SwissRE Survey Shows India’s Insurance Demands
SwissRE Survey reveals that:
- Asia Pacific’s Generation X and Y of 20 to 40 year olds have become slightly less willing to take risks over the past two years.
- They have strong needs for insurance and financial planning, fuelled by worry about medical expenses and the risk of living longer.
- Perceived cost is a barrier to buying insurance; whereas life insurance is in general quite affordable and within the price they are willing to pay.
- For the Asia-Pacific insurance industry, the 20 to 40 year olds are not only the future buyers of insurance, but also represent tremendous business opportunities now.
Growing conservatism in Asia-Pacific
Across the region, the 20 to 40 year olds have become slightly less willing to take risks over the past two years.
Worry about medical bills fuels insurance needs
The study shows that around 40% of respondents across the region say their families would or might struggle financially in case of early death, major serious illness or disability, and a key reason is inadequate insurance.
Less than half (47%) of respondents say they have enough medical and health insurance (including their own, government and employers) to cover for their medical expenses.
A high majority (67%) of respondents are concerned about the amount they have to pay out of their pockets for medical expenses relating to major illness. And about 60% are concerned that their medical/health insurance premium will increase beyond their affordability in the future.
Life insurance is affordable
This study also shows that life insurance is in general not as expensive as people may perceive, and is indeed quite affordable across the region
Longevity risk - a call to action
The study also finds that a large majority of respondents across the region (78%) are concerned about their financial future, but only about half have clear financial plans to follow through. This action gap remains almost unchanged even after the Global Financial Crisis. Japan and South Korea have the lowest proportions of respondents with financial plans in place (16% and 25% respectively).
Data on India’s insurance needs and buying behaviors were compiled through 2,000 individual face-to-face interviews with consumers in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Source - swissre.com
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