Life insurance is the most preferred investment option for Indians

19 January 2009

According to the recently conducted Nielsen Life 2008 survey, Life Insurance has the highest
penetration levels amongst investment options with 44 per cent preference, followed by bank fixed deposits at 35 per cent.

Gold at 33 per cent and property with prefernece levls of 23 per cent are the other favourites among Indians.

The current financial turmoil makes it a tough case for equity markets.

Nielsen Life 2008 is a syndicated study that provides insurers an understanding of the overall Indian insurance market. It gauges awareness, perceptions, concerns, motivators / barriers, satisfaction levels and usage towards insurance among retail consumers.

''The Indian insurance market is buoyant since its opening up," says Kalyan Karmakar, associate director, consumer research, The Nielsen Company.
 
Karmakar says, "It is interesting to note that in the beginning of the year 2000 there was only one player in the insurance sector but today we have 22 players with varied offerings. Insurance buyers have responded positively to this with a rising number of buyers looking at private players for their second policies.,

Future intention to invest Again, Life Insurance topped the list of future investment instruments with 30 percent respondents agreeing to consider it as a future investment option, followed by bank fixed deposits (11 per cent), gold and property (both 7 per cent), and life insurance child plans (6 per cent).