Whole Life Insurance Plans
What is Whole Life Insurance Plan?
Life is unpredictable and uncertain in nature, which is why you need to get the life cover
for your family to ensure that your family is not left stranded after the mishap. Whole Life
Insurance Plan is a Life Insurance Plan that typically covers the policyholder for his/her
entire lifetime, provided the policy is in force. The premium amount throughout the policy
tenure remains fixed.
The Whole life insurance plan is a combination of insurance and investment component. It is a
basic life insurance policy covering you for any uncertainties throughout your life
span.
Why should I Buy Whole Life Plan?
Following are the top reasons to buy a whole life insurance.
Attaining Financial Security
No one knows what will happen tomorrow, but in order to ensure the financial independence
of your family in your absence, it is quite essential to buy a whole life insurance to
secure all important life events in your lifetime.
Alternative for Financial Obligations
You have several financial obligations such as children’s education, marriage, loans,
etc. In case of a mishap, a life insurance policy helps your family fulfill all these
financial obligations with ease.
Peace of Mind
Any amount of money cannot be a substitute for a person. But, by buying a whole life
insurance you can provide protection for your loved ones when you are not there.
Takes Care of Emergencies
In case you develop a critical illness or are disabled due to an accident, such incidents
may result in loss of income and may lead to financial crunch. A life insurance policy
can provide your family the financial assistance, when your earnings are disrupted.
Affordable Cover for Entire Life
By buying whole life plan, you can avail benefit to get the cover for the lifetime. If
bought at an early stage, you need to pay the premium charges, so it is affordable to
keep the policy active throughout the life span.
What kinds of Whole Life Plan, can I opt from?
Typically, there are two types of whole life insurance plans.
1. Participating Whole Life Plan
Under this life insurance policy, the insurance company shares its profits with the
policyholder. The actuaries of the company make the estimates of the investment returns and
profits are then shared accordingly. The proportion of profits shared with the policyholder
usually varies and it is announced annually by the insurance company. The accumulated bonus
or returns are paid on death or maturity, whichever event occurs earlier.
2. Non-Participating Whole Life Plan
Under this life insurance policy, the benefits are fixed and remains same throughout the
entire policy period. Such policies do not participate in the profits of the insurance
company. The benefits are paid as lump sum amount which remains constant throughout the
policy period.
What are the Benefits of Buying a Whole Life Plan?
Following are the key benefits of Whole Life Insurance Plan:
Death Benefit
A whole life insurance policy offers a death benefit to the insured’s family/assigned nominee
and thus ensures them the financial protection under the plan benefits. The death payout is
a Sum Assured plus accumulated benefits depending on your whole life insurance plan.
Maturity Benefit
A whole life insurance plan also offers you the maturity benefit as specified under the terms
of the policy. Usually, the policy expires on life insured attains 100 years of age. Under
such life insurance plan, the accumulated cash value is paid as the maturity amount in case
of survival of the insured throughout the policy term.
Rider Benefit
There are several riders that you can attach to your whole life insurance policy to expand
the coverage. Riders are optional and help in enhancing the protection which is usually not
included under a basic life plan.
Surrender Benefit
In case of urgent financial requirements, you also have the option to surrender the policy
and you may exercise this option to get quick access to the accumulated cash surrender
value.
Loan Benefit
If you are in some urgent requirement of funds, you can take a loan against the accumulated
cash value in a whole life plan.
Tax Benefit
You can avail tax benefits under section 80 C for the premium paid towards running the whole
life policy for yourself, spouse or kids. The payouts of the insurance policy are tax free
under section 10 (10) D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
How is my Whole Life Plan Premium Calculated?
Following are the key factors that help determine the premium amount for the whole life
insurance plan:
Age
Your present age determines the premium amount for the life policy. If you are buying the
plan at a younger age say at an age of 25 years, you are charged with lower premiums. If
you are buying at a later age say at an age of 45 years, the insurer charges the higher
premiums for providing the same life cover as the risk in life aggravated with the
advancement of age.
Life Cover
The higher life cover attracts, the higher premium to cover the risk. Although, some
insurers offer some attractive discounts on choosing the high life cover,proportionately
you need to pay the higher premiums for a higher life cover.
Smoking or Drinking
Bad habits such as smoking cigarettes and consumption of alcohol have an adverse effect
on the premium amount. As these are injurious to health, insurers will charge higher
premiums to cover the risk.
Prevalent Health Condition
Your present health condition also plays a key role in determining the premium amount for
the whole life insurance policy. In case, you are suffering from illnesses such as blood
pressure, diabetes, or other diseases, your insurer will charge the higher premiums.
Your previous health conditions also make an impact on the premium amount. The history
of any critical or potential health issues also needs you to pay the higher
premiums.
Gender
As per statistical analysis, females tend to have higher life expectancy than males.
Taking into consideration the mortality risk, insurers charge higher premiums to provide
life cover for the male life based on life expectancy model.
Occupation
The nature of occupation also determines the premium amount for your whole life policy. A
risky occupation like working in the mining industry, coal mines, serving in the armed
forces, etc. involves the risk of life. Insurers will charge you with the higher
premiums basis high intensity of the risk involved in your occupation.
What are Some Smart Buyings Tips?
Following are some key tips you may refer before buying a whole life policy:
Assess Life Cover
It is quite essential to buy a right amount of life cover after assessing your financial
obligations which may include child’s education, marriage, loans or other forms of debts.
Buy a life cover that can help your family or dependents to maintain their lifestyle and
fulfill the set financial goals even after your untimely demise.
Consider Inflation Factor
Prior buying a cover, don’t forget to consider inflation in mind. A cover of say Rs 50 Lakhs
may not be of enough value somewhere 30 years later. It is thus essential to buy a life
cover that can easily take care of the financial needs of your family when you are not
there.
Invest Early
The premium amount for a life plan primarily depends on the entry age, so it would be a wise
move to buy a whole life policy in an early stage of life. When buying it at a younger age,
your insurer will offer you a whole life policy at lower premiums. Whole life plans have a
longer tenure, buying a policy early is a prudent decision.
Choose Appropriate Add-ons
Add-on covers for sure helps enhance coverage to your policy. It is imperative to choose the
add-ons that seem appropriate for covering the life risk. These additional covers are
available at an extra cost, so choose wisely.
Choose Insurer Wisely
Whole life insurance contracts are long term contracts, it is therefore imperative to ensure
that you are choosing the right insurer that can help in catering the financial needs of
your family, especially in your absence. You should check the claims settlement ratio of the
insurer and assess whether the insurer is responsive to your queries. It all helps in tough
times while settling claims.
Buy Online
When looking to buy a whole life policy, it is recommended to first compare the plans from
different insurers online. There are several portals like ours where you can compare and buy
the right plan at discounted rates. It would be a win-win deal.
Read Policy Terms
Prior to buying the policy, it is quite essential to go thoroughly through the policy terms &
conditions, its benefits, and inclusions & exclusions. It helps you assess the plan and you
can then easily make a right decision to buy.
Is there any Add-on Cover/Rider with Whole Life Plan?
Following are the rider options to attach with your whole life policy:
Accidental Death Benefit Rider
This rider provides extra financial benefits to your nominee in case of your death due to an
accident. Under this rider, an accidental death sum assured is paid to your nominee, which
is additional to the base sum assured of the policy.
Term Rider
Under this rider, an additional death benefit is paid to your nominee additional to the
base policy sum assured in case of any form of death. The assigned nominee can then
receive the sum assured as specified under this rider.
Critical Illness Rider
This rider takes care of the medical costs involved due to severe illnesses such as a
Major organ transplant, Coronary artery bypass, Heart attack, Cancer which may disable
an individual temporarily or permanently that result in loss of earnings.
Waiver of Premium Rider
Under this rider, the future premiums for the whole life plan is waived off in the case
of death or disability of the policy holder. The policy remains active till the end of
the policy period.
Income Benefit Rider
In a whole life insurance, the policy benefits are provided to the nominee as a one-time
lump sum amount, but by choosing this rider, the nominee can exercise the option to
receive benefits in installments as a guaranteed income. It helps them take care of day
to day expenses in the absence of the insured.
Disability Rider
This rider replaces your income for the specified tenure in case of permanent or
temporary total or partial disability arising due to an accident or sickness. The payout
may differ depending on the type of disability occurred.
What is Not included in my Whole Life Plan?
Your whole life insurance plan has the following exclusions.
Suicide clause
This clause states that if the insured commits suicide within the first year of the
commencement of the policy, the insurer is not liable to pay the policy proceeds.
Aviation Clause
This exclusion states that if the life insured dies as a passenger in a private plane, the
insurer will not entertain the claim. The policy benefits are paid out only in when the life
insured is died in a commercial plane crash while travelling.
Dangerous Adventure Sports
This exclusion says that if the death of the insured occurs due to the involvement in
dangerous adventure activities such as river rafting, para-gliding, skiing, rock climbing,
etc, policy benefits will not be paid.
Act of war exclusion
This exclusion provides that the insurer will not pay, if the death is occurred as a result
of the war.