Reasons for Low Insurance (Life/Health) awareness in India

Insurance as a service sector has been very much in the picture right from the age old days, but has been gaining tremendous attention and business just in recent times. Today, we will find a certain number of people who are busy with the activity of getting themselves enrolled for new and new policies. On the other hand, we can also observe a specific number of insurance companies and so also individuals who are opting for a long term career in the insurance sector.

Hence, we can conclude that the insurance industry is better off if a comparison is to be made with the earlier days, but there is still some scope for improvement. However, there is one problem with respect to the insurance sector that needs immediate attention. This particular issue is related to the very low level of awareness about the Insurance policies and so also the sector as a whole among a large number of Indians both rural as well as urban citizens. There are several reasons that have led to this particular situation.

One particular survey that was conducted very recently threw light on the low awareness levels among urban Indians about a large number of insurance products. The word investment sounds absolutely lucrative to a good number of Indians. However, as far as insurance is concerned there is no specific channel that tends to highlight the fact that insurance is somewhat close to investment or more specifically an investment tool. Since, this viewpoint is not bought into limelight most of the people tend to ignore the concept of Insurance and thus avoid opting for any kind of insurance policies at large.

Secondly, most of the Indians tend to set short term goals and thus are often seen looking out for short term benefits. Most of the people lack knowledge about insurance and thus consider Insurance as one such sector wherein they would be blocking their money for a long period of time. They tend to live with this particular notion and thus fail to acquire the true facts about Insurance and thus stay miles away from this industry.

Apart from this, most of the Indians happen to take advices from their families and friends before zeroing down on any financial decision. They tend to overlook the help that is otherwise made available by professionals and experts. At times, friends and family tend to provide all the wrong information eventually leading to the individual making a decision that is likely to cost him or her a big price. Since sources from where information is collected happen to be unorganized, unreliable and informal it contributes to low insurance awareness in India.

Most of the times, individuals ignore the need of putting a little more efforts from their end in order to get a holistic view about the insurance industry and thus their knowledge about the industry tends to remain stagnated. It is essential that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority in coordination with the large number of public and private insurance companies takes some concrete step in order to create the much sought after awareness about this industry and so also the products that are offered by them to the general public at large. Though the low insurance awareness problem still persists in India finding a solution for the same is not very difficult.

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