A2ii publishes two case studies on gender and inclusive insurance
A2ii has published two case studies on gender and inclusive insurance.
To be able to provide well-designed insurance solutions that address the needs of low-income and excluded customers in a manner that is customer-friendly but also economically sustainable, calls for innovation – i.e. to do new things or to do things differently.
Women generally tend to be more uninsured as compared to men in a majority of emerging markets. In conversations with insurers and even those in the regulatory authorities, we see limited recognition of women as a viable customer segment. Even a gender-neutral approach to insurance, though well-intended, creates a disproportionate impact on women and unintentionally leaves them behind because some of the specific needs of women are not considered.
As insurers and practitioners introduce and test new products, new business models or newer ways to mitigate risks faced by the low-income sections, it demands more attention from the insurance supervisors. They are looking at innovation from the outside in as they are not part of the innovation process. This, in turn, creates a context of silos where technology leads and regulation lags behind, taking a toll on the resources of all stakeholders as well as on the final product.
Women Leaders in Insurance Supervisory Organisations - Catalysts for Women's Access to Insurance
In Argentina, 42% of people live in poverty. Women make up 70% of the lowest-income section of Argentinian society. For the women belonging to this segment, their major economic activity is domestic work, and it is one of the lowest-paid jobs. It is estimated that there are 1.5 million domestic workers in Argentina and 95% of these are women. Like most poor sections of our society, this segment also is largely uninsured.
To address this, Superintendencia de Seguros de la Nación (SSN), Argentina’s insurance supervisor, originated the ‘women and insurance’ initiative, an awareness raising and a women-centric approach to product and services development. The initiative was an output of women leaders at SSN benefiting from opportunities to build on their leadership skills and drive women-centric solutions.
The Argentinian regulator was selected in the second cohort of the A2ii Inclusive Insurance Innovation Lab where they developed the ‘women and insurance’ initiative further.
These case studies are a product of the project ‘Empowering supervisors to improve women’s access to insurance’ supported by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). Read more about this funding partnership here.
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