Overview of Term Insurance Plans

To invest in a term insurance plan, the minimum age should be 18 years and the minimum income should be 2 Lakhs.

No. Deaths under 'Act Of God' are not covered by term insurance policies.

Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, you can avail deductions up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs.

If you have smoked in the past 12 months, you have to disclose it to your insurance provider. If you don't disclose it right away and reveal it later, you may be charged with a high premium or your provider may cancel your policy (denying any benefits).

If your diabetes is in control (with regular treatment and a healthy lifestyle), you will be eligible to buy term insurance. However, if you have additional risks like hypertension, heart illness etc, your application can be rejected.

You must declare yourself as a tobacco user if you have smoked in the last 12 months. The premium of your policy will be decided accordingly.

Smokers are at a higher risk of getting ill as compared to non-smokers. That's why insurance companies charge higher premiums from them.

Yes, insurance companies offer term insurance plans, which are specially designed to fulfil the needs of NRIs.

Yes. Once the policy is in effect, death of the policyholder (irrespective of the place) will be taken into consideration and the coverage amount will be given.

No, the duration of life cover cannot be changed once the policy is issued. It is set at the inception of the policy.

Yes, some term plans allow you to increase the sum assured during different life stages. However, this depends on the plan's TnCs.

No, under the current guidelines issued by IRDAI, one can't port his/her term policy.

Some insurance companies allow riders to be added only at the inception of the policy. However, few insurance companies may allow them to be added only at the policy anniversary.

If you aren't able to pay the due premiums within the grace period, the policy will lapse and all benefits will be ceased. If you want to revive your policy, you need to pay all the arrears to the insurance company.

Note: Some insurance companies may even ask for medical reports for the revival of the policy.

Under the free-look period, you get 15 days to cancel the policy if you aren't satisfied with it. And you will get a refund of the premium paid (after deducting the necessary charges).

In case you discontinue paying premiums of your policy, then the policy will lapse automatically. However, as per the IRDAI, every insurance company offers a grace period of 15/30 days. A policyholder has the option to pay his/her due premiums within that period.

The procedure of settling claims varies from insurer to insurer. Once all the documentation is completed as per the company's norms, the company may settle the claim within 30 days (may vary as per your chosen insurer).

In case the term insurance claim is rejected, the nominee can re-apply for it. A written application needs to be submitted for the same. The nominee can even go to the consumer court if the company doesn't respond to the application.

In such cases, the legal heir of the claimant becomes the beneficiary. The legal heir can get the benefits only after attaining the age of 18. But his/her guardian must immediately inform the insurance company. The age criteria may depend completely on the provisions of the insurance companies or IRDA.

When a nominee dies before the policyholder, it's the responsibility of the policyholder to nominate other beneficiaries. This can be done either online or by informing the customer care.

Term insurance or term policy is a life insurance policy, offering financial support to the beneficiary in the unfortunate event of the demise of the insured. This financial support is termed as a death benefit that is provided to the family of a policyholder if he/she dies during the active years of the policy.

The most common difference between term insurance and traditional life insurance plan is that a term insurance plan only provides a death benefit in case of demise of the insured within the term period, whereas a life insurance policy offers both death and maturity benefit to the insured.

Term life insurance has no cash value, so if you outlive or cancel your policy, there's no refund or surrender value.

Yes, The claimant must submit the written intimation as soon as possible to enable the insurance company to initiate the claim processing. The claim intimation should consist of basic information such as policy number, name of the insured, date of death, cause of death, place of death, and name of the claimant.

Buying Term Insurance online will allow you to save time, compare and view plans at the click of a button and offer various payment options like net banking, credit/debit card, UPI, etc.

As per the time limits set by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India, insurers should settle death claims within 30 days. This condition applies to all claims where the insurer does not see the need to investigate the cause of death.

A term life insurance policy offers financial security to your loved ones after the sudden demise of the policyholder while a health insurance policy covers your hospitalization expenses.

If the policyholder commits suicide within the first year of the policy term, then the nominee will not get the death benefit. However, most insurers provide suicide coverage from the second year onwards from the date of purchase of the policy, subject to terms and conditions.

There are two different cases of such a situation.

• The insurer will not settle the claim if the policyholder is murdered and investigations reveal the nominee was involved in the crime.
• If the death of the policyholder is due to the involvement in criminal activity the insurer will not settle the claim.

There are certain types of deaths that insurers do not cover like

• murder of a policyholder
• Death caused under the influence of alcohol
• Policyholder doesn't disclose the habit of smoking
• If the policyholder dies due to involvement in any hazardous activity
• Suicidal Death
• Death due to natural disaster