Is North India Financially Ready for Life?
HDFC Life’s Latest Survey Results Show a 30-point Gap between Perception and Reality
Lucknow: HDFC Life has released regional findings for North India on their Ready for Life Index (RLI). The findings reveal a financially confident region with identified areas for improving long-term readiness. The report, done in collaboration with Ipsos India, tests perceived and actual readiness levels on four fronts – Financial Planning, Emergency Preparedness, Health & Well-being, and Retirement Strategy.
North India has an RLI index at 56, slightly lower than the All-India average at 59. A 30-point gap between perception and action highlights the difference between confidence and actual steps taken towards ensuring financial readiness.
Emergency preparedness is identified as a major improvement area. Less than half of the surveyed individuals have an emergency corpus. Also, liquidity of the emergency corpus is low as it takes over a week to access the funds. Such observations highlight the need for accessible savings avenues to effectively handle unexpected scenarios of financial disruptions.
In terms of financial priorities, North India tracks the national average, with the primary purpose of savings being for children’s education. On the other hand, the priorities are relatively higher for the purpose of buying or owning a house and for starting or expanding the family business. The consumer portfolio in the region is diversified with fixed deposits, health insurance, and endowment policies being the most purchased or owned products. The ownership of term insurance products is equal to the national average.
Protection for self and family
The motivations towards buying term insurance are strongly associated with family security and emotional reassurance.
The protection of the family's future, recommendations from trusted contacts, and the need for peace of mind emerge as top triggers, while life events such as critical illness also drive decision-making.
There are still awareness gaps on the benefits, concerns around medical underwriting, and a perception that term insurance provides limited value if no claim arises, driving consumer behaviour and flagging the need for financial education.
Retirement planning needs to be stronger
Retirement planning in North India is still at a nascent stage. More than half of the respondents have not started retirement planning as yet, and the overwhelming majority of them are expecting moderate to high support from family members after retirement. These trends indicate an opportunity for creating more awareness on longevity, rising healthcare costs, and the need to create an independent retirement corpus.
Vineet Arora – Executive Director & Chief Business Officer, HDFC Life, elaborated more on the insights for North India. “North India shows high financial confidence and ambitions, especially in relation to wealth creation and securing families. The Ready for Life Index identifies a thirst to translate confidence into higher levels of preparedness in terms of protecting, preparing for emergencies, and preparing for retirement. The focus is to enable individuals translate intent into action and become financially prepared at every stage.”
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