We are, these days, largely accustomed to demanding ever-greater equality in terms of how people are treated across the gender divide, and rightly so. Most of us in the 2020s, for instance, would probably not subscribe to the notion that a man has to be the main ‘breadwinner’ for a household.
But is this changed reality reflected in how significant numbers of us approach our requirements in relation to protection insurance?
Saddeningly, the answer to that question might well be “no”. So, we thought that for today’s blog post, we would draw attention for the benefit of our female readers to the importance of ensuring they have taken out the right type and amount of protection cover for them.
The data shows an epidemic of worryingly underinsured women
It’s probably easy to imagine that these days, women would generally be as well-protected as men when it comes to such products as critical illness cover and life insurance. But that’s not the story told by at least some key statistics.
Data recently disclosed by one insurance company, for example, indicate that the average amount of life insurance women take out is a whopping 53% below that purchased by men. And as far as critical illness insurance is concerned, the gap is even starker, with women typically having 90% less of this insurance than men do.
What is causing women to not purchase the level of insurance coverage they need?
One could come up with various theories for this, of course. But the simplest answer seems to be that while women’s situations in life have greatly evolved down the generations - it no longer being the ‘standard’ thing for women to stay at home looking after their children while the male in the household goes out to work - attitudes haven’t necessarily updated in line with this, or at least not to the extent we might imagine.
Some women may still leave it up to a male partner to take out the amount of protection insurance needed to protect the whole household, while others might simply be extremely busy ‘career women’ who haven’t stopped to think very much about their protection needs.
Whatever the situation, something needs to change - not least because the wider world has changed. We are now in a world, after all, in which significant numbers of women are business owners.
What’s worse, the tendency for many women to undervalue their financial contribution to their household - and therefore underinsure themselves - might risk being a particular issue in same-sex relationships. Both members of a couple being underinsured is even more concerning than just one of them not having an adequate amount of coverage.
Don’t wait any longer to get talking to experts about your protection needs
Whatever your gender, we recognise here at QuoteLifeCover.com that the world of protection insurance can be overwhelming, confusing, and/or tricky to navigate. It might be far from obvious to you, at least to begin with, what your needs from critical illness cover or income protection insurance - to cite just some of the types of protection insurance out there - actually are.
This is why it can be a great idea, when you get a few spare moments, to seek advice from an expert who will genuinely advise you in accordance with your requirements and what policies are out there, instead of acting like the off-putting ‘pushy salesperson’.
To help ensure people are provided with such help, we set up our no-obligation advice and quotation line here at QuoteLifeCover.com. To get started, simply call one of our UK advisers for free today, on 01604 436919.
