How to Buy the Right Term Insurance Plan in 2021?

All of us have aspirations and long-term financial goals, and to achieve these we make a regular monetary contribution to build a corpus. This enables you to save a certain amount that would help you stay financially secured in the future. You may have to make a downpayment for your dream house or pay for a child's higher education. But have you ever wondered what happens to your family when you're gone? As life is uncertain and death is a harsh reality which you cannot evade, it's better to prepare for it in advance.

A term insurance plan acts as a cushion for your family's financial requirements when such a tragedy strikes. It's a unique financial solution enabling a family to continue with their lives in your absence. A term plan offers benefits like large cover at affordable premiums, additional riders, and many others. However, choosing the right term plan involves focusing on several features that would help you and your dependents more than other policies.

How to Choose the Right Term Insurance Plan?

1. Assess Your Needs

Before you start searching for the best term plans available, it is important to analyse and evaluate the coverage you need. The first step involves calculating the amount of coverage, which depends upon the number of dependents, their lifestyle and future aspirations. You may also add inflation as another factor in this list.

2. Premium Cost

Term insurance plans are the cheapest form of life insurance and they offer pure life cover. So, you should opt for term plans with the lowest expenses as this would translate into lower premiums for the same cover. For example, if you go for Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance iSelect Star Online Term Plan with a sum assured of Rs.1.5 crore for a term of 26 years, you will just have to pay Rs. 974 per month or Rs. 10,818 per annum. Also, determine whether you are purchasing an offline or online term plan. Buying a term plan through online channels is beneficial and more economical as you get to compare different policies on key parameters.

3. Critical Illness Riders

Besides death, there are other unfortunate events, like accidents, disability, paralysis and critical illnesses that can threaten the financial stability of your dependents. So, it is prudent to opt for term insurance with critical illness rider as a value-added cover. With this, you will get a lump sum amount in case you are diagnosed with any life-threatening disease.

4. Claim Settlement Ratio

The CSR is the ratio of settled claims against the total claims filed during a particular period: the higher the ratio, the better the insurer. Generally, the CSR of higher than 85 percent is considered good. It indicates that the company is doing well financially and settling the majority of the claims. With the CSR of 97.1 per cent in FY 2020-21, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance offers exclusive benefits like swift claim settlement to take care of your loved ones when you're not around.

5. Additional Covers

Most good term insurance plans offer you an accidental death cover along with other benefits. You may also check for income benefits wherein your family members receive a regular income from the plan rather than a lump sum amount to fulfil their financial obligations.

6. Solvency Ratio

It is one of the major factors that enable you to find out the capacity of a life insurance company to survive for the long term. Again, the higher solvency ratio indicates that a firm can pay off its claims on time and survive in the long run. Make sure your insurer must always have a higher value of assets than liabilities like Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has.

3 Quick Steps to Buy a Term Plan Online

You can buy a term insurance plan online at the ease and comfort of your home. You can research about the product and compare it to find the best available term plan before buying online. Here is a 3-step guide to buy term life insurance plan online:

1. Choose coverage amount, term, and riders

Before buying a term plan online, you must figure out the coverage you need. You must always buy a plan with adequate coverage so that your loved ones can manage the financial shock if you happen to pass away. The next thing that you need to understand is for how long you want to insure yourself. Some plans like iSelect Star term plan offers whole life option. You can insure yourself till you turn 99. Add riders like accidental death benefit, child support benefit and others to enhance your plan.

Learn more about whole life option.

2. Fill in your personal and medical history

When you decide to buy a life insurance policy, the insurers need to assess your personal and medical history. Fill in the application form and enter all the details that you are asked. You will also be asked a series of question on your existing health conditions. Ensure that you provide accurate information to avoid rejection of your application.

3. Decide the premium payment term and pay premium

Insurance companies are offering plans that have various premium payment terms. You can choose to pay the premium in a single bullet or for a limited duration of 5/10/15/20/25 years. Also, you can choose to pay the premium only during your working years i.e., till you turn 60. Once you decide the premium payment frequency, you will have to seal the deal by paying your first premium.

Learn which is cost efficient: paying premium monthly or annually?

When considering a term plan, do keep in mind is that not all insurance policies are the same. Some provide standard features, while insurers like Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance offer a host of invaluable features that would help you and your family in the long run. Choose an online term plan that suits you the best as per your financial requirements and circumstances to take care of your loved ones in your absence.