Online Term Insurance Plan

What is a Term Plan?

As compared to traditional insurance plans, Term plan is a basic insurance plan wherein you pay a much lower premium to get a high sum assured. The other main difference is the death benefit which is provided only in case of death of the policy holder. It means that in case the policyholder survives the entire term of policy, nothing will be paid to the nominee hence there is no return on maturity of the term plan. A person of 35 years of age can buy a cover of Rs. 1 crore at around Rs.10,000/- per annum only.

Here is the table showing the best online term insurance plans in India (as on Oct-2015)

Company	Scheme Name	Policy Term (Years)              Min        Max	Min Age at Entry	Covers upto   (Max Age)	Sum Assured  (in Rs.)                                                             Min          Max	Premium (in Rs.)	Claim Setting % (2014-2015)
ICICI Prudential	iProtect	10     30	20	75	3 Lakh        NA	12,247	94.1
HDFC Life	Click 2 Protect	10     30	18	65	10 Lakh 10Crore	11,910	94.0
LIC	e-Term Plan	10     35	18	75	50 Lakh      NA	16,405	98.1
Max Life	Max Life Online Term Plan	10     35	18	70	25Lakh100Crore	8,314	93.9
Kotak Life	Preferred e-term	10    40	18	75	25           NA	8,287	90.7
SBI Life	eShield	10    30	18	70	20           NA	13,135	91.1
Bajaj Allianz	iSecure	10   30	18	70	20          NA	13,438	91.3
Aegon Religare	iTerm Plan	5    40	18	75	10          NA	8,202	81.0

Why is it available so cheap?

Because there are no agents involved; it is similar to your online shopping wherein no shopkeeper/distributor is involved . All the amount which company have to pay towards commission/other payouts and even the other administrative costs are much lower. The same amount is passed back to the end user. The other statistically proved reason is the longevity of those buying online as the population is mostly between in between 30s and 40s and also more alert and conscious about their security & well being.

Advantages:

Term plan has many advantages than your traditional policies as follows:

1. Lowest Premium (50-60% cheaper than offline) 
2. Highest Coverage
3. Faster process & Issuance 
4. Less paperwork involved 
5. Utmost Transparency 
6. Flexible in selecting a required plan
7. No medical checkup for certain age groups or up to Rs. 50 lakhs sum assured

Disadvantages:

Though there are lot of advantages as seen above for the policy buyer but ultimately it's your nominee who is going to apply for the claim if arises. You have to make sure that the technology/lodging claim online and other filing process should not become a bottleneck for them because nominee in most cases would be either wife or parents. They should not be made run from pillar to post to get their due claim. This happens mainly because there is no agent or mediator who can help in all the paperwork (online) to get it done especially in times when they are under emotional trauma due to the death of their loved one. Even local office of insurance companies won't be able to help because it is online and could be done online only.

Conclusion:

Online term plans are best if you can educate your dependents for the procedures and formalities involved in the claim and also keep them updated about your policy contract and jurisdiction. Enjoy your cup of coffee without comparing its cost to the term plan and don't fall prey to marketing gimmicks, be smart and buy smart.