Gender distinctions are starting to blur in the modern world. As women are excelling in all spheres, they are also gaining financial freedom and independence. Today’s women have started taking up the role of the breadwinner as well. They are enhancing a family’s living standards by sharing the burden of household expenses, mortgages, and children’s educational costs. What’s more, they even help their retired parents with their finances. Apart from working women, the work done by homemakers also has significant monetary value. If external help has to be hired for household chores and taking care of children, it will add to the family’s expenses. This is why, it is important that the income and other invaluable contributions of women, such as yourself, need to be protected. In case of an unfortunate event, life insurance is one such financial instrument that can protect your family’s financial security to ensure stability.

Importance of Buying Life Insurance

According to the Census of India, about 48% of the Indian population is female. Yet women purchased only 36% of the life insurance policies issued in the country, in 2019. While there is still a disparity in numbers between the male and female life insurance policyholders, with an increase in the exposure and awareness of life insurance among women, there is a slow yet significant change in this sphere. Therefore, it is essential to understand the importance of insuring yourself.

Buying life insurance is extremely important for you to protect the financial future of your loved ones and to save for your life goals systematically. Moreover, science has proven that women have longer life expectancy than men. This means that you will have to stay financially prepared for a more extended period. And what better way to do that than with a life insurance plan?

Benefits of Life Insurance

• Protecting loved ones

  The inherent nurturing tendencies within you make the security of your loved ones your primary concern. By investing in life insurance, you can ensure the financial security of your family members in case of any unfortunate event. It is useful for bringing peace of mind, ensuring good health and thereby increasing your productivity.

• Lower premium amounts

  As per the National Health Profile 2019, the life expectancy of females in India is 70.2 years while that of males is 67.4 years. Since the prices of life insurance products are based on the risk profiles of the insured person and the mortality risk of females is lower, you will, most likely, have to pay lesser premiums for your life insurance plans.

• Building wealth

  By nature, women meticulously plan finances for meeting future financial needs, and life insurance plans can be a great investment instrument. They not only help in building your wealth and savings, but also help in generating better returns, while providing a life cover.

• Regular income after retirement

  Apart from fulfilling your dreams or ensuring financial safety and support to your loved ones in case of an unfortunate event, a life insurance plan can also help you plan your retirement well. Creating wealth through plans like ULIPs and endowment plans will help you to accumulate wealth and have a regular flow of income even after retirement.

• Protection against critical illnesses

  Apart from the critical medical conditions like heart failure, kidney impairment, etc., which affect a large number of people, women are exclusively at the risk of certain forms of cancer like breast cancer or cervical cancer, amongst others. Treatment for such illnesses is not only lengthy and traumatic but can also lead to a significant financial burden for you and your family. A life insurance plan with critical illness cover, helps you stay mentally and financially prepared to fight these critical illnesses.

• Obtaining tax benefits*

  In addition to other benefits, a life insurance plan also helps you in saving taxes through various provisions available as per tax slabs and laws.

• Utilising cash value benefits

  Several life insurance products acquire a cash value against which loans can be taken. This can help you with liquidity for contingencies.

Types of insurance to choose from:

Depending on your needs and goals, there are a vast number of life insurance products and offerings available for you to select from. Based on your risk appetite, you can opt for traditional or market-linked insurance products. Here are some of the options you can choose from:

• A term insurance plan offers a large cover at affordable premiums which will secure your family’s financial future and stability, in case of your absence
• An endowment plan is just like a regular savings plan but with the additional benefit of providing a life cover
• A unit-linked life insurance policy (ULIP) is a plan which acts as a systematic investment tool to help build your wealth by offering growth and returns depending on the market situation
• An annuity plan and a retirement plan can act as a source of regular income for your post-retirement life

Whether it’s for the financial protection of the family or to build a corpus for future goals, life insurance is a must-have. A small investment by you today can help you in ensuring a secure future for you and your family.

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