In the early ages, women were reduced to merely being a child-bearer and a caregiver to all whereas finances were dismissed as ‘matters of the men’. However, over the past two decades since the first wave of economic liberalization, India has seen a great deal of not just economic change but linked societal change as well. As the new shift has taken place in the last decade, there have been more women taking the responsibility of being a primary earner, while also shouldering all other domestic responsibilities.

Rise in the number of Women life insurance

Lately, there has been an upright increase in the number of woman life insurance advisors and buyers. Considering the rise in the number of women investing in life cover products, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), took note of their contribution to this industry in its latest annual report of 2018-19. As per the data, women account for 48 per cent of the total population in India out of which their share in FY 2018-19 has increased to 36 per cent in terms of the number of policies and 37 per cent in the first-year premium compared to 32 per cent on both counts in FY 2017-18. Their contribution to the economic activity of the country is quite significant and is increasing every year.

The total number of policies sold in the year 2018-19 stands at 2.86 crore, with a first-year premium (FYP) of 97,690 crore. Out of the number of policies sold, women accounted for 1.03 crore policies in FY 2018-19 (90 lacs in previous fiscal) with an FYP of Rs 36,525 crore in FY 2018-19 (29,801 crore).

As when it comes to finances, more and more women, particularly in the cities, are becoming financially independent and becoming equal contributors to the household budget. It will be incorrect to underestimate women from rural or tier-2 cities. As interestingly, the participation of women from tier-1 and 2 towns is higher than that of tier-1. Women consumers from the rural market have become more aspirational and discerning than ever, and are keen on buying life insurance products. As per the data of all the policies bought by the women, more than one-third came from three states – States, West Bengal (16.51 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (10.53 per cent) and Maharashtra (10.16 per cent).

The trend of women opting for life insurance is indicative of the data that women are now more aware of their contribution to the family and looking for life insurance solutions to secure their family goals. However, even if there is an increase in the share of women towards life insurance in the last few years. There are still many women who do not consider insurance products and plans with any degree of seriousness.

How does life insurance help women?

Life insurance plans are great instruments for protection and long-term savings and can benefit women in many different ways. It can be counted as a safety net for the family aiming at protecting your income or your family in case of any emergency.  Also, helps in providing your family with the funds to pay off debts (if any) in the case of your premature death or disability.

If we look at our current state of lifestyle, it is quite easy for any of us to get diagnosed with serious illness, receive a sudden injury or even die. Having a life insurance can help you protect against all these scenarios as should your family lose your income, their life standard remains protected.

So, how does one go about assessing what sort of insurance plans to consider? Let us start from the beginning.

Options to Look-out for

If you have any dependents — aged parents and siblings — then it is imperative to have a term plan in your insurance basket. A term plan is a plan that gives your nominees a certain corpus of money in case of death occurring during the policy period. This ensures that your surviving dependents can live the same lifestyle even in the unfortunate circumstance of your death. For women planning to buy term insurance, there are 2 options available. While working women can buy individual term insurance, house makers can go for joint term insurance along with their spouse.

Once you create a safety net for your family, you need to plan ahead in order to achieve a better life. As being economically independent not only makes you feel confident but also helps in fulfilling your goals, even after you retire. And for this, you need to have a strong retirement corpus. But, have you ever stopped to calculate how much exactly it would cost you to achieve that desired lifestyle?

To achieve desired goals at the right time-frame ULIPs were introduced in the market. It is a great investment idea for aggressive investors which provides them with dual benefit of market linked return and life insurance cover rolled in one. In fact, nowadays ULIPs is highly chosen product for people looking for financial backing for their goals. Thanks to the power of compounding due to which investment in equities for a long term allows money to grow far higher ensuring ample future savings.

The wealth created by investing in ULIPs will serve you in achieving your future financial goals such as education of your child, buying a car or home, retirement plans or other goals of your life. Let’s try to make you understand the power of compounding of ULIPs by giving you an example. If at the age of 30 you start investing Rs 5,000 p.m. in ULIPs for approximately 30 years, you will be investing only Rs 18 lacs. However, after 30 years your money will grow to Rs 1.76 crore (at the rate of 12 per cent) giving you the power to achieve your financial goals.