Life insurance gender gap: 5 questions for female clients

Even as their life expectancy continues to exceed that of men, women's life insurance ownership rate lags behind their male counterparts.

The 2025 Life Insurance Barometer Study found that 48% of women have life insurance, compared with 54% of men.¹

The numbers go the other way when it comes to life expectancy. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control, women's life expectancy is 81.1 — compared to 75.8 for men.² The life insurance gap has persisted for the entire 15 years of the Life Insurance Barometer study.³ Yet life insurance is just as important for women as it is for men.

When you talk to your female clients, whether they are single or part of a couple, it's important to learn their unique life insurance and estate planning needs. Here are five questions to ask to get the conversation going.

1. If you don't have life insurance, why not?

LIMRA asked this question and found something interesting: Women don't buy life insurance because they often feel confused about it. Whereas almost 34% of men said they felt knowledgeable about life insurance, only 23% of women said the same.⁴ Learning why your female clients don't have life insurance can provide a great lead-in to a larger conversation.

2. What are your fears about life insurance?

That lack of knowledge — or perceived lack of knowledge — about life insurance can lead to fear. The only way to dispel these fears is to have an honest conversation.

When it comes to buying life insurance, women can feel undermined, which causes even more uncertainty. They may have anxiety that they will be treated differently, belittled or taken advantage of. They may also believe that life insurance is outside of their budget. In a 2023 LIMRA survey, 42% of women hold the common misconception that life insurance is more expensive than it actually is.⁵

3. What is your retirement savings plan?

This is another area where the gender gap exists. Studies show that women have 32% less saved by the time they retire than men do.⁶ There are many reasons for this gap, including the wage gap, the fact that women typically have more interruptions in their career, and women are less likely to take on investment risk.

This is why it's doubly important for women to feel knowledgeable about how retirement savings work and to have a clear view of how much they will need to not only retire but to pay for their final expenses. Talking about savings goals is a good way to open up the conversation.

4. Are you now or do you anticipate being a caregiver to children, a partner or elderly parents?

According to the AARP, three in five caregivers are women, with the average being a 51-year-old woman who works in addition to providing care.⁷ In fact, female caregivers may spend as much as 50% more time providing care than male caregivers.⁸

Women may reduce working hours, take leaves of absence, pass up promotions, quit altogether or retire early because of their caregiving duties. Because of this, there are often more financial ramifications for women than men. A woman who is a caregiver may see a loss of more than $295,000, in terms of lost wages and Social Security benefits over a lifetime.⁹

It's good to bring up the role caregiving is currently playing, or may play in the future, so your female clients can plan accordingly.

5. Do you have a will?

It is more common for women to have a lack of estate planning documentation in place than for men. A recent study found that 58% of women have no estate planning documents at all in place, compared with 50% of men.¹⁰ Only 29% of women have a will.

The discussion about having a will can be a stressful one. No one wants to think about their mortality. But it's another approach to the conversation about life insurance. It's a good chance to ask your female clients what they want in place for their loved ones, as they think about what's in place for their own financial futures.

These five questions can help you start the conversation with female clients about life insurance. As an insurance professional, having these conversations is just one way you can help close the life insurance gap.

Learn more about helping clients understand the need for life insurance.