The Key Learning Points:

1. The 12 key financial perils that women face throughout their life course 

2. Advice on the six key moments when intervention can be made to improve women’s financial resilience 

3. How businesses can improve their services for customers as well as improving the financial inclusion and wellbeing of their employees 

In this special episode of the Risky Mix podcast we were lucky to be joined by two founders of Insuring Women’s Futures (IWF), Sian Fisher, CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), and Jane Portas, Insurance Partner from PwC. The IWF is looking to improve the financial resilience of women in society. They launched their manifesto last year which outlines five pillars of activity, aiming to drive change in the profession and beyond.

IWF was born out of an Insurance Supper Club dinner, where Sian and Jane found themselves sat next to each other and spent the evening sharing stories about their experiences and those of their mothers and grandmothers, particularly around the topic of financial resilience. After agreeing that many women today still face the same money issues which impacted the older women in their families, Sian and Jane decided to take action and launched IWF, as part of the CII. Their beliefs around the financial resilience of women were confirmed while attending the Women of the World festival, and asking attendees the question; ‘Do you think women’s risks in life are the same as men’s, and do you think they are suitably engaged with those risks?’, with the overwhelming response being ‘no’.

Jane explains the risk assessment she conducted which enabled her to identify 12 key perils and pitfalls that women face throughout their life course. Contained within the Securing the financial future of the next generation report, Jane outlines some shocking statistics from her research, one such example being that men’s average pension wealth is five times that of women’s. Sian and Jane explain that their analysis enabled them to identify six moments that matter, six points in women’s lives when interventions can be made to improve their financial resilience.

Sian tells us about the manifesto, which prioritises five key pillars for action, based on the findings from the perils and pitfalls research and moments that matter. Three of those pillars are aimed at improving financial resilience for women in society, and Sian explains that they are working with government, regulators and the third sector. The two remaining pillars are aimed at our profession and how we can improve our services for customers, as well as improving financial inclusion and wellbeing of our employees.

Sian and Jane have kindly invited all those looking to support Insuring Women’s Futures to their event on the 19th November at the Odeon BFI IMAX, where they will launch the outputs of their work and the pledges they are asking of the industry.

For more information on the fantastic work of IWF, please see: www.insuringwomens futures.co.uk