Gender Disparities in Insurance Ownership: Evidence from Household-Level Data in Telangana, India

The paper analyses gender inequality in insurance ownership using primary household-level data from balanced male and female-headed households across 4 districts in Telangana, India (Hyderabad, Warangal, Mahbubnagar, Nizamabad). Although there has been a gradual but stable expansion in the insurance industry in India, penetration has been low and uneven (especially among women who have socioeconomic barriers, low financial literacy, cultural factors, and lack of autonomy in decision-making, which limits their access to formal financial products). Based on an ICSSR-funded project, the analysis uses chi-square tests to examine the relationship between gender and insurance ownership, as well as the enabling factors, including awareness, confidence in learning risks and benefits, and perceptions on insurance as a necessity cost. Findings indicate statistically significant gender differences, and the null hypothesis of no association is rejected, suggesting that women are less covered due to knowledge gaps and access restrictions, rather than product design. These results highlight a serious gap in the state household-based empirical research on insurance behaviour in India. The policy implications are to support gender-responsive insurance policies, gender-specific financial literacy efforts, and to reach more individuals to expand coverage, strengthen household resilience, and achieve the objectives of financial inclusion in emerging economies such as Telangana.

Insurance ownership, Gender Disparity, Household-level data

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