Gender is playing a significant role in the insurance sector, giving rise to several women-only policies of late. Due to the age span, risk factor, and also increase in gender-related diseases, there is a slow shift towards separation of plans for men and women.
What is health insurance premium?
Premium is the amount of money paid by the policy holder towards acquiring a health cover. These are generally to be paid in fixed sums from time to time.
What affects the premium?
There are a lot of variables at play in arriving at a fixed premium amount, some of which are age, health history, occupation, smoking and drinking habits, etc. Additionally, gender is also a decisive factor.
Why is gender an important factor?
Scientific observation and calculations reveal that our gender has a lot to do with how we go about our lives. Women outlive their male counterparts globally. WHO reports claim that the average lifespan of a woman in India is 68.2 as compared to 64.7 for men.
Men are more prone to numerous stress related disorders comparatively. Additionally, women are considered to be more prompt at visiting medical institutes for preventive care options.
Auto Insurance
Reckless driving and accidents are attributed to men more than women. Therefore, men pay higher premiums on vehicles than women who are considered safer drivers.
Time Frame
With the introduction of gender based premium, there might be slight fluctuations in a health insurance policy crafted solely for women. With regards to time frame, a spike during the time of pregnancy would be observed. With pregnancy comes a long list of medical procedures, checkups and hefty hospital bills. The premium is to return to the original sum post pregnancy.
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Homemakers
Life insurance is based on HLV, or Human Life Value which helps determine the sum which would be required for the beneficiaries to sustain in case of any sudden demise. Although homemakers do not receive any sort of income as such, insurer firms take into account the fact that if they were to work, additional money would be spent on managing the household work, cooking, etc. This has led firms to create certain plans to include them.
Critical Illnesses
The best health insurance would be one that covers critical illnesses. With context to gender based plans, there are a few options available to women that fully cover illnesses such as cervical cancer, fallopian tube cancer, breast cancer, etc. Certain plans also offer limited cover for congenital disabilities.
The insurance market is exploding and if you comb through policies and plans, you are bound to find one that suits your needs and requirements. With the addition of gender as a variable in determining premium, one can expect more variations and gender-centric policies in coming times.