Several life insurance companies in India provide some of the best insurance coverages. But, with so many options there might be some trouble to choose one insurance provider for yourself. Usually, people take advice from insurance agents who provide policies of every insurance provider. Or they take advice from family, friends and acquaintances before selecting best life insurance in India. But don’t worry. Here you will find 12 major points to finalize the best insurance provider.
12 Points to Check While Selecting Life Insurance Provider Companies in India
There are several ways to find the best life insurance companies in India. But these are the major 12 points that you should focus on. It will help you to find a good insurance provider before focusing on their life insurance plans.
IRDAI Approval and Recognition
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India or IRDAI regulates all the insurance providers in India. As of December 2021, there are 24 IRDA-approved and recognised life insurers. (In insurance, the person covered with insurance is the insured and the insurance provider is the insurer.) IRDAI issues an updated list on their website for everyone to see. Make sure that the insurance provider you select is among this list. Don’t invest in insurance companies that are not approved as there is no guarantee that they will honour your policy.
Variety of Insurance Plans
The first thing before selecting an insurance company is to make sure that they provide several types of insurances. If you are focusing on life insurance, then ensure they have several life insurances. All your efforts will be futile if you select a good insurance provider, and they don’t have enough plans to choose from.
Provides Flexible Premiums
Flexibility in premium amounts is also desirable. Many life insurance companies in India provide the option to create own insurance with extra coverages. So, ensure even these additional covers have cheaper rates. A flexible and pocket-friendly premium amount will reduce your financial burdens of investing in insurance. Insurance providers even give premium payment flexibility in the interval between payments. You can choose among payment options of single, monthly, bi-annual, annual, 2-year, 5-year, 10-year, and so on.
Wide Premium Payment Windows
Paying your premium on time is a crucial criterion for the insurance provider to honour the insurance policy agreement. So, ensure that your insurance provider gives an adequate window to pay the premium amount. Having a wide payment window will help you to pay the premium amount within time. It will also help you to overcome uncertainties in gathering large premium amounts for annual or multi-annual premiums.
A High Claim Settlement Ratio
Also ensure that the insurance company has a high claim settlement ratio. Claim settlement ratio is the ratio of the annual claims settled w.r.t the claims raised in a year. A high claim settlement ratio means the company does pay its clients whenever they raise a claim. You can find the annual claim settlement ratio of all companies in the IRDAI official website. Verify that the company you are going to select has at least 95% claim settlement ratio. Your chances of claim approval are uncertain in any company with less a claim settlement ratio than 95%.
Company Goodwill
You can know the company goodwill with the help of claim settlement ratio. But there are also other things that describe the company goodwill. You can search online for the company CEO, and top management to know their commitments as insurers. You can also check newspaper articles, review websites, and other source to understand the company’s integrity. It is always advisable to invest in an established company that is widely known for its goodwill.
Ease Of Claim
Before selecting a company ensure the ease of claim for their policies. If there are several lengthy paper works involved with claim settlement, don’t go for it. Choose a good insurer with least or zero paperwork which has online systems for raising a claim.
24x7 Support
Also make sure that the company gives 24x7 support. A life insurance is an important tool, and you might require assistance at any time. So, a reputable company with around the clock support will be extremely helpful in times of need.
Has an Online Premium Calculator
An online premium calculator is a tool that several insurance providers have in their official websites. You can use the online premium calculator to calculate your premium amount based on several personal and financial details. In such calculators you can add the additional benefits and covers. And it shows you the real time results of how the additions affect your premium amount.
Partial Withdrawal
Partial withdrawal is a great feature in any life insurance. With partial withdrawal you can withdraw a part of your invested money in times of need. The withdrawn amount might be tax exempted in accordance with current tax laws. You must always choose a life insurance company that allows partial withdrawal, that too, with zero charges.
Adequate Grace Period to Revive Defunct Insurances
A grace period is the duration within which you can revive your frozen insurance premium account. An account can be frozen because of several reasons like non-payment of premium, late-payment, documentational discrepancies, etc. Some best life insurance companies in India provide up to 1 year grace period.
Company’s Market Value
While checking the company details verify their market value. There are several new insurance providers who are new to the industry. And they might have low funding or capital. Make sure that they are financially stable before investing in their life insurance policies. A good method to find the company with good market value is to see if they are a listed company. If they have shares in the stock market you can easily look up their performance. And if the returns in the last financial year was good, their company is valuable.
Wrapping Up
All these points are crucial in deciding the best life insurance companies in India. It is advisable not to skip any of these things which are the basic features of a good insurance provider. You can know most of the details of the insurance company and their features from the policy terms and conditions. For most factual data of claim settlement and market value you must not take the insurance company’s word. You can refer the official guidelines, reports and circulars of IRDAI, updated on their official website. Knowing a company before purchasing a plan from them is important. So next time, use these points before buying a policy from any life insurance companies in India.
Disclaimer:
*Tax benefits are as per the Income Tax Act, 1961, and are subject to any amendments made thereto from time to time
The article is meant to be general and informative in nature and should not be construed as solicitation material. Please read the related product brochures for exclusions, terms and conditions, warranties, etc. carefully before concluding a sale.
Make responsible financial decisions. Consult with your financial advisor before making any decisions on insurance purchase.