Top 8 Best Term Insurance Plans in India in 2018-2019
What happens if the earning member in the family suddenly collapses and dies? What happens if the head of the family who is earning met with an accident and not in this world? While the loss of the family member cannot be replaced with anything, it also impacts the financial status of the family. Such loss can ruin children education, daughter marriage and survival of the spouse. One of the best ways to secure from such sudden negative surprises in life is to take Term Insurance Plan. Term Insurance Plans would come with low cost and high sum assured and secures your family in such loss. How to pick-up best term insurance plan? Which are the Best Term Insurance Plans for 2018-2019? What are the Top 8 Best Term Plans for 2018-2019 that has high claim settlement ratio?
Also read: ICICI Pru Heart and Cancer Care Insurance Plan – Should you opt?
What is Term Insurance Plan?
If you are aware about Term insurance plan, skip this section.
Term insurance Plan is a simple insurance plan where if the individual insured dies, their family / nominee would get the sum assured. There is no maturity amount in the term insurance plan. These are insurance plans that have risk coverage only. One would not get any money back on maturity.
As per guidelines from IRDA, after 3 years from the date of policy, a claim cannot be rejected citing any reason. Hence, claim settlement ratio is no more a major criteria in deciding the best term insurance plan. However it still needs to be considered as one of the point while buying a term insurance plan.
How we filtered Top and Best Term Insurance Plans in India for 2018-2019?
There are several parameters which can be considered while picking up top and best term insurance plan in India. However, I have considered 4 key parameters while picking the right term insurance plan.
1) Insurance Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR): Though CSR is not the major criteria to be considered, one has to give importance to it. As of 2015-2016, there are 62 insurance companies which are registered in India. However, only 10 companies have declared claim settlement ratio of more than or equal to 95%. CSR is one nothing but settled insurance claims over the total insurance claims received by the insurance company. Lower CSR means, company is rejecting more claims and in future your family could be victim out of that. I have filtered companies that has high claim settlement ratio of 95% to 100%.
2) Insurance Company Reputation: No one can tell you how good is an insurance company. The higher the duration of the insurance company registered, it is better. Hence, we have filtered Insurance companies that have good operating history of more than 10 years.
3) Additional Features in Term insurance plan: What about good insurance company that do not offer much options? No one would really want to opt for that. I have filtered Term insurance plan which are basic features + additional features that would be helpful for individuals who are planning to take term plans.
4) Plans with Low Premium: While Premium is not the only criteria in selecting an insurance plan; we have given preference to term insurance plans which are being offered at low premiums with more features.
One should do term insurance comparison before taking up a term insurance plan. You can buy term insurance online from respective insurance portals.
Top 8 Best Term Insurance Plans in India in 2018-2019
Here are the Top 8 Best Term Insurance Plans for 2018-2019. We are giving major features of these term insurance plans.
1) LIC e-Term Insurance Plan
LIC is well known and trusted brand in insurance segment in India. One of the best term insurance plans that come from LIC is e-Term Term Insurance Plan. Here are the features of the LIC Term Insurance Plan.- Minimum Entry age is 18 Years and Maximum entry age is 60 years
- Maximum maturity age is 75 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 10 years and 35 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 25 Lakhs. For non-smokers, minimum sum assured is Rs 50 Lakhs.
- Maximum Sum Assured – No limit.
- No Riders available in this plan
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 98%.
- All kinds of death including accidental deaths are covered under this plan except suicide during first year.
- One can propose on own name only and cannot take on spouse name who is not working.
- Premium is approx. Rs 19,700 per annum (Excl Taxes) for a 30 year non smoker for a 30 year policy for Rs 1 Crore sum assured. Once premium is computed it would not change during the tenure of the policy.
- If you plan to work abroad or go on vacation, LIC Term insurance plan would still provide insurance coverage.
- LIC e-Term Term Insurance Plan is one of the Top Online term insurance plans in 2018-2019 as it has brand value as well as trusted by Lakhs of people in India.
- You can Review LIC eTerm Insurance Plan here.
LIC is well known and trusted brand in insurance segment in India. One of the best term insurance plans that come from LIC is e-Term Term Insurance Plan. Here are the features of the LIC Term Insurance Plan.2) Max Life Term Insurance Plan Plus
Below are the major features of this term insurance plan from Max Life.
- Minimum Entry age is 18 Years and Maximum entry age is 60 years
- Maximum maturity age is 70 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 10 years and 40 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 25 Lakhs.
- Maximum Sum Assured – Rs 100 Crores.
- Comprehensive Accident Benefit Rider available in this plan.
- This plan is available in 3 coverage a) Basic Life Cover b) Basic Life Cover+Monthly cover c) Basic Cover + Increasing Monthly Income
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 97.8% which is highest among all insurance companies.
- Basic Premium is approx. Rs 9,000 per annum (Excl taxes) for a 30 year non smoker for a 30 year policy for 1 Crore sum assured.
- Max Life Term Insurance plan Plus is one of the good term insurance plans for 2018 which has high claim settlement ratio and comes with low premium.
3) HDFC Click 2 Protect Plus Term Insurance Plan
Below are the major features of HDFC Click 2 Protect Plus Term plan.
- Minimum Entry age is 18 Years and Maximum entry age is 65 years
- Maximum maturity age is 70 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 5 years and 40 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 10 Lakhs.
- Maximum Sum Assured – No limit.
- There are various options like Life Option, 3D Life Option, Extra Life Option, Return of Premium Option etc. available in this plan.
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 97.6%.
- Basic Premium is approx. Rs 13,000 (Excl taxes) per annum for a 30 year non smoker for a 30 year policy for Rs 1 Crore sum assured.
- This Term plan has several riders which make this as unique term insurance plan for 2018-2019. One can review HDFC Click 2 Protect 3D Plus before considering this insurance plan.
4) Aegon Religare iTerm Insurance Plan
Below are the major features of this plan.
- Minimum Entry age is 20 Years and Maximum entry age is 65 years
- Maximum maturity age is 75 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 5 years and 40 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 10 Lakhs.
- Maximum Sum Assured – No limit.
- There are 2 death benefit options available a) Simple death benefit b) 50% death benefit paid + 3% of Sum assured every month for 5 years.
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 97.1%
- Premium is approx. Rs 6,636 per annum for a 30 year non-smoker for a 30 year policy for a sum assured of Rs 1 Crore.
- More info on Aegon Religare Term plan is available on insurance website at this link.
- This is best term insurance policy which comes with low premiums and good features.
5) ICICI iProtect Smart Term Insurance Plan
Here are the key features of ICICI iProtect Smart Term Plan.
- Minimum Entry age is 18 Years and Maximum entry age is 60 years
- Maximum maturity age is 75 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 5 years and 40 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured – Based on minimum premium of Rs 3,600 per annum.
- Maximum Sum Assured – No limit.
- Optional rider that it pays if diagnosed of any of the 34 Critical Illnesses.
- It comes with 4 levels of protection 1) Life 2) Life Plus 3) Life and Health and 4) All in one.
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 96.6%
- Premium is approx. Rs 8,279 per annum for a 30 year non smoker for a 30 year policy for Rs 1 Crore sum assured.
- I feel ICICI iProtect Term plan is one of the good online term insurance plans as it comes with several benefits and riders which are useful.
6) SBI Life eShield Term Insurance Plan
eShield is the SBI Term Insurance Plan which comes with unique features.
- Minimum Entry age is 18 Years and Maximum entry age is 65 years
- Maximum maturity age is 70 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 5 years and 30 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 35 Lakhs.
- Maximum Sum Assured – No limit.
- It comes with two plan options 1) Level Cover Benefit 2) Increasing cover benefit.
- There is inbuilt benefit “Accelerated Terminal Illness Benefit” available.
- There are inbuilt riders available a) Accidental Death Benefit Rider 2) Accidental Total and Permanent Disability Benefit Rider.
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 96.6%.
- Premium is approx. Rs 12,000 per annum (Excl taxes) for a 30 year non smoker for a 30 year policy for 1 Crore sum assured.
- SBI Life eShield Term Insurance plan is one of the best term insurance plans for 2018 which comes with inbuilt benefits and riders.
7) TATA AIA Life iRaksha Online Term Insurance Plan
There are 4 variants of term insurance plans offered by TATA AIA Life. One of the good plans with TATA AIA Life Insurance iRaksha Online Term insurance plan. Below are the major features of this plan.
- Minimum Entry age is 18 Years and Maximum entry age is 70 years
- Maximum maturity age is 80 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 10 years and 40 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 50 Lakhs.
- Maximum Sum Assured – No limit.
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 96%.
- Rate benefits for customers opting for higher level of protection (Sum Assured of Rs 75 Lacs & above).
- Premium is approx. Rs 11,000 per annum for a 30 year non smoker for a 30 year policy for a sum assured of Rs 1 Crore.
Also Read: Best Health Insurance Plans in India for 2018
8) Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Shield Term Plan
There are several term plans from ABSLI
- Minimum Entry age is 18 Years and Maximum entry age is 65 years
- Maximum maturity age is 80 Years.
- Policy tenure is between 10 years and 50 years.
- Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 25 Lakhs.
- Maximum Sum Assured – No limit.
- There are 4 options available in plan 1) Level Term Assurance 2) Level Term Assurance with Waiver of Premium 3) Increasing Term Insurance 4) Increasing Term Assurance with waiver of premium 5) Decreasing Term Assurance
- Claim settlement ratio of FY 2016-17 is 94.7%.
- Premium is approx. Rs 8,000 per annum for a 30 year non smoker for a 30 year policy for a sum assured of Rs 1 Crore.
Conclusion: There are several good term insurance plans in India. My advice to you would be, to consider term plans among top-5 indicated above. Do term insurance comparison to opt from available ones. You can also split your insurance coverage into 2 plans e.g. Instead of 1 Crore Term plan from single insurance company, you can take Rs 50 Lakhs each from two insurance companies to avoid any rejections in future of say 10 or 20 years. Term Insurance plans are best which comes with low premiums and high risk coverage. This should be your first step in financial planning.
Readers, have you opted for any of these best term insurance policies? What are your experiences from your insurance company?
If you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends and colleagues through Face book and Twitter.
Suresh
Top 8 Best Term Insurance Plans in India in 2018-2019
- Kosamattam Finance NCD – Nov-2024 Issue – Details and Review - November 24, 2024
- Best Large Cap Mutual Funds to Invest in 2025 - November 23, 2024
- How to Balance Risk and Reward in Your Investment Portfolio - November 19, 2024
Hi Suresh, your blog is a brilliant one, many thanks and hats off to you.
Which is the correct place where we can find out the claim settlement ratio of a particular year? I am not sure if IRDA publishes it, It would be great if you can provide us a link to that site.
I can see that you are sighting the 2016-17 ratio, whereas, the 2017-18 data must have been out now.
Thanks.
Hello Venghat, thanks for your compliments. One need to refer every year in IRDA website for the latest claim settlement ratio. These ratios are published in Jan every year pertaining to previous financial year. 2017-2018 is expected in Jan-2019
Hi Sir,
I have done decent research about the term insurance policies and shortlisted few companies based on the premium and benefits they offer. I have the following queries, I would really appreciate if anyone can clarify.
1.Is a single premium, or limited premium (Lets say 10 years payment Term), or regular premium is better? I am considering single or limited premium since we can be sure of not missing the premium payment and avoid any financial diffculties any particluar year.
2. I am considering my coverage till only 60 years. I feel either I will be settled by this time or no longer alive, hence not going for longer tenure to avoid higher premium, is this correct strategy?
3.I am not a smoker but consume tobacco regularly. Should I still declare my self as smoker?
4.After taking the policy, after few years if I start smoking or consuming alchol, should it has to be declared to insurance company?
Hi Sir,
I have done decent research about the term insurance policies and shortlisted few companies based on the premium and benefits they offer. I have the following queries, I would really appreciate if anyone can clarify.
1.Is a single premium, or limited premium (Lets say 10 years payment Term), or regular premium is better? I am considering single or limited premium since we can be sure of not missing the premium payment and avoid any financial diffculties any particluar year.
2. I am considering my coverage till only 60 years. I feel either I will be settled by this time or no longer alive, hence not going for longer tenure to avoid higher premium, is this correct strategy?
3.I am not a smoker but consume tobacco regularly. Should I still declare my self as smoker?
4.After taking the policy, after few years if I start smoking or consuming alchol, should it has to be declared to insurance company?
please advice me about max life term plane.
Hello RK Raman, Check this article where I covered complete review of Max Online Term Plan. https://myinvestmentideas.com/2016/08/max-life-online-term-insurance-plan-review/
Dear Sir,
I want to invest in ultra short debit fund. My risk limit is very low.
After a lot of research I have short listed “Franklin India Ultra-Short Bond Fund – Super Institutional Plan – Direct Plan (G)”
I want to start SIP for 5,000 every month. My goal is for 5 to 7 years and can go beyond that.
My age is 33 now and goal is to generate corpus in next few years.
I want to stay away from any large cap equity fund. Please advice on this fund. Thank you so so much.
If you are low risk taker, you can still try balanced mutual fund. Since the one which you indicated is ultra short term debt fund, these are good for 3 months to 1 year period only. You should avoid doing SIP in such short term funds. If you still want to invest in debt fund, you can go for long term debt funds. I am planning to write an article about long term debt funds next week
Hi, I want to buy “ICICI Pru Heart / Cancer Protect” to protect me and my spouse. Can you please help me in terms of if I can go ahead. This is specifically for cancer cover.
I already have term and critical illness insurance and this is just another step to protect my family.
Appreciate if you can help or suggest any other cancer plan. Thanks.
Hello Rajeev, There are 2 options for you. You can go for term plan that covers cancer too. Alternatively you can take term plan and seperately take cancer plan. I would vote for 2nd option. You can refer this article for taking seperate cancer plan. https://myinvestmentideas.com/2017/09/6-best-cancer-insurance-plans-for-2017-in-india/
I want to take take one policy that is very specific to cancer cover? What would you recommend? Thanks
Hi Shishir, There are 2 ways of doing it 1) Take term plan which has rider that covers Cancer care too 2) Take term plan and take separate plan for cancer care. I would prefer second one as it gives flexibility to take any cancer p[lan as additional one. Refer this article about various cancer care plans available in India. https://myinvestmentideas.com/2017/09/6-best-cancer-insurance-plans-for-2017-in-india/
I want to take a 50 lakh term plan. Age is 30, can you please suggest between –
icici iprotect term plan and Max Life term Insurance
Thank you.
Both are good. You can opt for any of them
Dear sir, I want to go for the 99 years plan so which one is better please suggest PNB Metlife or Aegon Life. Premium wise PNB Metlife is the cheapest with a difference of almost 10k per annum. My age is 43 years now. Regards.
You can pick-up any of the top plans indicated here.
Hi sir please suggest best term plans for joint insurance for couples with merits compare to individual term plans.
Dear Sir,
I am 40 now, working with private and have a term insurance from Aviva for 1 Cr. since 2014.
My CTC was 6 lac in 2014 and Now it is 32 Lac.
Please help me to finding the following answers.
1- I feel to enhance the term insurance limit now. Please suggest me the Sum Assured I should go for.
2- Like mobile number portability, is it suggested to go with different insurer in different years. Because when I search best term plan, I don’t find Aviva in list.
3- Some where I read, you should go for two term insurance with different insurer, to reduce the claim settlement risk. Please suggest.
4- I am bit confuse to select the term insurance house. Please suggest – HDFC, MAX, Metlife, Exide, Ageon, ICICI
Hi Manas, Good to hear about you. 1) It is difficult to comment how much insurance you need. You can refer this article and compute it based on your current salary and expenses and based on your age. https://myinvestmentideas.com/2013/04/how-much-life-insurance-do-we-need/ 2) I would advice you to go for additional term insurance plan with any other insurance provider apart from Aviva 3) You read it correctly. It would be always better to go for 2 term insurance plans with 2 provides instead of 1 to reduce risk 4) You can pickup the insurance provides from top 5 where the claim settlements are high. These are indicated in the artilce.
There are whole life polices covering upto 100 years of age like ILIFE(AEGON) / Mera Term Plan (PNB MET LIFE) and LIFE LONG PROTECTION (HDFC LIFE) – out of these 3 plans HDFC LIFE Is very costly –
1. Can you pls suggest which one is better between ILIFE and Mera Term plan. Premiums for AEGON and PNB MET LIFE is reasonable.
2. IF we are getting ABOVE whole life plans AT the cost of term plans for 60/65 years with other companies (LIC /HDFC/ ICICI etc). then I THINK ONE SHOULD OPT FOR 100 YEAR PLANS – AT LEAST PREMIUMS PAID for years WILL NOT GO WASTE AND YOUR NOMINEES ARE GUARANTEED TO RECEIVE THE PAYOUT of INSURED AMOUNT.
I know that insurance is not required in retired life – however for any reason if you cannot pay premium in your retired life- inform your nominee – they will make sure to pay the premium as they will get handsome amount after you die.
Pls share your views.
Sir
I am an NRI woman,Married and 30 years now .As I havent any term insurance plan right now , planing to take a pure Online Term insurance with ICICI or MAX..In your opinion 1]Among this which is the best one for Women 2] they offered any special features for NRI 3] Is there any things to consider while opting Insurance plan as an NRI
Expecting ur valuable reply.
Hi Anu, You can go with any of these insurance companies for term plans. There are no special features for women, except for specific coverages for women, which you can read in brochure. Just ensure you consider high claim settlement ratio companies along with good features when you are planning to take term insurance. No specific things to consider if you are an NRI
THANK YOU SIR …FOR PROMPT REPLY
Hello Sir ,
I was an earning member few month back but now i dont have any job. Can i still go for Term Insurance?
i m adding an scenario here, suppose after few month , I get a job and my earning start , i have an term insurance and again job loss and after few years i am no more in this world. Will Insurance company fulfil my claim .. can they say .. this is term insurance and at the time of death person having no source of income ..so there is no claim .
Please clarify above scenario.
Hi Ashish, It is immaterial whether you have a job or not. If you are earning member, you should consider these plans. Insurance companies would honour insurance claims irrespective whether the person is having job or not in future.
Hi Suresh,
Why is the premium of LIC so high (almost 2 to 3 times more) in comparison to plans offered by private players. Is it only because it is backed by Government or are there any other reasons?
Hi Parag, Since LIC is trusted brand, they charge high premiums.
Dear sir, if you can help with below query : decrease term insurance is available only in ABSL or in any other above plan ?? Also will premium decrease with decrease in insurance amount and how are they structure i.e. decrease happen on set frequency and amount or it is as per customer flexibility?
Decrease term insurance is available only in ABSL or in any other above plan ?? Also will premium decrease with decrease in insurance amount and how are they structure i.e. decrease happen on set frequency and amount or it is as per customer flexibility?
Hi Suresh,
Thank you for this information ,
You are suggesting to have 2 term insurance for one individual , so that at least one can works out.
I want to know can i file claim in both term insurances and get amount from both of them ?
Hi Vinay, You can file any number of claims with insurance companies.
I believe Aego iTerm plan is the best among all with 1) maximum coverage in terms of age ie till 100 years, 2) lowest premiums among all, 3) good claim settlement ratio.
What is ur view Suresh ji about this?
Hi Arpit, I already indicated as one of the best term insurance plan in this article 🙂
Couple of basic questions in term insurance:
1. What happens if any of these insurance company shuts down in the middle?
2. What are the major reasons for the insurance company to reject the claim? Because paying such a huge premium and family member hoping that they will get bulk amount and suddenly if they rejects
3. Can i go with two insurance provider for 50 Lakh cover each? just to make sure at least my family member is getting one claim even if another provider rejects the another claim for some reason
Hi Arun, Very valid questions 1) IRDA regulates all insurance companies. In case there is serious issue, definitely IRDA would intervene and I feel they should be able to merge such companies with exisitng ones. This is out of our hands to worry. However, better to take 2 term plans to reduce this risk 2) Point no.1 answers even this query 3) Point no.1 would answer even this 3rd question 🙂
Thanks Suresh!
Please review my equity portfolio which I am going to start from May month all investment are for long term 10+ years :
SBI Blue chip – 4K
Mirae asset emerging bluechip fund -4 k
HDFC balanced fund- 4K .
Motilal Oswal multicap 35 fund- 3K
Apart from this I have two on going Elss Fund :
Aditya Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96 – 4K
IDFC Tax Advantage – 2 k
Anshu, Looks you posted mutual fund query on insurance article. No worries, let me answer 1) You have selected good funds, go ahead and invest in them 2) You can look for this article about best Tax saving Mutual funds. https://myinvestmentideas.com/2018/01/top-8-best-elss-tax-saving-mutual-funds-to-invest-for-2018-2019/
Thanks for the info.
I am looking for term plan and found below varient of term plan where premiums will be paid after term period on survival. Can you please suggest if this good enough.
http://tataaia.com/pdf/protection-solutions/sampoorna_raksha_plus.pdf
Also, please let me know if there are better plans with similar feature(repayment of premiums at maturity.)
Thanks in advance
Hi Nagendra, I would advice you to stay away from premium back term plans as they come with higher premiums.
Hello Sir, I have PNB Metfife Term insurance for 75,00,000 period for 25 years. This may 2018, I am going to pay 2nd premium Rs.13645 with rider coverage for 5 Lakhs.
My qns. is Can I change Term insurance from one to another without more fluctuations of premium amount?
I know that health insurance can be portable, however there is limited info available on life insurance plans. I generally advice to split term plan to be kept in 2 companies so that any variance in claim settlement ratio in future, we may not be the victim