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Key Findings of the Survey

Working women trump men in financial preparedness for the first time, driven by rise in life insurance knowledge and security
Homemakers’ financial preparedness lags as IPQ marginally drops to 36, revealing stark contrast with working women

March 7, 2024, New Delhi: The sixth edition of Max Life����ֱ�� flagship survey, the India Protection Quotient Survey (IPQ)*, conducted in partnership with KANTAR, the world����ֱ�� leading marketing data and analytics company, has revealed a notable uptick in women’s ownership of life insurance products, rising from 59% in IPQ 1.0 to an impressive 73% in IPQ 6.0. Also, for the first time, working women have surpassed men in life insurance ownership, with 79% now owning life insurance plans.

As per the survey, the financial protection levels amongst urban Indian women have surpassed the 40-point mark for the first time, increasing from 33 to 41 points over the past 6 years. However, the financial protection levels of homemakers’ have seen a marginal dip from 38 in IPQ 5.0 to 36 in IPQ 6.0, highlighting the need for bolstering their financial well-being. In contrast, the protection quotient of working women has increased from 43 in IPQ 5.0, to 47 in IPQ 6.0.

Despite a positive trend in life insurance ownership, a significant gender gap in financial preparedness persists. Urban India����ֱ�� men take the lead in financial protection at 46 points, surpassing the overall average for urban India of 45 points. The financial protection gap between men and women in urban India is primarily driven by a huge disparity in life insurance awareness levels, with men boasting a Knowledge Index of 64 while women lag at 54 points. According to IPQ 6.0, women’s financial security remains at 64%, yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels of 65%, as per the IPQ 1.0 study.

IPQ 6.0 has revealed that urban India����ֱ�� women demonstrate a strong commitment to safeguarding their families from life����ֱ�� uncertainties, gradually closing the gap with men, whose life insurance ownership is at 76%, vs 73% for women. The erstwhile sizeable gap of 9 percentage points with men in IPQ 1.0 (68% for men vs 59% for women), is now down to only 3 percentage points.

Prashant Tripathy, CEO and Managing Director, Max Life said, “As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it is important to reflect on the financial readiness of women. The insights from the latest IPQ 6.0 survey underscore the remarkable strides women have taken in proactively securing their financial well-being through life insurance investments. However, the survey also sheds light on the enduring gender disparity in financial awareness. This requires intensive actions to empower women to assert control over their financial state. Hence, the collective call to action for the industry is to support the cohort with tailored solutions that help realize the inclusive vision of ‘Insurance for All’.”