While many industries remain male dominated, recent data shows that women outnumber men in the insurance industry. However, women’s insurance work is far from finished because men still hold the majority of high-level and ownership positions. To see how women can achieve even more, let’s look at why women succeed in insurance.
A Closer Look at the Insurance Workforce
BLS data shows that there were 2.8 million insurance workers in 2024, of which 1.7 million were women. This means that 59% of all insurance workers are women. Comparatively, women comprise only 47% of the general workforce.
However, there’s considerable variation among different types of positions. Among insurance claims and processing clerks, 78.7% are women. However, among insurance sales agents, only 51.1% are women.
With so many women in insurance, you might think that women would represent most – or at least half – of all agency owners, but that’s not the case. According to research from Liberty Mutual, women only made up 26% of all agency owners and principals in 2024.
Clearly, there’s a disconnect. Women are entering the insurance industry in large numbers, but they’re still underrepresented in the top positions.
The problem isn’t that women lack the skills needed to succeed. Liberty Mutual found that male and female insurance agents reported similar strengths, but women had stronger skills in responsiveness and in being proactive about knowing their clients’ needs.
The Advantages of Female Leadership
Interestingly, 85% of women in the Liberty Mutual study said they are the primary decision makers for insurance purchases. If so many women are in charge of deciding what insurance to buy, doesn’t it also make sense to have women in leadership roles in insurance sales?
Indeed, research shows that companies benefit when women take on leadership roles. According to McKinsey & Company, companies where women represent more than 30% of the executive team are significantly more likely to financially outperform companies with fewer female executives.
Data cited by the American Psychological Association explains that female leaders foster a culture of collaboration, transformation and fairness.
The Importance of Support
Women have proven themselves to be adept at insurance sales and leadership, which leads to the question: How can more women advance to agency ownership and/or leadership roles?
It may come down to finding the right support and role models.
Few people – regardless of gender – succeed completely on their own. Business success often hinges on networking and mentorship. According to Harvard Business Review, there’s ample evidence to show that professional networking leads to more job and business opportunities and advancement as well as increased knowledge and the ability to innovate. Mentorships provide meaningful advantages for both the mentor and the mentee, according to the University of Massachusetts Global.
The bottom line: Women are more likely to advance in insurance if there are female leaders within their organization paving the way and showing them what’s possible.
How Heffernan Network Supports Women
Heffernan Network’s goal is to empower independent agencies and employees of all types to reach their next level – and of course, this includes empowering women-owned agencies.
If you are an insurance professional who is planning to launch an independent agency, or you’re an agency owner looking for growth opportunities for your agency and your team, you’ll discover resources, systems, networking, mentorship and sales incentive programs to help you maximize the “W” factor with the Heffernan Network.
Just ask Monica Castaneda, the President of Heffernan Walton Insurance Services. After her agency joined the Heffernan Network in 2021, Monica was immediately impressed with all the resources and support provided. “Early on, I had the opportunity to go to a Heffernan sales conference, and I was hooked,” she says.
Monica was also impressed by how many women were already succeeding at Heffernan. “The number of women in leadership and in top sales roles at Heffernan is amazing and inspiring,” she says. “It was truly an aha moment for me.”
Here at Heffernan Network, we love to see women succeed in insurance. Are you interested in gaining the access, resources, and support your agency needs to thrive? Learn more about Heffernan Network.
