5 Term Insurance Plans Offering Critical Illness Rider

Term insurance is a type of life insurance policy that provides a coverage amount for a certain period or the specified number of years. In case a tragedy occurs within the period with the insured, the insurance offering company pays a sum to the family or the nominee of the insured. Hence, it acts as a security for the beloved ones of the policyholder in case of uncertain events. This year, we experienced a pandemic unexpectedly, ironically teaching us how uncertain life is. Keeping in mind such emergencies, one must have a life insurance plan.

 Critical illness rider is an add-on optional feature on your term insurance policy that gives you an assured sum for the illness you are diagnosed with mentioned in the policy.

Term Insurance Plans that Offer Critical Illness Rider

Aegon Life iTerm Plan

• The Aegon Life iTerm CI rider covers 9 critical illnesses which are-Cancer, Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery, Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction), Kidney Failure (End-stage Renal Failure), Major Organ Transplant, Stroke, Paralysis, Heart Valve Surgery, Surgery for a disease of the Aorta.
• Moreover, this plan also has a women CI rider covering ailments of women.
• While most of the insurance plans give plan coverage up to 75 years only, the Aegon life iTerm plan gives coverage up to the very old age of 80 years.
• A lump-sum payout is promised in this plan. A lump-sum payout means the nominee attains a single payment on the death of the policyholder.

ICICI Pru iProtect Smart

• This plan covers 34 critical illnesses. On top of the 9 critical illnesses covered by the Aegon Life iTerm plan, the ICICI plan covers diseases that result in loss of independent existence of a person like losing the loss of speech, aplastic anemia, etc.
• ICICI has four payout options which are lump sum, income, increasing income, and lump sum plus income. An income payout is a series of payments (monthly or annually) that the nominee of the policyholder gets in case of the death of the insured person.
• The beneficiary has the option to convert the income payout into a lump sum at any point in time making this policy flexible for the policyholder by making it easy for them to handle their income.
• No hospital bills are required for the payout option in this plan.

Kotak e-term Plan

• Under the Kotak e-term plan, 37 critical illnesses are covered. This plan, on top of the 34 illnesses covered in the above plan also covers the most common lifestyle-induced ailments that are Benign brain tumors, Encephalitis, and Bacterial meningitis.
• The minimum policy term under this plan is of 5 years which is lesser than the minimum 10 years that other plans offer but this plan is preferable as it offers a good sum of tax savings as compared to other plans.
• On top of this, the policyholder gets three payout options- Immediate, level recurring, and increasing recurring, giving quite a few options to stabilize the income.
• Kotak also offers special discounts for females and non-tobacco users.

 SBI Life- Poorna Suraksha

• The SBI life-Poorna Suraksha plan covers 36 critical illnesses under its critical illness rider. All the ailments are the same as covered in the ICICI plan.
• This policy has an in-built future premium waiver on the diagnosis of any of the critical illnesses.
• No worries about paying higher premiums in the future as premium rates once fixed are permanent.
• SBI unlike other insurers has a 6% discount for their staff.

HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D plus

• Under the HDFC life click 2 protect 3D plus policy, 34 critical illnesses are covered which are the same as the ICICI and SBI ones.
• The policyholder can alter the premium payment frequency on any policy anniversary which isn’t available in any other of the plans mentioned above.
• This plan too has a waiver of future premium when the policyholder is diagnosed with any of the 34 critical illnesses or meets with unfortunate accidents that result in their permanent disability.
• This plan offers a lump sum payout to the policyholder which is the most desired payout option.
• Moreover, NRIs who hold dual citizenship and qualify as citizens of India too can benefit from this plan as it applies to them too- a unique feature by HDFC.

Why an Insurance Plan with a CI Rider?

Whether you need term insurance or not depends upon your financial goals, dependencies, liabilities, and your family’s financial goals. If you see yourself catching a lifestyle-induced ailment in the future, it is important to have a critical illness rider integrated into your life insurance plan. And if you have a family you earn for then it is very significant to choose the right plan.

What to Look for in a Good Term Plan with CI Benefit?

• While buying a plan with a critical illness rider, it is important to go through the number of critical illnesses covered under the policy.
• The next step is to get educated about the possible payout options that are provided in case of a critical illness- Are they offered as a whole sum or part of a sum assured as a lump sum on being diagnosed? If a lump-sum payout is not offered, it is advised for the nominee to enquire if the payout is half-yearly or monthly and based on their money management choose the option that suits best with their finances.
• Lastly, it is important to be enlightened about the claim settlement too. Most of the time, claim settlements are hassle-free and take 8-15 days and whether the involvement of the nominee is required or not, and how many days it shall take for the settlement to differ from one insurer to another.

Having riders makes your life insurance policy a little expensive but way more comprehensive and are a great investment keeping in mind emergencies and uncertainty of life.