Why Life Insurance Premiums Are Cheaper For Women?

In recent years, especially after the outbreak of the global pandemic, the demand for life insurance plans has risen to manifolds. Everyone now prefers investing their hard-earned money in life insurance plans to get much-needed protection against uncertainties. With a life insurance plan, the policyholder and insurer sign an agreement that states to provide financial benefits to the beneficiaries of the policyholder in case the policyholder passes away. Life insurance also provides maturity benefits in case the policyholder survives the life insurance plan. Now, in order to keep your life insurance plan active, you need to pay a certain amount as a life insurance premium. In most cases, life insurance premiums are cheaper for women. Let us understand why this happens.

What are Life Insurance Premiums?

Life insurance premiums are a fixed amount of money that is set by the insurer in order to keep the policyholder’s life insurance policy active. The premium amount is pre-determined by the insurer and depends on various factors like age, profession, salary, pre-existing health conditions, and more. For instance, the life insurance premium is higher for those who are old and will have a higher life insurance premium. On the other hand, if the policyholder has pre-existing health conditions, then also the life insurance premium will be higher as in such a case the life expectancy of the policyholder is lower. 

Why is the Life Insurance Premium Cheaper for Women?

According to facts, it is stated that women have a higher life expectancy than men. This means that women live for longer years than men. In fact, as per reports, it is found that women generally live for around 70 years, and men on the other hand typically live till 67 years of age. It is due to this that the life insurance premium is cheaper for women as their life expectancy is higher. Thus, by offering women life insurance plans with lesser premiums, insurers are likely to benefit a lot in the long run. Moreover, men are more prone to get affected by health problems like heart attacks, nervous failure, and more. Thus, due to the higher chances of men being affected by health problems, their life insurance premium in turn becomes higher. 

Let us understand this with an example: imagine a situation where a man and woman who are of the same age, 40, and are buying the same life insurance plan. In this case, the life insurance premium will be higher for the man. This is because there is a high chance that the insurer will have to pay for the life insurance coverage at an early stage for the man as compared to the woman. 

However, despite this difference in life insurance premiums, still, both men and women get tax deductions as specified under the Income Tax Act of 1961. The maximum tax benefit available under life insurance plans is 1.5 lakhs. So, make sure to take advantage of the tax benefits that are associated with life insurance plans.

Take Away

Thus, in a nutshell, it can be said that it is the higher life expectancy of women, that life insurance companies set a lower premium for them as compared to men. Moreover, you must also check the same with your insurer before buying a life insurance plan as there are several other factors that have a role to play in determining the life insurance premium amount. You can also contact us at InsuranceDekho to know all about life insurance premiums or use the life insurance premium calculator for the same.

Also read: What Financial Objectives Can You Satisfy With A Life Insurance Policy?