Women in emerging markets often lack insurance protection, exposing them to risks when they want to launch a business or need to pay for a healthcare emergency. Women often resort to selling assets or taking loans to cover healthcare costs or to pay for other expenses, hurting their ability to manage economic shocks.
IFC, along with AXA Group and Accenture, published the report SheforShield: Insure Women to Better Protect All in 2015 to explore the women’s insurance gap. In 2016, IFC launched the first multilateral development bank’s women’s insurance program to work alongside insurers in designing solutions to improve the financial security of women in emerging markets. The program also seeks to increase opportunities for women as insurance leaders, agents, and distributors in the insurance sector, where men largely dominate the industry. However, for many working women and women entrepreneurs the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the challenges they face. As part of efforts to address some of the challenges, IFC recently published a guidance note that highlights best practices from insurance companies on how they can support female employees, customers, and agents during the pandemic