Insurance & Faith

Across all religions, we Indians believe that God will protect and take care of us in all situations. Many religions are against the concept of insurance. The logic being that when we truly believe in Almighty to protect and take care of our needs why should we need insurance. There are sects in certain religions that see insurance as a gamble and lack of faith. 

Every individual is entitled to his opinions and beliefs and is allowed to practise his/her religion freely under our constitution; we should respect that. Having said that, let us really ask whether insurance is a gamble. Approaching life without any form of insurance cover can in reality be termed as a gamble. When you drive without taking the mandatory third party insurance, then you are taking a gamble - not just with your life but with the lives of so many others living in the society. It is equally important to protect the lives and assets of those living around you. Even those religions who are vehemently against insurance, advice their members in the following manner- “if you are forced to take out insurance and there is an accident, it is permissible for you to take from the insurance company the same amount as the payments you have made, but you should not take any more than that. If they force you to take it then you should donate it to charity."

Some might argue that life insurance would be the best example of insurance as a gamble. Gambling is defined as betting on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest. Life is not a contest. At the end of every life the outcome is same-death. The only difference is at what age it occurs and how it occurs. Untimely death can affect your family with no means of survival. Every religion preaches taking care of others and 'doing unto others as you would do unto you'. Going by this, insurance especially life insurance,  must be seen as a requirement to take care of your family.

There are so many who are against medical care. Nobody has the right to take life, only the Creator has the authority to do that. With that hypothesis in mind, not offering treatment as a result of your belief or because you cannot afford a particular treatment in the absence of medical insurance can be seen as abetting a crime and committing murder. Wonder which religion would support that!

As insurance brokers we have come across lot of clients who refuse to take insurance for their business citing religious reasons. But when you are running a business employing other members of the society, don't you have a liability for their well-being too? Occurrence of an accident may put an end to business jeopardising the lives of all the employees. If insurance is in place these situations can be overcome and will ensure the continuity of the business.