Women term insurance purchases surge 80% in 2 years, smaller cities see rise in high-cover plans

The number of women buying term insurance plans in India has surged by 80 percent over the past two years, according to PolicyBazaar's latest data released on Tuesday. This rise reflects increased awareness and financial inclusion among women. 

The analysis also highlights a growing preference for higher coverage plans, with women opting for policies exceeding ₹2 crore, according to PolicyBazaar data.

PolicyBazaar's data also indicated an uptick in the growing trend in smaller cities. Andhra Pradesh's Guntur ranked among the top five cities where women purchased the most term insurance policies. 

120% rise in women buying high-value term insurance

Over the past two years, high-value term insurance plans, offering coverage of up to ₹2 crore, have grown popular among women. The number of women buying high-cover plans saw a 120 percent increase since 2022,  PolicyBazaar's analysis revealed.

Growing participation of homemakers

Despite being introduced just a few years ago, term insurance plans for homemakers have quickly gained popularity. The PB data reflects that nearly 40 percent of policies purchased in the last two years were bought by housewives. Most buyers fall into the 20-to 30-year-old age group.

“It is encouraging to see women taking charge of their financial planning by purchasing term insurance policies. We also recommend that, along with an adequate cover amount, women go for riders like critical illness. With the rising incidence of cancers specific to women, insurance providers have expanded their coverage in critical illness rider to include breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer," said Rishabh Garg, head of Term Insurance at Policybazaar.

Most women term plan buyers are from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore

The majority of women who have been buying term insurance plans over the past two years are from metro cities, with Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore leading. 

According to data, between 8 percent to 10 percent of women buyers were from Delhi, while 6 percent to 7 percent of buyers belonged to Hyderabad and Bangalore. Mumbai was also among the top four cities with the highest volume of term insurance purchases by women.

Term insurance plans are popular among women in smaller cities

Smaller cities are seeing a surge in term insurance purchases by women. Andhra Pradesh's Guntur ranked fifth in terms of the highest volume of term insurance purchases by women, with nearly 4 percent to 5 percent of women buyers. 

Other smaller cities, such as Bangalkote, Karur, Goalpara, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, also saw an increase in women term insurance buyers by 1 percent to 3 percent.