Policybazaar ad during India-Pakistan match sparks backlash for ‘insensitive’ messaging
The advertisement featured a woman expressing frustration over her deceased husband's failure to buy term insurance.
A Policybazaar advertisement aired on JioHotstar during the India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy match on Sunday has drawn criticism on social media for being “insensitive.”
The advertisement featured a woman expressing frustration over her deceased husband's failure to buy term insurance, saying, “Main school ki fees kaise bharungi, ghar ka kharcha bhi hai…” (How will I pay the school fees? There are also household expenses…)”
Several users took to X (formerly Twitter) and criticised the advertisement’s tone, calling it ‘inappropriate.’
HT.com has reached out to Policybazaar for a comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
“Am I the only one who finds this PolicyBazaar ad insanely insensitive? A man just passed away, and the first thing his wife does is blame him for not buying term insurance? This isn’t financial awareness, it’s just insensitive storytelling,” wrote a user Siddharth on X.
Another user Steve Dsouza wrote, “not a fan of new @policybazaar ad is rather filled with angst and creating a fake urgency. could have been more sensitive informative and empathetic.”
{{/usCountry}}Another user Steve Dsouza wrote, “not a fan of new @policybazaar ad is rather filled with angst and creating a fake urgency. could have been more sensitive informative and empathetic.”
{{/usCountry}}Many users also shared a video, in which a man was seen describing the ad 'wahyat' (nonsense).
“The woman is saying that you didn't plan for term insurance. But he also didn’t plan to die. I feel bad for the man in the frame too because at his condolence meeting, when people say he is at a better place, it's probably true—because if your partner is cursing you, then you are definitely at a better place,” the man says in the video shared by X users.
Reacting to the Policybazaar advertisment, another X user Nityanand Singh wrote, “Life Insurance is a product that should never be pushed like this. It's a very sensitive and important product and would do well not to be pushed with fear. Policy Bazaar could do much better.”One user Zian Lakdawalla, wrote, "Some viewers called this ad "pathetic" and said it had a "crappy social message". @policybazaar needs to do better. A widowed woman lamenting that her husband died without buying term life insurance is highly insensitive."
