Indians most willing to take risks, says survey

India's Generation X and Y are most willing to take risks as compared to their counterparts in emerging Asia, says a recent survey. Read on to find out more.

Switzerland-based Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd had conducted a survey, the Swiss Re Survey of Risk Appetite and Insurance: Asia-Pacific 2011 in April and May 2011 to study risk and insurance habits of consumers in various countries in the Asia-Pacific continent.

The survey covered over 13,800 consumers aged between 20 to 40 years old across major cities of 11 Asia-Pacific markets, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.

For India, 2,000 consumers in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore were contacted online.

Some of the interesting highlights of the Swiss Re Survey of Risk Appetite and Insurance: Asia-Pacific 2011 are as follows:

• India's Generation X and Y of 20 to 40 years old are most willing to take risks as compared to their counterparts in emerging Asia.

• 78 percent are planning to buy life/health insurance products in the next 12 months. This ratio is the highest in Asia-Pacific.

• Perceived cost is a barrier to buying insurance; whereas life insurance is in general very affordable and within the price they are willing to pay.

• For the insurance industry, the 20 to 40 year olds are not only the future buyers of insurance, but also represent tremendous business opportunities now.

The insurance business is at a critical stage in India. The survey further reported that over the next two decades we are likely to witness high growth in the life insurance sector for four reasons.

1. It pointed that financial deregulation always speeds up the development of the insurance sector.

2. India's favourable demographics characterised by growing young population and increased longevity will drive demand for protection, health and annuity products.

3. Growth in disposable income influenced by strong economic growth prospects along with high savings rate and huge demand for tax planning products will continue to boost the life insurance growth in the future.

4. Huge untapped potential in the mid-sized cities and rural India presents long-term business growth opportunity for the life insurance sector.

The insurable population in India has been assessed at 250 million by 2020 and this number will increase in the coming decades. This should be supplemented by innovative insurance products and programmes with reinsurance support by companies and government to extend coverage to much larger sections of the population.

According to the survey, India has become the most risk taking emerging market in Asia. India ranks the 7th in the CAFRI table, behind all the developed markets.

Amit Kalra, Swiss Re's Head of Economic and Consulting India, says, "Across Asia Pacific, the 20 to 40 year olds in India are the most willing to take risks in their lifestyle, such as pursuing dangerous sports, working for long hours, and living in the present without caring about the future."

"But they continue to be among the least willing to take risks on their career (9th) and finance (10th). For instance, 83 percent of respondents still consider capital preservation as their top priority in making an investment. This proportion is the highest in the region," adds Kalra.

The study shows that a high majority (71 percent) of respondents in India are concerned about the amount they have to pay out of their pockets for medical expenses relating to major illness.

70 percent are concerned that their medical/health insurance premium will increase beyond their affordability in the future.

Both figures are higher than the Asia-Pacific averages of 67 percent and 58 percent respectively.

"Given the significant protection need, 78 percent of respondents in India are planning to buy life/health insurance products in the next 12 months. This ratio is the highest in the Asia-Pacific alongside Indonesia," says Kalra.

"The key drivers for insurance purchases are: the inability to pay for long-term medical expenses, getting a serious illness and early death."

This study also shows that life insurance is not as expensive as people may perceive, and is indeed very affordable in India.

When asked about what would stop them buying insurance, 42 percent of respondents said that price was an issue. However, 80 percent are willing to pay at or above the market price range for a specified term life insurance cover. This proportion is the highest in the region.

"More education is needed to ensure consumers understand the value of protection insurance against the price they pay," says Kalra.

The survey also shows that TV is most preferred (71 percent - the highest in the region) by respondents in India for sourcing financial information, followed by insurance agents (63 percent) and newspapers (53 percent).

An overwhelming majority of respondents (89 percent - the highest in the region) prefer buying life and health insurance through insurance agents, followed by banks (36 percent) and independent financial advisers (30 percent).

The most important criterion for choosing an insurance company is value for money (55 percent), followed by good reputation (52 percent) and financial soundness (42 percent).

"Insurers must demonstrate the benefits of insurance and their strong value propositions in order to meet the specific needs of consumers, who put strong emphasis on value, reputation and financial soundness," says Kalra.

Based on the above findings, following are the conclusions derived from the survey:

• For the insurance industry, Gen X and Gen Y represent tremendous business opportunities now, not only in the future.
• They have strong needs for insurance and financial planning, fuelled by worry about medical expenses.
• To unlock this significant market potential, insurers need to better understand their protection needs, the 'pull and push' factors driving insurance purchases, their main channels for sourcing information and buying insurance, as well as their key considerations in choosing insurers.
• Insurers must demonstrate the benefits of insurance and their strong value propositions to meet the specific needs of this client segment.