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Insurance for Women
By Deepak Yohannan  
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It is a well-known fact that women in India disregard the need for insurance. Patriarchal families where men were the sole breadwinners and the joint family system traditionally negated the need for insuring the women of the household. But as increasing numbers of women enter the workforce and as nuclear families become the norm, the need for insuring women has increased manifold.
The tendency to dismiss the importance of insurance must be corrected. Given rising standards of living and soaring inflation, women’s insurance has become a necessity. As we will discuss below, salaried mothers are not the only ones to require the safety net of insurance.

Do All Women Need Insurance?
Yes, insurance has become essential for women from all backgrounds. For instance, it is commonly accepted that working women form an expected target group for life insurance—particularly if they have financial dependents. The trend towards insuring the lives of stay-at-home moms has not taken off yet, but one must think about the cost of raising children in the absence of a stay-at-home mom before dismissing the idea of insuring her.
Insurance needs differ from one household to another. Thus, the needs of a woman with children, a spouse and dependent parents will differ from those of a woman with no financial dependents. In the following, let us examine how women can benefit from various kinds of insurance.

Life Insurance for Women
As touched upon above, a working woman with financial dependents has an obvious need for life insurance. Her death will have a direct bearing on the financial future of their family; hence, risk protection in the form of a life insurance policy is necessary for her beneficiaries. It is harder to estimate the financial contribution of a homemaker/stay-at-home mom. In this case, one must calculate the savings that she makes possible—for example, by eliminating the need to hire a cook or baby sitter. Her death could lead to additional expenses for the family—a risk that adequate life insurance could protect against to a large extent.

Health Insurance for Women
Most salaried women are content with the basic healthcare policy provided by their employers. They assume that this is sufficient and do not consider extending this whether through add-ons or a new policy. On the contrary, these women should examine their workplace policies and seek to cover any gaps that might be presents—for example, maternity insurance during pregnancy. Given the double-digit rates of medical inflation, the entire family—including working and non-working women—must come under the purview of medical insurance. Working women with dependent parents can additionally seek tax benefits under section 80D by insuring the health of their families and parents. 

Retirement & Goal-based Planning for Women
Women who have no financial dependents do not need life insurance in the traditional sense, but they can use insurance to plan for their retirement. Using insurance for retirement planning is a safe and low-risk option for women with various insurance requirements. For instance, annuities are a good way to ensure a lifelong income. In addition, mothers can invest in child plans to prepare for their children’s future education expenses.


The author is the CEO of MyInsuranceClub.com, an online insurance price & features comparison portal. You may write to the author at Twitter on @dyohannan

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