Individuals need insurance to protect them against the risk of dying early, risk of living long, risk of surviving a dreaded disease, risk of living with total and permanent disability, risk of high medical expenses, so on and so forth. There are hosts of insurance products available to meet such needs. Equally important is the amount of sum assured. Unlike developed countries, most Indian don't pay much attention to having an adequate insurance cover.
As per the available public data, life insurance accounts for only 19 per cent of total household savings. Further, life insurance penetration in India is merely 2.72 per cent compared to 3.74 per cent in Asia and 3.99 per cent in Europe. Globally, the average rate of life insurance penetration is 3.47 per cent. Insurance density (premium per capita) is another measure of insurance purchased in a country. Life insurance premium per capita for India stood at $46.5 as against $229.5 for Asia and $961.9 for Europe.
