Term Insurance for Women in India

What is Term Insurance for Females?

Term insurance for females is an insurance plan that offers a death benefit to the women’s family in case of the policyholder’s unfortunate death during the policy term. These plans are available at budget-friendly premiums that are up to 30% more affordable than the premiums for male customers. These plans provide large coverage for a long policy term at low premium rates. The payout from these plans can help your family maintain their current quality of life, pay off any existing loans and debts, take care of rent and child’s fees, and fulfill any lifelong goals like funding for business or paying for the child’s wedding.

Best Term Insurance Plan For Females in India 2023

Here is a list of the best term plan for women that is available in India in 2023:

* The above-mentioned plans offer different life cover options for different annual incomes.

Note: You can find out the applicable premium rate for the best term plan for women by using the online term insurance calculator.

How Term Insurance for Women Works?

Preeti, a 30-year-old woman from Delhi, leaves no stone unturned to safeguard her family against future financial burden. She buys a term life insurance with a life cover of Rs. 1 Crore that covers her until 60 years of age, with a monthly premium of Rs. 590. 

In case of the unforeseen event of her death before she turns 60, her family will receive the death benefit (1 Cr in this case) that will help them maintain their standard of living and be financially secure. 

She also added the critical illness rider along with her base plan that covers multiple illnesses that women nowadays suffer from, such as cervical cancer, breast cancer, etc. This critical illness rider will ensure she receives an additional amount of Rs. 30 Lakhs if she is diagnosed with a critical illness. She can then use this to continue with her treatment and also support her family financially in case she is not able to work and earn. Hence, Preeti has made sure that her loved ones and herself are never in a financial crunch at crucial and unfortunate events in life.

Why Should Women Buy the Best Term Insurance Plan?

Let’s discuss few points that help clarify the importance of term insurance for women:

• Financial Independence for your family: Buying term insurance allows you to use your savings and earnings for your own expenditures without worrying about your family’s financial stability, as an insurance policy with maturity benefits can take care of that. In case of an unforeseen death of the life assured, the family of the woman will be provided with the life cover (sum assured) and stabilizing their finances. In case of outliving the policy term, the term return of premium (TROP) offers the same type of protection by returning the premium amount paid.

• Pay-off Outstanding Debts: You might have taken a few loans like a student loan to complete your or your child’s education, a home loan to build a house or a business loan for your business, and in case of your unfortunate death, your family might have to bear the weight of these debts. A term plan for women can help your family pay off any remaining loans in your absence and live their lives comfortably.

• Planning of tax savings: As more women are becoming the earning members of the family, tax planning is important. As per section 80C of the ITA, 1961, premium amounts paid towards term plan are exempted from taxes. Also, the death benefit payout from an insurance plan is free of taxes u/s 10(10D). This makes term insurance for women an ideal financial solution.

• Legacy for Future generations: With a whole life insurance policy, you can buy a cover till 99-100 years of age and the family will receive a guaranteed benefit in the event of your unfortunate death. On early purchase of the term life insurance for women, females can secure a large sum assured for their future generations at highly affordable premiums and build a legacy after themselves.

Difference in Premium Rates for Men and Women

The premium rates for women are, on average, 15% more affordable than the premiums for men and can go up to 30% lower compared to the regular premiums for males. Here we have a comparison of term insurance premium rates applicable for both men and women.

Top 7 Features of the Best Term Insurance for Women

Since more and more women are taking on new jobs and joining the workforce a lot of women are now the sole income earner of their families. Females might have a lot of financial dependants at home, like dependent parents, siblings, spouse, or kids. To ensure the financial stability of their loved ones, women need to have term insurance in place.

Here are the 7 features of the best term insurance for women:

• Financial Protection for your family: Every female, whether working or homemaker, wants to secure her family in the event of her untimely demise. Thus a term life insurance can help her protect her loved ones in her absence, especially if she is the breadwinner of the family. The insurance company pays a death benefit to your nominees/beneficiaries, which can help them cover expenses such as living expenses, education of children or loan payments.

• Lower Annual Premiums: Women are eligible for lower premium amounts than men because of their longer life expectancy and lower risk of some health conditions. The premiums of women are up to 30% more affordable in comparison to men.

• Educational or Childcare Coverage: Some of the term plans offer riders that provide coverage for the education of your child or some childcare expenses in case of your unforeseen death. This can offer extra financial protection for the future needs of your children.

• Get Additional Coverage: Females can get additional coverage by including add-on riders in their base plan at nominal premiums. The available riders for each plan are different, thus you should always go through the policy documents to see the inclusions and exclusions of each rider benefit. Some of the important term insurance riders include critical illness riders, terminal illness riders, accidental death benefit riders, and waiver of premium riders.

• Protection Against Critical Illness: A term plan for women provides the option to get enhanced coverage against several types of critical illnesses like kidney failure, blindness, stroke, heart attack, chronic lung and liver diseases, brain surgery, and more such life-threatening ailments. In case of diagnosis of any of the illnesses listed under the specific term insurance with critical illness, the insurer will payout the rider sum assured, which can help you take care of the hospital bills and other treatment costs.

• Covers Women-specific Cancers: A term insurance with a critical illness rider that covers a variety of cancers is important for Indian women, as according to an ICMR report, more women are being diagnosed with cancers than men. Breast cancer makes up ~28% of the total cancer cases in women, Cervix uteri/cervical cancer (16.5%), and Ovarian cancer (6.2%). Various insurance companies offer critical illness riders that protect against women-specific cancers like breast, ovarian, fallopian, and cervical cancer under their plans. This is especially beneficial for women as, with these plans, they can stay financially stable even in the diagnosis of any of these cancers. Some insurance companies provide cancer coverage in their critical illness riders.

• Post-retirement Independence: Term insurance for women can secure their post-retirement life using the payout received from a TROP or a 100% refund of premium at no cost term plan. This way, women can maintain their financial independence even after the end of their monthly income and live their post-retirement life in a stress-free manner.

Who Should Buy a Term Insurance for Women?

Here is everyone who should buy a term life insurance for women in India:

What Points to Remember While Selecting the Best Term Insurance Plan for Females?

Here is a list of points women should keep in mind before purchasing the best term insurance plan for females:

• Premium Rates: Insurers offer term insurance for women at discounted premiums that are often much lower than the premium rate for men. This is because females have a high life expectancy in comparison to men, and thus the chances of them suffering an untimely death during the policy term are low.

• Life Cover: Females should choose term insurance for a large life cover as this is the amount that will be paid to the family in case of an eventuality. Thus the sum assured should be large enough to cover the family’s financial needs in times of crisis.

• Policy Term: Choose a policy term that matches your future plans and financial goals. Let’s say you have young kids, you may want to avail of a long policy term to make sure they are protected financially until they are independent.

• Available Riders: The available riders in each term plan may be different thus, it is important to go through the list of available riders and include the most suitable riders in the base plan. This way, you can enhance the policy’s coverage at low premiums within the same plan. For example, critical illness riders are important for females who want additional coverage for critical illnesses such as ovarian or breast cancer.

• Premium Payment Options: Go through the available list of premium payment options, as most plans allow you to pay the premiums in a single lump sum amount, for the whole or limited policy term, on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis.

• Payout Options: You can choose for the policy benefits to be paid in a lump sum, monthly income, a combination of both, or as increasing income paid over a specified period.

• CSR of the Insurer: The CSR (Claim Settlement Ratio) of the insurance company indicates the reliability of the insurer. You should always buy term plan from a company with a high CSR, so that the chances of your family’s claim being settled in increased.

• Read the Policy Details: Before purchasing term insurance for women, you need to read the policy documents carefully to understand the inclusions and exclusions of the policy. Going through the terms and conditions of the policy removes any future confusion during and after the policy term.

How To Buy the Best Term Insurance Plan for Female from Policybazaar?

You can buy the best term insurance plan for female in India online through the following steps:

• Step 1: Visit the term insurance for women page

• Step 2: Enter the relevant information like name, contact number, gender, and date of birth

• Step 3: Fill in your smoking habits, occupation type, annual income, and educational background

• Step 4: Go through the list of available plans and select the most suitable plan before proceeding to pay

Final Thoughts

Until now, most women were either restricted from buying a term plan for themselves because they were a housewife with no income proof or they weren’t allowed to work. As more females are getting jobs and the restrictions around term insurance eligibility are being loosened, today, working or housewives, all women can buy a term plan from the comfort of their homes at their convenience by comparing plans online and purchasing the best term insurance plan for females.

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