Life expectancy is defined as
the expected (in the statistical sense) number of years of life
remaining at a given age.
World life expectancy
levels (source: Google Public Database)
Life expectancy in
the developed world (US and Canada is close to 80 years of age. The world
average for life expectancy is 70. The
developing world average, particularly India is 62. What does this have to do
financial planning you would say?
Well, for the
developed world living to long translates into the need for better retirement
planning.
For countries like India, where the life expectancy is 65 and most
individuals continue working way past the retirement age of 60, this translates
into the need for "insurance", so that the ones who you care about are financial secure. But is it only financial security that matters, can life insurance be a solution.
Can leaving large sums of money left behind ensure that the problem of people dying young go away? There is more to this crisis that is only getting worse..
Life expectancy in
India by state:
State
|
Life expectancy at birth
(2011)
|
74
|
|
69.4
|
|
67.2
|
|
67
|
|
66.2
|
|
66.2
|
|
65.3
|
|
64.9
|
|
64.4
|
|
64.1
|
|
63.5
|
|
62
|
|
61.6
|
|
60
|
|
60
|
|
59.6
|
|
58.9
|
|
58
|
|
58
|
|
58
|
On diving deeper and
looking at the life expectancy, region wise you should also ask why? Now I have
added one more column to this region wise data i.e. per capita income
State
|
Life
expectancy at birth (2011)
|
Per Capita Income (INR)
Regionwise
|
74
|
83725
|
|
69.4
|
78171
|
|
67.2
|
83471
|
|
67
|
73608
|
|
66.2
|
94680
|
|
66.2
|
72993
|
|
65.3
|
60946
|
|
64.9
|
48536
|
|
64.4
|
62912
|
|
64.1
|
75115
|
|
63.5
|
53331
|
|
62
|
42434
|
|
61.6
|
20708
|
|
60
|
26355
|
|
60
|
66368
|
|
59.6
|
40412
|
|
58.9
|
30569
|
|
58
|
29786
|
|
58
|
41167
|
|
58
|
32222
|
So the regions that
have low per capita income à Fewer people have access to Health care à Low Life Expectancy
Conclusion
The point of this
article is too make you realize that "YES" life insurance should be a number one
priority for poorer regions. Saving is good but securing the life on people who
matter to you is also important.
But to solve the puzzle, its important that people in these regions have access to health Insurance. Hospitals are not profitable in regions where people earn less and when they do not have health insurance this only increases the burden on the state.
Solution
Financial companies that sell health insurance should be encouraged to or mandated by the government to sell health insurance in these poorer regions. Marketing budgets and message from the government educating people on "Why health insurance is important should be the focus".
Health Insurance coverage --> Profitable hospitals --> Better Life expectancy Rates --> More productive work force --> Higher tax collection for the government --> Higher amount allocated towards healthcare spend --> WIN WIN FOR ALL