In today’s world, insurance has become an integral part of healthcare. In fact, on a broader aspect, insurance is an active health investment in every family. Accept it or not, even today, woman don’t get fair share of care in any average Indian family. Insurance for woman is one delicate area which needs utmost attention.
Accept it or not, insurance for woman is also a part of woman empowerment. Women play a pivotal role in families, but often there are instances when they do not give importance to themselves and ignore matters like insurance. Whether any woman is single or married, unemployed or breadwinning, it is imperative that women must be adequately insured.
Keeping the typical requirements of women in mind, such as protection, health, retirement, child’s education, long-term savings and investments, various Insurance Companies have also come up with Women’s plans mainly for health and life. These are a set of specially-created and hand-picked products which suit the needs of women at different stages of their lives.
Taking my own example, before I started working, I had no knowledge of what insurance can cover and whether women need separate covers. Notably, I was updated and proactive with the financial planning for my household from my spouse’s perspective. Later, I realized women need different financial solutions than men like financial protection, women-specific health risks and financial security in retirement. Pregnancy complications & hospitalizations are other major costs that can easily be covered through Insurance.
Holding your kid for the first time brings a smile but the hospital bills may soon take it away. My entire hospitalization costs, twice, for pregnancy, were paid for by the Insurance Co., and we all know how much the bills amount to in private hospitals in Metro & Tier 1 cities. Since then, I have been strongly advocating these maternity covers to newly-married couples.
When one of my female friends was diagnosed with a typical lung cancer, which is more common in women than in men, she realized that her medical insurance was inadequate, since it was not designed keeping her in mind. I suggested her how blindly being a part of the family health/Life plan is not effective as women have distinct concerns which need to be accounted for when choosing the plans. For e.g. stroke, breast, ovarian, uterine & lung cancer, heart diseases are some of the common diseases women are more prone to & should be considered when taking health Insurance for women.
While it might not get its due attention, risks also exist in a woman’s life, sometime even more than a man’s. Being a woman, if you haven’t yet thought about it, wait no more, start now!
