Billionaire and Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath recently shared what he considers the most important financial investment one can make for their families. He suggested people invest in this even before beginning their personal finance journey.
"Buying a health insurance plan for the family is the most important financial investment you can make, given the costs of serious health incidents," Kamath shared. "Even before you do anything else in your personal finance journey, get health cover to the extent you can afford."
Buying a health insurance plan for the family is the most important financial investment you can make, given the costs of serious health incidents.
Even before you do anything else in your personal finance journey, get health cover to the extent you can afford. 1/4— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) March 29, 2023
"In 2014, the last year for which data is available, the average cost of inpatient care per hospitalisation was Rs 26,475 in urban areas and Rs 16,676 in rural. Over 6.3 crore Indians are faced with poverty every year due to health costs alone, according to government estimates," the Zerodha CEO added. "Healthcare costs will continue to rise, and the only way to deal with the impact is by creating awareness about the need for health insurance for all Indian households."
Nithin Kamath also shared data from a "very depressing article" by India Spend, according to which Indian households bear most of the burden of financing healthcare as insurance schemes fall short. It also cited data from National Institute of Public Finance and Policy stating that about 8-9 percent of all Indian households were pushed below the poverty line due to hospitalisation costs.
Read more: Three important things you must check before buying health insurance
