What do you choose: Safety or Regret?

You might choose to ignore accident insurance, but the costs can be both financial and emotional. The choice is yours.

If only we could accurately predict the highs and lows of our lives! While man wishes to have the ability to have wings and fly, the ability to foretell the occurrence of a disaster must rate higher than this wish. After all, forewarned is forearmed – if we are aware of when a tragedy can befall us, we can take steps to prevent it from happening.

Realistically speaking, it is impossible to predict the sharp turns and glorious successes of our lives. It is true what they say about nothing being constant except change, since life is full of unpredictability. But while we may be unable to do anything about a disaster that befalls us or our loved ones, we can take proactive steps to deal with it when it occurs.

Take, for instance, a personal accident policy. As the owner of a vehicle, you are prone to several small and major accidents every time you take the wheel. A speeding car may ram into yours, a jaywalker might suddenly loom ahead, or a child might chase after a cricket ball right onto the street. Or it may happen that you might lose control of the wheel for a split second and become involved in an accident.

Many people who drive believe that they do not need to take a personal accident policy. They believe that they do not need to take accidental insurance if they drive carefully and take good care of their car. However, taking car insurance is mandatory in India, so most people take just a basic plan.

Choosing a plan with a low sum assured and not enough benefits is akin to choosing uncertainty over safety. A good personal accident policy covers not just your car from costs of expensive repairs, but also provides the costs of hospitalisation and treatment if you are injured. More importantly, it provides coverage for partial or complete disability arising out of an accident, and also looks after your family’s needs in case of your unfortunate demise. In case your income stops temporarily or permanently after an accident, your family is taken care of by the accident insurance plan. Even in case you are hospitalised and need sustained treatment thereafter, the accident insurance can pay for the same, leaving your savings intact.

When you select an accidental insurance plan, make sure to pick one that emphasises on helping your loved ones in case you are absent from their lives. One cannot predict when an accident will take place, but one can certainly implement every safeguard possible to cushion loved ones from the financial repercussions of the event.

Is a term insurance policy for you?

You should consider taking term insurance if you want adequate coverage at an affordable cost.

Taking insurance for oneself and one’s family has become par for the course in the case of every responsible person today. Rightly recognising that it may not be possible to pay for emergency expenses or indeed, future living costs just from one’s savings and investments, people who are sufficiently invested in their families’ welfare are bound to take insurance.

However, the multitude of insurance products that suit a variety of needs and budgets can confuse the novice investor. On the one hand, one wishes to take a plan that offers every possible benefit to the family, but on the other hand, such a plan comes with expensive premiums. Instead, it is always wiser to take a more affordable insurance product: term insurance.

Who should buy term insurance?

1. The fact that it has affordable premiums and a very high sum assured amount make term insurance policies extremely attractive to many. Term insurance in India offers some of the highest sum assured amounts across the insurance spectrum today. Hence, those who require a high sum assured for their family’s future can certainly buy term insurance.
2. Insurance can, and should, be purchased by each and every person with an income today. However, many people do not have the financial wherewithal to pay expensive premiums, especially those who have just recently started working. Thus, those who earn a modest income but would like to get sufficient coverage till they can afford a more expensive life policy must buy term insurance.
3. Insurance is not an investment instrument like other tools available today. It does not appreciate in value like gold or property does, nor can it be liquidated mid-way. This stops many people from buying insurance for their family. Besides, many who do buy insurance prefer to invest in life insurance that has maturity benefits, which term insurance policies do not offer. Thus, term insurance is ideal for those who do not view taking insurance through the prism of investment, and who are more concerned about their families’ future wellbeing.

Normally, term insurance premiums are quite affordable and one can easily set this sum of money aside even a couple of days before the payment date. Term insurance in India is a growing product owing to its simplicity and benefits. When selecting the right insurance policy, one must look up the premium payable by using a term premium calculator, and whether the desired policy has a good rating and recommendations from other policy holders.

You can find the best term life insurance in India by researching them online and comparing their features on insurers’ websites. It is also possible to buy term insurance online within a matter of minutes. Insurers encourage the purchase of term insurance online – in most cases, they do not insist on a medical test to complete the purchase, and the premiums are lower for online term insurance.