Buying a term insurance plan? These 4 things you should be careful about
Not with standing the level of success you achieve, its longevity cannot be guaranteed. Among other things, permanent disability or death — the God may forbid — can throw all your plans and financial security of your family out of gear
This is why, buying a life insurance plan is nothing short of imperative. But before you buy an insurance plan, you should make note of a number of things. For instance, policy holders should make sure that they have only one or maximum two term insurance plans and not multiple ones.
We list out four key things that one must keep in mind before buying a term plan:
1. Sum insured: First and foremost, one should focus on how much is the ideal sum assured.
“The biggest concern of the policyholder lies in buying the accurate coverage for himself. As life insurance policies mature after a long time it is of utmost importance to choose a life cover that will be accurate for the time when the policy will come to an end,” said Naval Goel, Founder and CEO of PolicyX.
The insurance experts say that the ideal sum assured is 10 times of annual income. “When an emergency takes place, it might take the family up to 10 years to get back on their feet,” said Kapil Mehta, Co-founder of SecureNow Insurance Broker.
Also, policyholders are advised to not get influenced by a single day premium offer or single premium offers. These look impressive but the idea should be to get an adequate cover and not a cover available for the cheapest price.
2. Choose life insurer well: One must choose the life insurer carefully and check whether the insurer has a high claim settlement and fewer complaints.
“The claim settling ability of a company should be looked out for. Buying a hefty coverage from a company that has a low claim settling ratio can create havoc at the time of maturity,” added Mr Goel from PolicyX.
Having said this, one should not wait for too long before buying an insurance plan.
"Once a person has decided to opt for life insurance (especially term life), a big concern they have is will the claim be honoured in case of their untimely demise. Fortunately, the claims settlement ratio is readily available for all insurers," says Satishwar B, MD & CEO, Aegon Life Insurance.
3. Buy it from insurer or agent: The third factor to consider is to decide where to buy this from: an agent or directly from the company.
"We believe that buying life insurance from an insurer should not be different from buying from an agent. Consumers are seeking information that will help them make the best decision," adds Satishwar B from Aegon Life Insurance.
However, people prefer an agent because they can guide you through documentation, medical test. "It also helps customers to complete the process quickly instead of spending too much time juggling between multiple options,” added Mr Mehta.
“Talking to an agent can help with selecting the best possible plan for yourself. An agent is an expert who can help you to compare, and advise you throughout your policy term,” added Mr Goel.
4. Information you disclose: Another thing that policy holders must be careful about is what information they should disclose to the insurer via proposal form. “A good practice is to answer what is asked, and not to volunteer extra information,” Mr Mehta added.
In fact, if the insurer offers the policy after the medicals but for a higher amount of premium then do not refrain from buying the policy. A higher premium means you are entitled to the sum assured despite falling in the list of high-risk policyholder.
To make sure that the term insurance gives the benefit to one particular individual, you should declare the nominee unless you want the insurance amount to be distributed equally among all legal heirs.