Life Insurance for High Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs)

Let us learn who the HNIs are in India and what are the best life insurance plans for high net worth applicants.

Who are the High Net-Worth Individuals?

Let us learn everything about high net worth individuals and their types:

High net-worth Individuals are those people who have liquid assets of more than 5 Lacs at all times. Having liquid assets means if, in case of an emergency, a person needs cash, they can quickly and easily convert their assets into cash and fund their financial needs.

A person is considered an HNI if their investible assets exceed a certain threshold and have a fixed amount as savings in banks or other brokerage accounts. Liquid assets do not include cars, houses, or any other lifestyle assets that cannot provide liquid cash immediately in time of need.

What are the Types of High Net-Worth Individuals?

There are 3 types of high net-worth individuals (HNIs), and they are as follows:

• High Net-Worth Individuals: People who have savings or liquid assets worth 5 Lacs to 5 Crores

• Very High Net-Worth Individuals: People who have cash or liquid assets worth 5 Crores to 25 Crores

• Ultra High Net-Worth Individuals: People who have an investible surplus of more than 25 Crores

Best Life Insurance Plans For High Net-Worth Applicants (HNIs)

Here is a list of the best term insurance plans for high net-worth individuals offered by Indian insurers.

Why Do the HNIs Need Life Insurance?

High Net-Worth Individuals often think they do not need life insurance plans since they already have investible assets and savings for their family in case of an eventuality. But HNIs tend to forget that one of the main ways to increase wealth is to invest and secure. With life insurance for High Net Worth Applicants, the HNIs can invest their money for the long term and ensure the financial stability of their family in their absence. 

Not only that, but life insurance also ensures your family has financial help in case of your untimely death to pay off any remaining business loans and take care of the losses your company might suffer in your absence. Life insurance for high net-worth families provides HNIs with peace of mind that their family will be able to maintain their current quality of life in their absence. HNIs also prefer investing in life insurance plans with market-linked products to create wealth and fulfil their financial goals at affordable premiums. 

Why Should High Net-Worth Individuals Buy Life Insurance Plans?

• Financial Security Against Death

  With life insurance for high net worth applicants, you can secure the financial future of your loved ones in your absence by making sure they receive a large death benefit to take care of their expenses. Your family can use the payout amount to maintain their current lifestyle, pay for any lifelong goals, or fund their businesses.

• Create a Corpus for Future

  You can also use life insurance to create a corpus for your future. The more you invest, the large the return will be, and thus, you can get a large payout at the end of the policy term, which can help you secure your retirement, fund future goals, financially secure your spouse, or go on an extended vacation.

• Large Cover at Affordable Premiums

  Term insurance is a type of life insurance that provides a large life cover at highly affordable premiums. With these plans, you can ensure the financial stability of your family in your absence while saving on your premiums.

• Security Against Loans and Debts

  As an HNI, there is a good chance that you took a student, business, or any other loan to start your career. However, the financial burden of having to pay off these debts may fall on the shoulder of your family members in your absence. Therefore, it is better to have life insurance as the payout can help your family pay off any remaining loans and obligations.

• Efficient Financial Planning

  Knowing how much of your money is invested in which asset can help you plan your finances better. For example, if you already have life insurance and now want to buy a new life insurance plan, you will receive the maturity amount from both these plans that can help you secure your retirement or fund other businesses for a better return.

• Personalised Customer Care

  Many life insurance companies offer personalised customer care to their HNI clients, like a dedicated welcome call from the relationship manager that lists the details of the life insurance and gives a tour of the website. Along with that, HNIs also enjoy quick query resolutions where the HNI's questions and issues are resolved within a few hours.

• Tax Benefits

  HNI customers can claim life insurance tax benefits under sections 80C, 80D, and 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act of 1961 as per the prevailing tax laws.

What are the Types of Life Insurance Best Suited for HNIs?

Here is a list of all the types of life insurance that are best suited for high net worth individuals in India:

• Regular Term Insurance: These term insurance plans offer a large life cover at affordable premiums that stay constant throughout the policy tenure. 

• Decreasing Term Plans: The premiums for decreasing term plans are slightly lower than regular term plans because, in this, the sum assured decreases at a fixed rate every year.

• Whole Life Insurance: Whole life insurance policies offer life cover against eventualities for the policyholder’s whole life, till 99/100 years of age and in case of death during the policy term, the nominee receives the death benefit.

Why Whole Life Insurance for High Net-Worth Applicants is the Best Choice?

HNIs often prefer buying the whole life insurance policy to secure the financial future of their loved ones because, as per the new budget, only the death benefit proceeds remain tax exempted as maturity proceeds from policies with an annual premium of more than 5 Lacs are now taxable. This makes whole life insurance plans the best choice as they provide large life cover for the policyholder’s whole life (till 99 or 100 years) at affordable premiums, and in case of their death during the policy tenure, their family can receive the entire benefit amount tax-free.

Key Points to Consider Before Buying Life Insurance for High Net-Worth Applicants

Let us take a look at some of the key points you should consider before buying life insurance for high net worth applicants:

• Age: Age is an important factor when buying life insurance for HNIs, as the premiums increase with age. This is because as you grow older, your risk of life increases, and the chances of contracting critical illnesses also increase. Therefore it is always better to buy life insurance plans as early as possible to secure a large life cover at affordable premiums. 

• Choose the Type of Life Insurance: There are various types of life insurance plans available in the market, but choosing the right insurance for high net worth families is important as it can provide suitable benefits to the family of the policyholder. 

• Select Life Cover: You need to take your annual income, monthly expenses, loans and liabilities into account before selecting a life cover that fits your needs. Ideally, the life cover should be 10 to 15 times your annual income to ensure the family is financially stable even in your absence. You can also use a human life value calculator to see the right life cover as per your age and annual income. 

• Add Relevant Policy Benefits: While choosing the best life insurance for high net-worth applicants, you need to ensure that you are adding all the required policy benefits to the base plan, like the available riders, life stage benefits, smart exit benefits, and more.

• Compare the Insurers: Check the insurance company’s CSR value and solvency ratio, see the company’s customer reviews, and the company persistency ratio to ensure you buy a plan from the most suitable insurer.

• Appoint the Nominee: After purchasing the life insurance for high net worth families, appoint the nominee to ensure there is no confusion at the time of claims.

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