Property insurance. How to Choose the Best Term Plan – ICICI Pru

When most people look at choosing a term insurance plan, the first thing they would want to compare is the price. Yes, price is important but if you attach too much importance to the price of a term insurance plan then you may compromise your family’s financial security. To make sure that your family's future is never affected, we have compiled a list of five important features which should help you choose the best term insurance plan. Best term insurance.

1. Claim Settlement Ratio:

This ratio shows the percentage of claims paid out of the total filed in the year. The higher the ratio, the easier it’ll be for your dependents to claim the insurance in your absence and continue their lives comfortably.

The purpose of term life insurance is to secure your dependents’ future. The higher the claims settlement ratio, the better your chances of ensuring your family’s future is secure.

While claims settlement ratio is important, what’s equally important is to check the total number of claims that were settled by the insurer. Only if a substantial number of claims are settled does the Claim Settlement Ratio acquire significance. For example.

Fact: ICICI Prudential Life has settled 10,938 claims out of the 11,034 claims received in the last financial year.

2. Solvency Ratio:

Solvency ratio tells you whether the insurer you choose will be financially capable of settling your claim if the need arises. IRDAI mandates that every life insurer should maintain a solvency ratio of at least 1.5.

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Fact: ICICI Prudential Life has a solvency ratio of 3.20.

In case of a natural disaster, a life insurer will receive a large number of claims in a very short span of time. Since huge volume of claims will have to be settled quickly, it is in such situations that solvency ratio becomes vital. The financial security of your family will depend on the financial stability of your life insurer. Even though natural disasters may seem unlikely, ignoring this important aspect could compromise your family’s financial security

3. Critical Illness Cover:

A term insurance plan secures your family’s financial future in case of an unfortunate event. But death of the major earning member is not the only time a family’s financial security comes under threat. A critical illness like cancer or brain surgery can cost a lot of money and cripple the family’s finances. Critical illness plans pay the cover amount immediately on diagnosis, only medical documents confirming diagnosis are to be submitted The critical illness cover amount helps cover the high cost of treatment & ensure your family has enough money to sustain their normal day-to-day life. Premiums paid towards the critical illness cover are also eligible for deduction u/s 80D.

Fact: Critical illness covers with term insurance plans are very popular. One in three of our customers also attach a critical illness cover to their term plan.

4. Additional Covers Available:

All term insurance plans will provide a basic life cover. If financial security of your family is your goal then you must make sure that you choose a term insurance plan with comprehensive cover and benefits. We have listed few benefits that you must look at while comparing term insurance plans online:

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Waiver of Premium: Life insurance cover will continue without the need to pay the premium in case of permanent disability.

Accidental Death: This benefit increases the sum assured to be paid to your family members in case death occurs due to an accident. Most good term insurance plans will offer you an accidental death cover equal to the base sum assured.

Income Benefit: Some term insurance plans allow your family members to receive a regular income from the plan rather than a lump sum amount. This benefit comes in handy if you want your term insurance plan to provide monthly income to your family in your absence.

Some other benefits you can look at are terminal illness benefit, flexibility to increase sum assured at major milestones & increasing monthly income benefit.

Fact: When comparing term insurance plans, check how many of the above features are available within the base plan itself.

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5.Premium Cost:

Once you have evaluated term insurance plans based on the above parameters and narrowed your choices down to a few, then you can look at cost to make your final decision. However, make sure you don’t compromise on any of the points mentioned above just because of cost. Remember term insurance premiums are eligible for tax deduction u/s 80C

Fact: If cost is a major area of concern, then you can always select monthly payment option. Set a standing instruction so that the premiums are auto-debited and you don’t have to manually pay the premiums every month.