This Mother’s Day Gift Your Mother a Perfect Insurance Policy

When it comes to buying life insurance, it would be fair to say that men rule the market. Most of the advertisements for life insurance focus on men. Then, why should women be left behind? In the past few years, the number of women buying life insurance has seen a jump. As of January 2019, women bought nearly one-third of all life insurance policies, according to a Times of India Report. This number is an indicator that slowly but surely, women are realizing that their life is also ‘insurable’.

Historically, we have been taught that insurance, especially life insurance, must be bought by income-earning women and men. And on the face of it, this argument makes sense. Any unfortunate incident with an income-earning member can severely impact a family’s finances so it is pertinent to buy insurance. 

However, this line of argument severely ignores the role of homemakers. Whether through pure term plans or insurance cum investment plans, the role of homemakers is now being recognized. 

How to pick the right sum assured for your mother?
If you wish to suggest a term plan for your mother, you will have to fix the sum assured (cover) and the term you wish to buy it for. In most cases, the cover is about 10-20 times the annual income. If your mother is working and yet does not have an insurance cover, make sure you follow the above-mentioned parameter to buy the term plan for her. 

But if she is not employed, most of the insurance companies provide the cover that is usually half of the insurance cover enjoyed by the husband of such housewives Ideally, her cover and subsequently the term and the premium will be decided on her age and her health condition etc. 

This is also why it is important to arrange a life cover as early as possible for your mother. With rising age, the premium will only get higher, so it is better to lock the amount early. Make sure that you check with more than one insurer as the premium can vary highly after a certain age.

Do not stress too much on the size of the cover. The larger focus should be to ensure a cover for your mother so that in the case of something unfortunate, her financial contributions are also acknowledged. 

Do not discount ULIPs

Given the popularity of Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) in India, you might be tempted to invest  in it. The policy term can change as per your needs and so can the payment of maturity benefits. 

The right ULIP will not only provide your mother with adequate coverage and also give her retirement benefits. The regular payouts can also become extremely handy in case she needs medical attention.

Your mother has worked extremely hard all her life and empowering her with an insurance cover may be an ideal way to show and highlight her importance to your entire family’s lives.