Barriers to FemHealth Are Leaving Women in Limbo. Insurance Has to Step In.

Phoebe did not know what was causing her poor health. Every doctor she went to gave her a different diagnosis. She was put on different medications, but her condition was not improving. Enter the FemHealth startup Hertility. By administering a series of simple, bespoke hormone tests, Hertility was able to give Phoebe the answers she needed about her body, putting an end to months of limbo.

Within 10 days, it confirmed that she suffered from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Her diagnosis finally gave her access to effective treatment. Phoebe’s case is not an anomaly. Her experience mirrors that of millions of women. Women’s health has long been under-researched – less than a third (31%) of participants across the 450,000 ongoing clinical trials around the world are women^*1. We lack data around how many health conditions impact women and the symptoms they display. As a result, the pharmacological and technological solutions to sex-specific problems remain limited.

On average, women globally spend 25% more time in poor health than men^*2. They are diagnosed later for more than 700 diseases^*3, ranging from cancer to diabetes – for example, cancer in men is diagnosed 2.5 years earlier than for women. Women are also 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed following a heart attack than men^*4, and 83% more likely to be misdiagnosed for Multiple Sclerosis (MS)^*5. What we call the gender health gap is really more of a chasm. It affects half the global population yet barely scratches the surface of the public consciousness.

Encouragingly, a growing number of innovative firms are seeking to redress the balance. Often these are startups. Entrepreneurs, many female and fed up with their own struggles, are founding businesses that provide solutions for health issues relating to menstruation and contraception, fertility, pregnancy, menopause, as well as breast, pelvic, and sexual health, and conditions that affect women disproportionately or differently, such as osteoporosis, autoimmune disease, heart attacks, and stroke.

This burgeoning sector is brimming with potential, predicted to become a $103 billion industry by 2030^*6. But there is a catch. These businesses are being held back because founders are inhibited by three core barriers: lack of funding, digital censorship and difficulty accessing the right insurance cover.

Due to insufficient data, institutional investors often see FemHealth businesses as overly risky investments. This is compounded by the fact that an estimated 87.9% of global investment fund managers are men^*7, who are less likely to understand the market need for FemHealth products. Add in stringent regulatory requirements and the serious financial and reputational implications of a product malfunction, and we start to get a picture of why so few venture capital firms have the appetite to invest in FemHealth. Tokio Marine Kiln's recent research has found that 84% of FemHealth founders have struggled to secure funding from investors.

The few FemHealth firms that overcome the first barrier are quickly met with the second: digital censorship preventing them from adequately marketing their products. Founders find themselves at the mercy of algorithms seeking to censor their posts on online marketplaces and social media platforms. The consequence is a vicious cycle: Without strong marketing and demonstrated sales, these firms are even less likely to secure investment.

The final barrier is insurance. The insurance industry as a whole is missing out on a huge opportunity to act as an enabler. Some 76% of FemHealth founders reported issues when seeking insurance, citing a host of concerns. Over half (56%) said the cost was prohibitive, with policies typically designed for large, corporate entities, written in a way that doesn’t take into account the unique risks and needs of the FemHealth industry. Over a third (39%) felt that underwriters had no appetite for the risk and half cited the complexity of insurance as a dealbreaker, with many policies containing unreasonable exclusions.

All of these barriers are linked. Without the right insurance, firms cannot run clinical trials. Without proof of concept and a working product, they struggle to secure investment. Those who manage anyway might allocate some funding to marketing, only to have their efforts quashed by digital censorship.

Here’s where insurance comes in. The industry can play a critical role in breaking the vicious cycle.
We have the unique ability to create bespoke products, enabling FemHealth companies to secure the resources they need to succeed. From cyberattacks to lawsuits to regulatory actions: we mustn’t overlook the ways in which insurance solutions like Tokio Marine Kiln’s IntelliMed, the first bespoke insurance product that can be tailored for FemHealth firms, can help accelerate progress in the fields of health and resilience. When insurance lends its support sectors like FemHealth, the whole of society stands to benefit.