Zero-cost term insurance is a new variant of term plans in which the policyholder has the option to exit the term plan at a certain age and get all the premium amount back that he/she has paid minus the GST. Simply put, a zero-cost term plan comes at the cost of a regular term plan(No extra costs) and provides the flexibility of exiting the plan early(if they wish to), get back the premium they have paid.
+Rs.950/month is the starting price for a Rs.1 Crore term life insurance for a 30 year-old male, non-smoker, with no pre-existing diseases, cover upto 68 years of age. Additional premium is payable for riders opted. #Full refund of the premium may be availed when you opt to exit the policy at a pre-defined interval. On availing the one-time option to exit, the total base premium is returned by the Insurer excluding GST & premium paid for additional optional benefits. For more details on risk factors, terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure carefully before concluding a sale. STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY. Policybazaar Insurance Brokers Private Limited | CIN: U74999HR2014PTC053454 | Registered Office - Plot No.119, Sector - 44, Gurgaon, Haryana - 122001 | Registration No. 742, Valid till 09/06/2024, License category- Direct Broker (Life & General)
In regular term insurance plans, you don’t get back a premium amount paid on maturity as a survival benefit, but a new variant of term plans, called Zero Cost Term Insurance, has been introduced by some of the insurers where all the premium amounts paid are returned to the policyholder at a certain age decided by the Insurer if the customer wants. Let’s understand ‘What is Zero Cost Term Insurance’ in detail:
There were 2 types of term insurance plans available in the insurance industry so far. One is a regular term plan also referred to as “term plan” where if an individual dies during the policy tenure, his/her nominee will get the cover amount (Sum assured). And, if they survive the policy term, no maturity amount is paid. The second variant of the term plan is Return of Premium (ROP) in which the policyholder gets back their premium amount minus GST in case of survival till the end of policy term. However, Return of Premium(ROP) plans are about twice the cost of Regular term plans.
While term plans are the cheapest and best form of Life Insurance across the world, it has been seen that there are still people who understand that term insurance is beneficial to them but, end up not buying one due to the sense of not getting back anything in case of Survival or feeling that the Return of Premium(ROP) plans are costly. At the same time, it has been seen that most of the customers were preferring to take a cover for longer policy term/age due to inconclusiveness on retirement age, financial dependency of family members post 60/65years of age. To cater to this segment, insurers are now offering a new type of term insurance plans which is getting known across in Media as Zero Cost Term Insurance Plan.
"This plan comes at the same premium of the regular term plan. It has a special exit feature where you can exit at a specific life stage and get all your premium back whenever you want during the time period provided by the insurer. So, you get the flexibility of getting return of your paid amount at the same cost which otherwise would have cost you twice."
In both ROP and Zero Cost term plan, you get back/have an option to get back your total amount of premium paid at different stages. So, now let’s understand the difference between these two plan variants:
| Zero Cost Term Plan | Return of Premium Plan |
| Zero cost term plans are less expensive than ROP | Return of Premium (ROP) term insurance plans charges a 70-80% higher amount of premium than a regular term insurance plan |
| You have an option to choose if you wish to exit and get the premiums back early or to continue the plan as it is till the end. | Your cover will continue till the end of policy term on premiums being paid and the return of premiums will happen at the end of policy term only. You can’t exit in between and get all the premiums back. |
| Suitable for salaried class individuals | Suitable for self-employed individuals |
| As discussed above, zero cost term insurance plans are 49% cheaper than Return of Premium Plans. Let’s understand how: | |
| Monthly Premium paid Rs. 1009/month + GST Total Amount of premium paid Rs. 2,90,592 + GST, till 55 years of age |
Monthly Premium paid Rs. 1995/month + GST Total Amount of premium paid Rs. 5,74,560 + GST, till 60 years of age |
| With Zero Cost Term Plans, you save Rs. 2,83,968 | |
Term Plans
Financial advisors always suggest opting for the plain-vanilla term plan. You can buy a term insurance plan with life cover online having low-cost till 70 years of age to meet your insurance needs. Let’s say, at 55 years you have met all your financial responsibilities or have accumulated sufficient funds to meet them, then you can think of discontinuing the term insurance plan by opting for Zero Cost term insurance plan.
Here are a few reasons you should buy zero cost term plan:
These plans are more affordable for customers in comparison to Return of Premium (ROP) plans. Generally, Zero Cost plans are about 50% cheaper than ROP plans.
These plans are best suited for customers who are not sure of their retirement age or dependency of family members on their income at older age.
Max Life, Bajaj Allianz and HDFC Life Insurance are among those that have introduced such plans. Let’s discuss the details:
| Zero Cost Term Plans | Entry Age | Maturity Age | Policy Term | |
| Max Life Smart Secure Plus | 18 years to 60 years | 85 years | 10 years to 67 years | |
| Bajaj Allianz e-Touch Plan | 18 years to 45 years | 85 years | 10 years to 67 years | |
| HDFC Click 2 Protect Super | 18 years to 65 years | 85 years | 5 years to 85 minus entry age | |
| Canara HSBC iSelect Smart360 | 18 years to 65 years | 99 years | 5 years to 99 minus entry age |
The table illustrates the term insurance premiums for a 30 years old male who is a non-smoker and a salaried person who has availed a life cover of Rs.1 Crore.
| Zero Cost Term Insurance Plans | Cover up to | Premiu/month (without GST) | Withdrawal after age | Withdrawal premium (without GST) | Premium/month with ROP (without GST) | Total Premium with ROP (without GST) |
| Max Life Insurance | 70 years | 1009 | 55 | 290592 | 1995 | 574560 |
| Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance | 68 years | 804 | 60 | 279792 | 1508 | 524784 |
+Standard Terms and Conditions apply
When people reach a specific age, they would have generally accumulated different assets and may not feel the need for term insurance plans. As discussed, various insurers have addressed this need by allowing them to exit the plan at a pre-specified age and get their total premium paid back. It is advisable to buy a term plan after thorough research, comparison and as per your suitability.
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+All savings provided by insurers as per IRDAI approved insurance plan. Standard T&C apply.
