The Rise of Women-Tailored Insurance Policies in Africa
For decades, women’s protection has remained largely tucked under family insurance plans. Insurance companies in Africa are changing that.
By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency
Insurers are re-writing the playbook by introducing women-first covers to test whether gender-specific solutions can raise uptake and narrow financial inclusion gaps.
They are changing an unspoken status quo that has existed for decades— women’s protection has remained largely tucked under family insurance plans.
This is despite women making up over half of Africa’s population and live, on average, four years longer than men, according to data by World Health Organisation and the World Population Prospects.
But the insurance model is fast changing in the continent where penetration rate has over the period hovered at below 3% of GDP, compared to 7% global average.
Across Africa, insurers are rolling out dedicated, women-first insurance products designed to close gender gaps in financial inclusion and spark fresh demand for coverage.
Service providers in some of the continent’s biggest economies- Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa – are using these markets as test beds.
Old Mutual, is the latest to launch a standalone package christened, Lady Anchor that bundles health, life and general insurance.
Old Mutual Group Chief Executive Officer, Arthur Oginga said during the launch of the product in Nairobi, Lady Anchor targed at women from age of 18 years all the way to 79 years has been tailored for women.
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“It looks at women through different lenses, entrepreneurs, corporate women, young girls and through the bundling process crafting and meeting the specific needs of those women,” said Oginga.
Lady Anchor lets women assemble their own cover, choosing health or motor insurance as a base, and layering on benefits from maternity and dental care to personal accident and domestic worker protection.
Critical illness cover comes embedded in the health option, while a built-in investment channel into Old Mutual’s Money Market Fund links short-term protection to long-term wealth building.
By packaging health, lifestyle, and financial security into a single product, Lady Anchor signals a break from the family-first insurance model that has historically left women under-covered.
A 2024 Old Mutual Financial Services Monitor found that 46% of working women face high financial stress, while 51% say money worries harm their health. Over half are in the “sandwich generation,” supporting both children and elderly dependents.
“Lady Anchor is not just about insurance, it is about meeting women where they are as caregivers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and protectors,” said Carol Misiko, Old Mutual’s Sustainability, Risk and Compliance Executive.
In May another Kenyan based Insurer, CIC Group announced a partnership with an NGO, the Women’s World Banking to co-create tailored insurance products across the country.
“This partnership will enable us to contribute to insurance penetration in Kenya, which is currently below 3 percent,” said CIC Group Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Nyaga.
The partnership agreed to conduct ‘in-depth research, through engagements with end users and customers to understand their experiences.
This is expected to guide the designing of user-centric products’ that reflect women realities and capture an evolving risk and protection needs for vulnerable populations in areas like health and income loss, particularly for women in the lower economic spectrum.
“Our goal is to co-create insurance solutions that are not only affordable and accessible but truly empowering for women and their families,” said Women’s World Banking Chief Executive Officer, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, in a joint statement.
Other Kenyan players experimenting on standalone women covers include APA’s SHEild product that links women to wellness forums and financial literacy workshops, while Britam’s Malkia, launched in late 2024, that offers a cash-back benefit upon diagnosis of certain medical conditions.
Keny’s insurance penetration is about 2.9%, leading East Africa and often touted as the region’s most innovative insurance hub.
In Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where penetration languishes below 1%, insurers are testing whether women will buy cover at all.
During the roll out of the country’s women-first insurance products in April 2025, developed by insurers, Leadway and PlanB Insurance and approved by Naigeria’s Insurance regulator, NAICOM, affirmed to the shift in focus towards dedicated women insurance covers.
Leadway Assurance, Director of Sales, Kike Fischer said While there were several insurance covers there’s very little that has been dedicated to women in particular in the market.
“We tried to see what are the biggest worries of the average woman in Nigeria. Some of the key things we worry about are our children, our health, and our businesses,” said Fischer.
“Insurance is extremely important in helping women. How we got here is that NAICOM finally approved for us to have sort of a test, a litmus test, a sandbox test for one year, and say, ‘Will women buy insurance?’” said PlanB Chief Executive Officer, Ayona Aguele-Trimnell.
Before this, there were signs of Microinsurance focused on women policies gaining ground in West Africa.
In 2024, Swiss Re, Women’s World Banking, and Nigerian provider Hygeia HMO launched FCMBeta Health Insurance, distributed through First City Monument Bank.
The plan pays a daily cash benefit for hospital stays, including maternity care for up to 40 nights.
Nearly 98,000 lower-income female entrepreneurs and their families have so far signed up, according to Swiss Re.
South Africa with a penetration rate above 13%, its insurance market is the continent’s most mature and women-specific products have existed for nearly two decades.
South Africa’s First for Women Insurance claims to have pioneered the idea in the mid-2000s.
“This arose out of the discovery that even though more women were taking out their own insurance policies, there were no products designed to meet their needs at the time,” the company notes on its website.
Starting with car insurance, it has since expanded into home, business, and life cover, with add-ons to support women in times of crisis.
Awareness levels are low, cultural biases often discourage women from prioritizing personal cover, and affordability is a sticking point.
According to the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) and Swiss Re Institute, the continent’s average insurance penetration stood at around 2.7% in 2023, compared with the global average of 7%.
After South Africa, Namibia has the second highest penetration rates in Africa standing at around 5%, buoyed by regulatory reforms and relatively higher financial literacy.
bird story agency
