Key Findings:
The Indian LGBTQIA+ community’s Protection Quotient at 35 - over 20 points below the digital urban average
Life insurance ownership for the cohort at 66% vs. 82% of digitally-savvy urban Indians
Working women’s protection quotient remains at 48; while working men’s protection quotient rises to 50, revealing a widening gender gap
Financial anxieties around inflation, medical emergencies, and loss of breadwinner are more acute among working women
Shift in financial planning behaviours points to an urgent need for inclusive interventions
New Delhi, June 12, 2025: Axis Max Life Insurance Limited (“Axis Max Life” / “Company”), in partnership with Kantar, the world’s leading marketing data and analytics company announced findings from the seventh edition of its flagship India Protection Quotient (IPQ) study. Conducted across 6,360 households in 25 urban Indian cities, IPQ 7.0 highlights critical gaps in financial preparedness among underserved communities - particularly the LGBTQIA+ segment and working women.
LGBTQIA+ Community: Financial Protection Lags Despite Intent
With a Protection Quotient score of 35 (on a scale of 0–100), the LGBTQIA+ community trails the digitally savvy urban average of 56, highlighting significant financial vulnerability. The community also reports a Knowledge Index score of 61, compared to 74 for Digitally Savvy Urban Indians (DSUI) - indicating lower awareness of life insurance. The life insurance ownership stands at 66% versus 82% (DSUI), and term ownership at 27 versus 48 among DSUI respondents. Financial security of the community has also declined, dropping from 42 in IPQ 6.0 to 39 in IPQ 7.0. Rising concerns around the untimely death of a breadwinner, medical costs, and managing household budgets have emerged as key stressors.
While the community has historically shown strong saving behaviour, IPQ 7.0 highlights a decline in proactive financial planning underscoring the need for focused financial education and identity-sensitive offerings.
Gender Divide Sharpens: Women’s Financial Confidence Stalls
IPQ 7.0 reveals a growing protection gap between working men and women. While working men’s Protection Quotient rose to 50 (from 47 in IPQ 6.0), working women’s remained unchanged at 48 - breaking last year’s parity. Working women report lower financial security across key life goals such as retirement, children’s education, and marriage. They also express greater concern about inflation, medical expenses, and the loss of a breadwinner - reinforcing the need for gender-responsive planning and support tools.
Prashant Tripathy, CEO and Managing Director, Axis Max Life said:
“The IPQ 7.0 findings bring to light a clear disparity in financial protection among underserved segments. With the LGBTQIA+ community scoring just 35 on the Protection Quotient and working women showing stagnation at 48, it is evident that intent alone is not translating into preparedness. To bridge this gap, the industry must focus on trust-building, targeted awareness, and accessibility. At Axis Max Life, we believe creating inclusive financial ecosystems that are grounded in empathy and real-world relevance becomes critical to unlocking protection for all.”
The data from IPQ 7.0 underscores the need for financial literacy and protection strategies that are inclusive and sensitive to identity, gender, and income diversity. From designing more flexible products to enhancing digital and advisory access, the industry must evolve to serve every Indian with empathy and precision. For Axis Max Life, these insights are both a call to action and a reaffirmation of its commitment to building a more financially secure and inclusive India.
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About India Protection Quotient
Instituted in 2019, India Protection Quotient is an annual Survey by Axis Max Life Insurance in association with Kantar aimed to understand the pulse of the Indian consumers in the financial protection space. Launched with the underlying objective to increase penetration of Term insurance as the most fundamental and economical form of life insurance, the survey aims to reveal the state of Urban Indians with regards to current financial security levels, changing savings & investment patterns, key anxieties & triggers of financial protection in a contemporary world. India Protection Quotient is a proprietary tool developed by Axis Max Life in partnership with Kantar to gauges the degree to which Indians feel protected from future uncertainties on a scale of 0 to 100. It is based on the attitudes, mental preparedness around future uncertainties, awareness, and ownership of life insurance product categories (Term, endowment and ULIP).
Read more at - https://www.axismaxlife.com/maxlife-ipq
Disclaimer:
The study is conducted in top 25 Urban metro, Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities; hence, its findings are representative of metro, Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities of Urban India only.
Metro – Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai
Tier 1 – Ludhiana, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Vizag, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Pune
Tier 2 – Dehradun, Moradabad, Guwahati, Bokaro, Kolhapur, Jamnagar, Raipur, Ujjain, Hubli-Dharwad, Tiruchirappalli
IPQ 7.0 vs IPQ 6.0 data comparison is amongst 25 markets only [6 metros, 9 Tier 1 and 10 Tier]
The minimum sample to conclude any findings of the study is 270 with an error margin of +-5.964
The information collected through this survey and the results published are intended for general guidance and informational purposes only. Axis Max Life disclaims any liability for any loss, damage, or decisions arising from the use of this survey or the results provided.
About Axis Max Life Insurance Limited (http://www.axismaxlife.com)
Axis Max Life Insurance Limited, formerly known as Max Life Insurance Company Limited, is a Joint Venture between Max Financial Services Limited (“MFSL”) and Axis Bank Limited. Axis Max Life Insurance offers comprehensive protection and long-term savings life insurance solutions through its multi-channel distribution, including agency and third-party distribution partners. It has built its operations over two decades through a need-based sales process, a customer-centric approach to engagement and service delivery and trained human capital. As per annual audited financials for FY2024-25, Axis Max Life has achieved a gross written premium of INR 33,223 Cr.