Insurers play a vital role in saving lives of domestic violence victims through financial and educational support

Economic abuse – it's a common tactic used by abusers to gain power and control in a relationship. The forms of economic abuse may be subtle or explicit, but in general, include tactics to conceal information, limit the victim's access to assets, or reduce accessibility to the family finances. Economic abuse – along with emotional, physical and sexual abuse – includes behaviors to intentionally manipulate, intimidate, and threaten the victim in order to entrap that person in the relationship. In some cases, economic abuse is present throughout the relationship and in other cases economic abuse becomes present when the survivor is attempting to leave or has left the relationship.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)  reports that 85% of women who leave an abusive relationship return because of their economic dependence on their abusers. Furthermore, the degree of women's economic dependence on an abuser is associated with the severity of the abuse they suffer.

In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), in partnership with the NCADV, offers financial strategies to protect victims before and after leaving an abusive relationship. They include securing financial records, knowing where the victim stands financially, building a financial safety net, making necessary changes to their insurance policies and maintaining good credit. 

Ruth Glenn, who currently serves as president of Public Affairs for NCADV and has advocated — professionally and personally — for many policies, including reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act and legislation involving the intersection of firearms and domestic violence, noted that "the NCADV's partnership with the insurance industry, and the Triple-I in particular, is critical to developing tools and resources for victims and survivors of domestic violence. 

"One of the most powerful methods of keeping a survivor trapped in an abusive relationship is not being able to support themselves financially," said Glenn, who is author of the memoir, Everything I Never Dreamed, which chronicles her own domestic violence experiences. "That's why insurance and financial education are so important," she said.  "Education can save a life."

Another example of insurers that are developing such educational tools is The Allstate Foundation, which has been committed to ending relationship abuse since 2005. "We are empowering survivors with the financial resources needed to achieve their potential while also educating and equipping young people with the information and confidence to prevent unhealthy relationships before they start," said Sharisse Kimbro, relationship abuse program officer with Allstate. 

The Allstate Foundation also offers a Moving Ahead Curriculum, a five-module program that has been academically validated to help prepare survivors as they move from short-term safety to long-term security.  Modules of the curriculum include: Understanding Financial Abuse; Learning Financial Fundamentals; Mastering Credit Basics; Building Financial Foundations and Long-Term Planning. It is available for survivors and nonprofit advocates free of charge in English, Spanish, French and Vietnamese. 

The most common form of domestic violence – financial abuse – remains largely unrecognized according to Allstate Foundation research. "The public struggles to recognize signs of financial abuse and knowing how to best support survivors," said Kimbro. "Seventy eight percent of Americans don't recognize financial abuse as a form of domestic violence and nearly half surveyed agreed that financial abuse is the hardest to recognize – more than physical, sexual or emotional abuse combined." She went on to offer advice and allyship, "if you know someone who's experiencing financial abuse, there are actions you can take to support them, including safekeeping money, or helping with transportation to work. A good place to start is simply asking the survivor what they need and how you can best support them." 

The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), whose mission is to help communities and enriches lives by uniting the collective strength of the insurance industry in providing grants, volunteer service and leadership, has been doing its part by providing grants to domestic violence prevention organizations such as 180 Turn Lives Around, Bay Area Crisis Nursery, Dawn, Friends of the Children, Houston Area Women's Center, Human Options, Live Safe Resources, Mosaic Family Services, Our Friends Place, Stand!, Wings, and Women Rising, among others.  

Through its grants programs, the IICF has been instrumental in helping these organizations provide life-saving services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, empowering individuals, families, and communities to transform trauma, achieve independence, and end abuse. 

"We are so proud of the insurance industry and how it gives to these organizations, which provide supportive counseling, crisis intervention, shelter for survivors of domestic violence and so much more," said Elizabeth (Betsy) Myatt, vice president and chief program officer of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) and executive director of the Northeast Division of IICF. "It's a community of insurance professionals with a common goal of giving back."