Transforming the insurance industry in Argentina
(este blog también está disponible en español)
How can we make the insurance industry more inclusive, especially for women?
The Association of Women in Insurance (AMES) is a unique and innovative project that is designed to make a socially inclusive insurance industry. AMES aims to change the insurance industry in Argentina by positioning women better in the industry and providing opportunities for labour inclusion and economic independence in the medium and long term. At the same time, the association strives to boost the growth of the insurance industry through the strengthening and training of a new commercial force.
The programme was started in 2019 in Argentina and seeks to support more than 5,000 women in the insurance sector, thereby aiming to close the gender gap and reduce existing inequalities in the country. According to the Permanent Household Survey of 2017, the employment rate of women was 23.2 percentage points lower than that of men. In addition, men earn 20.2 per cent higher wages than women, according to a report of the Department of Statistical Studies of the Superintendence of Occupational Risks. The AMES programme includes a system of scholarships, trainings and career support for women from low socio-economic levels, in order to train and incorporate them in the sector as insurance intermediaries, while strengthening access to and use of insurance for the more vulnerable populations in the country.
AMES’s challenge was to develop a programme that, on the one hand, strengthened the insurance industry, and on the other, offered a product or service that allowed the most vulnerable women to be more resilient in the face of adverse events. Within this framework, AMES joined forces with seven Argentine insurers to develop a 24-month career plan for women who had a license to market insurance, or who were interested in entering the sector as insurance intermediaries.
AMES provides support throughout the intermediary training and engagement process. The association constantly works to provide relevant information, content and contacts in the industry, and supports women in their process of linking with insurers. The programme also includes scholarships to obtain insurance broker registration, training and networking spaces, and innovation laboratories that seek to eliminate uncertainty in the sector and develop and launch new products. In addition, the programme strengthens its impact as new women join the association and the network of intermediaries. Membership to the association is free and all women who receive the training have the possibility to remain active members of AMES. They are kept up to date on industry trends and become leaders within their communities, where they in turn make the association and its benefits known, and promote insurance in underserved market segments.
Despite its social and inclusive mission, the programme does not yet have government support. Thanks to the technical support provided by the supervisor entity and the joint work and financial support of seven insurers and the supervisor, the programme now meets all the requirements and can award up to 30 scholarships and up to 30 workshops on industry topics per year. Currently the network already has supported more than 500 women, has received approximately 100 scholarship applications and has held two workshops that have reached more than 200 women.
Workshop are organized in a virtual way which facilitates access by women who live outside the urban area. Still, the challenge that AMES faces is that not all women have knowledge of or access to technology, which limits the inclusive potential of the programme.
Even so, this initiative shows the importance of developing business models that promote inclusive insurance with a social component, incorporating segments where the insurance industry previously had no presence.
