One of the most inspiring Social ventures in India led by a teen

Ahmedabad: One thing that we find extremely essential in the modern times is Insurance: be it Health, Property, Business, Travel, etc. Insurance provides stability to family and business, peace of mind and most importantly, financial security. There are a plethora of private Insurance companies and several government schemes in India. But still, the penetration is very less as compared to the population.

Insurvive is a start-up based in Ahmedabad founded by Meha Parekh, a high school student at AIS that works on liking both ends - underprivileged women and banks - to create a more equitable society.

Q: How did you think about such a unique concept?

A: Whilst a lot of women had bank accounts, only a small minority had insurance. This idea was also, very interestingly, illustrated in a study by sociologist Viviana Zelizer, ‘Morals and Markets’, at Princeton university. According to the study, women were the main beneficiary of insurance - life insurance that is, and yet were reluctant to enrol in insurance. In India, a mere 3 out of 100 people have life insurance according to an economic survey. Insurance becomes increasingly important for people who live on a marginal daily income. Having the security of what you already have can go a long way. Having to face financial struggles after a traumatic experience such as a death in the family can further exacerbate the struggles faced by these women. Insurvive wants to play a part in making insurance more prominent among these communities.

Q: What kind of Insurance cover do you promote and provide?

A: Now, we are working on making Accidental Insurance schemes more widespread. However, we also offer information on other government subsidized insurance schemes. Recently, in our insurance camp at karma foundation, we garnered an exceptionally receptive response with most women opting for both life and accidental insurance. Insurance is fundamental to mental health, and we believe that all human beings need security to be at peace.

Q: How do you reach out to these women and enrol them?

A: We have collaborated with various NGOs like Karma Foundation, Yogajali Kelvani Mandal, Akhand Jyot and even some corporate business houses to hold 'Insurance Camps'. For our Insurance Camp, we invite various Banks and enrol these women for Government subsidized insurance schemes. For women who do not have Bank Accounts to enrol in these schemes, we help them open Bank Accounts too. In this manner, we have managed to reach hundreds of women as of now.

Q: Insurvive also empowers women to be self-reliant. Can you explain?

A: As an extension of our project, we also hold Empowerment Sessions at Yoganjali Kelvani Mandal to equip these women with the opportunity to become Insurance Agents. We invited officials from LIC (Life insurance corporation of India) and elucidated the procedure to these women. It only requires a minimum educational qualification and even allows for flexible timings, which suits these women, as they must look after their home too. Lastly, it gives them a source of passive income for years even after a policy is sold. Most of these women either had no stream of income or were involved in laborious jobs, and this career path gave them the return on their investment of time and energy.

Q: What are the future plans of Insurvive?

A: We want to help women find financial stability, independence, and human dignity in society. InSurvive seeks to equip women with knowledge on these insurance schemes and play a small part in resolving any financial predicaments they may encounter. We are in talks with several NGOs to hold a couple of insurance camps. This way, we hope to reach as many women as possible.

There are several NGOs with whom we have worked in the past and have ensured that every woman benefits by the sense of security that an insurance brings to them. Such initiatives not only uplift the society but also motivates the NGOs to do more. Two such foundation who helped in our journey are as below: -
 

When we first came across this project, our board was increasingly interested. Not only was this idea unique but also left a profound impact on these women. Women were very receptive to the idea of insurance in our camp and gladly enrolled for not one but two schemes. It is projects like these that we look forward to. Chiranjiv Patel Karma Foundation

We never imagined conducting such a session until we conducted one with InSurvive. The response, as evidenced by the glimmer in the eyes of the women, was truly phenomenal. From an LIC official at a Siddhpur branch.

To collaborate and connect with Insurvive one can call on: +91 9099968601 or

Email: [email protected] or https://www.insurvive.co.in/