Protecting a Diverse Workforce: Women and Insurance
Much of today’s diverse workforce is significantly underinsured despite the crucial role life insurance can play in providing a layer of income protection. Since women make up just under half of the U.S. workforce, employers that embrace a more thoughtful approach to engaging working women by addressing their preferences and concerns can have a meaningful impact on closing the underinsured gap. A growing body of research suggests that customized education materials and decision-support tools tailored to women can help raise benefits program awareness and participation and increase overall benefits satisfaction. Given the increasing importance of women in the diverse employee population, their utilization of and satisfaction with benefits can have a positive impact on an employer’s benefits program. Communications that better engage working women can improve their loyalty and, ultimately, help attract and retain talent. At the same time, this strategy can help create a model for worksite education that can be used for segmentation across products and employee populations.
While all Americans worry about what will happen to their loved ones if they should die prematurely, women could be exposing their families to more of the associated financial risk. This is supported by studies that show they are less likely than men to have adequate life insurance coverage. Differences in workplace compensation aside, women are less insured with only twice their income in life insurance coverage compared to men, who are covered for nearly three times their earnings. Surprisingly, although aware that they might be underinsured, they do not take adequate steps to protect themselves (50% of women who earn $50,000 or more in income believe they don’t have as much coverage as they need, versus 39% of their male counterparts). These differences are enough to warrant a more targeted approach to educating working women about the merits of income protection through life insurance. 50% of working women believe they don’t have as much coverage as they need.
This article was provided by MetLife, one of USI Affinity’s carriers.
Jim Pitts
New Business Development
USI Affinity, Benefit Solutions Group
610-537-1377
Jim.pitts@USIAffinity.com
