The first few months after our first child was born were some of the most tiring, yet some of the happiest for Meera and me. Sleepless nights, frequent diaper changes, doctor’s appointments and feeding routines made up most of our days, leaving us exhausted. But every time we carried Dhruv in our arms or watched him sleep peacefully, we knew it was all worth it.
About five months after Dhruv was born, when his sleep cycles had settled, we decided it was time to catch up with our friends and family. So we invited a few people over for dinner one evening. Obviously, the topic of conversation for everyone was what it was like to be new parents. We talked about how fast babies grow up and what a big responsibility it is to have a child. I told others how
we had planned everything, at least for the next two years, from office schedules to doctor’s appointments and finances, and joked that being a father has even turned someone as unplanned as me into a planner. Read More
However, all through the conversation, what bothered me was that Amit, one of the most talkative people I knew, was strangely quiet. I decided to ask his wife, Sapna, what the problem was.
“What’s wrong with your husband, Sapna? Did you scold him for something?” I joked.
She smiled slightly and said, “No, Sandeep. He is probably just tired.”
The Amit I knew was never this quiet, so I knew it was more than that.
“Amit, why are you so quiet today? Is something bothering you” I asked him.
With a concerned look on his face, Amit looked around at the others in the room and finally said, “See, what I’m going to tell you, we have not told anyone.
Last month, I woke up in the middle of the night with a sharp pain in my chest and arm. I was sweating quite a bit as well, so Sapna took me to the hospital immediately. After some checks and tests, the doctor told us that I had a minor blockage in my artery.”
We were shocked to learn about Amit’s condition.
“Why didn’t you tell any of us about this?” I asked him. “We could have helped.”
Amit looked at me and said, “I know you would help if I needed it. Besides, I’m much better now. But for a few days after that incident, I was completely stressed out. What would happen to Richa
[their 10-month old daughter] and Sapna if anything happened to me? How would Sapna manage by herself?”
“You’re being silly. You look fine now, so stop worrying,” I told him.
“I have to worry,” he told me. “If I don’t, then who will take care of my family
when I am not around? We made a lot of plans when Richa was born too. But at that time we didn’t plan for something like this.
Now, I’m prepared for almost anything.”
“What do you mean by that,” I asked him.
He said, “I recently bought a term life insurance plan of Rs. 1 crore, and now I sleep more peacefully at night. As a responsible parent, you should think about getting one as well.”
“I already have some savings and funds. I don’t think I can afford a term life insurance at the moment anyway,” I told him.
“Your funds and savings might not be enough for your family to get by. But a term life insurance can ensure that Meera and Dhruv will get financial help if anything serious happens and you are not around for them. You can get a premium of Rs. 17 a day, which is cheaper than buying diapers.
And buying a plan is so easy that you could have done it online in the time we have taken to have this conversation,” he smiled and said to me.
I thought about what he said all through the next day and realised that he was right. As a responsible husband and father, it is my duty to ensure my family is taken care of, even if I am not around. So I researched on term life insurance plans on Google and realised that anyone with dependents should have a term life insurance plan. In fact, even
financial experts recommend that every young parent must protect their family with a term life insurance plan.I immediately bought a term life insurance plan online and since then I’ve had peace of mind knowing that my family’s future is secured.
