Life insurance is an essential financial safety net that everyone must opt for to combat all types of emergencies in the future. One must understand that a few factors determine life insurance premium rates, like age, occupation, lifestyle choices, gender, etc. Gender plays a significant role as it brings in variations in healthcare needs. This article dives into the relationship between gender and life insurance costs, exploring the reasons behind it and more.
Life Cover Starting @ just ₹18/day*
Choose India’s Only Personalised Term Plan
Modify coverage as per your life stages & commitments
Hassle-Free Claim Settlement
99.38% Claim settlement ratio*
Smart Income Tax Savings
Save up to ₹54,600* on your taxes
Firstly, you must understand that healthcare needs and treatments vary between men and women. It is simply due to biological and physiological differences. For example, almost 42% of Indian women suffer from hypertension, obesity, and backache in their early stages of life. Usually, some health issues, such as cardiovascular diseases, become more common with men after the age of 40.
Women and men have different healthcare requirements, and insurers alter the life insurance premium amounts accordingly. Below are some reasons that affect life insurance premium rates based on one's gender.
The entire process of charging varied premiums based on an individual's gender is called a 'gender rating'. Besides age, health status, occupation, and lifestyle habits, gender is also a significant risk profiling factor. On average, women have been observed to have longer life expectancies compared to men. Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a person is expected to live, based on various demographic and health factors.
This longevity is one of the key considerations for insurers, as longer life expectancy means a potentially longer duration over which the insured might make claims. Therefore, women generally pay lower premiums compared to men due to their longer life expectancy.
Gender profoundly shapes susceptibility to various illnesses. For example, Cervical cancer, as highlighted by WHO, ranks among the top cancers affecting women worldwide. Similarly, men face health challenges such as heart disease and prostate issues. Insurance companies carefully evaluate these gender-specific risk factors when determining premiums.
A clear understanding of the differences in premium amounts per one's gender is crucial while buying life insurance. Refer to the table to gain insight into the life insurance rates by gender.
| Age | Tenure | Sum Assured | Premium Cost for Female (₹) | Premium Cost for Male (₹) |
| 25 | 35 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹5,000 - ₹7,500 | ₹6,000 - ₹8,000 |
| 30 | 30 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹6,500 - ₹9,000 | ₹7,500 - ₹10,000 |
| 35 | 25 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹8,000 - ₹11,000 | ₹9,500 - ₹13,000 |
| 40 | 20 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹9,500 - ₹13,000 | ₹11,500 - ₹15,000 |
| 45 | 15 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹11,000 - ₹15,000 | ₹13,500 - ₹18,000 |
| 50 | 10 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹13,000 - ₹17,000 | ₹16,000 - ₹21,000 |
| 55 | 15 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹16,000 - ₹20,500 | ₹19,500 - ₹25,000 |
| 60 | 10 years | ₹25 Lakhs | ₹20,000 - ₹24,000 | ₹24,000 - ₹30,000 |
Some jurisdictions in India have implemented specific rules and regulations to stop gender rating in life insurance. These rules aim to promote equality and bias-free access to life coverage based on gender. However, properly implementing such a rule will take time to get induced in the Indian insurance market. So, for the time being, you have insight into the connection between gender and insurance costs and utilise its benefits.
Here are some commonly asked questions about the relationship between gender and life insurance premiums.
1.5K Linkedin Followers 
Reviewed by Vaibhav Kumar Kaushik 
Acko Technology & Services Private Limited
#36/5, Hustlehub One East, Somasandrapalya, 27th Main Rd, Sector 2, HSR Layout, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560102
Products 
Company
Legal
Support
Car Insurance 
Bike Insurance
Health Insurance
Group Health Insurance
Travel Insurance
Life Insurance
