Term Insurance plans have become the go-to pure life insurance policy for those who want to secure the future of their family and dear ones. Term insurances offer financial security to a member nominated by a policyholder in case the insured person suffers a sudden demise during the active policy duration. Moreover, there are a few inherent benefits of a term insurance policy.
A term insurance policy is a product of life insurance policy that provides insurance coverage as a death benefit to the family of the insured in case of the policyholder’s death. Term insurance is also called pure life insurance because it has no cash value. It remains effective only in case the insured person dies during the duration of the policy. If that does not happen, there is no benefit whatsoever. However, to make the most of this plan, additional riders can be availed, which are crafted to benefit the insured person. Various riders can be bought alongside the term policy, such as Critical Illness Rider, Accidental Death Rider, Accidental Disabilities Rider, and so on. The riders are not included in a policy and thus are charged separately.
Critical Illness Rider is a kind of an additional rider that is designed to provide coverage to the insured person if he/she suffers any critical or life-threatening condition such as heart attacks, strokes, etc. These riders cover the charges imposed on the person during his/her treatment. There are a few critical illness riders that provide a stable income in case the person suffers paralysis or immobility.
The following five plans come with the option of additional benefits of Critical Illness Riders:
Kotak Preferred Term Plan is a pure risk cover plan. It provides coverage for difficult times to the nominee. The policyholder may choose from two payout options of the death benefit, one being recurring and another immediate payout. Recurring payout option breaks down the total amount into fragments and pays the nominee every month. Recurring payouts can also be used as an income as paid monthly, whereas immediate payout provides nominee with the lump-sum once.
Sampoorna Suraksha is the plan offered by SBI Life, which can be availed by both formal and informal groups. Critical Illness Rider benefits include conditions like coronary artery bypass surgery, stroke, cancer, major organ transplant, kidney failure, etc. The plan also provides coverage for spouse and death benefit settlement..
This plan by Aegon Life comes with the option of various riders, one of which is Critical Illness Rider. Under Aegon Life's iTerm Critical Illness rider, four critical conditions get covered, namely, cancer, open chest CABG, stroke, and heart attack (first time).
One can add this rider with new or existing term insurance plans. Under this plan, a lump-sum is provided to the insured person if he/she gets diagnosed with critical conditions like coma, cancer, kidney failure, heart attacks, etc. This add-on comes with two options, first being the rider that provides coverage for four conditions: cancer, coronary artery bypass graft, heart attack, and stroke. The second option will cover twenty-five critical illnesses in total, including chronic lung disease, apallic syndrome, heart valve surgery, and so on.
This term plan is quite affordable, and it gives out premiums upon maturity. This plan also provides the options of critical illness riders. The Shriram Critical Illness Cover Rider provides coverage for six critical illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, coronary artery bypass graft, kidney failure, and major organ transplant.
Comparing plans is an essential part of choosing the term insurance plans that are best for a particular individual. However, when it comes to that, one might not know how to do the same effectively. In this section, let us discuss what to take note of when it comes to the task of purchasing a term insurance plan and critical illness rider:
Name of Plan | Age of entry (minimum to maximum) | Maximum Coverage | No. Of critical illnesses covered | Claim Settlement (in percentage) | Special features/Perks |
SBI Life Insurance Poorna Suraksha | 18-65 | 2.5 Crore | 36 | 96.7% | Life Stage Rebalancing ( rebalances the cover between life cover and critical illness cover) |
Bajaj Allianz eTouch Online Term | 18-65 | 75 Lakh | 34 | 91.7% | 1. SHIELD (Life benefit + Premium waiver benefit) 2. Shield Plus (Life benefit + premium waiver benefit + accidental total permanent disability benefit) 3. Shield Super (life benefit + premium waiver benefit + accidental total permanent disability benefit + accident death benefit) 4. Shield Supreme (life benefit + premium waiver benefit + accidental total permanent disability benefit + accelerated critical illness benefit) |
Bharti AXA Flexi Term | 18-65 | 1 Crore | 34 | 92.4% | 1. Comprehensive cover (34 critical illnesses) 2. Major Illness cover (15 critical illnesses) 3. Heart and Cancer Cover (9 Heart and cancer-related illnesses ) |
Edelweiss Tokio My Life+ | 18-60 | No Upper Limit | 12 | 93.3% | 1. Lump-sum payout option 2. Monthly payout option |
DHFL Pramerica Flexi Term | 18-65 | 1 Crore | 35 | 90.9% | 1. Life Cover 2. Life Boost 3. Life Smart Set up 4. Life Health Hike 5. Life Total |
Kotak Life eTerm Life | 18-65 | 1 Crore | 37 | 91.2% | 1. Life Option 2. Life Plus Option 3. Life Secure option |
Max Life Insurance Online Term Plus | 18-60 | 1 Crore | 40 | 97.8% | 1. Sum assured death benefits 2. Sum assured plus level monthly income death benefit 3. Sum assured plus increasing monthly income death benefit |
Every company has its own set of benefits that they provide with their plan, plus the needs and requirements always differ from person to person. This is where the need for analyzing and comparing the plans appears. There are a few things that one must consider while buying term insurance plans:
Check whether their plan is flexible and customizable or not.
Check whether the government approves the company or not, as tax rebates are available on approved companies only.
Check the cost of the premium charge and whether it is in your budget or not
Check whether the company is providing different kinds of payout options or not
Analyse the Claim Settlement Ratio is a good CSR indicates the efficiency of the company to be good
Always analyse the number of critical illnesses for which the insurer will provide the coverage