National Insurance Day: 79% of Indians Unsure If Their Policy Offers Adequate Coverage: CoverSure Survey
65% of policyholders have limited or no understanding of their insurance benefits
CoverSure, a consumer-focused InsurTech, today released insights from its latest Survey, revealing a significant gap between insurance ownership and coverage awareness among Indian policyholders. The survey highlighted 79% of respondents being unsure of the adequacy of their coverage. This uncertainty points to a widespread risk of under-insurance, leaving a large segment of policyholders financially vulnerable despite having insurance
The survey, conducted with over 5,000 individuals across metros and Tier 2 and 3 cities, uncovers major gaps in policy comprehension, family awareness, and management mechanisms.
The survey reveals that while insurance ownership in India is on the rise, policy awareness remains critically low. Around 71 percent of respondents hold between two to five active insurance policies, with life insurance being the most common at 63 percent, followed by health insurance at 24 percent and motor insurance at 13 percent. Despite owning these policies, 65 percent of policyholders admit they have limited or no understanding of key policy details including benefits, exclusions, and claims processes. Only 35 percent claim to fully understand the benefits and terms of their policies.
The gap in insurance understanding extends beyond policyholders to their families. According to the survey, 60 percent of dependents are unaware they are covered under any policy, and only one in ten can accurately describe the coverage or benefits available to them. This lack of awareness often leads to misses in claim submission, claim rejections or policy not used effectively. In addition, most people continue to rely on fragmented methods to manage their insurance documents. About 29 percent use physical files, 26 percent maintain spreadsheets, 24 percent depend on SMS alerts, and 21 percent store documents in digital folders. These disjointed approaches make it difficult to retrieve critical information when it’s needed most. It may further lead to challenging situations during raising claims and renewal of the policies.
Further, preferences for insurance support revealed a notable difference in respondent behaviour. While 36% favour engaging with human advisors, 26% are open to digital assistance. Surprisingly, 38% believe they need no help, even though most respondents lack clarity about their policies, highlighting a potential gap in awareness and decision-making. This self-reliance is notable, especially considering that most respondents showed limited understanding of their actual policy coverage—highlighting a clear gap between perceived and actual insurance literacy.
Saurabh Vijayvergia, Founder & CEO, CoverSure, said, “This survey shows that focusing on insurance penetration alone isn’t enough. What people need is insurance that they can understand and use effectively. If policyholders don’t know what’s covered or how to use it, the very purpose of insurance is defeated. While ownership is growing, true financial protection comes only when policyholders and their families are sure of their insurance. Policyholders need to make informed decisions, take ownership of understanding their policy and make insurance a topic of conversation amongst their family. The report has been released ahead of National Insurance Awareness Day, emphasising the need to improve insurance literacy and empower individuals to make informed decisions about their financial protection.”
