Which is the best health insurance policy available for parents above the age of 60 years?
—Arvind Jain, Bhuleshwar
There are many insurance schemes available for people over the age of 60. Some of the good insurance policies that you may consider buying for your parents are:
- Star Health Senior Citizen Red Carpet Insurance Plan
- Religare Care Freedom Plan
I am a 43 year old businessman. I am a diabetic for the past 7 years. My annual income is Rs. 35 lakh. Which company is likely to offer term insurance to a diabetic person? With the help of regular medication my sugar is normal. What are medical criteria for buying a term insurance? With my income can I get 2 crore term policy?
—Samar Parikh, Parel
To answer your question, yes you can apply for a 2-crore term insurance cover.
Almost all life insurance companies offer an online term plan. Since the premium of online term plan is really low, companies have strict underwriting criteria. And therefore existing condition like diabetes may attract higher premium or may not be approved.
You may have to apply for an offline term policy. Some of the popular term plans in the market are:
- Aegon ReligareiTerm Plan
- Tata AIA iRaksha Plan
- Aviva iLife Plan
I am 35 years old, married male and my annual income is 4 lakhs. I would like to take term insurance plan. I want to know is better – LIC or SBI. I also need term insurance may cover the death due to illness.
—Rajesh Rajani, Kalyan
Term Insurance covers all types of death. Considering your age and income, you should buy a Term cover of 75 lakhs for a period of 30 years. LIC has an online term plan called LIC e-Term and SBI Life’s plan is called SBI Life e-Shield. Both are equally good and can be considered.
I am planning for our family including my father, mother and Grand Father, which plan will be suitable?
—Rahul Parab, Dadar
It is recommended that you take two separate plans. One can cover your parents in a family floater plan and one more plan can be taken to secure your grandfather. Religare’s Care Freedom Plan will be suitable for your grandfather because it has no CAP on the entry age. As for you and your parents, you may opt for Tata AIG Wellsurance family insurance policy or ICICI Lombard Family Floater policy.
I have purchased HDFC YoungStar Plan. At the time of selling the policy, the advisor told me that I can withdraw from the policy at any given time. However, after paying my first year’s premium of Rs. 80,000 I came to know that there is a lock-in period of 5 years before I am able to make any withdrawal’s from the policy. I have stopped paying premiums for now. What would be the best possible time to withdraw the money or in case, if my money is blocked, how long before I can have the money released.
—Anil Singh, Sion
If the advisor told you that you can withdraw the money anytime then you should complain to HDFC Life Insurance Service team. As per new rule the lock-in period is 5 years so you can withdraw you money only after that. You should immediately walk into the closest branch of HDFC Life Insurance and discuss with the branch manager about your policy.
I am in the process of buying Aviva’s I-shield Term Insurance Plan. When I searched on the net, I realized that this policy is a term insurance that pays money to the insured, even if the policy holder survives till the maturity date. Is it true? Can I trust that company and the policy?
—Rajkamal Sharma, Govandi
Aviva iShield pays premium back on maturity. All insurance companies are regulated by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). You can trust the company and their policy.
(The author is Vice President at www.MyInsuranceClub.com, insurance comparison website in India. You may write to him at [email protected]).