Coimbatore : Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd (“Max Life”) in association with Kantar recently unveiled the India Protection Quotient (“IPQ”) 4.0 survey. Tapping 5,729 respondents across 25 Indian cities [between 10 December 2021 to 14 January 2022], the survey was carried out during the recent wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

South India registered the highest protection quotient with 51, followed by North (50), West and East (49). The region’s security levels also topped the scale at 57%, with North and East marginally behind at 56% and West at 54%. South India’s overall financial preparedness stems from its high uptake of life insurance at 80% and knowledge index of 71.

V. Viswanand, Deputy Managing Director, Max Life said: “With over two years since the pandemic, urban India has evolved its financial awareness and taken conscious steps to protect their future. IPQ 4.0 highlights a strong sense of financial security that prevails across regions, leading to a higher protection quotient generated in the survey compared to previous editions. While South India’s financial readiness is relatively higher than other regions, the plateaued growth witnessed in life insurance adoption is an area of concern. With greater investment in driving insurance awareness and penetration, I am confident South will be able to gain momentum and become financially protected in the true sense.”

Notes to the editor:

The following findings reveal insights that highlight South India’s shift across financial priorities and anxieties studied by India Protection Quotient 4.0:

. Leads in term insurance ownership across regions

South India registered the highest term insurance ownership at 45%, equalling North India. The ownership was notably higher than East (40%) and West (42%). South India also generated the highest conversion ratio (from term awareness to term ownership) of 57%, at par with North India.

• Region worries over children’s education and mental wellbeing

Among the top concerns noted in the region, 65% respondents worried about financing children’s education, followed by mental wellness (62%) and sustaining lifestyle/ expenses with current earnings (61%).

• Savings & investments is the primary objective

South India prioritized savings and investments over luxury expenses, with 53% saving for children’s education, 37% for children’s marriage, 36% for medical emergencies and 36% for retirement living.

• Premium and cover among top factors for term purchase

2 in every 3 respondents owning term insurance believed their term cover was insufficient to safeguard the future of their family. Additionally, 68% and 69% term insurance owners weighed the importance of cover and premium when purchasing term plans. 51% found claims settlement ratio to be a significant parameter, while 46% sought advice from insurance agents.

• Key challenges play impediment to term plan purchase

28% associated term plans with high premiums and believed the insurance carried hidden clauses in terms & conditions. 23% were also less confident of receiving claims settlement upon purchase.

• Offline sources dominate touchpoints for term insurance buying

90% in the region cited offline medium as the main source of information for purchasing term plans, with 55% seeking advice from insurance agents and 39% referring to the insurer website.

• Low awareness on critical illness riders

The survey noted that 75% in the region were aware of critical illness riders, the lowest compared to East at 86%, West at 82% and North at 80%. It also fell short on ownership with only 31% adoption among respondents.

Disclaimer:

The study is conducted in top 25 Urban metro, Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities; hence, its findings are representative of metro, Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities of Urban India only.

• Metro – Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai
• Tier 1 – Ludhiana, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Vizag, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Pune
• Tier 2 – Dehradun, Moradabad, Guwahati, Bokaro, Kolhapur, Jamnagar, Raipur, Ujjain, Hubli-Dharwad, Tiruchirappalli
• IPQ 3.0 Express vs IPQ 4.0 (digital versions) data comparison is amongst 25 markets only [6 metros, 9 Tier 1 and 10 Tier 2]
• The minimum sample to conclude any findings of the study is 270 with an error margin of +-5.964%