Insurers Stand to Win by Marketing to Women Globally: AXA and IFC

Women will become a vital customer base for insurers in the coming years as they play an increasing role in economic growth within emerging and other global markets. That’s what the French insurer AXA Group, Accenture and the International Finance Corporation/World Bank Group determined in a new report.

The report found that women will jump from an insurance market worth nearly $800 billion in 2013 to between $1.45 trillion and $1.7 trillion by 2030.

What’s more, the women’s market included in the 10 emerging economies covered in the report will reflect half of the global women’s market premium by 20130. The reason? Progress.

“Women are gaining ground; their increased level of education, income, improved socioeconomic status, and their greater need for protection make them a big opportunity for insurers,” the report noted. “This is strongly reflected in a very simple yet telling number: women across the world are willing to invest 90 percent of their income into their households.”

The report revealed a wide swath of other valuable information for insurers seeking to target the global women’s market. Among the additional findings:

• Women’s attitudes toward fraud, claims, loyalty, their role as a trusted source of recommendations, and their relational rather than transactional approach to networks makes them a good get and an inexpensive brand ambassador for insurers.
• Women in the insurance industry are a valuable piece of the industry. One standout: their ability to develop long-term client relationships and boost client retention. This can potentially encourage existing clients to buy more insurance products.
• 1/3 of global entrepreneurs are women who want to grow their business and take more calculated risks. But they face gender gap issues and access to finance. Put insurance into the equation, and it helps them manage risks, and boost their ability to access credit.
• Women are a diverse market with many different needs. With this in mind, different women face different issues in accessing and using insurance.
• Insurers could gain by leveraging digital distribution channels to boost awareness and communicate with women clients.
• Insurance access can be expanded for women around the world through governments, non-governmental organizations, women’s associations, and other private sector players.

The report suggests that insurers can reach more of the women’s market by gathering and monitoring more data, analyzing information in women’s demographics and socioeconomic trends and conducting more in-depth focus groups for women client segments. With that information in hand, the idea is that insurers could gain by developing targeted products and services.

Another tool that could help, according to the report: improving distribution and proximity to women clients.

Source: AXA, International Finance Corp./World Bank Group, Accenture.