Why should men have all the security?

We still follow the stereotypical mentality of male being the prominent breadwinner of the family. Over the ages, traditionally, women have been homemakers in India. The scenario has changed drastically in recent times. The Indian woman's transition from home maker to breadwinner has been phenomenal. Moreover, they have taken a march over their male counterparts by taking up multidimensional roles in the form of a professional, home-maker, mother and financial planner. While Indian woman are on a role model with many of them fighting neck-to-neck for their identity and development attaining various important position in business, social and political sector etc. many are still lag behind due to lack of education or peer family pressure. The prime concern here is whether irrelevant of woman being a housewife or professional are we not concern about women’s financial security?

Therefore, insurance companies have come up with customized life insurance policies for women, whether they are working, working from or at home or are housewives. With this in mind, the article offers some insights on women's life insurance. 

In the early years, when insurance industry came into existence, the trend was to insure only male lives. The logic was that the female of the species was home-bound anyway, wasnot exposed to any risk, and therefore didnot need any sort of insurance. Since the bread winner was the male it was assumed that against his loss income will generate the need of insurance coverage. Secondly, since many female lives are at risk due to the inevitable part of the childbirth process it only added to their sorrows and endanger of the beautiful species.

But now things have changed. The tussle of a woman with men at the workplace along with better education for the female child, increased economic contribution by women, better medical facilities for safer childbirth and post-natal care have all contributed to more and more insurance products that are women-specific.

When it comes to buying life insurance for women, they are broadly classified in three categories: Working women, Women with income by way of interest, dividend, rent, etc., that are taxable and housewives or homemakers who do not have an income. The first two categories are just like male counterparts. They are treated just like professionals buying insurance service to protect and give financial security to themselves and their family. A housewife, on the other hand, has her insurability tied to adequate life insurance cover for her husband as well as his income. For instance, a housewife’s life insurance cover cannot exceed her husband’s. Apart from this all basic covers such as life, personal accident, mediclaim, critical illness etc. form a part of women’s life insurance policies too.

In women insurance policies childbirth comes into aspect. These include:

•Cover for certain female critical illnesses

•Occurrence of certain congenital disabilities in new-borns

•Cradle care - covers the newly born child's defects, deformity, malformation, congenital abnormality of any kind at time of delivery

Some of the exclusions would be:

•Post delivery complications

•Still-born child

•Death of the mother during childbirth

•Miscarriage, infanticide

•Any defect that is not congenital

•Malfunctioning of any organ

•Any defect, which manifests itself after 200 days of the delivery

Most of these life insurance policies are benefit-only policies i.e., they come to effect on the specified event happening. Another important point is that most pre-natal and birth-related policies have to be taken not later than the 20th week of pregnancy. Woman carries the future of the race, literally. They can never be thanked enough for the commitment, pain, and dedication they show in life. Just like ancient age goddess, in today’s modern era one woman has many avatars as home-maker, mother, wife, professional, financial planner etc. Surely a service to the women will be introducing such life insurance policies to help a fair bit in reducing the monetary impact of the loss of the woman at every home, society and in the nation.