OneInsure Blog
Post By Mohit Mishra
Why Every Family Needs Life Insurance
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Importance of Life Insurance in an Indian Family
It was raining heavily that morning. Namita tried persuading Prakhar to skip work for the day and instead help her clean up the living room, which was awash with clutter from the previous night’s birthday celebration of their (now) one-year-old daughter, Ananya. But he had a very important meeting that day, on which his promotion depended. He quickly got ready, kissed his daughter goodbye, and promised Namita that he would be back half-day from work.
An hour later, she received a call informing her that her husband’s car had met with a major accident after part of a foot-over bridge had collapsed following incessant rain. Prakhar, who was critically injured, was immediately taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a nearby hospital. Namita rushed to the hospital after dropping Ananya at her granny’s. Once there, she was informed that the chances of survival were slender as Prakhar had suffered multiple head injuries.
Days went by and there was no improvement in Prakhar’s condition. Namita became disheartened. Apart from the emotional trauma of losing a life partner, she was burdened with the fear of having to bring up Ananya all alone, especially when she was financially dependent on her husband.
Prakhar passed away on a Thursday morning after succumbing to his injuries. A few days prior to his death, Prakhar had informed Namita that right after they had conceived, he had secured their financial future with a life insurance policy should something untoward happen to him. He assured her that if he didn’t survive, she need not worry about Ananya’s education and their house loan as his policy will provide them a regular monthly income to take care of those expenses.
After the mourning period was over, Namita contacted Prakhar’s insurer and informed them of his death. The insurance company assisted her with the claim procedure and within a few days, the claim was approved. From then on, every month, Namita received a regular income, from which she could clear all outstanding dues, manage the home, and she even got Ananya admitted into a good school. All these years, while the emotional vacuum created by Prakhar’s death could never be filled, the policy ensured that the family suffered no financial turbulence – neither was Ananya’s education hampered and nor was their lifestyle compromised.
Today, Ananya is pursuing Architecture from one of the renowned colleges in India and dreams of designing better infrastructure for the nation to prevent structural failures that stole her father from her. Namita is working as a private educator and managing the family’s finances well. None of this would have turned out to be easy had Prakhar not opted for the life insurance policy on his life.
According to a report by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, only 24% of Indian families are covered under a life insurance policy. This means that 76% of households are living under constant risk of losing the breadwinner of their family.
Life is uncertain. It is difficult to know what is coming down the pike. These uncertainties can have a considerable impact on those dependent on us if we don’t take measures to ensure that they will be taken care of. With a life insurance policy, you make a crucial financial decision before life’s uncertainties befall you.
