Covid-19 led to financial insecurities, says Max-Kantar study
Hyderabad: Urban India witnessed a positive movement of four points on the Protection Quotient scale from 35 (as per IPQ 2.0) to 39 (as per IPQ 3.0). However, it was found that in the backdrop of Covid-19, India continues to feel financially insecure, according to the latest joint study of Max Life Insurance Company and Kantar.
Conducted in the most uncertain and challenging times, Max Life IPQ 3.0 assesses the notable shifts in attitude of urban Indians from the beginning of the lockdown in March 2020, through the different phases of Covid-19, until announcement of a viable Covid-19 vaccine in December 2020.
Around 4,357 respondents were surveyed via face-to-face interviews with adequate safety measures across 25 cities comprising of 6 metros, 9 Tier I and 10 Tier II cities, making this one of the most comprehensive financial studies carried out during COVID-19 situation.
Urban India has grown more anxious about financial security and preparedness in the last one year, the survey noted, and there is a significant shift towards increasing savings and investments. Financial anxieties related to Covid-19, and ability of current earnings to cover expenses have emerged as top concerns for Urban Indians.
The survey revealed that the degree to which Urban Indians are aware about life insurance products or the Knowledge Index moved up by nine points to 55 and life insurance ownership levels increased by 500 basis points (bps) from IPQ2.0 to 71 per cent. The degree to which urban Indians feel financially secure and prepared or the Security Level dipped by 300 bps to 57 per cent amidst uncertain times. The survey shows a significant growth of Knowledge Index across all cities, age and gender, highlighting responsible outlook of urban India amidst uncertain times.
In the wake of the pandemic, the survey witnessed an increase in urban India’s levels of term insurance awareness and ownership. Now, 28 per cent of urban Indians own Term products, notably higher than the earlier 24 per cent as per IPQ 2.0.
Commenting on the launch of IPQ 3.0 Survey, Prashant Tripathy, MD and CEO, Max Life Insurance said, “The idea behind India Protection Quotient, when launched three years ago, was to make Indians more aware about the benefits of financial protection in the contemporary world.
Over the course of time, IPQ has come to be recognised as a valuable property, instrumental in helping consumers and the life insurance sector at large to understand the financial preparedness of urban Indians. And, while the survey has observed a positive trend in urban India’s approach to financial protection over the last three editions, there’s still a long way to go.”
Soumya Mohanty, MD and CCO, Kantar Insights, South Asia remarked on the findings of the survey, “IPQ as a flagship survey has grown to become a strong marker for the life insurance sector in India. Since its first edition in 2019, it has helped the sector sharpen their focus and product offerings.”
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.
Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .
