Low Risk Culture and Insurance Uptake in Mexico
Mexico has a relatively low risk culture, with 76.5% of the population aged 18 to 70 lacking any form of insurance to handle unforeseen events. According to the National Inclusion Financial Survey (ENIF) 2024, out of 86.62 million people in this age range, 66.24 million have no insurance policies. Of these, 85% have never had one, while the rest either had one at some point or are unsure.
Gender Disparity
When broken down by gender, 71.3% of men and a staggering 80.9% of women are in this situation.
The Importance and Low Uptake of Insurance
The Comisión Nacional para la Protección y Defensa de los Usuarios de Servicios Financieros (Condusef) highlights that insurance plays a crucial role in contributing to development, tranquility, and well-being for users by protecting them from economic imbalances due to unforeseen events, loss of life, health issues, or accidents.
Only 23% of the population, equivalent to 19.81 million people, has at least one insurance policy, while 0.7% (567,000 people) are unaware of their coverage. The most popular type is life insurance (60.8%), followed by auto (50.1%), medical expenses (32.7%), personal accident coverage (12.1%), and home insurance (8.3%).
Reasons for Lack of Insurance
Among those who have never had insurance (56.20 million, or 85% of those without it at the time of the survey), the majority deemed it unnecessary.
- 33.7% believed they didn’t need it or weren’t interested.
- 24% stated they lacked funds, were unemployed, or had variable income.
- The rest cited having savings for emergencies, distrust in insurance companies, lack of offers, unfamiliarity with insurance, or high costs.
Among those who once had insurance (9.78 million, or 14.7% of those without it at the time of the survey), the main reason for cancellation was a negative experience, job loss, educational changes, or finding the policy unnecessary due to infrequent use.
Personal Experiences
Karla and Lorena attribute the lack of insurance primarily to high costs. Karla shares her experience trying to secure medical expense coverage, which cost 52,000 pesos annually—an amount she found unattainable given her monthly earnings.
Héctor Magaña, a professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey, believes that Mexico’s financial culture must progress to address such topics effectively, where insurance is seen as necessary but unattainable.
María Pérez acknowledges the importance of insurance but finds them unreliable due to a past negative experience. She advocates for clearer contracts from insurance companies, criticizing their use of technical jargon.
Luis, despite needing auto insurance for practical reasons, holds a negative view of insurance providers. He recounts a Qualitas incident where he was left stranded despite an active policy, and later faced unexpected charges from Axa after several years.
Alondra, who has only had one insurance policy for medical expenses, explains her situation changed when she took time off work to care for her baby.
Low Penetration of Insurance in Mexico
Insurance penetration in Mexico accounts for 2.7% of the country’s GDP, a figure lower than Latin America’s average (6%) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCDE) countries’ average of nearly 9%, according to Norma Alicia Rosas, director general of the Mexican Insurance Institutions Association (AMIS).
Rosas expressed satisfaction with the progress but emphasized that much work remains, particularly in financial education.
Eduardo Esteva, Deloitte Spanish Latin America’s partner and sector leader for insurance, suggests adopting a customer-centric approach with digital process transformation to boost insurance participation.
