The recent pandemic brought home the acute need for proper financial planning. This festive season is a good time as any to gift your loved one’s life-long security by gifting them an insurance plan.

All of us, in theory, would like to be financially secure, and have enough put away to take care of emergencies, and help our families live the lives they have been dreaming of. But in reality, most people are so caught up in the business of daily living that financial planning just gets pushed – to the next weekend, next month, next long holiday or next year.

The recent pandemic brought home the acute need for proper financial planning. This festive season is a good time as any to gift your loved one’s life-long security by gifting them an insurance plan.

Insurance: A Gift For Our Times

As the world gently steps out of the pandemic that brought everything to a standstill, there is a greater appreciation of friends and family who have stuck together and helped each other tide over the difficult days. As you go about making your gift list and gifts to buy, you may want to consider gifting insurance to some really special people in your life.

Sure, it is not a typical Diwali gift, but these are not typical times either. It is a gift that truly expresses your love and will last beyond the holidays.

Gifting a loved one life, health, or a term insurance policy is a wonderful way to say you ‘CARE’ for them and their families. That’s right, insurance as gifts say you “CARE: Cherish – Acknowledge – Reward – Engage”.

Insurance Says You Cherish The Receiver

This is a great gift for someone who has been putting off buying insurance. With this gift, you can help them get started on this journey of building a safer financial future for their families. It is also a great gift for young children. The funds can be pooled together to gift a policy that the child can later put to use for higher education, world travel, first home, etc. It’s a great way to tell your loved ones that you cherish their happiness.

Insurance Says Your Acknowledge Your Loved One’s Need To Be Financially Independent

Financial independence is the key to a successful life. Whether it is children, parents, an unemployed wife, or a younger sibling who needs help with financial planning, making them financially independent gives them to power to dream big. By gifting insurance, you are acknowledging their dreams, hopes and ambitions, and empowering them to achieve the same.

You can identify the receiver’s insurance requirements and opt for an appropriate policy. Add on riders to customize the insurance policy specifically to the receiver’s lifestyle and life stage. Not surprisingly, it makes a great gift for children and even parents. Retirement policies can help your parents live their retired years independently.

Insurance Rewards Financial Discipline

In this era of instant gratification, insurance is a gentle yet sure-shot way of teaching a young child the value of patience and discipline when it comes to finances. This gift gives a child the confidence to dream big, knowing when the time comes, the funds will be in place to help realize his/her ambitions.

On the other hand, if you are gifting this to a young person who has been deferring the purchase of insurance, you will be doing their family a favour by getting them started on the path to disciplined financial planning and enabling them peace of mind in the future.

Insurance Is An Engagement For Life

The entire tradition of gifting is a way to remain in the thoughts of your loved ones when you are not with them physically. You hope they will remember you when they come upon your gift over the years. This is a role that insurance lives up to beautifully. The very nature of this gift will keep you and the receiver engaged for the entire tenure of the policy and beyond. It is a gift that is truly timeless. Plus the policyholder can also avail of tax benefits.

When looking to gift an insurance policy, you can pick from life insurance, health insurance, child endowment policy, retirement policy, term insurance, and so on. As explained earlier, the base policy can have riders added on… but while gifting you must remember, riders add on to the premium.

After gifting an insurance policy, regular premiums must be paid to keep the policy active. Do your bit to remind the receiver to make regular payments and safeguard his family’s future. You can be rest assured, the family will appreciate your concern and care for years to come.

As you explore this new gifting idea this festive season, here’s wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Diwali and a great new year ahead!

by Sunder Natarajan, Chief Compliance Risk Officer, IndiaFirst Life Insurance