More than a third of urban Indians feel their savings would last less than a year in case of critical illness or death.
Bengaluru: Women are grossly under-insured in India with only 33% saving for future stability, according to a new Max Life Insurance survey of 4,500 respondents in 16 cities. Women apparently spend a lot more of their salary for the household — with 42% of earnings diverted to basic expenses, as against working males who spend only 28%. The survey showed that women are more focused on saving for their children’s education than in saving for their old age or untimely death.
Life insurance ownership was lower at 59% for women, compared to 68% for men, said the survey. A large number of Indians fear that future medical expenditure might wipe out all their family’s savings. As high as 50% of urban Indians fear their life will be severely impacted with the death of the breadwinner. And more than a third (36%) of urban Indians feel their savings would last less than a year in case of critical illness or death. More than one fifth of the population also felt they would have none to support them in case of disability, critical ailments or death.
But millennials (25-35 years) as a group showed up the worst when it came to financial awareness as most of them prioritised spends on gadgets, luxury and travel over protection. Only 44% of youth were aware of the word “term insurance” and just 17% own it. But millennials with kids are more aware and have a higher ownership (22%) of insurance.
South Indians are more aware of the need for insurance. Among the metros, however, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and Bhubaneswar owned the most insurance (64-66%), compared to cities like Ludhiana, Patna and Kolkata which owned only 15-36% insurance.
Indians are seen to be severely underestimating how much they would have to spend if a family member had a heart attack or cancer. The report showed only 10% term buyers are invested in any critical illness rider, and more than 80% are unaware of treatment costs for heart disease and cancer.
When it came to the mode of purchase of insurance, only 6% of those surveyed bought policies online. About 15% buy from their bank, and an overwhelming 79% still buy from their local insurance agent.
