Zerodha's Nithin Kamath Says Health Insurance Should Be Your Top Financial Priority: 'Costs Will Continue To Rise'

Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath believes buying health insurance coverage for the family is the “most important financial investment” you can make — one that takes priority over personal finance growth.

What Happened? The co-founder of the largest stock brokerage in India took to Twitter on Wednesday to post a thread addressing the rising cost of healthcare in the country and to raise awareness about the need for health insurance for all Indian households.

“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,” remarked Kamath.

Kamath cited government figures to highlight that the average cost of inpatient care per hospitalization was ₹26,475 in urban areas and ₹16,676 in rural areas in 2014, which is the latest year for which data is available. According to government estimates, more than 63 million Indians experience poverty every year solely due to healthcare expenses, pointed out the entrepreneur.

“About 8-9% of all Indian households were pushed below the poverty line due to healthcare costs, as per a paper by economists from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy based on NSO data,” added Kamath, who often posts his take on investments and stock market advice.

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