Top 5 Flexibilities You Must Look For In A Modern Term Insurance Plan

A term life insurance policy provides the simplest way to protect your family's financial security through its most affordable coverage option. The policy exists to provide death benefits to your selected beneficiaries during your pre-policy period death so your family can maintain their present lifestyle.

The current term insurance market provides customers with advanced, flexible options which extend past the standard death benefit coverage. Your insurance plan should include flexible features because they will maintain your coverage needs throughout all your life changes. A policy needs these five modern flexibilities to achieve complete evaluation of its available options.

1. Flexibility to Get Your Premiums Back (In Pure Term option)

Modern term plans recognize that policyholders may feel they are losing money if they survive the policy term. This is addressed by the Term Plan with a Return of Premium option. This feature provides life coverage during the policy term, and if you outlive the policy term, you receive all the money you paid in premiums back.

"Some insurance companies provide customers with the ability to retrieve their premium payments throughout their policy duration through pure term plans, which do not require ROP coverage or additional payment at the start. The ability to adjust your coverage provides you with financial security because your family will remain protected throughout many years while your investment remains safe even when you do not need to use the insurance." said Sabyasachi Sarkar, MD & CEO of Go Digit Life Insurance.

2. Flexible Premium Payment Options and Postpone the Premium

The current payment management system provides two flexible options which you can use to handle your financial obligations. The premium payment options for you include annual, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly choices which help you match your premium schedule to your financial circumstances for better budget control.

"Second, postponing the premium (typically up to 12 months) offers a crucial safety net. The feature enables you to stop your premium payments during financial difficulties which include taking a work sabbatical, job change/ loss or others while your policy remains active for 12 months. The system gives you economic protection when you encounter challenging circumstances," added Sabyasachi Sarkar.

3. Flexibility to Increase Coverage (Life Stage Upgrade)

Your financial requirements expand after major life changes. For example, if you purchased a term insurance policy with a Sum Assured of Rs 1 crore at age 21, you might need to increase it to Rs 4 crore after getting married and having a child. The life stage upgrade flexibility allows this adjustment.

You can increase your Sum Assured by making premium payments which will provide financial protection to your family based on your current and future life responsibilities.

4. Flexibility to Add Financial Security Against Accidents and Disability.

A robust modern plan allows you to enhance basic coverage with essential riders/add-ons that offer protection against scenarios other than natural death.

"The Accidental Death Benefit rider provides an additional lump sum to the nominee if death occurs due to an accident, covering immediate expenses like medical bills and funeral costs. Furthermore, the Accidental Total and Permanent Disability Rider offer financial support via a lump sum or installment payments if an accident results in your inability to work," Sabyasachi Sarkar stated.

This flexibility helps replace lost income and manage ongoing family expenses during a challenging period of disability.

5. Flexibility to buy Income Protection Riders

Most insurers today include terminal illness protection within term plans. Terminal illness refers to a disease or condition that cannot be cured and is expected to lead to death within a short period, typically months. This feature ensures an early payout to support treatment and family needs during critical times.

To make a term plan truly comprehensive, it must protect your income and policy continuity against severe health crises.

"The Critical Illness Rider provides a lump sum payout upon the diagnosis of a specified critical illness in the policy document like cancer of specified severity, major organ failure, etc. This helps cover the high medical costs associated with such treatments and compensates for lost income during recovery, preventing the illness from disrupting your family's financial stability. Crucially, the Waiver of Premium Rider ensures that if you become permanently disabled or are diagnosed with a critical illness listed in the policy, future premiums are waived, yet your coverage remains intact until maturity, guaranteeing your family still receives the death benefit," commented Sabyasachi Sarkar.

From the ability to recoup premiums and customize payment schedules to the crucial option of increasing coverage at critical life stages and protecting against disability or critical illness, Term Life Insurance has become a robust, adaptive shield that guarantees long-term stability and financial peace of mind for you and your loved ones, regardless of the challenges the future may hold. Before opting for a policy, make sure you understand the coverages properly and read the policy document carefully to understand the terms and exclusions.