Life insurance sales rise amid second wave of Covid-19 pandemic

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Chitra, from Ghaziabad, works in a gas compressor manufacturing company in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh. She lives with her husband and is soon expecting their first child by the May end. The family is tensed due to the Covid-induced healthcare crisis in the national capital region.

They are treading very carefully so that both the mother and the baby are safe and sound. Before pandemic struck, they had never felt the need to financially secure their life from any uncertainties. But from the last couple of weeks, they are actively looking to buy life insurance.

The second wave of covid-19 and the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic has triggered a much-needed change in their mindset towards insurance. Like Chitra, more and more people are now buying a term insurance policies for financial security.

33 % spike in term insurance sales “We are seeing a jump of about 33% over and above the regular expected number of people buying term insurance,” says Sajja Praveen Chowdary – Head Term Insurance, Policybazaar.com. He said that the customers have become more aware in the past three weeks especially due to the kind of death rate the country has seen. This situation, combined with a scenario where anyone after testing covid positive has to go through additional scrutiny by the insurance company to get term insurance is also driving this flow.

Young consumers are actively buying “We are seeing 25% more people in the age 25-30years buying term insurance in April & May compared to previous months,” Chowdary added.

According to a PwC report, pure life covers are seeing renewed interest and since term insurance is largely an online market, the sale has spiked.

A change in the mindset The recent trends have shown a change in people’s approach. Though, they have for long understood the value of term insurance is something that gives a huge cover for a very small premium. A good chunk of them kept postponing the decision to buy by giving the wrong priority to other financial instruments/ needs. But, at this stage, they are more concerned and are just looking to get a policy for themselves. There has been a greater awareness about being protected and protecting your loved ones since the pandemic hit.