The biggest reason to take life insurance

Is your salary your family’s sole source of income? If it does, then you need to take life insurance as soon as possible.

It may sound like a cliché, but it is true that the only constant in life is change. Many times, life does not follow the trajectory we set out for it. We imagine a certain kind of future: good job, a house, children attending good schools, a stable retirement. But how many times do things pan out exactly in the same course? Life has a way of suddenly altering the course of our destinies, and there is nothing one can do about it.

A person may be out for dinner with friends, and suddenly suffer cardiac arrest. Another might be walking home and suffer a fatal accident while crossing the road. The point is, life is full of unexpected shocks and surprises. One might be happy and hearty one moment, and the next moment might bring untold grief. One cannot predict what the next minute will bring.

Imagine if this were your life’s story. As the sole earning member of the family, it is your responsibility to ensure that your family’s every need is taken care of. You are aware of the tremendous burden you carry on your shoulders: your family is solely dependent on your income, and you cannot jeopardise them in any way. This means that you must be in the prime of health every day, and be around for your family forever.

Except, nobody is around forever. What happens when you are absent from your family’s life? How will your loved ones manage their household expenses, children’s education costs, medical expenses, etc.? These and other expense heads can be taken care of by the simple expedient of purchasing life insurance.

Life insurance plans make fiscal sense on many levels. They safeguard your family against an uncertain future in your absence. Despite your best efforts, your salary may not allow you to save money diligently every month or make investments. Hence, if there isn’t a lot of money in your savings account, your family is bound to suffer from financial shocks in your absence. However, a life insurance policy provides a large corpus of money to see your family through all its financial needs.

Life insurance companies in India offer you the option to purchase life insurance plans that provide for your family upon your unfortunate demise. Your loved ones receive the sum assured in a lump sum amount – this can be used to pay for children’s education, emergency medical expenses, unpaid liabilities like home loans, etc. Your life insurance policy helps keep your family protected from penury and harassment from creditors. 

Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted to ensure, your family’s safety and protection? Get it with life insurance

I Hope You Act Now and Do Not Pay the Price of Procrastination

The first-year premium collections of life insurance companies rose by 9.5% to ₹11,026.82 crore in December 2015, says an article published in January 2016. Life insurance is probably the most important financial decision of your life. It secures your family’s financial future even after your death. There are primarily 5 types of policies available in India: term plan, ULIPs, whole-life, money-back and endowment. Only term life insurance is a plain vanilla product, while all other policies are part investment products. The former offers one of the highest covers at a low cost. You would probably contribute only a fraction of the money as premium towards this plan and get a significant cover.

Why Do Term Plan Premiums Go Up with Age

A term insurance plan is probably one of the best choices for any earning individual, as it helps you get sufficient cover to meet the various financial needs of your loved ones after your death.

So, when is the right time to get term life insurance? The answer is simple. If you haven’t already got it, the time is NOW. Most people in their early twenties, who have just started their career, usually do not consider insurance. This, in fact, is a great time to secure your life. Sure, your sudden death is unlikely. But life is unpredictable and a term insurance plan is for unlikely, yet devastating events. Therefore, whatever age you may be, you must get yourself insured today. Moreover, the earlier you start the better off you are.

If you begin at an early age, you can get a policy till retirement at a much lower cost. Insurance cost, or the premium that you pay, increases as you grow older. This is because with age there is increased risk of you catching a disease, with immunity going down.

It is a great idea to buy a term policy as soon as you start earning. You can always enhance your cover later on. Moreover, you must not wait to fall ill or discover you have some disease before getting yourself insured. You can buy a policy online today. Use the life insurance premium calculator to determine the premium you need to pay to get the cover you desire.

Ensure that the personal details you furnish are accurate. You can maintain a softcopy of all your documents, as well as the policy.

Premiums are higher for smokers. Some insurers reward individuals who maintain a healthy lifestyle. So, find out all the details before finalizing a policy. 

Easy steps to follow for medical coverage in minutes

Nothing’s easier than taking a mediclaim policy online. Simply log on and let the insurer guide you to sound medical insurance for you and your family.

Taking a medical insurance plan for yourself and your family is par for the course in today’s uncertain times. However, it is astounding that so many people today continue to rely on insurance brokers to process their application and premium payments. The insurance industry functions excellently on the Internet, making it easy for customers to buy a policy in minutes. Customers can also pay their premiums online, renew policies and also file for claims when the need arises.

If you’re looking to purchase mediclaim, simply follow these five steps:

1. Do your research. Every person’s needs are different, so a plan that works for another may not work for you. Calculate your family’s future needs to arrive at a desired sum assured. Make sure to pick a plan that covers all your requirements. If you are faced with a choice of two or three recommended mediclaim policies, ask an experienced insurance broker about the best one, or consult business or finance publications which give their opinion on the best mediclaim plans that year.
2. Select an insurer. Once you know which mediclaim insurance plan you seek, simply log on to the insurance provider’s website and look for ‘Health Insurance’ or ‘Mediclaim’. Once you click this button, you will be presented with a list of health plans that the insurer offers. These will be categorised under Individual, Family, Group, Corporate, etc. Try and include critical illness insurance in the plan that you select. Once you have made your choice, click the button marked ‘Buy online’ or ‘Buy now’.
3. Calculate your premium payable. At this stage, you will be presented with the plan highlights and an online premium calculator. Use this calculator to find out how much premium you will pay vis-à-vis the desired sum assured and the plan tenure. You can compute these figures in real time till you reach the desired numbers. Now you can proceed to fill the application form for the mediclaim policy.
4. Fill out the application form. At this stage, you must fill out the details asked of you in the application form on your screen. You will be asked to enter your name, age, professional qualifications, if you are a smoker or not, if you have any pre-existing diseases, your income profile, number of family members taking insurance (in case of family plans) etc. Fill in the latest and correct information – falsifying any information to avoid paying a higher premium will result in the policy being terminated at a later date.
5. Proceed to purchase the mediclaim policy. Once you fill out the application form, you can pay the policy’s first premium online using your credit/debit card or via Internet banking. However, some insurers insist on the applicant undergoing a medical test before completing the purchase process.

As mentioned earlier, deliberately or inadvertently falsifying information can lead to the mediclaim being terminated. You must also mention if you have purchased other insurance policies prior to this one – insurance companies conduct checks on every claim made in the application form. The insurer can reject your application if you have omitted to mention details of your other insurance policies.

All your gifts to your child need not be materialistic

The most expensive gift you can give your child is that of a good education. Taking a child education plan can help you do this.

As parents, we shower our children with gifts. We get them expensive clothes, toys, books and education material even before they ask for it. If a new electronic gadget catches their fancy, we buy it for them on our way home from work. We keep telling ourselves, “I am spending on my beloved child. Who else do I work so hard for?”

But as your child grows up and begins school life, you are faced with umpteen education-related expenses. School tuition fees, transport fees, extra-curricular activities, projects, class trips and so many other expenses demand your attention. You spare money for everything lovingly – but at the back of your mind, you are slightly uneasy about the future. If school education is so expensive, you wonder, how much will higher education cost?

It is not necessary to spend less on your children – on the contrary, the best gift a parent can bestow on the child is the gift of a good education. Often, a sound basis in learning separates one child from another. The access to educational opportunities that you provide will form the foundation of your child’s future.

However, you need to help yourself in the process, too – as your child grows up, you are also ageing. Though your income may grow every year, so do the household expenses. Apart from your child’s education, you must also pay daily living costs, save for your own retirement, set aside funds for emergency medical expenses, and so on. How will you pay for your child’s education in the midst of this, without compromising on some other expense head?

Many parents are forced to dip into their savings or take a loan to fund their children’s further education. Instead, they can easily circumvent this situation by taking an excellent investment plan for the child – known as child education plan. The best child plan in India offers a large sum of money for the child’s future education. It takes the pressure off the parents who wish to help their children achieve their educational goals, without causing debt. It helps the child secure his future dreams and achieve all his ambitions.

The best child plan will provide for a large corpus for the child when he or she reaches the age of higher education. The money can be used to fund a course in a foreign university, or even as seed money for start-up that your child wants to initiate while still studying. The point is that the money is a useful addition to your efforts in providing the best education for your child.

Children are like White Boards Needing Nurturing, Advice and Guidance

“Children close their eyes to advice but always open their senses for guidance,” goes a popular saying. Every child’s mind is like a clean slate. Parents have the all important job of creating lasting impressions on these young minds, so that they can shape up their lives in the right manner. And, of course, it is also a parent’s duty to provide for their children’s basic and allied needs. A fair amount of planning goes into this. There are child insurance plans that can be utilized to help you nurture your child for success.

Parenting is a full time job and the styles will keep changing as your child grows up. However, here are some simple tips that might help you raise successful, responsible individuals.

Universal Parenting Tips

Nurturing children and instilling the right values in them could seem like a tough call if you do not tread the right path. Here are some guidelines that can help:

•  Start Early: Young children are exceptionally perceptive. So, begin with value education and goal alignment early on. Teach them to differentiate between the “good” and the “bad”. Ask questions to ascertain whether they have understood or not. Keep it simple and relate real life events to these value lessons for a perfect understanding.
• Choose Rewards Carefully: We all know rewarding children is the best way to keep them motivated. However, choosing rewards carefully is important. Always gifting them their favorite things could make them greedy and opportunistic in the long run. Rewards should involve bonding activities, such as telling them their favourite stories, spending time playing their choicest sport and so on.
• Set Examples: Children follow examples. And parents are their natural role models. So, the manner in which you conduct yourself when you are around them is where they will pick their habits and mannerisms. If you want your child to respect elders, for instance, you will need to show them that you do the same, irrespective of the social or economic stature of the person in question.
• Never Compare: Comparing child insurance plans for the securing the best one for the benefit of your child is a great move. You could even compare schools and curriculums and what not for ensuring the best for your child. However, never compare your little one to anyone else. Comparison with peers dents the confidence of your child. 

Remember, every child is special in his or her own way. Knowing your child’s potential and doing every bit to nurture it is the best thing you can do for him or her. Of course, the resources provided by your child insurance plan will have a huge role to play here.

Term Insurance - What Is In It For The Family?

The first year premium collection of life insurers rose by 9.5 percent to stand at Rs 11,026.82 crore in December 2015, as compared to Rs 10,071.80 crore in December 2014, says an article published in The Economic Times in January 2016. A life insurance policy is possibly the most important investment that you would make during your entire lifetime. It protects you and your loved ones against the uncertainties of life.

Why Buy a Term Plan?

Term plans have been gaining popularity in India as a pure life insurance product. Since it is a pure vanilla product, you get a high cover at a low cost. Moreover, online term insurance is cheaper than its offline counterparts, primarily due to the absence of third party/agent involvement. At the same time, you should be aware that it does not offer any survival benefits. However, it is most the appropriate product when it comes to securing your family’s financial future. It is fairly risk-free and lets you buy a higher policy at a fraction of the premium you would pay for other policies.

How Can a Term Policy Help You Secure Your Family’s Financial Future?

Term insurance can help you plan your family’s financial security, keeping in mind various factors such as daily expenses, child’s education and marriage, loan repayments and much more. To ensure that you do so, you must choose a cover that will be adequate to take care of every expense you can think of. Ideally, you should buy a cover at least 10 to 12 your annual income.

You must also factor in your family’s standard of living and the inflation rate. This would ensure that your family would not have to compromise on their needs due to a paucity of funds after your demise. The tenure of the policy is the second most important determinant of how well you secure your family’s financial future. It is essential to buy a policy that covers you at least till retirement. You can also choose a tenure by the end of which you expect your kids to become independent. You must choose a minimum tenure during which you expect to repay all your loans as well.

Buy a term policy and gain peace of mind that your family wouldn’t have to struggle financially after your demise. You can buy an online term plan within minutes. All you need to do is fill in the relevant details, upload your KYC documents, pay online and you are done. You can also use the premium calculator to choose the right online term insurance. It can help you calculate the most affordable premium amount.

Life Insurance is Something that You Can't Ignore

On March 12, 2015, the Government of India passed an Amendment to the Insurance Laws Bill, increasing the FDI limit within the Indian insurance sector from 26% to 49%. According to Timetric’s report, “Life Insurance in India, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2019,” this increased FDI allowance is likely to attract global insurers to the country, intensifying competition within the industry. This can only mean good news of buyers of life insurance in India. In the race to win customers, insurers are likely to try to outdo each other in the benefits they offer policy holders, while lowering premium amounts. There could never have been a better time to invest in protection for yourself and your loved ones. Here are some more reasons why life cover is one investment you should not ignore.

Does Life Insurance Really Help?

While most of us are aware of the death benefits that life insurance plans offer, the reality is that such cover also offers a lot of advantages for the living.

·         Tax Benefits: Buying whole life or term cover is an excellent way to save on taxes. The premiums you pay are tax deductible under Section 80c of the Income Tax Act to a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakhs. Maturity benefits are also tax free under Section 10(10D) and Section 10(10A)(iii) of the Income Tax Act of India.

·         Retirement Planning: If you want to continue to maintain your standard of living even when you are no longer actively employed, you need to start planning early and build a corpus. A life insurance policy can help you with disciplined savings for life after retirement. You pay the premiums while you earn and reap the benefits post retirement.

·         Diversifying your Investment Portfolio: With a good mix of high, low and medium risk investment vehicles, you can be sure that you have a well balanced portfolio that can withstand even a volatile economy and the ups and downs of the markets. For those with lower risk appetite, life cover could be a good option to add to one’s investment portfolio.

·         Loans and Loan Repayment: Did you know that you can use your policy as collateral when you apply for a loan? So, not only does life insurance in India help you save, it can help you get funds when you need it the most. In addition, this is one investment instrument that can also help you repay for loans or help your family repay any debt that may outlive you.

·         Peace of Mind: Not only for you but also for your loved ones, knowing that you have planned ahead to ensure that the family remains financially secure even under the most unfortunate circumstances can do a lot to relieve stress. It also works wonders on strengthening the bond in relationships, knowing that you care enough to make sure that even when you aren’t there to take care of them, you will actually be taking care of them through a good policy.