New Delhi, Mar 5: Indian women are joining the workforce in record numbers, with their employment nearly doubling to over 40%, and 1.56 crore women entering formal jobs in the past seven years, according to recent government data. Yet despite rising economic participation and expanding gender-focused policy allocations, women’s personal health insurance ownership remains disproportionately low, exposing a persistent self-protection gap.
On International Women’s Day, Care Health Insurance highlights that women proposers currently account for 28–30% of its individual Health Insurance portfolio, with this share increasing consistently over the past few years. The average sum insured opted by women is in the range of ₹10–15 lakh. These findings indicate that although ownership and coverage adequacy challenges remain, awareness around independent and sufficient health coverage is increasing amid rising medical inflation and escalating hospitalisation costs.
Manish Dodeja, Chief Operating Officer, Care Health Insurance, said,
“Women have traditionally been the health anchors of their families, often prioritising everyone else’s well-being before their own. Even as more women take charge of household financial and healthcare decisions, their own long-term health security has often taken a back seat. That dynamic is now beginning to change. Women proposers today account for nearly a quarter of our individual policy base, and this share has been rising steadily. However, there remains meaningful headroom to strengthen coverage adequacy. As medical costs continue to rise, it is essential that women move to becoming primary policyholders with comprehensive and sustained health insurance.”
Care Health Insurance also highlights that women are increasingly opting for riders that strengthen coverage beyond standard hospitalisation benefits. These include maternity benefits such as IVF and surrogacy as per policy terms, OPD benefits for outpatient consultations and diagnostics, automatic recharge features that reinstate the sum insured if exhausted during the policy year, and instant cover options that reduce waiting periods for select treatments. Additionally, a growing number of women are choosing wellness-linked enhancements including women-specific health check-ups and return-of-premium benefits tied to activity milestones, signalling a broader shift towards sustained, preventive and proactive health security.
Recent public health statistics further indicate that non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cervical and breast cancer, along with persistent anaemia, are among the most prevalent and rising health concerns affecting Indian women, underscoring the growing health and financial risks across age groups.
According to the latest annual report published by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), women account for approximately 34% of life insurance policyholders. However, their presence in distribution remains lower at roughly 29% in standalone health insurers and 32% across the overall insurance industry, highlighting a broader participation imbalance within the insurance ecosystem.
With medical inflation rising and treatment journeys becoming more prolonged, closing both the participation and adequacy gap remains critical to strengthening women’s long-term financial resilience and reducing financial vulnerability.