Life is full of if’s and but’s. None of us know what might happen even the next minute. If your child, life partner or your parent(s) depend on your income then you need to have Life Insurance plan.
In this post, let us shortlist and understand some of the best Online Term Insurance Plans in India. These best Term Life Insurance plans can be purchased through online.
Latest Article : Top 5 Best Online Term Life Insurance Plans 2020 | Comparison & FAQs
What is “Term Life Insurance Plan?”
Term insurance is the simplest and most fundamental insurance product. Term insurance plans are designed to ensure that in the event of the policyholder’s death, the family gets the sum assured (the cover amount). Term plan provides risk coverage for a certain period of time (policy term/duration). If the insured dies during the time period specified in the policy and the policy is active – or in force – then a death benefit will be paid. It is the cheapest form of Life insurance in terms of premium.
Online Term insurance Plans are,
- Cheaper than conventional plans like money back life insurance or endowment plans (or) offline term plans. Online term insurance plans are roughly 30-40% cheaper than the offline plans.
- The entire application submission process happens online through the company’s website. So, it is hassle free.
- You may not be influenced by an agent/advisor during the buying process.
9 Best online Term Insurance Plans in India for 2017
I have selected and shortlisted the below best plans based on;
- Claim Settlement Record of the Life Insurance Companies as per IRDA’s (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India) latest Claim/Death Settlement Ratios (2018)
- Affordability (Premium amount).
- Brand name.
- Quality of service provided to its customers during the online buying process and after issuing the policy (policy life).
- Ease of buying the Term Life Insurance plan online.
- Feedback received from my friends/clients who bought online Term Life Insurance plans directly.
Below is the comparison of best online Term Life insurance Plans. (Click on the image to enlarge and open it in a new window)
(All the above premium amounts are for 30 year old male, non-smoker, for Rs 1 Crore Sum Assured with 30 year policy term. Optional Riders like Accident Death Benefit/Critical Illness are not considered. Premium Amount is for yearly mode.)
ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart Online Term Insurance Plan
ICICI Prudential has one of the best Claim Settlement data consistently, with 96.20% of the claims received were paid/settled. ICICI Prudential’s online term plan is known as ‘iProtect Smart.’ The premium amounts of this term insurance plan are very reasonable and are competitively priced. This term insurance plan also provides Waiver of Premium due to disability at no extra premium. Optional riders like Accidental death benefit rider and Additional cover for 34 Critical Illnesses are available.
You may like reading my review on ICICI Prudential’s latest online Term insurance plan – iProtect Smart Term Insurance Plan.
LIC’s e-Term Plan Online Term Insurance Plan
LIC of India had launched its online Term insurance plan on 17th May, 2014. LIC was a late entrant with respect to the launch of online term plans. But, one good point about e-term plan is that it is relatively cheaper than Anmol Jeevan/Amulya Jeevan (LIC’s offline term plans). However, when you compare the premiums of LIC’s e-term plan with private insurance players’ online products, you may find it very costly.
But, LIC has the highest claim settlement ratio (98.33%) among the life insurers. You can surely consider buying LIC e-Term plan. The minimum Sum Assured offered under LIC e-Term online insurance plan is Rs 25 Lakh.
As per the latest proposal by the Govt, all PSU insurance companies have been asked to provide Discount / rebate on online premium payments. As of now, LIC offers rebate on online digital payments as below;
Aegon Religare iTerm Plan
The claim settlement record of Aegon’s has improved significantly over the last couple of years, which is now at 95%. We need to talk about their online term insurance plan. They are the pioneers in online term insurance plans. They have changed the rules of the game by offering the cheapest online term insurance plans.
This plan has an Inbuilt Terminal Illness Benefit. On diagnosis of any Terminal Illness, 25% of the base sum assured will be paid (max.of Rs 1 Crore) & the base sum assured will be reduced by an amount equal to the benefit paid under this clause. It covers all forms of death, even terrorist attacks.
Aegon’s iTerm plan offers optional riders like Critical Illness and ADB. On diagnosis of any critical illnesses (as mentioned in the policy document) the future premiums are waived off.
Kindly read : My Blog Reader’s perspective on Aegon Life’s Online Term Insurance plan – iTerm Insurance Plan
HDFC Life’s Click 2 Protect Plus Online Term Insurance Plan
The premiums of HDFC’s Click2protect plan are lower than ICICI Prudential’s iProtect plan (old Term insurance plans). HDFC Life has launched Click2Protect Plus to compete with ICICI Pru’s i-Protect Smart plan. The latest claim settlement ratio of HDFC Life is 95%.
Click here to read my review on HDFC Click2protect plus
Click here to read my review on latest Term insurance plan of HDFC Life – Click 2 Protect 3D Plus
Max Life Insurance’s Online Term Plan Plus
Max life insurance company has the second best claim settlement record (which is 96.95%). The premiums are also comparatively very less. Max’s online term plan provides optional Accident Death Benefit rider. Besides basic cover the Max’s online term plan offers two options;
- Basic Life Cover plus Monthly Income
- Basic Life Cover Plus Increasing Monthly income
The premium rates are slightly higher if you opt for any these features. Kindly note that the merger of Max Life with HDFC Life has been proposed and is subject to approval by IRDA.
(Click here to know more about or purchase Max’s online term plan)
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance eTouch online Term insurance Plan
This plan offers waiver of Premium under ‘Shield’ option. So, on the occurrence of an Accidental Total Permanent Disability of the Life Assured the remaining premiums under this term plan would be waived off, while the other insurance benefits will continue.
SBI Life Insurance eShield online Term Plan
SBI’s e-shield premiums are a bit higher than that of Kotak’s, Max’s, ICICI’s HDFC’s and other above online term plans (except LIC’s). The premium of e-shield plan is lower than LIC’s e-term plan premium. SBI Life’s e-shield plan can be an alternate to LIC’s e-term plan
SBI Life’s e-Shield plan offers four options;
- Level Cover (basic plan)
- Level Cover with Accidental Death Benefit
- Increasing cover (Basic sum assured is increased at the rate of 10% simple interest after every 5th policy year without increasing the premium)
- Increasing Cover with Accidental Death Benefit
(Click here to know more about or purchase SBI Life’s e-Shield plan)
Kotak Life Insurance’s Preferred e-Term plan
Kotak’s Preferred e-Term online insurance plan is one of the cheapest online term insurance plans. The company has decent claim settlement ratio (89%). Like Max’s plan, Kotak’s plan also has the option called ‘Recurring payout’ wherein part of the claim is paid on policy holder’s death and a fixed monthly/yearly amount is paid for next 15 years to the nominee. This plan offers an in-built feature of ‘Waiver of Premium on Total & Permanent Disability’.
(Click here to know more about or purchase Kotak’s online term plan)
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) while choosing best Online Term Insurance Plans:
FAQ 1 – Do I need to check the claim Settlement record of Life Insurance companies before opting for the best online term insurance plan?
Every year IRDA publishes the claim settlement (death claims) details of all the Life Insurance companies. Unfortunately this data is not segregated based on type of insurance plans (like term insurance, money-back or endowment). If you analyze the latest data, the average claim amount settled by LIC is very small, which is around Rs 1.14 Lakh per policy. (LIC settled death claims to the tune of Rs 8,475 crore and the total no of policies received for claim settlement are around 7.5 Lakh).
Claim settlement data is important but it should not be the sole criteria for choosing the best online term insurance plan. In future, if IRDA provides claim settlement details separately for Term insurance plans then this can be used as the main yardstick while opting best online term insurance plan.
FAQ 2 –How much insurance coverage (sum assured) should I purchase?
The quantum of insurance coverage can be based on your future income potential (income replacement method) or need based method (your financial obligations + liabilities – existing insurance plans/assets etc). You may use the below comprehensive calculator to know how much insurance coverage is required. (It is based on Need based method)
“Life Insurance coverage calculator” ( This calculator has been developed by Sri Pattabiraman, a physicist & Associate Professor working at IIT, Madras)
FAQ 3 – Till what age should I take the term plan cover?
The ideal answer is, up to your retirement age.
If you are confident that you may not have any financial obligations, loans and dependents (who are financially dependent on you) when you attain say 50 years, you can consider term plan duration accordingly.
FAQ 4 – Should I purchase two Term plans from two different Life Insurance Companies?
I believe, diversification across different companies may not be required. As long as you are honest and provide complete/accurate details (in proposal form) while purchasing the insurance plan, your life insurance company has to settle the claim (if any). In any unfortunate event, your nominee has to submit multiple death claims which may be a challenging task.
But, you may consider splitting the life insurance amount into two policies. For example – If you decide to buy Rs 1 crore worth insurance coverage, you may consider taking two Rs 50 Lakh worth term insurance plans (preferably from same life insurance company). The main advantage of splitting is, you can stop paying the premiums on one policy, in-case if you think that you do not require so much insurance coverage.
FAQ 5 – Can NRI buy online term insurance?
Non Resident Indians can buy online term insurance plans. The NRI can purchase the policy from overseas through written communication with the insurance company in India. There may be certain additional costs in such case. For instance, if you purchase the policy from abroad, you would have to do the medical examination and send the report to the insurance company in India. You would have to bear the costs of this medical examination yourself. However if you purchase the policy in India, you would not have to bear this cost as it would be inbuilt in the cost of your policy. The insurance policy purchased in India will cover death that occurs anywhere in the world.
FAQ 6 – Is it better to take riders separately or can I take along with the Term insurance?
As mentioned in the above list of best online term insurance plans, some life insurance companies provide optional riders (like Accident death benefit & Critical Illness) and optional features (like waiver of premium or monthly income options etc.,)
Do not complicate the things. Buy a simple term insurance plan with sufficient basic cover. I believe most of these online term plans do not provide “Total Permanent Disability rider” which I think is a very essential one. (TPD cover entitles you to receive a lump sum insurance benefit if you become Totally and Permanently Disable). You can consider taking stand alone Personal Accident plan. Also, you can ignore plans with ‘return of premium’ option. (Read : ‘Best Personal Accident Insurance plans‘)
FAQ 7 – Can I take single policy which offers joint life cover (for my wife and myself jointly)?
It is advisable to take separate or independent term insurance plans.
FAQ 8 – What are the required documents to purchase an online term insurance plan?
Generally you will be asked to submit; Identity proof, Address proof, Age proof and Income proof (Income Tax returns of 3 years / Form16s / Profit & Loss statements). You have to undergo medical tests too.
FAQ 9 – Should I buy online term insurance plan through Aggregators?
Aggregators are companies like policybazaar.com (Accurex marketing & consulting), policymatra.com and quickbima. I suggest you to use these websites to just compare and calculate premiums of various term plans.
You can then buy the selected best term plan directly by visiting that Life insurance Company’s website itself. Why do you want to add one more layer between you and the insurance company? Keep it simple. Buy direct.
FAQ 10 – Online Vs offline Term insurance plans? Why are online term plans so cheap?
Online policies are cheaper than offline term plans, because there is no agent’s fee involved and other administrative costs of the insurance company are also lower.
Most companies cite incomplete documentation or concealment of facts as the primary reason for rejecting death claims. Hence, while buying a life insurance it is of utmost importance that you furnish accurate information. You may just pick any one of the above best online term insurance plans as per your requirements and comfort level.
Let me know your views on best online Term insurance plans. Do you have a Term plan? Which one did you purchase? Did you buy it online? Share your comments.
Latest update : As per the recent amendment to Section 45 of the Insurance Act, If your policy is 3 years old, no matter what happens, the life insurance company will not be able to deny the claims. So, your life insurance company has only 3 years in hand to reject the policy based on any mis-representation or mis-statement. Once 3 policy years are completed then the life insurance company has to settle the claims and can not reject them.
Continue reading other related articles;
- Is Term insurance a waste of your money? (Term Insurance Vs Endowment Plans)
- Traditional Life Insurance plan – a terrible Investment option?
- How Smoking impacts your Life Insurance Policy?
- IRDA’s Latest Claim Settlement Ratio Data
- How much Term Life Insurance Cover do I need? | Online Insurance coverage Calculator
Never Dare to buy maxlife insurance online policy. I had very bad experience with Maxlife insurance and I regret opting Maxlife insurance online policy. I recommend you not to buy this for various reasons. Customer service is very bad that you do not get any support. These guys very unprofessional
The cheaper term insurance plans can surely prepare us for uncertain times. It helps to build a level of emotional and financial security. Most people have heard about the different insurance plans but do not know how they work. It is nice to see posts like this one explaining all aspects of term insurance plans.
Very Good Article. very Informative
Hi,
This is nice article you shared great information i have read it thanks for giving such a wonderful Blog for reader.
I am looking for 50lac term plan from icici .
Should I go with cover fox or direct icici website.
Dear ManRam,
If you are comfortable, you may buy directly from the ICICI Pru website..
Very informative n salute ur effort.
Dear albin,
Thank you and keep visiting ReLakhs.com!
Hi Sreekanth! Which plan would you recommend between – TATA AIA Sampoorna Raksha and TATA AIA Maha Raksha Supreme? Thank you.
Dear Divesh,
You may buy any base cover plan of your choice, as per your requirements (affordability etc), but make sure you provide all the required info in the Proposal form honestly and accurately. Also, opt for a plan which has needs medical tests to be done.
Hi Sreekanth,
Thanks for quite informative blog. After reading this, I opted for ICICI prudential iProtect smart policy for 30 years.
After filling the form and uploading my document proofs, I was expecting medical tests to be undertaken. But out of no where, I see the policy being issued by ICICI. When I called up them regarding this, they claim the test was not necessary as I filled already the questionnaire regarding my general health conditions.
My big concern is, I might not been aware of my updated health conditions and what if the claim gets rejected mentioning as “pre-existing”? Is it not mandatory that the insurance providers should collect this data before issuing the policy?
Regards,
Arun
Dear Arun,
It is always advisable to opt for a term plan which has medical test mandatory.
If the policy is issued you can close it in ‘free look period’ during the first 15 days.
Thanks for the suggestion, Srikanth.
However ICICI claims that they would deduct the amount spent for stamp paper (which comes around 1500 Rs) during cancellation. I am worried that I am at loss and paying for company’s negligence towards customers. With the high sum assured and critical illness cover opted, I am surprised why would any provider not opt for medical examination.
Is there any way I can avoid the above loss?
Dear Arun,
You can not avoid the said cost/fees.
Related articles :
* IRDA Claim Settlement Ratio 2017-18 Data | Top 10 Life Insurance Companies based on CSR
* Latest Health Insurance Incurred Claims Ratio 2017-18 | Best Health Insurance Companies List
Hi Srikanth
Thanks for your valuable information & nice way of presentation.
I’m bit concern about LIC vs Private players.How we can trust the private insurance company in terms of getting the insurance(term) claims & if it somehow bankrupted/other unfortunate cases who will be responsible / what action been made to give the claim to policy holder/nominee.
Dear Boopalan,
Fortunately, our Indian insurance industry is very well regulated.
They can’t just close down the business.
The solvency ratio or margin could ensure that the insurance company won’t go bankrupted. The solvency margin refers to the excess amount of assets that an insurance company must maintain over its liabilities. Also, Companies are required to keep the customers’ accumulated premiums very strictly separated from the company’s own assets, liabilities and expenses.
While forming an insurance company comes with numerous restrictions, winding it up is not an option. The Insurance Act states that in case an insurer cannot continue business sustainability, it must merge with another company. The insurer cannot hope to run away leaving its customers in the lurch.
Realistically, what all this means is that insurance companies never go bankrupt; if they do badly, they are typically bought up by a competitor long before things get that bad.
Kudos for the great article and for this lucid reply.
You should make the above query as a separate article because its one of the #1 fears of Indians when it comes to Life insurance.
Hi Sreekanth.. Is it advisable to buy ” Premium return plans”
Dear Karthik ..Personally, I believe a plain basic life cover can be considered instead of Return of premium plans..