The protection gap: Why 54 million women don’t have enough, or any, life insurance coverage

The protection gap: Why 54 million women don’t have enough, or any, life insurance coverage

It’s no secret that women are continuing to make great strides from an economic and financial standpoint. Women made up over half of the labor force (57%) in 2025, and according to McKinsey, they controlled over a third of total U.S. assets under management as of 2023. Women are reshaping financial power in America.

Women also consistently outpace men in financial concern, with more women than men worried about having enough money for retirement (47% vs. 42%), paying for long-term care services (40% vs. 35%), and being able to save money for an emergency (40% vs. 35%), according to LIMRA’s 2023 Insurance Barometer Study. In other words, women are building wealth and are concerned with how to protect that wealth over the long term.

So why do 54 million women not have enough — or any — life insurance coverage? Everly Life looks at data that offers insight into the gap.

Why Does Life Insurance Ownership for Women Lag Behind Men?

That question sits at the center of one of the biggest protection gaps in the life insurance industry — that between men and women. Pew Research in 2023 found almost a third of women earn the same amount of money as their male spouses, and 16% of households have the wife as the primary breadwinner. Still, women are more likely than men to remain underinsured or lack coverage altogether (49% vs. 55%, respectively), according to LIMRA.

This gap isn’t a new phenomenon; in fact, LIMRA research suggests that this gap has been present since 2011, when 65% of men and 61% of women had life insurance coverage. What’s even more interesting is that the protection gap has widened over the last 15 years, with the biggest ownership discrepancy between women and men occurring in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (58% men vs. 47% women).

The Roots of the Protection Gap: How Did We Get Here?

The reasons driving the protection gap largely come down to misconceptions about life insurance as a product and the need for better life insurance education from carriers.

As it turns out, persistent beliefs prevent women from wanting to learn more about life insurance. A quarter of women believe that life insurance shouldn't make anyone richer from their death. Nearly as many believe they can't personally benefit from a policy. One in 5 think life insurance is only for final expenses, according to a 2023 LIMRA survey.

The protection gap may also be compounded by the industry’s lack of accessible education on life insurance as a financial product. When asked for reasons why they didn’t own life insurance, women pointed out that it’s too expensive (42%), they had other competing financial priorities (30%), and they weren’t sure how much they needed or what type they should buy (25%).

Inaccessible product education ends up having a trickle-down effect on confidence levels. Only 22% of women describe themselves as "very" or "extremely" knowledgeable about life insurance, compared to 33% of men. When misconceptions persist and education remains inaccessible, even financially engaged women may hesitate to get life insurance protection.

Showing Up Where It Counts: How Carriers Can Better Engage Women

Given women are more likely than men to be concerned about their finances, it stands to reason that removing the above barriers and better engaging with women could help carriers significantly shrink the protection gap.

Thirty-nine percent of women surveyed by LIMRA in 2023 had an insurance agent or primary financial advisor, and 44% say they would research life insurance online but ultimately buy from a professional in person. This research suggests carriers should invest in stronger partnerships with advisors who are already having broader financial conversations with women, as they can help position life insurance as a critical component to retirement and estate planning.

Carriers may also provide accessible insurance education where women are likely to encounter it. Sixty-three percent of women use Facebook to research financial products, 51% use YouTube, and 35% use Instagram. Carriers who want to build trust with women policyholders may want to prioritize providing women on these platforms with education-first content that demystifies life insurance.

It’s Time to Close the Protection Gap

The life insurance protection gap is a solvable problem, but closing it requires carriers to show up differently, through stronger advisor partnerships and more accessible education.

Women are already building wealth, carrying financial responsibility, and thinking about their families' futures. The next step is making sure the insurance industry meets them with the tools and access they deserve.

This story was produced by Everly Life and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.