insurance companies could offer simple, easy-to-understand policies that are tailored to the specific needs of women. They could also make the process of purchasing and managing insurance policies more user-friendly and less time-consuming.
Another thing that could help is making sure that women have a positive experience with insurance companies from the start by offering friendly and knowledgeable customer service, as well as clear and honest communication about policies and claims.
With the right approach, insurance companies could see a big increase in the number of women who are interested in their products. It is not just about making insurance more appealing to women, but also making sure that they have a positive experience with insurance companies from beginning to end.
Negative perceptions of insurance can be a big barrier for women. Some women may have had bad experiences with insurance companies in the past, or they may have heard negative things about the industry. It is important to address these negative perceptions head-on and to show that insurance can be a positive force in people’s lives.
If insurance companies want to change negative perceptions, they need to be willing to do things differently. This could mean making changes to their policies, their processes, or even their marketing. It may not be easy, but it is important to try.
Insurance companies need to be aware of how they are perceived, and how their actions are interpreted. Even if they are doing the right thing, if it is not communicated effectively, it could still be misinterpreted.
Communication and transparency can go a long way in changing perceptions. Insurers should make sure that their communications are clear, honest, and easy to understand. They should also be transparent about how they operate and how they make decisions.
Social media can be a powerful tool for improving perceptions of insurance companies. It is a great way to communicate directly with customers and potential customers and to show them what the company is all about. Insurance companies need to have a strong social media presence so that they can interact with people and build trust.
