What is Saral Jeevan Bima and Does it Cover Accidental Death?

Term insurance coverage is a necessity for your family. It’s not a choice once you have people to look after and you are responsible for their well-being and future. Buying a term insurance is one of the first financial steps you should take.

However, the market is filled with term insurance plans with advanced features like regular income pay-out, return of premium, etc. While you need a term life cover almost immediately when you start earning, understanding the regular term plan needs time and effort.

So, should you leave your family exposed to the adverse financial effects of your untimely demise?

Certainly not. This is where Saral Jeevan Bima takes the lead.

What is Saral Jeevan Bima?

Looking at the need and challenges of buying a regular term insurance plan, insurance regulator IRDAI came up with a standard term cover for the country. Standard means, regardless of which insurer you choose to buy this plan from, the plan’s features, terms and conditions are going to be uniform.

So, this is the one term insurance cover, where you do not need to think or compare, just complete the formalities, and secure the family.

Features of Saral Jeevan Bima

Saral Jeevan Bima is a simple term insurance cover with the following features and conditions:

• You can buy Saral Jeevan Bima cover if you are aged between 18 and 65 years of age.
• The maximum policy term is 40 years. So, if you buy the plan at the age of 30, you can continue the cover till the age of 70, which is also the maximum age until the cover can continue.
• You can pay the premium in the following modes:
  • Regular mode, i.e., throughout the policy term
  • Limited premium payment mode of 5 years or 10 years
  • In a single shot
• The plan features a single exclusion clause for suicide within 12 months of policy commencement.
• The death benefit is payable as per the highest amount among:
  • 10 times the annualized premium
  • 105% of total paid premiums till the time of claim
  • Sum Assured under the plan
  • In the case of a single premium policy, the comparison is between 125% of premium and policy sum assured

  Accidental Cover in Saral Jeevan Bima

  Saral Jeevan Bima is a simple life cover that also has a waiting period of 45 days. The waiting period means that the full death claim will be payable only if the death occurs after this waiting period.

  The waiting period starts with the commencement of the policy. For example, if your policy commencement date is 1 April 2021 (given on the policy document), your waiting period for the claim will last up to 15th May 2021.

  If death occurs within this waiting period only the premium paid so far is returned to the family without the taxes.

  However, if death occurs due to an accident, the family will be eligible to receive the full sum assured as per the regular death claim settlement.

  For example, Avijit bought a Saral Jeevan Bima cover of Rs. 20 Lakhs, at the age of 30, and pays a single premium for the cover of Rs. 65,000 (Rs. 5,000 as taxes). If he dies within the first 45 days of the policy commencement, his family will receive the following amount, depending on the cause of death:

  • In the case of accidental death: Rs. 20 lakhs (sum assured is higher than 125% of premium)
  • In the case of death from any other cause: Rs. 60,000

  The accidental cover, however, is only applicable for the waiting period. After the waiting period, all causes are covered under the plan.