The report, titled Unlocking Innovation in FemHealth, is a collaboration between TMK and 47 FemHealth founders, shedding light on key challenges hindering the sector, including insurance barriers, funding difficulties, and digital censorship.
The findings reveal a stark reality: 76% of FemHealth founders face significant struggles in securing insurance, with many citing confusing policies, high costs, and challenging exclusions as major hurdles. Over half of respondents (56%) reported that the cost of insurance was prohibitive, while 51% found the process overly complex. Alarmingly, a lack of broker and underwriter understanding of FemHealth’s unique risks was highlighted by 42% and 39% of participants, respectively.
This lack of adequate insurance is proving to be a bottleneck for FemHealth businesses, which support women across a wide spectrum of health needs, including menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, menopause, and conditions disproportionately affecting women, such as osteoporosis and autoimmune diseases. Without insurance, these businesses struggle to secure investment, conduct clinical trials, or bring their products to market—significantly slowing innovation in a field critical to women’s health.
Kirsten Shastri, Head of Life Sciences at TMK, emphasised the urgency of addressing these challenges “FemHealth is an exciting and fast-growing sector that needs our knowledge and expertise to thrive, and insurance must keep pace with innovation. TMK is committed to working with our industry partners to highlight these issues and bridge the knowledge gap around women’s health. Our bespoke IntelliMed product is proving to be a key enabler for businesses like these, and this is just the start. Raising awareness and understanding of these issues will open doors for these founders, our industry, our customers, and society at large.”
The Unlocking Innovation in FemHealth report underscores the critical role insurance plays in enabling FemHealth businesses to operate and innovate. TMK’s IntelliMed Life Sciences insurance product is designed to address the unique challenges of the sector. It is the first policy in the Lloyd’s market to combine coverage for Life Sciences liability, Cyber, Technology E&O and Intellectual Property (IP) risks under one plan. This integrated approach simplifies the insurance process, reduces coverage gaps, and provides much-needed support for FemHealth founders navigating a complex risk landscape.
The report also highlights other barriers facing FemHealth businesses. Beyond insurance, founders face challenges in accessing funding and overcoming digital censorship. TMK’s initiative aims to demystify insurance policies and foster greater understanding of the FemHealth sector, enabling the industry to contribute meaningfully to its growth and success.
With the global FemHealth market poised for exponential growth, TMK’s report serves as a call to action for insurers, brokers, and stakeholders to close the knowledge gap and provide the support needed to bring life-changing innovations to market.
“Raising awareness and understanding these issues is key to unlocking the potential of the FemHealth sector,” Shastri added. “Together, we can drive change and contribute to a healthier future for women worldwide.”
As the sector grows, TMK’s IntelliMed product stands as a testament to the insurer’s commitment to innovation and collaboration, ensuring FemHealth businesses have the tools they need to succeed.
