What if Things Don't Go As Planned?

Any human being doesn’t want to even imagine about his / her death. All of us wants to believe that we are immortals. In Mahabharata, there was a dialogue between Yudhishtira and Yaksha where Yudhishtira answered the questions asked by Yaksha. One of the questions asked by Yaksha was ‘What is the greatest wonder?’. Yudhishtira replied ‘Day after day countless people die. Yet the living wish to live forever. O Lord, what can be a greater wonder?’

Of course, let us wish and pray that we become immortals. But, have you ever asked this question to yourself, ‘what if I die?. What if things don’t go as planned? I am not talking about life after death. I am talking about life of your family members after your death.

Lets understand this with an example. Mohit died in an accident in Mumbai. He had a family, wife and two children. He also had a life insurance policy for 10 lakhs. The Insurance company promptly settled the claim for 10 lakhs. The family was not happy. Mohit was earning 2 lakhs per month. Their monthly expenses for the family were around 1 lakh. There was a loan on their home for around 50 lakhs and on their car for around 5 lakhs. There were routine expenses like school fees etc. Obviously, 10 lakhs claim amount was not sufficient for the family. They had no other financial resources. How do the family live with a meager 10 lakhs?

Many of us buy life insurance because our cousin / friend / neighbor is an insurance agent. And we feel we are helping that agent by buying a policy. Sometimes, we also fall prey to false promises like higher return on premium than a bank deposit etc. Our life insurance need is the last thing in mind while buying a life insurance policy. Isn’t that an irony?

Having life insurance policy is not enough. You need to have adequate life insurance. The thumb rule is, the life insurance cover should be around 5 to 10 times of your annual income. Add all the loans you have, to this amount. That will be your total insurance requirement. Only then, your family can lead a decent life, in case you die. Otherwise, you are doing a great injustice to your family. Their standard of living will fall miserably if you don’t have adequate life cover.

So, don’t buy life insurance policy for the sake of your insurance agent. Buy the policy for the sake of your family. Provide them security and protection.