The 5 Best Term Insurance Plans to Financially Secure Your Family

Life is full of uncertainty, and you never know what tomorrow will bring. If you are the sole breadwinner of the family, in the back of your mind, you have thought about your family's financial security in your absence. Securing your family with Term Life Insurance is an ultimate solution that ensures your family is financially protected in case of an unfortunate demise of the insured.

What is Term Insurance?

• Term Insurance is a type of life insurance that provides coverage for a certain period called 'term'.

• In case of the unfortunate demise of the policyholder, term insurance provides financial protection to the policyholder's family.

• A policyholder is required to pay a premium for a chosen term, failing to do so will result in policy lapse.

• Term insurance is basic life insurance everyone must have as it offers financial protection to your loved ones at an affordable premium.

• The three major factors affecting the premium are the age of the policyholder, sum assured, and the policy term. The health of the policyholder and his/her medical history is also taken into consideration while calculating the premium.

• The sum assured is offered to the nominee in the form of a death benefit in case of the unfortunate demise of the policyholder within the policy term.

• The policyholder is not a beneficiary in this type of insurance because the sum assured is given to the nominee in case of the death of the policyholder.

• If the policyholder survives the policy term, he/she gets an option to renew the policy with a new term, but the premium is calculated considering the age and health conditions at the time of renewal.

• Traditionally, term insurance does not offer survival benefits. But, nowadays, many insurance companies are offering ample benefits.

• The entry age for term insurance is generally 18 years.

• Term insurance premium can give you tax benefit under Section 80C of Income Tax.

• Some leading insurance companies offer riders and add-ons that can be purchased for a slight increase in the premium.

The 5 Best Term Insurance Plans of 2021 to Secure Your Family:

In India, about 24 life insurance companies are offering various term life insurance policies. Studying all of these plans, comparing them, and then choosing the right insurance policy for you can be overwhelming. To help you with this, we have studied and compared the plans by various parameters, and shortlisted the 5 best term insurance plans that you can consider buying in 2021:

1. Max Life Term Plan with Return of Premium:

   1. Max Life Insurance is one of the most trusted life insurance companies in India with the highest claim settlement ratio of 99.22% in the financial year 2019-20. The number of claims paid, in the same year, is 15342.

   2. Max Life Insurance offers 'Max Life Term Plan with Return of Premium'.

   3. It has a minimum policy term of 10 years and a maximum policy term of 50 years. The plan has an option to extend the policy term to the whole life, which is till the age of 85 years.

   4. The minimum entry age is 18 years and the maximum entry age is 60 years.

   5. In case of the demise of the policyholder, the sum assured is given to the nominee in the form of a death benefit. As per the requirement of the nominee, it can be given as a lump sum or monthly income or both.

   6. Premium can be paid as single pay (lump-sum) or regular pay (till the policy term) or limited pay (the policyholder can choose the premium paying term).

   7. You get an option of add-ons such as Accidental Death Benefit, Critical Illness, etc.

   8. You can get the Disability Cover by opting for a Disability Rider to get coverage for any disability arising due to accident or illness.

   9. The premium for Max Life basic term plan of 1 Cr for 40 years term, without any riders, for a 30 years old, non-smoker male, goes to Rs 1099 (monthly, including GST).

2. Click-2-Protect Life:

   1. With an impressive claim settlement ratio of 99.07% for the financial year 2019-20 and excellent customer support, HDFC Life is another best life insurer you can rely on. HDFC Life has a huge customer base and has paid 12509 claims in the FY 2019-20.

   2. HDFC Life offers a variety of term insurance plans with a variety of riders, out of which, 'HDFC Life Click-2-Protect Life' is the latest plan that is loaded with features and benefits.

   3. HDFC Life Click-2-Protect Life comes with 3 different cover options. You can choose the best-suited options from the available option.

      1. Life Protect Option:

         In case of the unfortunate death of the policyholder, a lump-sum amount is paid to the nominee.

      2. Life and CI Rebalance Option:

         The policyholder is entitled to get critical illness cover along with life cover. Additionally, on detection of any covered critical illness, all the future premiums are waived off, and the life cover continues till the policy term.

      3. Income Plus Option:

         A policyholder enjoys life cover till the policy term and also receives a lump sum amount as a maturity benefit in case of survival. In addition, he receives a regular monthly income from age 60.

   4. It offers a maximum policy term of 30 years. But, the whole life cover is available under Life Protect and Income Plus options.

   5. The policyholder can increase the sum assured at important milestones in life, such as marriage or after having kids, etc.

   6. Return of Premium add-on lets you receive 100% of the premiums paid on survival.

   7. Premium can be paid as single pay (lump-sum) or regular pay (till the policy term) or limited pay (the policyholder can choose the premium paying term).

   8. The premium for HDFC Life basic term plan of 1 Cr for 40 years term, without any riders, for a 30 years old, non-smoker male, goes to Rs 1168 (monthly, including GST).

3. Sampoorn Raksha Supreme:

   1. Tata AIA Life Insurance has the third-highest claim settlement ratio of 99.06% for FY 2019-20, with the total number of claims paid 2954.

   2. Tata AIA Life Insurance's 'Sampoorna Raksha Supreme' is one of the most preferred term insurance plans.

   3. It offers 4 Death Benefit options you can choose from:

      This option is for whole life coverage (till 100 years), with no survival benefit. Additionally, 50% of the base sum assured is paid as a lump sum on detection of Terminal Illness, and the policy continues till the policy term.

      1. Life Option:

      2. Life Plus Option:

         It provides all the benefits of Life Option. Plus, on detection of Terminal Illness, apart from receiving the lump sum, all the future premiums are waived off, and the policyholder still gets the benefit of life cover.

      3. Life Income Option:

         The option has all the benefits of the Life Option. The policyholder is also entitled to get a regular monthly income from his Income Start Age, which can be 55/60/65 years.

      4. Credit Protect Option:

         It is a pure term insurance plan where no add-ons or riders are offered, except Terminal Illness benefit.

   4. Sum assured is given to the nominee in the form of lump-sum, or income, or both.

   5. The premium can be paid as single pay, regular pay, or limited pay (5 or 10 years).

   6. With an add-on of Life Stage or Top Up SA, the policyholder can increase the sum assured at important milestones in life.

   7. The option to avail of income after the age of 55 years.

   8. Lower premium for female lives.

   9. The premium for Tata AIA Life Insurance Sampoorn Raksha Supreme basic term plan of 1 Cr for 40 years term, without any riders, for a 30 years old, non-smoker male, amounts to Rs 1092 (monthly, including GST).

4. Exide Life Elite Term Insurance:

   1. Exide Life Insurance is maintaining a good claim settlement ratio, which is 98.15% for FY 2019-20, with 3404 claims paid.

   2. 'Exide Life Elite Term Insurance Plan' is the best selling insurance plan offered by Exide Life Insurance.

   3. It offers a minimum policy term of 10 years and a maximum policy term of 40 years, which can be extended to another 10 years after completion of the original term.

   4. The minimum entry age is 21. And, the maximum age of a policyholder at the time of maturity can not be more than 70 years. If the policy is extended by 10 years, the age should not be more than 80 years.

   5. The death benefit in this policy can be availed as lump sum or income payout or both.

   6. The policyholder has a variety of riders and add-ons to choose from, like Accidental Death or Disability rider and Critical Illness rider.

   7. Exide Life Elite Term Insurance provides maximum coverage at an affordable premium.

   8. The premium for Exide Life Elite Term Insurance basic term plan of 1 Cr for 40 years term, without any riders, for a 30 years old, non-smoker male, goes to Rs 923 (monthly, including GST).

5. iSelect Star Term Plan:

   1. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce has a claim settlement ratio of 98.12% in the FY 2019-20, with 1252 claims paid in the same year.

   2. It offers iSelect Star Term Plan, a term plan that offers many benefits for an affordable premium.

   3. The minimum policy term is of 5 years and the maximum policy term is of 65 years.

   4. The whole-life option is available till the age of 99.

   5. The plan offers additional coverages like Accidental Death Benefit, Accidental Total and Permanent Disability, and Child Support Benefit.

   6. Option to add spouse in the same plan with a discount on the rates for the spouse.

   7. The policyholder gets an option to increase your sum assured with key life milestones.

   8. iSelect Star Term Plan offers a Return-of-premium option. Upon survival of the policyholder until the completion of the policy period, all the paid premiums will be returned, excluding the taxes.

   9. Premiums can be paid at one time or regularly or limited pay.

   10. The premium for Exide Life Elite Term Insurance basic term plan of 1 Cr for a 40 years term, without any riders, for a 30 years old, non-smoker male is Rs 1129 (monthly, including GST).

Comparison of the 5 Best Term Insurance Plans:

Final Words:

There is no better alternative than a term insurance plan when it comes to providing financial security to your family in your absence. Although most of us understand the importance of having adequate life coverage, choosing the right plan can be intimidating. This article will definitely help you understand the different features and benefits offered by the leading life insurers. We have provided you with all the information on the best term insurance plans. However, we advise you to read all the policy-related documents carefully before making a purchase decision.

Warm Regards,
Ketki Jadhav
Content Writer

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