@ Vikas Sharma | Sr Journalist
New Delhi: Leading private life insurer, Bajaj Allianz Life, today, unveiled India’s first ever comprehensive study on the country’s life goals. India’s Life Goals Preparedness Survey 2019 is the company’s first flagship survey to identify the life goals, and aspirations of India, and how Indians are preparing to get them done.
In the Bajaj Allianz Life India’s Life Goals Preparedness Survey 2019 over 150 life goals were mapped. What stands out in these goals is how seriously Indians are considering unconventional life goals. Some of the new-age life goals that emerged include entrepreneurship, focus on health & fitness, travel, life enrichment to strengthen or re-establish the connection with ‘self’, amongst others.
Bajaj Allianz Life India’s Life Goals Preparedness Index is 53. This is a function of confidence, knowledge and most importantly action taken towards financial planning for their Life Goals. The Preparedness Index across India, age groups and geographies stood in the 50s range.
EMERGENCE OF UNCONVENTIONAL LIFE GOALS
- A rising life goal of Indians is being an entrepreneur, where 1 in every 10 Indian wants to start something new or pursue a parallel career
o Clearly highlighting that new-age Indians are no longer playing it safe and are willing to put in an effort and take the risks
- Retirement related life goals are becoming a priority, especially amongst Indian millennials
o 2 in 5 Indians have retirement related life goals; more so in metros, where every 1 in 2 people has a retirement related life goal
o Amongst Indian millennials, retirement related life goals features in the top 5 life goals, and 42% millennials consider it as their life goal
o More than 1 in 4 millennials in metros aspire to retire rich by growing their wealth
- One in three respondents cited focus on health and fitness as a life goal
o 1 in 3 Indians have a health or fitness related life goal
o Being physically and mentally fit was amongst the top 10 life goals of Indians
- Travel is catching-up as a part of the mainstream culture
o 1 in 4 respondents want to travel abroad or travel to new exotic locations
- 1 in 2 respondents seek a balanced life, which straddles work-life balance, reliving a passion and leading a peaceful life
- Philanthropy is a new-age life goal that emerged as well, clearly showcasing that Indians are keen on creating social impact
o 1 in 5 respondents said one of their life goals is the need to give back to society
o Philanthropic avenues included providing employment opportunities, support another’s dream or imparting knowledge through teaching
Speaking at the unveiling of the Bajaj Allianz Life India’s Life Goals Preparedness Survey 2019, Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said, “Having embarked on the journey to become life goal enablers, the scientific and in-depth findings will play an essential role in our business strategy. The insights from the first of its kind survey clearly indicate how life goals are evolving, and millennials are opting for unconventional life goals. Furthermore, it’s interesting to note, women driving some of these new-age life goals like travel, health and fitness.”
He added, “I’m confident that our survey will prove beneficial and valuable for many more brands who are looking at understanding the life goals of India.”
WOMEN DRIVING SEVERAL NEW-AGE LIFE GOALS
An interesting finding of the Bajaj Allianz Life India’s Life Goals Preparedness Survey 2019 is how the very definition of life goals is undergoing a vital shift, and it is no longer viewed from the spectrum of the earlier generation. While in general Indians are looking to enrich their life, women are largely driving this outlook. Today, women are setting life goals that enable them to have a well-balanced life.
- Women have significantly higher inclination towards travel, health and fitness compared to their male counterparts
o 34% women have travel goals as against 27% of male respondents. 1 in 3 women have travel-related life goals
o 2 out of 5 women are prioritising health and fitness as a life goal
o 1 out of every 2 women are looking to live a well-balanced life
DRIVERS OF LIFE GOALS
While there is a clear and strong trend of the unconventional life goals that new-age Indians want to pursue, certain conventional goalscontinue to remain on India’s mind, as was revealed in the Bajaj Allianz Life India’s Life Goals Preparedness Survey 2019. These include children’s education, buying a house, or owing a high-end / luxury car. The survey reveals that these conventional goals are typically influenced by family and social circles.
- 50% said life goals decision making is inspired by friends/family
- 33% said elders influence their life goals choices
- 22% by real life mentors
- 19% by father figures / gurus etc.
“The survey highlights an increasing prominence towards “me” life goals while “we” life goals remain intact. So we are seeing child education being the priority, however, life goals related to entrepreneurship, travel, fitness and health are becoming significant for Indians, across socio-economic and geography profiles. Interestingly, social media, movies, news and celebrities are influencing the new age or “me” life goals, and the impact of movies is 50% higher on millennials”, said, Chandramohan Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.
He added, “The entire financial ecosystem has a great role to play given the fact that while Indians are optimistic, they are inadequately prepared to accomplish majority of their life goals.”
Amongst the unconventional life goals like travel and lifestyle goals, social media and pop culture are fuelling these goals
- Nearly 1 in 5 life goals are inspired by social media sites
- 19% are inspired by a book they have read
- 18% are influenced by social media
- 13% by a movie and news that they may have watched
- Travel goals are typically inspired by books, social media, movies
- News sites influence decision making towards old age
- Movies typically influence the car purchasing or upgrading decisions
- The influence of social media on life goals is around 20% higher for millennials than non-millennials
o Similarly, the influence of movies is 50% higher for millennials than non-millennials
ARE INDIANS READY TO ACHIEVE THEIR LIFE GOALS?
The Bajaj Allianz Life India’s Life Goals Preparedness Survey 2019 was designed to get a complete picture of the life goals driving Indians, their aspirations, their influencers, their preparedness and how they are working towards achieving these goals.
- While Indians are dreaming big, they are unsure of achieving 38% of their life goals
- Interestingly, metros are more under-confident than non-metros
o Metros cite 48% goals as ‘unsure of achieving’, as against 29% in non-metros
The survey finds out that Indians believe that almost half of their life goals are difficult to achieve. For instance:
- 67% respondents felt that it was difficult to achieve their life goal of building their own house
- 70% feel financial freedom for old age is tough to achieve
- And 63% expressed that expanding their own business is not easy to achieve
Furthermore, for half of their own life goals, respondents feel that they have not done sufficient financial planning.
- Lack of skills and expertise is a barrier for 1 in 5 life goals
- Lack of financial support is a key barrier to achieve 46% of life goals
- Over 60% felt that they haven’t done enough planning to either build their own house or have a stress-free retired life
WHERE ARE INDIANS INVESTING TOWARDS THEIR LIFE GOALS?
When asked what investment option they would choose to fulfil their life goals, life insurance topped the list as the most preferred investment option for 60% of life goals.
- The affinity of life insurance was visible at 80% for retirement-related goals
- To achieve the goal of a dream home, 57% of the respondents preferred both traditional life insurance policies and ULIPs
- 53% of the respondents considered life insurance to achieve their travel goals, while 55% viewed life insurance to fund their children’s education
RESEARCH DESIGN
The Bajaj Allianz Life India’s Life Goals Preparedness Survey 2019 was conducted by Kantar IMRB for the company, across 13 metros, Tier 1 and emerging Tier 2 cities. Cities covered were:
- North: New Delhi, Ludhiana and Bareilly
- East: Kolkata, Patna and Bhubaneswar
- West: Mumbai, Surat and Amravati
- South: Chennai, Bangalore, Madhurai and Guntur
The study was conducted in detailed Qualitative and Quantitative phases. Here, insights were gathered through the qualitative probes and to provide a holistic understanding of India’s life goals statistically valid results were obtained from the quantitative survey. The qualitative phase was conducted through face-to-face in-depth interviews, interactions over whatsapp, and interesting mix of projective techniques were used to get the participants to articulate their life goals. Tools such as Mind Mapping, Picture Association, Provocation and Day Dreams were leveraged. In the quantitative phase, tab-based face-to-face interviews were conducted.
A total of 1681 people were met and interviewed. They included a healthy mix of age-groups, socio-economic bands, and different professionals:
- Age group 22-55 (20-29: 33%, 30-39:33%, 40-55: 33%)
- NCCS A1+, A1, A2/A3 (20:50:30)
- Salaried and Businessman/Self-employed (50:50)
- Investment decision makers (80% males, 20% females)
