How to Buy Life Insurance?
what are different options available.
Once you have made up your mind to go for a life insurance policy you have cleared the first hurdle. You might have taken few days to several days to finally go for the Thing that eventually will change your life. You will have a sense of satisfaction and Peace of mind that only comes when you know deep down that from now onward your family is in safe hand.
Whatever happens to you, your family will have enough to go on with life which might not have been possible otherwise, in case of your death. Having said that let’s get on with the procedure to buy your life insurance by following these steps. A little bit of caution and presence of mind that’s all it needs to get you going the right way. Here are the points:
1. Calculate what is your current & future needs:
You have your monthly expenditure, you may have some debts like loans or EMIs to pay, including future expenses like college fees etc. Find out how long you may need this alternate income and how much it would be for your family members to survive with immediate and assumed future expenses keeping the inflation in mind.
2. Request quotation from different insurance Providers:
Compare their rates, policy & their different features and benefits so as to be confident enough to go ahead with the plan. Take your time its normal.
3. Found the company you like, Now check its financial ratings:
This check guarantees that it has the finances to pay up your claim. You should check ratings for these to evaluate their financial strength. A quick Google search might aid you with enough details like the company’s solvency ratio etc. A trusted Licensed Advisor can guide you here correctly.
3. Fix appointment with a Trusted, Licensed Agent:
A licensed Agent will help you finalise the deal with a suitable insurance plan. You may be presented with options to go for a Term insurance plan, Endowment plan, whole life insurance plan etc. Choose the best according to your needs. Following guidelines may help you. Each Plan has its own benefits if done in right age, right premium & right Premium Paying Term(PPT). This is the duration in which you will be paying the premium. eg. 20 years.
The Term life Plan: This plan provides high sum assured in much less premium. For example a person about 30 years age can taken a 35 years term policy for a small annual premium of Rs.10k for a high sum assured value of as much as 1 Crore. His family will receive this amount if he dies during this term.
Term insurance is best if started at early years of earning career. This is the most affordable type of policy which you can cancel any time during the term. Keep in mind when the policy expires you get nothing from the insurance company, Also your coverage stops as policy expires. You will have to buy a new policy if you want one.
Endowment Policy: Endowment plan combines the Savings and Insurance in which a person pays certain amount as premium to cover himself & certain amount is invested as Saving for a span of time that rewards him with suitable accumulated amount when he survives the policy period.
This amount can be further used for children’s education, marriage or even on retirement schemes thus reaping rich benefits in old age.If the insured dies during the term period his family gets full sum assured amount. In case of financial emergency the insured can take a loan against the policy. Also he gets tax rebate under 80C & 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act.
Whole life Policy: As the title suggests, this plan serves you as cover for your entire life (99 years) as a backup. In case of any untoward incident like death, the family of the insured gets the compensation. Also if he survives he gets the entire amount plus the bonuses. This policy carries a saving component that when accumulated for the specified period can help in certain responsibilities of the insurer like children’s education, Marriages etc.
As compared to term policy the Whole life policy and endowment polices are costlier & must be properly worked upon to check that you can pay their premiums which are about 5 to 15 times costlier than the term policy.
4. Decide on the amount of the premium:
Once suitable policy is decided its time to decide about the Premium. Determine how much income is coming your way and how much is your liabilities & make sure you are getting the policy at affordable rate & you should be able to pay it comfortably.
5. Read & Cross check your policy:
Make sure to read all the fine prints as it will save future headaches. If you find any discrepancy or something not as decided earlier in your policy, then you have a free-look period of 15 days after the policy issue date to cancel your policy. You can even receive refund of any premiums you paid,.
Hope you have found these points useful & wishing you every success in life.
