Kumar Bahukhandi
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West India’s Ready for Life Index score stands at 59, at par with the All-India average, though has a relatively wider gap in Intent vs. Action, as compared to All India
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The region shows the highest ownership of term insurance, reflecting strong protection awareness
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Consumers in the West region maintain the most diversified financial portfolios across zones, with high ownership of health insurance, mutual funds, and equities
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The findings highlight an opportunity to initiate retirement planning earlier and strengthen emergency preparedness
HDFC Life has launched regional findings related to the West region of India, based on insights from its ‘Ready for Life Index’ (RLI) study.
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Mr. Vineet Arora, Executive Director and Chief Business Officer, HDFC Life
The Ready for Life Index 2025 is a proprietary research initiative by HDFC Life, conducted in partnership with Ipsos India. Based on 1,836 face-to-face interviews with working men and women aged 25–55 years across metros, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities, the study evaluates India’s life readiness across four key pillars — Financial Planning, Emergency Preparedness, Health & Well-being, and Retirement Strategy.
The index aims to bridge the gap between perception and preparedness, encouraging a shift from short-term saving to structured, long-term financial planning.
The findings of West region reflect national readiness values, with key regional competencies existing in diversified investment and protection awareness. West India shows an index score of 59 in the Ready for Life Index, which is equal to the average for the whole country. West India, however, has an opportunity gap of 29 points in the context of perceived versus actual action, which highlights high financial confidence with an opportunity for greater readiness in areas like retirement planning.
Emergency preparedness in West India presents a mixed picture. This region has a near-equal number of people with and without an emergency corpus. Among those who have built a corpus, access and adequacy are relatively stronger; over two in five respondents can access their emergency funds within 48 hours, while nearly half indicate that their savings could sustain expenses for more than four months. These findings indicate the need for stronger emergency preparedness planning through proper procedures, which can also lead to a shift toward healthier practices.
Children’s education and funding are priorities for the West region along with highest ownership of Term insurance
Financial planning priorities in the West remain well in line with national trends, with children’s education remaining the number one savings priority. Worth mentioning is that funding or scaling up business remains one of the primary goals.
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Consumers in West India have the most diversified financial portfolios among the various regions, with high ownership levels for health insurance, mutual funds, and stocks.
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The region also reports the highest ownership of term insurance, underlining strong awareness of protection needs.
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Key triggers for buying term insurance include protection of the family’s future, high cover affordability, and life-stage changes like marriage or parenthood.
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Medical underwriting concerns, lack of benefit awareness, and discomfort with mortality contemplation continue to guide decision-making and point to further needs for engagement and education.
Retirement Planning needs focus
In terms of retirement planning the West region reflects a stronger focus on short-term goals, with nearly two-thirds of respondents indicating that they have not yet started planning for retirement. However, among those who have planned, there is greater realism around long-term needs.
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A significant proportion recognises the need for a retirement corpus of up to ₹3 crore, and more than half believe their savings could last for over 20 years.
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The region also reflects better awareness of increasing medical costs, anchored by a strong focus on health insurance as part of retirement strategy.
Vineet Arora – Executive Director & Chief Business Officer, HDFC Life, elaborated more on the insights for the West Zone, “The study highlights that for the West region of India, financial readiness, diversification, and awareness of risk solutions – all are in balance. In the HDFC Life Ready for Life Index, there is an opportunity to leverage these strengths by encouraging more people to begin retirement savings and emergency preparation earlier. With evolving financial needs, awareness to action will be crucial in developing financial resilience.”
