Women enter workforce in record numbers, but health insurance ownership still trails: Report

Women’s participation in India’s workforce is rising sharply, but their ownership of personal health insurance remains relatively low, highlighting a continuing gap in financial and health security.

Government data shows women’s employment has nearly doubled to over 40%, with around 1.56 crore women joining formal jobs in the past seven years. However, despite growing economic participation and policy focus on gender inclusion, independent health insurance coverage among women is still limited.

Data shared by Care Health Insurance indicates that women account for about 28–30% of its individual health insurance portfolio, though the share has been increasing steadily in recent years. The average sum insured chosen by women ranges between ₹10 lakh and ₹15 lakh.

The insurer said the trend suggests that awareness around independent health coverage is gradually improving, even as concerns around medical inflation and rising hospitalisation costs push more individuals to review their protection needs.

“Women have traditionally been the health anchors of their families, often prioritising everyone else’s well-being before their own,” said Manish Dodeja, Chief Operating Officer at Care Health Insurance. “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.”

He added that while the share of women policyholders has been increasing, there is still scope to strengthen coverage adequacy and encourage more women to become primary policyholders with comprehensive health insurance.

The company also noted a growing interest among women in additional policy features that extend beyond standard hospitalisation cover. These include maternity-related benefits such as IVF and surrogacy (as per policy terms), outpatient consultation coverage, automatic sum insured recharge, and reduced waiting-period options for certain treatments. Some policyholders are also opting for wellness-linked features such as preventive health check-ups and activity-based return-of-premium benefits.

Public health data indicate that non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cervical and breast cancer, along with persistent anaemia, remain among the most common health concerns affecting Indian women, increasing the importance of adequate health coverage.

With healthcare costs continuing to rise and treatment durations becoming longer, analysts say closing both the participation gap and the adequacy gap in insurance coverage will be key to strengthening women’s long-term financial resilience.