Finding the best term insurance plan is an impertinent necessity for an individual who has dependents or a family. It is a proven fact that the best term insurance offers the most ‘value for money’s proposition. It is the basic form of life insurance where a fixed sum assured is paid on the death of the life assured. In case of survival of the life insured during the policy term, no maturity benefit is offered by the insurer. The premium rate of the best term life insurance plans depends on three basic factors: age, the term of the policy and the sum assured you choose.
Most of the people often get into the misconception that the term insurance plans do not provide ample coverage as they do not provide any maturity benefit. However, contrary to this, various term insurance plans offer high insurance coverage at a very affordable premium rate. Moreover, a hassle-free process of premium payment guarantees safety with the convenience of the best term insurance plan.
Your premium is decided on age at which you buy the policy and remains same, throughout your life
Premiums can increase between 4-8% each year after your Birthday
Your policy application could be rejected or premiums increase by 50-100%, if you develop a lifestyle disease
As the simplest form of life insurance product, there are wide ranges of best affordable term insurance plans available in the market. According to one’s requirement and suitability, the customer can compare the plans online and choose the most comprehensive plans available in the market. This article will give you a better understanding of the best term insurance plans along with their respective claim settlement ratio.
Before we dig into the nitty-gritty of the safest and best term life insurance plans, let’s see:
In the below grid, is the list of best term insurance plans in India to invest in 2021:
Term Plan | Entry Age(Min-Max) | Policy Term (Min-Max) | Accidental Death Benefits | Critical Illness Benefits | Waiver of Premium | Terminal Illness |
Aditya Birla Sun Life Protectior Plus Plan | 18-65 years | 5-70 years | Paid | Paid | Paid | Included |
Aegon Life iTerm Plan | 18-65 years | 18-65 years | Paid | N/A | Paid | Free |
Aviva LifeShield Advantage Plan | 18-55 years | 10-30 years | Included | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Bajaj Allianz eTouch Lumpsum | 18-65 years | 18 - 65 years | Paid | Paid | Free | N/A |
Bharti AXA Term Plan eProtect | 18-65 years | 10-75 years | Included | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Canara HSBC iSelect+ Term Plans | 18-65 years | 5-62 years | Paid | N/A | N/A | Paid |
Edelweiss Tokio Life My Term+ | 18-55 years | 10-85 years | Paid | Paid | Paid | N/A |
Exide Life Smart Term Plan | 18-65 years | 10-30 years | Paid | Paid | Paid | N/A |
Future Generali Flexi Online Term Plan | 18-55 years | 10-65 years | Paid | N/A | N/A | N/A |
HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D Plus | 18-65 years | 18-65 years | Paid | Paid | NA | NA |
ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart | 18 - 60 Years | 18 - 60 Years | Paid | N/A | Free | Free |
IndiaFirst Anytime Plan | 18-60 years | 5-40 years | NA | N/A | N/A | N/A |
IDBI Federal iSurance Flexi Term Plan | 18-60 years | 10-62 years | Paid | N/A | N/A | NA |
Kotak e-Term Plan | 18-65 years | 5-75 years | Included | Paid | Included | N/A |
LIC E-term Plan | 18 - 60 years | 18 - 60 years | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Max Life Online Term Plan Plus | 18-60 years | 18-60 years | Paid | N/A | Included | N/A |
PNB MetLife Mera Term plan | 18-65 years | 18-65 years | Paid | Paid | N/A | N/A |
Sahara Kavach | 18-50 years | 15-20 years | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
SBI Life eShield Plan | 18 - 65 years | 18 - 65 years | Paid | N/A | N/A | N/A |
SBI Smart Shield | 18 - 60 Years | 18 - 60 Years | Paid | N/A | Free | Free |
Shriram Life Cash Back Term Plan | 12-50 years | 10-25 years | Paid | Paid | N/A | N/A |
SUD Life Abhay | 18-65 years | 15-40 years | Paid | N/A | N/A | N/A |
TATA AIA Maha Raksha Supreme | 18-70 years | 10-40 years | Paid | N/A | N/A | Included |
**Note: The above plans require mandatory medical proofs.
Disclaimer: Below plans are not in order. Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product
This is a traditional protection plan which offers a higher sum assured amount at a nominal premium rate. The plan secures the financial future of the family of the insured against any type of eventuality. Moreover, the plan also takes care of future liability and helps to maintain a good lifestyle even in the absence of the breadwinner of the family. Here are some of the salient features of the policy and the benefits offered by it.
Here is a list of the features and core benefits of the affordable term policy – Aegon Life iTerm Plan:
As one of the term insurance plans in India, Aegon Life iTerm Plan is a pure term insurance policy, which comes with inbuilt terminal illness benefit. The plan provides life coverage until the age of 80 years. As an online term plan, the process of policy purchase is very simple and hassle-free. The plan also provides additional rider benefit as accidental death rider benefit and critical illness benefit in order to enhance the coverage of the policy.
Here is a list of the features and core benefits of the affordable term policy – Aegon Life iTerm Plan:
This is a non-linked non-participating protection plan, which secures the financial future of your loved ones in case of any eventuality. The plan not only provides a death benefit to the insured’s family in case of an eventuality but also provides survival benefit as the return of premium in case the policyholder survives the entire tenure of the policy. As a term return of premium plan (TROP), this plan can be purchased online in a simple and hassle-free way. Let’s take a look at the features and benefits of the policy.
These are some of the features and benefits offered by the policy.
Bajaj Allianz eTouch Online Term Plan ranks amongst the term insurance plans from Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. The plan provides financial protection to the family of the policyholder at a low premium rate. As a non-participating pure term insurance policy, Bajaj Allianz eTouch Online Term Plan offers the 4 different life cover options to choose from. Apart from death benefit the plan also provides tax benefit under section 80C and 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act 1961.
Aviva iLife Plan comes packed with certain benefits and features, they are as follows:
Bajaj Allianz eTouch Online Term Plan ranks amongst the term insurance plans from Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. The plan provides financial protection to the family of the policyholder at a low premium rate. As a non-participating pure term insurance policy, Bajaj Allianz eTouch Online Term Plan offers the 4 different life cover options to choose from. Apart from death benefit the plan also provides tax benefit under section 80C and 10(10D) of Income Tax Act 1961.
Below are the salient features and benefits of the Bajaj Allianz eTouch Online Term Plan:
This is an online term insurance plan that provides comprehensive coverage to the family of the insured in case of any emergency. As an online term plan, it can be purchased online is an easy and hassle-free way. Along with the benefits of insurance coverage, the plan also helps to save on taxes. The following are some of the features and benefits of the policy.
These are some of the features and benefits offered by the policy.
Canara HSBC iSelect+ term plan is a comprehensive protection plan which is specifically designed to provide financial security to the family of the insured and take care of the future financial needs of the family in the absence of the breadwinner of the family. The plan offers multiple options like covering spouse in the same policy, whole life coverage, multiple premium payment options, etc. Here are some of the salient features and benefits offered by the policy.
The following are some of the features and benefits offered by the policy.
This is a limited pay term insurance plan, which provides insurance coverage to the family of the insured in case of any eventuality. Moreover, the plan also provides an additional life cover to the spouse under the better half-benefit option. let’s take a look at some of the benefits offered by the policy and its salient features.
The following are some of the features and benefits of the policy.
This is a non-participating, non-linked individual protection plan, which provides financial security to the policyholder’s family against any type of unfortunate event. The plan offers higher insurance coverage at any a nominal premium rate. As a term return of premium plan, the entire premium of the policy is returned to the insured if he/she survives the entire policy tenure. Here are some of the features and benefits offered by the policy.
This is an individual non-participating non-linked pure protection plan. The plan is specifically designed to provide comprehensive coverage to the family of the insured and take care of their future liabilities in case of an unfortunate demise of the insured person during the policy tenure. The plan offers a flexible coverage option to choose from. Let’s take a look at the salient features and benefits offered by the policy.
HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D Plus is one of the online term plans, which provides comprehensive insurance coverage to the family of the life insured at an affordable premium rate. The 3D feature in the HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D Plus refers to the uncertainties of life i.e. death, disease, and disability. The plan provides financial security to the family of the life insured in case of any eventuality during the tenure of the policy. HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D plus offers the option of 9 plans to choose from.
Some of the key features and benefits of HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D Plus plan are as follows:
ICICI Pru iProtect Smart Plan ranks amongst the term insurance plans and comes with different options of life cover to choose from. As a comprehensive term insurance plan, ICICI Pru iProtect Smart provides financial protection to the family of the insured at a very affordable premium rate. The plan also provides additional rider benefit as an accidental death rider benefit and critical illness benefit in order to enhance the coverage of the policy.
The salient features and core benefits of ICICI Pru iProtect Smart plan are as follows:
This is a pure protection plan that ensures that your loved ones are taken care of even in your absence. This plan can be purchased online in a simple and hassle-free way. Along with providing the financial coverage to the family, the plan also takes care of the future liabilities of the family in case of the demise of the insured person during the policy term. The following are some of the features and benefits of the policy.
LIC e-Term Insurance Plan comes packed with several features and benefits. Some of the key features and benefits are listed below:
This is a non-participating, non-linked term insurance plan that provides financial coverage to the family of the insured against death or eventuality. The plan is specifically designed to secure the financial future of your loved ones. As a comprehensive protection plan, this plan can be purchased online in an easy way. Let’s take a look at the features and benefits of the policy.
The Kotak e-Term plan is a complete risk cover plan that will protect your loved ones. It truly offers a high level of protection and is available at a special premium cost for women and non-tobacco users.
Listed below are the key features and benefits offered by Kotak e-Term plan:
As one of the affordable LIC's online term insurance plans, which provides financial security to the family of the insured at a very affordable premium rate. As it is an online term plan, the process of purchase of LIC e-term plan is very simple and hassle-free. The policy provides a death benefit to the beneficiary of the policy in the event of the demise of the insured during the policy tenure.
LIC e-Term Insurance Plan comes packed with several features and benefits. Some of the key features and benefits are listed below:
Another suitable term insurance plan is Max Online Term Plan Plus. As a non- participating pure term insurance policy, Max Online Term Plan Plus offers the 3 different life cover options to choose from. The plan also provides additional rider benefit as accidental death rider benefit to enhance the coverage of the policy. It also offers, waiver of premium rider benefit, wherein the policy continues in case the life insured is not able to pay the premium due to illness or dismemberment.
Max Online Term Plan Plus comes loaded with certain features and benefits. Some of these features and benefits are listed below:
Marking its place amongst the term insurance plans, PNB Metlife Mera Term Plan offers protection to the family of the insured at a low premium rate. PNB Metlife Mera Term Plan also offers the option of increasing monthly cover with 12% per annum. Moreover, the policy also provides coverage for a spouse under the same policy. Apart from death benefit the plan also provides tax benefit under section 80C and 10(10D) of Income Tax Act 1961.
Let’s dig into some of the core benefits and key features of PNB Metlife Mera Term Plan:
The Sahara Kavach term insurance plan is suitable for those who have limited savings, however, are keen to secure the families against any uncertainty of life. This plan is an ideal solution wherein a large risk cover can be bought by simply paying a low premium amount. In case of an unfortunate demise, the sum assured will be payable.
Listed below are the key features and benefits offered by Sahara Kavach:
SBI Life eShield is amongst the affordable term insurance plans, and is known to provide different plan options to meet various needs of its customers. The best part of the plan is that the customers who follow a healthy lifestyle get more affordable premium rates. The plan has several benefit structures, such as level cover and increasing cover. The product also offers in-built Accidental Death cover as well as tax benefits to the policyholders.
SBI Smart Shield, another term insurance plan that provides financial protection to the family of the life insured at an affordable premium rate. As a non- participating pure term insurance policy, SBI Smart Shield offers the 4 different life cover options to choose from. The plan also provides additional rider benefit as accidental death rider benefit and critical illness benefit in order to enhance the coverage of the policy.
Here are some of the best features and benefits of SBI Smart Shield:
The Shriram Life Cash Back Term Plan is one pocket-friendly and easy-to-get financial protection net for yourself and your loved ones. This plan also has a lump sum payout in case of an untimely demise helping the family to reduce the debts and securing them financially. The premiums that will be paid towards the plan on maturity will be returned.
Listed below are the key features and benefits offered by Sahara Kavach:
The SUD Life Abhay is one non-participating term plan, which offers protection for your close ones in case of an untimely demise. One can choose between accessing a life cover along with the return of premium alternative or just availing a life cover. This plan also provides three various types of pay-out alternatives that you might select on the premise of the needs.
Listed below are the key features and benefits offered by SUD Life Abhay:
The TATA AIA Maha Raksha Supreme is a plan that ensures that the family members are never short regarding the financial resources and lead their lives without any financial stress. This non-linked insurance product also ensures that the burden of debts or loans, if any does not impact the family’s living and their happiness. This Maha Rakshak Supreme plan offers an array of choices to fulfill the certain financial necessities of the family and secure the future accordingly.
Listed below are the key features and benefits offered by TATA AIA Maha Raksha Supreme:
Term Insurance is amongst some of the best and the most cost-effective investment modes to financially secure the future of your loved ones, in the times of uncertainties. The best term plan provides coverage to the insured and their family in the form of growing regular income and a lump sum amount. This insurance policy secures the financial future of their family in case of any eventuality. Additionally, different term plans offer different term plan benefits. The best term Plan with Return of Premium (TROP) offers a return of premium in case the policyholder survives the policy term.
The claim settlement ratio of an insurance provider is the number of claims that are settled versus the number of claims filed by the insured or his/her nominee. In this way, at the time of choosing a term insurance provider, you must also check the claim settlement ratio and prefer the one that has good CSR. Claim Settlement Ratio can help you find the best term plan.
Let us look at the claim settlement ratio of term insurance providers according to IRDA in the year 2017-18. The table is updated according to the latest data available. The insurance provider with the highest claim settlement ratio would offer the best term plan.
Insurance Provider |
Death claims received |
Claim settlement ratio |
Death Claims Paid |
Claims Pending |
Aegon Life |
460 |
96.50% |
413 |
0.20% |
Aviva Life |
1,690 |
96.00% |
1,396 |
0.50% |
Bajaj Allianz |
20,661 |
95.00% |
18,978 |
3.00% |
Bharti AXA Life |
1,112 |
97.30% |
900 |
2.90% |
Birla Sunlife |
8,436 |
97.10% |
8,055 |
1.70% |
Canara HSBC |
576 |
95.20% |
516 |
3.10% |
DHFL Pramerica |
953 |
96.60% |
545 |
6.50% |
Edelweiss Tokio |
119 |
97.80% |
68 |
5.00% |
Exide Life |
3,432 |
97.00% |
2,955 |
1.60% |
Future Generali |
2,160 |
95.20% |
1,808 |
1.80% |
HDFC Life |
12,189 |
99.00% |
11,031 |
2.30% |
ICICI Prulife |
12,309 |
98.60% |
11,546 |
0.80% |
IDBI Federal Life |
1,017 |
96.20% |
736 |
4.30% |
India First Life |
1,655 |
94.20% |
1,195 |
5.00% |
Kotak Mahindra Life |
2,686 |
97.40% |
2,437 |
3.20% |
LIC |
7,55,901 |
98.00% |
7,42,243 |
0.50% |
Max Life |
9,223 |
98.70% |
8,804 |
0.10% |
PNB MetLife |
2,466 |
96.20% |
2,290 |
1.50% |
Reliance Life |
18,142 |
97.71% |
15,211 |
5.80% |
Sahara Life |
778 |
90.21% |
700 |
3.60% |
SBI Life |
14,876 |
96.80% |
13,303 |
3.20% |
Shriram Life |
1,960 |
80.23% |
1,307 |
11.20% |
Star Union Daichi |
1,266 |
92.26% |
1,191 |
0.30% |
Tata AIA Life |
3,873 |
99.10% |
3,659 |
1.00% |
*Disclaimer: “Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by an insurer.”
While looking for a term insurance policy, one of the major points to consider the term insurance claim settlement ratio. Claim Settlement ratio of a company informs you about the number of best term insurance plans that are settled by paying back the claims in case of death.
For most of the people, even the best term insurance plans become quite tricky to understand as the facts & figures used in these products are not easy to relate to. This is one of the major reasons that IRDA has made it mandate to use simple calculation methods to help users calculate Claim settlement Ratio.
The calculation of Claim Settlement Ratio is based on the total number of claims received by the insurance company against the total number of claims settled by it.
To further simplify, the formula used for it is:
**Total Numbers of Claims Settled /Total number of Claims Made
Let’s say for an example, an insurance company has received 5000 claims in a financial year and it settled 4800 claims amongst those 5000 claims in the same financial year.
**Thus, the CSR comes to be 4800/5000 = 96 per cent
**Claim Rejection Ratio = (5000-4800)*100/5000 = 4 per cent
Let us suppose 100 claims are still waiting to be processed by the company. In that case, the pending ratio will be: 100/5000*100 = 2 per cent
The reason behind keeping these calculations simpler is to make the buyers understand it easily, which eventually enables them to make a fair decision after looking into CSR details.
Claim settlement ratio has been chosen to rate the insurance companies because it is the only ratio, which could be of use to customers while they select the policy. High claim settlement ratio shows the insurer is reliable and could be trusted for taking best term insurance plans whereas the low ratio indicates that the credibility of the insurer is less and therefore they won't attract many customers because of their inability to settle claims.
Looking at the Claim settlement ratios of various companies it is clear that Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Aditya Birla Sunlife, Bharti Axa, Aegon Life, and Edelweiss Tokio are the top 5 insurance companies that have fared well in terms of settling their claims and hence stand a good chance of gaining customers' attention for a Term Insurance Plan.
It is a suggestion to all the customers that they make their choices wisely depending on the past performance of the insurers evaluated through their Claim Settlement ratios. Besides that age, health and income of the individual are of ample importance because depending on that only would the insurer decide on the sum insured, premium, term etc. Rest, the provided list is good enough to choose the best term insurance plan.
However, there are also such factors that might lead to the rejection of your claim. Few of them include:
*All savings are provided by the insurer as per the IRDAI approved insurance plan. Standard T&C ApplySometimes, the lack of information or wrong information shared by the insured in the application form (provided by the insurance company) can lead to the claim rejection. If the person buying the insurance hasn’t answered the questions or provided the data & information clearly at the time of buying insurance, it might also lead to lapse of the claim. Therefore, you must provide relevant information and avail the claim for the best term plan for you.
There have been many cases where the customers have tried to fool the company and make extra money by making fraud claims. For instance, many times the customers quote a much higher value of the insured product than the real damage cost incurred, in order to extract more money from the insurer. Thus, insurance companies follow a thorough procedure to check the authenticity of the claims made, to avoid any losses.
It is a very common phenomenon amongst the term insurance policy buyers to ignore those teeny-weeny terms & conditions printed on the contract while signing it. For us, going through the list of terms & condition has always been an unimportant task; however, that is where we get trapped and then we have to pay its price later on. That is why it advisable to take your time and thoroughly analyse the contract before signing it. In case, you get stuck at any point get it clear from the agent to avoid any confusion later on.
Every year, many claims are rejected by the insurer on the grounds that the nominee was not present at the time of claim settlement. Therefore, it is important for a nominee to be present for claim settlement; otherwise, the claim can be rejected. Furthermore, if there is any ongoing dispute going on between two parties that have got the involvement of the legal heir or the nominee of the insurance, its need to be settled before claiming the insurance as the insurance companies don’t entertain such cases in order to avoid any involvement in such disputes in future.
Before we conclude this article, it is important to mention that you should not make your decision solely based on the Claim settlement ratio of an insurance company. This is because, though you get a fair idea with CSR about the number of claims settled by an insurer in one particular year, it still does not give you any clear idea on why other claims were rejected.
There could be a lot of reasons leading to the rejection of claims by the insurance company such as fraud, misrepresentation/non-disclosure of the facts or delay in submitting the required documents by the buyer. Hence, you need to be smart and be true & clear about the facts shared with your insurer while buying the best term plan, which will eventually make the life much easier for your nominee.
While purchasing the term insurance policy, every policyholder needs to go through the medical test. However, there are certain insurance providers, which offers term insurance without medical test. This is mainly offered by the insurer keeping in the notice the age of the policyholder and the sum assured amount chosen by them. Even though many insurance providers do not ask for a medical test while purchasing the policy, it is advised to the policyholder to share all the details related to health with the insurer so that in case of an eventuality, the insurance company will settle the claim without any hassle.
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