85% Indians want more insurance to protect lifestyles: survey

Amid rising disposable income levels and better health, education and housing conditions, as much as 85% of middle income earners in India feel a greater need for additional insurance to protect their lifestyles, according to a survey.

According to the ING Investor Dashboard Survey for the second quarter of 2011, more than 75% of respondents that believe they have less coverage than they require want to purchase an additional insurance policy in the coming 12 months.

The survey reveals that within the Asia-Pacific region, Indians feel that there is a greater need to protect their lifestyle and intend to purchase additional insurance policies in the next one year.

"With rising disposable income, better health, education and housing conditions, more and more individuals have lifestyles that they want to protect," ING Insurance Asia Pacific CEO Frank Koster said, adding that insurance policies with attached savings plans are proving to be the product that attracts the maximum demand.

Priority-wise, within the Asia-Pacific region, Indians attach the highest importance to their children's education after the need to protect family income. Saving for retirement is the third-most important priority for Indians, the survey said.

"Indians have a strong desire to give good education to their children. Compared to the region, Indians have the backing of a joint family system, which makes retirement planning a lesser priority," ING Life India Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer Uco Vegter said.

As the nuclear family system grows in India, we will see growth in the retirement segment too, Vegter added.

Due to prevailing high interest rates, the Indian middle class finds fixed deposits their favorite instrument to plan for their child's needs, followed by life insurance policies.

The survey further reveals that parents are starting to save for their child early, with over 45% of the Indians surveyed asserting that they prefer to start saving for their children when they are 0–3 years of age.

The survey tracked insurance purchasing behaviour across seven markets (China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan) in order to explore the lifestyle choices of Asia's middle class.

The survey was conducted in June, 2011, and involved online interviews with a total of 2,329 middle income respondents aged 25 years and above across seven Asia-Pacific markets.