Applications for personal guarantee insurance from female directors rose 77% year on year in the first half of 2026, outpacing the 64% growth seen across the broader market. The increase reflects a shift in confidence among women leading small and medium enterprises to protect personal assets while seeking business finance.
Why are female directors seeking personal guarantee insurance?
The rise in demand is linked to a broader movement to improve access to capital for female,led businesses. “Today’s announcement that Investing in Women Code signatories have outperformed the wider market in supporting female founders for six consecutive years chimes with something we are seeing directly in our own data. In the first half of 2026, applications for personal guarantee insurance from female directors, to protect against the risk of business loans, grew 77% year,on,year. This is faster than the 64% growth we saw across the market as a whole. The proportion of applications coming from female,led businesses has grown from under 12% to nearly 13% in the space of a year,” said Todd Davison, managing director of Purbeck Insurance Services. The data suggest that more women are recognising the need to manage personal risk when securing SME lending, and are turning to insurance products that safeguard homes and personal assets.
How does personal guarantee insurance work?
Personal guarantee insurance exists because signing a guarantee puts a director’s home and personal assets on the line to secure business finance. “Personal guarantee insurance exists because signing a guarantee puts a director’s home and personal assets on the line to secure business finance. The fact that more female directors are taking that step and increasingly protecting themselves when they do, suggests growing confidence to pursue the borrowing that fuels growth,” explained Davison. The policy typically covers the shortfall between the loan amount and the assets available to the lender, allowing directors to separate personal wealth from business liabilities. This protection is increasingly relevant as SME lending expands and more entrepreneurs seek external funding.
What role does the Investing in Women Code play?
Government,backed initiatives like the Investing in Women Code are vital because access to capital has historically been harder to secure for female,led businesses. “Government,backed initiatives like the Investing in Women Code are vital because access to capital has historically been harder to secure for female,led businesses. What we are seeing in our own figures suggests that where that capital is being accessed, awareness of how to manage the associated personal risk is growing right alongside it. That is a healthy sign for the wider SME finance market,” said Davison. The Code encourages signatories to adopt best practices that improve funding pathways for women, and the performance data show that these efforts are translating into measurable outcomes for female directors.
What does the future hold for SME finance and gender parity?
The upward trend in personal guarantee insurance applications aligns with a modest increase in the share of small businesses run by female founders, which remains around 14 percent. As more women engage with protective insurance, the perceived risk of lending to female,led enterprises may decline, potentially widening the pool of available finance. Industry observers note that the combination of targeted policy, data,driven insights, and insurance solutions creates a feedback loop that can accelerate gender parity in business finance. Purbeck Insurance Services, the UK leading provider of personal guarantee insurance and an FCA authorised firm backed by Markel International, is positioned to support this evolution through its data,focused approach.
