Whichever stage we may be in, life insurance as a category offers relevant propositions for us to consider as we progress in our life journeys.

In olden days, one of the core elements of the “Indian” way of life was the ashram system. Essentially, this principle divided each individual’s life journey into 4 different stages or 4 “ashrams”. As individuals grew older, they traversed through each stage of life, beginning from Bramhacharya to Grihastha to Vanaprastha and finally the last stage of Sannyasa. Each stage of life came with its duties and responsibilities. For a peaceful, contented life, individuals were expected to fulfil the duty as appropriate for the stage of life that they were in.  

In this article we take a look at the role that insurance can play in each “ashram” of life. 

Bramhacharya

At this stage of life, the individual is expected to focus on gaining knowledge that will act as a moral and practical guide for all future endeavors. In today’s day and age, this can refer to someone who has finished education and has started working. This is what we commonly refer to as the “first jobber” segment. This is the stage when the individual is building a platform for the rest of their life. 

To this segment, the primary role that insurance can play is introducing the habit of small savings consistently to be done for the long-term. Secondly, buying a term plan at this stage of life can also be beneficial as at this age, the premiums are affordable and the life cover will be available for as long as the individual wants it for.

Grihastha

As per the ashram system, this is the stage where an individual gets married, starts a family, and gets involved in the duties of a householder. The individual in this stage is expected to focus on their profession, as that helps generate wealth. In turn, the wealth that is created can be used not just for the well-being of the family but also for the betterment of society through charity. 

Life insurance addresses the requirements of the Grihastha stage in multiple ways. The householder has various medium to long-term goals. These goals could be of different types such as children’s education or a bigger home for self. Depending on the nature of the goal, the long-term savings plans of life insurance are a great option for individuals to evaluate. Not only do these plans provide savings and growth choices as per the individual’s risk profile, they also provide life cover which provides financial security to the individual’s family.

For customers who have taken loans to fund their homes or their children’s education, pure-term plans provide the safety net which ensures the financial well-being of the family in the unfortunate event of the death of the primary breadwinner of the family.

Vanaprastha 

This is the life stage, where the individual is supposed to focus towards spiritual growth and shifts his/her gaze away from materialistic pursuits. 

In real terms, shifting the gaze away from materialism can only happen if one is safe in the knowledge that everyday needs will be met and taken care of. This is where insurance can play a role. Annuity products offered by life insurance companies provide a regular income insulated from any kind of volatility for the whole life. Annuity products also offer the joint life option. This feature ensures that in the event of the demise of the primary annuitant, the secondary annuitant continues to receive income for life.  The safety net of assured income gives one the space to focus on higher order pursuits.  

Sannyasa

The last stage of ashram system talks about the phase of “letting go”. In present times, this stage could be equated to that phase when the individual has no further material needs. At this stage, the focus should be on distributing the wealth that one has accumulated through charities or to the next generation. In this context, life insurance can be used as an effective legacy creation instrument for the next generation. One can invest in a savings policy and make the maturity proceeds available to one’s children or grandchildren. This ensures effective transfer of one’s savings to the next generation and serves as a legacy creation tool.  

There is a certain degree of eternal truth to the ashram structure that was followed in olden days. Even today, while these stages may no longer be referred to by their given names, each one of us is going through these stages in our individual life journeys. Whichever stage we may be in, life insurance as a category offers relevant propositions for us to consider as we progress in our life journeys.