ICICI Prudential Term Insurance Plans

ICICI Prudential Term Plan has been always popular among financial planners for its redeeming features. It had been one of the most sought after pure protection insurance products in the market. Moreover, the social status of the company in the insurance segment makes the policy more authentic

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance product bouquet has always been driven by customer-centric philosophy. The driving force of the company is to cater to long term protection of its customers with term insurance plans, extending long term risk coverage with the inbuilt provision of savings and protection for different life stage requirements of individuals. In order to ensure extreme customer comfort, ICICI Prudential Life has focused on initiatives that provide cost-effective insurance policy products, superior services with special emphasis on quality, and hassle free claim settlement experience to its customers.

ICICI Term Insurance Plans - Features and Benefits

The term insurance plans offered by ICICI Pru Life primarily aims to secure the financial future of the family with pure life cover protection.

• Features

  • Variety of ICICI Term Insurance Plans to suit every preference with life coverage for death, disability and terminal illness
  • Early entry age at minimum of 18 years
  • Multiple premium payment options with facility for single payment, regular premium payment and limited term payment
  • The term plans offer large life coverage at an extremely affordable cost
  • Life stage benefit provides flexibility to suitably increase life coverage depending on the event and age at such enhancement as under:
  • 50% of the base sum assured on marriage limited to a maximum of Rs.50 Lakh
  • 25% on birth of 1st and 2nd children limited to maximum of Rs.25 Lakh on each occasion
  • A rider option covering critical illnesses covering diseases like cancer, heart attack and renal failure
  • Waiver of all future premiums in case of permanent disability as a result of accident
  • Accelerated full death benefit pay out on diagnosis of terminal illnesses inclusive of AIDs
  • Tax benefits as per extant guidelines under the Income Tax Act, 1961

• Benefits

  ICICI Term Insurance is an instrument primarily to protect the family from financial disaster after the demise of the insured person. Yet, it comes with a host of benefits which add to the comfort level of the insured. It is imperative to check out all the benefits accruing out of the chosen term insurance plan before buying it.
  
  
  • Terms plan to suit every budget: All term plans of ICICI offer a huge insurance coverage at an affordable price. ICICI Term Insurance offers a cover of Rs.1 Crore for a premium as low as Rs.490 per month subject to meeting their conditions.
  • Longer Life Coverage: ICICI Term Insurance Plans come with a very long life cover extending up to 99 years. The best option for the purchaser is to opt for the term policy as early in life as possible to enjoy the benefits of the longest possible term.
  • Critical illness Cover: Any critical illness can spell disaster to a family even during the lifetime of the policyholder. ICICI Term Insurance policy known as iProtect provides protection with additional Critical Illness Cover with assured payout in a lump sum on the first diagnosis of any of the 34 listed illnesses like cancer, heart attack, kidney failure, to name a few. Additionally, no hospital bills are required for the benefit and the cover extends for 30 years without higher premium
  • Multiple Payout Options: ICICI Term Plans offer 4 payout options to choose from:
    • Lump-Sum
    • Monthly Income
    • Lump Sum plus Monthly Income
    • Increasing Income
  • Disability Support with Waiver: ICICI iProtect Smart Term Plan is a new age term insurance policy, which ensures protection for disability acquired during the currency of the policy term. The company continues to pay the future premiums to keep the policy live, when the policyholder is unable to pay the premiums.
  • Additional Accidental Death Security: The sum assuerd can be enhanced up to Rs. 2 Crore  for accidental death. By availing of this Accidental Death cover with the term insurance policy, the nominee receives Rs. 1 Crore for the first cover and further Rs.1 Crore for accidental death making the total payout Rs. 2 Crore.  The benefit can be added at the time of policy inception or later.
  • Purchase under Married Women’s Property Act: As a further protection to the beneficiary of the policyholder to obviate wrongful claims from the creditors or relatives, purchase of the term policy can be made under MWP Act assigning the benefits to the spouse and children only.
  • Free Look Time: ICICI Term Insurance Plans come with a free look time of 30 days within which the policy can be returned and cancelled if not satisfied.
  • Lower premium: Discounted premium is allowed for non-smokers and online purchase of ICICI Term Plans
  • Facility for Women: Women purchasers attract special premium rates and accelerated critical illness benefit

Types  of ICICI Term Insurance Plans

ICICI Pru life insurance offers a range of term insurance plans that come with different features. Here is the list at a glance.

ICICI Prudential Term Insurance Plans – Coverage, Eligibility, Premiums

ICICI Pru iProtect Plan: It is one of the top-notched online plan offered by ICICI Pru Life with new-age features covering  critical illness as well as an accidental death. The key features that make the policy attractive are:

• Eligibility Criteria:
  

  Age parameters
  Minimum entry age	18 years
  Maximum entry age	65 years

• Affordable Premium: An indicative list is attached for a view of premium at a glance:

  The indicative premium for a healthy non-smoking male
  Age	Cover	Term in Years	Annual Premium
  30	50 Lakhs	45	7088
  30	1 Crore	45	12970
  35	50 lakhs	40	8590
  35	1 crore	40	15758

• More extended Cover: The life cover can extend to a maximum a period of 99 years as provided in the following indicative table

  Indicative life cover for a healthy non-smoking male
  Entry Age	Maximum Term in Years	Cover till age
  25	74	99
  30	69	99
  35	64	99
  40	59	99

• Critical illness cover: The plan offers coverage for 34 listed critical illnesses where the sum assured is paid out on the first diagnosis. No hospital bills are required, and only the report suffices.  The cover extends for 30 years without any change in premium

• Multiple pay out options: This plan offers four payout options to choose from, and the policyholders have the flexibility to accord preference to their needs. The options are:
  

  1: Lump Sum: it is the normal mode of payout chosen by most buyers. Thus, a sum assured of Rs.1 Crore is paid out as death benefit in a single tranche.
  2: Regular Income: This option also has the dual benefit of the lowest premium along with the monthly income clause at the time of purchase. The nominee receives 10% of the benefit amount every 10 years. In numeric terms it comes to Rs.83333 per month for a payout benefit of Rs. 1 Crore. Alternatively, there is a choice of receiving lump-sum Rs.10 lakhs as the first year's income and continue for the remaining nine years from the subsequent month at Rs.80000 per month.
  3: Increasing income: This option affords 45% more cover in the way the payout is staggered. The nominee receives Rs. 10 lakhs in the first year, Rs.11 Lakhs in the second year, Rs.12 Lakhs in the third year, and so on. By the end of the 10th year a total of Rs. 1.45 Crores would have been paid out to the beneficiary by adding 10% simple interest per year.
  4: Lump Sum plus Regular Income: It is a combination of both the modes to be paid to the nominee in two parts, as agreed upon at inception. As an example for a sum assured of Rs.1 Crore, the beneficiary can be paid Rs. 50 lakhs in lump sum and Rs.41667 per month by the same formula applicable to regular income option.

• Terminal Illness Benefit: The cover can be extended to terminal illnesses including AIDS for payout of the sum assured before death.

• Accidental Death Cover: Not only is the additional cover provided as an option in the plan, but also there is a flexibility clause of adding this option later during the currency of the policy term.

• Online Purchase: This is the only Term Insurance Policy by ICICI Pru which is up for sale online. Online purchase of insurance policy comes with added benefits, including lower premium rates and option under MWP Act.

• Summary of ICICI Pru iProtect Term Insurance Policy:
  
  1: Plan term: 5, 10, 20, 25 and 30 years
  2: Sum Assured: Minimum Rs.25 Lakhs and maximum Rs.1 Crore
  3: Premium starts from as low as Rs.2400 per annum
  4: Optional critical illness cover for 34 listed illnesses
  5: Continued cover for life till 99 years of age

ICICI Pru iCare II Plan: It is a special Term Insurance Policy from the company with flexible features added to it. There are two options for the purchase of this policy.

Option I: The payout to the nominee is in a lump sum to the extent of the sum assured chosen by the buyer.
Option II: It applies to the regular pay mode only where accidental Death Benefit can be added to make the sum assured Rs. 2 Crore in total.

Premium payment: The plan has the option of single premium pay or regular pay which continues for the entire tenure of the policy.

Eligibility Criteria

Plan Term

1: Regular pay: 5, 10, 20, 25 and 30 years
2: One Time pay: 5 and 10 years

ICICI Pru Precious Life Plan: It is a fact of life that individuals who have existing health issues find it difficult or are discouraged from getting life cover. This Term Insurance Plan is just the solution for individuals who suffer from lifestyle diseases and other medical conditions like Diabetes, Cholesterol, Hypertension, Obesity, or even those who have undergone critical surgeries like Angioplasty or Open Heart Surgery.

Eligibility Criteria

Accidental Death: Apart from the regular sum assured, this plan also offers accidental Death cover to the insured.

Premium Payment options:
1: Single Pay
2: Regular Pay
3: Limited Pay

ICICI Pru Life Raksha Plan: It is a basic Term Insurance policy aimed to provide the nominee with a lump sum amount in the event of the death of the insurer when it is in force.

Eligibility Criteria

Sum Assured:

1: Minimum: Rs. 50000
2: Maximum: Rs. 5 Lakhs

Plan Term: 5 years.

ICICI Term Insurance Plans – What is Not Covered?

It is essential to read the fine print of the policy document to be aware of the exclusions in the coverage offered by the plan: Accordingly, some of the critical points to be checked are:

• Suicide: ICICI Pru iProtect Term Insurance plans have an inbuilt suicide clause where if a policyholder commits suicide, no death benefit is paid. Other plans have a clause where if the policyholder commits suicide in 12 months of commencement of risk, premiums paid will be refunded. While for suicide in 12 months of revival, 80% of the premium paid till the date of death shall be refunded.

• Death due to war, terrorism or natural calamities: No payout is offered to the beneficiary

• Death due to actions of the Insured: No death benefit is paid in case of  indulgence in extreme sports, or self-inflicted injuries by the policyholder.

• Death due to indulgence in intoxication, drug abuse or narcotics: The insurance company is not liable to compensate the beneficiary under such a situation.

ICICI Prudential Term Insurance Plans – Claim Process

The claim settlement process at ICICI Pru Life is considered to be easy and can be accomplished in 3 steps.

• Claim Intimation: It is the first step and can be done in various ways. A claim can be intimated
  1: At their portal online at  www.iciciprulife[dot]com
  2: Send an email to  lifeline[at]iciciprulife.com
  3: Call at helpline number at 1800 266 7766
  4: At any of their branches

• Claim Processing: The claim care team will take over and guide the beneficiary at every step for successful processing of the claim form after evaluating the submitted documents

• Claim Settlement: Once the claim is approved and all the documents are vetted, the claim will be settled within 12 working days, provided no further investigation is necessary. The settlement proceeds will be electronically transferred to the beneficiary’s account.

• Special 1 Day Claim  Settlement Assurance: ICICI Prudential has launched a “Claim for Sure”  facility with a few redeeming features which promise to settle the claim in 1 day, with the following assurance:
  
  1: Claim settlement in 1 day
  2: Quick and hassle-free claim settlement experience to the family suffering from emotional stress after the bereavement
  3: Payment of applicable interest at the current bank rate for delay of each day beyond one day
  
  
• The Claim for Sure facility is applicable subject to fulfilling the following conditions:
  
  1: Policies under claim need to be in force for an unbroken period of minimum 3 years
  2: All the claim documents have to be compulsorily submitted to the ICICI claim department before 3 PM on a working day
  3: Total claim amount in the policies under claim should not exceed Rs.1.5 Crore
  4: The claim should not require further investigation
  
  
• Tips to ensure quick claim turnaround time
  
  In spite of the claim settlement mechanism for ICICI Term Plans, it is sensible for the policyholder to be guided by certain simple principles to ensure that the beneficiary does not have to undergo a strenuous and lengthy claim settlement process in addition to the trauma suffered during bereavement. The following steps will ensure a seamless claim experience to the beneficiary:
  
  1: The insurer ICICI Pru should be updated about the risks factors of the policyholder, inclusive of smoking or indulgence in extreme sports activities
  2: Ensure correctness of personal data incorporated in the policy document
  3: Arrange all the policy-related papers at a single place inclusive of the supporting documents required for submission of claims
  4: Keep the dependents informed about all the details of policy coverage and the steps to be taken in the event of demise for submission of claim
  5: Pay all the premiums in time to obviate lapse of the policy which may lead to deprivation of benefits

ICICI Term Insurance Policy - Tax Benefits

Tax savings are intrinsic to all premiums paid for term insurance plans. The quantum of benefit is to the tune of Rs.46800 under Section 80C, while new-age plans save Rs.7800 under Section 80D for critical illness cover provision. Similarly, payout received by the nominee in case of death of the policyholder is exempt under Section 10(10D) subject to applicable conditions.

ICICI Term Insurance Policy – How to Buy?

Generally, term insurance plans are purchased using any of the three available purchase options. They are:

• Online

• Offline

• Intermediaries

Online: Among the various term insurance plans offered by the company, only iProtect Smart Term Plan can be bought online. The online process is available at the company portal buyonline[at]iciciprulife.com or through the various aggregators, where it is possible to compare several term plans before committing to purchase. The procedure for online purchase needs a few simple steps to accomplish:

• Invoke the premium calculator page and request a callback or go to the calculate page and follow the instructions

• Enter the cover amount, date of birth, gender, and tobacco consumption

• Enter personal details like name, phone number, and mail ID

• Select the life cover and the payout option

• Proceed to the application form section. It is an elaborate input regime comprising the following.

• Once all the input is submitted, an OTP will be sent to the entered phone number.

• Pay premium online and submit the requisite documents

• Await intimation for a medical test at home or Medical Center

• The issue of policy requires seven working days after all of the above formalities are completed

Alternatively, the services of an advisor can be sought to assist in the purchase of a term insurance policy.

Offline: This can be done by a visit to the ICICI Prudential branch office using a pen and paper.  

Intermediaries: Strategic partnerships with banks, agents, brokers, etc. are an alternative mode to purchase the chosen ICICI Term Insurance Plan.

ICICI Term Insurance Plans - How to Renew

The process of renewal of the policy is automatic on payment of premium online or offline on the due date or within the grace period. If payment of premium is discontinued, the policy benefits will cease. However, the revival of the policy is permitted within five years of the due date of the first unpaid premium, if applied in writing. This is subject to approval under the existing policy.

ICICI Term Insurance Plans - Required Documents

The requirements of documents are dependent on whether it is for the purchase of a term insurance plan or initiation of the claim process. The indicative details are briefly described below. ICICI Pru Life may seek additional documents over and above what is listed.

Purchase

• Proposal form
• Photograph
• Identity Proof: Any valid photo identity card like EPIC, PAN Card, Adhaar Card, Passport, Driving License
• PAN card (Mandatory)
• Valid Age and Address proof: Documents like EPIC, Adhaar Card, Driving License, Passport
• Income Proof
• ITR of the previous three years
• Latest Form 16
• Last 3 salary slips for the salaried
• Audited P&L account and Balance Sheet of previous three years for the self-employed or businesspersons
• Bank statement of the previous 3 months
• Salary Certificate from the employer

Normal Death Claim

• Original Policy document

• Claim Intimation Form
• Copy of Death Certificate from appropriate Municipal Authority
• Copy of claimant’s ID and Address proof
• Copy of cancelled chequebook or passbook of the beneficiary