I want to take a health insurance policy from LIC because one can trust them comfortably. But when I ask the LIC agents they do not respond properly with the details of the LIC health plan. I read somewhere that while making a claim, LIC needs no bill, but need only for discharge receipt. The agent told me that you can take Rs. 6000 every year after completion of 3 years as "DTE" by producing bills and indirectly you pay premium to LIC by taking the same from LIC. Kindly guide me for the same.
—Anthony Misquitta, Mira Road East
LIC is the oldest name in India for life insurance and has a good claim settlement history. The Health Protection plan of LIC was launched quite sometime back. Please note that this plan is a mix of investment and health benefits. So the premium is slightly higher than a basic health insurance policy. If you have a health insurance plan already and want some extra cover, then go for this policy. But if you or your family does not have a health insurance policy yet then I would suggest go for a basic medical insurance policy (popularly called mediclaim) from non-life insurance companies. If you still want to take health plan from LIC then look at LIC Jeevan Arogya.
I want to take a child plan and I read about ICICI Pru Smart Kid plan for my son. Can I go with this plan? I don’t have a term insurance plan also. Suggest me how to go about planning this and is this plan good or are there any other better plans? My annual income is 12 lacs and I am okay to pay high premiums as long as the plans are good.
—Reshma Vajir, Bandra West
You should immediately look at a 1 crore term insurance cover. You can opt for a policy term of 30 to 35 years. Few of the term insurance plans available are
- Aviva iLife
- Aegon Religare iTerm
- LIC Amulya Jeevan (has a term till 35 years)
- Kotak e-Term
As far as the child plan goes, ICICI Prudential Smart Kid is a good plan and it has been around for quite sometime now. It comes with a guaranteed bonus feature. The policy has choice of rider benefits like income benefit and accident rider. You should check those too. You can also look at other plans like
- Max New York Shiksha Plus II
- LIC Child Career plan
I have taken home loan of Rs. 40,00,000 the disbursing bank is offering me loan protection insurance for the full home loan amount and they will charge me Rs. 18,000 per year. This will be for a term of only 5 years. After 5 years I have to take another plan or renew this plan. Is this better or a term plan? I have heard about the online term plans offering some good premium rates. Please advice.
—Suryakant Trimbakale, Mulund East
Home loan protection plans are good and easily available nowadays. In fact it is a must to protect yourself and your family from any liabilities whatsoever. But you have analysed it right that the premium for such plans is very close to a term insurance policy for the same amount. Hence it is better at times to go for a term insurance policy. Try to check the premiums of IndiaFirst Anytime Plan Kotak eTerm Aviva iLife
After purchasing the policy, if I realise I do not want it or do not like it, is there a process to express your dissatisfaction? Will I get a refund if I cancel my policy?
Shishir Iyer, Vikroli West
Almost all insurance companies have a clause of free-look period mentioned in their policy document. The free look period is usually for 15 days from the date of receipt of policy document by the policy holder. During this free look period if you approach the insurance company and cancel your policy then they will deduct some charges and refund the balance amount of premium paid. In case of ULIP policies, they will deduct the administration charges and also adjust the difference in the policy fund value (if any) and then give a refund.
(The author is Vice President at www.MyInsuranceClub.com, insurance comparison website in India. You may write to him at [email protected])