How much is the Income Tax Deduction available under Section 80C, in case of Life Insurance for every individual?

Life Insurance Plans are very popular as a tool to get deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The investment in life insurance can be deducted up to Rs 1,50,000. It a common perception that Premium Paid on all Life Insurance Policies qualifies for deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Act,1961 and full premium amount qualifies for deduction under section 80C.

Apart from several other items provided under section 80C, a taxpayer, being an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), can claim deduction under section 80C in respect of premium on life insurance policy paid by him/it during the year.

Policy to be taken in whose name?

In case of an individual, deduction is available in respect of policy taken in the name of taxpayer or his/her spouse or his/her children.

In case of a HUF, deduction is available in respect of policy taken in the name of any of the members of the HUF.

No deduction is available in respect of premium paid in respect of policy taken in the name of any person, other than given above.

Deduction Allowed

Overall deduction u/s 80C (along with deduction u/s 80CCC & 80CCD) allowed is up to Rs. 1,50,000

How much deduction available u/s 80C for investment in insurance policies???
Section 80C of the Income Tax Act provides deduction up to Rs 1,50,000 provided you invest according to condition given in section itself. One of the most popular way of saving tax by deduction u/s 80C is purchase of insurance policy. There is common perception that premium upto Rs 1,50,000 on any insurance product like life insurance or Unit Linked Insurance plan is fully allowed. However, this is not correct. The reason for such conclusion is section 80C (3) and 3(A) of the Income Tax Act which specifies which premium is eligible for deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Act,1961.

Restriction on amount of deduction with respect to capital sum assured/ Eligible Premium under Sub-section (3) and (3A) of 80C of Income Tax Act,1961 For regular Life Insurance Policies (other than contract for deferred annuity)

Issued from 01.04.2012 – premium paid not in excess of 10% of Capital Sum Assured (as amended by Finance Act 2012).

Issued from 01.04.2003 and on or before 31.03.2012 – premium paid not in excess of 20% of Capital Sum Assured

Eligible Premium under Sub-section (3) and (3A) of 80C of Income Tax Act,1961 For Life Insurance Policies (other than contract for deferred annuity) for (a) a person with disability or a person with severe disability as referred to in section 80U, or (b) suffering from disease or ailment as specified in the rules made under section 80DDB,

Issued from 01.04.2013 – premium paid not in excess of 15% of Capital Sum Assured ( Inserted by the Finance Act, 2013, w.e.f. 1-4-2014).

Therefore , it is clear from section 80C (3) that whatever insurance premium is paid for any insurance policy( other than deferred annuity) or ULIP, the maximum allowable is fixed at 10% of the sum assured.

So, next time you buy any insurance product , think about sum assured and whether the insurance premium is just below 10 % of sum assured regular policies and 15% for for (a) a person with disability or a person with severe disability as referred to in section 80U, or (b) suffering from disease or ailment as specified in the rules made under section 80DDB.

Minimum holding period for Life insurance policy – 2 Years.

Minimum holding period for ULIP- 5 years

Taxability of Premium allowed in Earlier year- If any of Life insurance policy is terminated, sold, etc., before the minimum holding period specified above, then the deduction allowed in earlier years would be deemed as income of the previous year of termination, sale, etc. Further, no deduction will be allowed in respect of contribution, payment, etc., made towards such policy (i.e., which is terminated) during the year of termination.

Example:-

Mr. Kiran had made the following payments during the financial year 2018-19 to avail of the advantage of deduction under section 80C:

1. Premium paid on his life insurance policy of Rs. 8,400. Policy was taken in April 2011 and sum assured was Rs. 25,000.

2. Premium of Rs. 1,000 on his another life insurance policy. Premium was due in March 2015 but was actually paid in April 2016.

3. Premium of Rs. 30,000 on life insurance policy taken in the name of his wife. Policy was taken in April 2012 and sum assured was Rs. 2,00,000.

4. Premium of Rs. 30,000 on life insurance policies taken in the name of his three children (one is minor daughter, second is major married daughter and third is major married son, who is a practicing doctor). The policies are term plans and premium on all the policies worked out to be 5% of capital sum assured.

5. Premium on life insurance policy taken in the name of his parents who are dependent on him. Premium paid during the year amounted to Rs. 25,200.
6. Premium on life insurance policy taken in the name of parents of his spouse who are dependent on him. Premium paid during the year amounted to Rs. 2,520.

7. Premium on life insurance policy taken in the name of his younger brother and sister dependent on him. Premium paid during the year amounted to Rs. 5,000.

8. Investment in PPF Rs. 60,000.

9. Investment in NSC Rs. 10,000. Interest accrued during the year on NSC amounted to Rs. 1,000.

10. Payment of tuition fees of his minor daughter Rs. 5,000.

11. Repayment of housing loan Rs. 12,000.

12. Investment in post office time deposit Rs. 10,000.

What will be the extent of deduction under section 80C for the year 2018-19, which Mr. Kiran will be entitled to claim in respect of above payments?

(A) The taxpayer can claim deduction under section 80C in respect of premium on life insurance policy paid by him during the year. Deduction is available in respect of policy taken in the name of taxpayer, his spouse and his children. No deduction is available in respect of premium paid in respect of policy taken in the name of any person other than given above. Deduction is restricted to 20% of capital sum assured in respect of policies issued on or before 3 1-3-2012 and 10% in case of policies issued on or after 1-4-2012. Considering the above provisions, deduction in respect of life insurance premium will be as follows:

1) In respect of premium of Rs. 8,400 on his life insurance policy which is taken in April 2011, deduction will be restricted to 20% of capital sum assured. Sum assured is Rs. 25,000 and 20% of the same will work out to be Rs. 5,000. Hence, out of Rs. 8,400, he will be eligible to claim deduction of Rs. 5,000.

2) Deduction under section 80C is available on payment basis. In respect of premium of Rs. 1,000 on his another policy (which is due in March), no deduction will be available in current year, since the premium is not paid in the current year. Premium is paid in next year and hence, he can claim deduction of Rs. 1,000 in next year.

3) In respect of premium of Rs. 30,000 on life insurance policy taken in the name of his wife, deduction will be restricted to 10% of capital sum assured. Sum assured is Rs. 2,00,000 and 10% of the same will work out to be Rs. 20,000, hence, out of Rs. 30,000, he will be eligible to claim deduction of Rs. 20,000.

4) Premium in respect of policy taken in the name of his children works out to be 5% of capital sum assured. Hence, entire amount of premium of Rs. 30,000 will be eligible for deduction. Further, it should be noted that deduction is allowed for all children irrespective of the fact whether they are dependent/independent, major/minor, or married/unmarried.

5) No deduction is available on account of premium paid in respect of policy taken in the name of any person other than the taxpayer, his spouse and his children. Hence, no deduction will be available in respect of premium paid by him on policy taken in the name of his parents, parents of his spouse and his brother/sister.

6) Total premium eligible for deduction under section 80C will amount to Rs. 55,000 (Rs. 5,000 + Rs. 20,000 + Rs. 30,000).

(B) The taxpayer can claim deduction under section 80C in respect of any contribution made by him towards statutory provident fund or recognised provident fund or approved superannuation fund or public provident fund (PPF). Thus, contribution to PPF of Rs. 60,000 will be eligible for deduction under section 80C.

(C) The taxpayer can claim deduction under section 80C in respect of amount paid by him towards purchase of NSC. Hence, he will be able to claim deduction under section 80C in respect of Rs. 10,000 paid by him towards purchase of NSC.

Accrued interest on NSC is taxed in the hands of the receiver and the same will be treated as an investment during the year of accrual (except for last year) and will qualify for deduction under section 80C. Hence, accrued interest of Rs. 1,000 will be treated as taxable income and on the same hand will also qualify for deduction under section 80C.

(D) The taxpayer can claim deduction under section 80C in respect of amount paid by him during the year towards tuition fees (excluding development fees, donation or similar payments) paid at the time of admission or thereafter, to any university, school, college or other educational institution situated in India, for full time education of any two children of the taxpayer. Hence, Rs. 5,000 paid by him on account of tuition fees of his minor daughter will qualify for deduction under section 80C.

(E) The taxpayer can claim deduction under section 80C in respect of amount paid by him towards repayment of housing loan. Hence, Rs. 12,000 paid by him on account of repayment of housing loan will qualify for deduction under section 80C.

(F) The taxpayer can claim deduction under section 80C in respect of investment made by him in post office time deposit. Hence, he can claim deduction of Rs. 10,000 under section 80C.

Considering above eligible items given in (A) to (F), the eligible amount of deduction will come to Rs. 1,53,000.

However, total deduction under section 80C cannot exceed Rs. 1,50,000, hence, deduction will be limited to Rs. 1,50,000. In other words, Mr. Kiran can claim deduction of Rs. 1,50,000 under section 80C.

Total:- Rs. 55,000 Life Insurance + Rs. 60,000 PPF + Rs. 11,000 NSC +Rs. 5,000 tuition fees + Rs. 12,000 housing loan + Rs. 10,000 time deposits.

P.S: Pure Term Cover is flavour of the season, offering wide benefits against traditional insurance policies & Ulip.

Kindly consider your risk profile, life goals, family objectives etc before buying any product. Do discuss your case with Fee Based Financial Planner or Fee Only Financial Planner against regular insurance agent receiving commissions due to conflict of interests.

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Why Term Plan? & Basics of Insurance

Recently, one of my friends died due to accident. Hemant was just 33 and was heading family owned business in Mumbai. He is survived by his home maker wife Rohini aged 30 and 1 kid aged 7.

He used to contribute 1 Lakh per month for the family. His monthly cash flow was as follows.

EMI for the Business Loan – 30,000
House hold expenses – 28,000
Parents’ Support – 20,000
Life Insurance premium – 5000
Mutual Funds Investments – 17,000

He was staying in own house which was a ancestral property and were leading a quality life. Kid is studying in good school.

He was paying an insurance premium of 5000 per month for a life insurance policy of 12 Lakhs. The insurance company settled the claim of 12 Lakhs.

Rohini has deposited this amount of 12 Lakhs in a bank. She is getting around 6,000 per month as interest on it. Now the family is living on this. But she finds it difficult to manage the schooling of the kid with this income. She is planning to shift the kid to another school from next academic year.

If they want to maintain the same standard of living, there should be an inflow of 28,000 per month. Instead of 12 Lakhs, if there were 44 Lakhs in bank, she will be getting 28,000 as monthly interest.

In simple words, Hemant should have insured his life for 44 Lakhs.

Is it sufficient? In the above calculation, I have not considered the effect of inflation, possibility of reduction in interest rates etc. Assuming these 2 factors into consideration, the amount required to ensure an inflation adjusted withdrawal of 28,000 per month for the next 50 years (till she is 80) is around 1.3 Crore. Here I have assumed that the amount of 1.3 Crore will generate a return of 1% above the inflation.

So, this is the amount Hemant would have looked at instead of 44 Lakhs. He was planning to provide for 10 Lakhs in today’s cost for the higher education of his kid when she reaches age 17. For that he was investing in mutual funds. If you consider this goal also into account Hemant would have insured his life for 1.5 Crores.

Had he insured his life for 1.5 Crore, now his family will be getting 1.5 Crore as death claim. Rohini can invest 20 Lakhs for the children higher education needs and use the balance 1.3 Crore to ensure same standard of living till she is 80.

Now, let us check the premium for a 1.5 Crore policy. He was paying a premium of 5000 for a 12 Lakhs policy. Going by that rate, the premium for a 1.5 Crore policy will be around 62500 per month, which is not affordable to him.

Is there any alternate to insure life at a lesser premium? Yes. He could have opted for a term insurance policy.

What is Term Insurance?
In this policy, there are no maturity benefits. In simple words, you will not get anything at the end of the policy. But if you die during the term of the policy, your nominee will get the policy amount immediately.

If you are 35, the annual premium for a 1.5 Crore policy will be around 18,000. If you pay this premium every year from 35 to age 60, your family is sure about the payment of 1.5 Crore in case of your death. But if you live upto age 60, nothing is payable from this policy. You will be losing the premium of 4.5 Lakhs paid during these 25 years.

This is the only way to ensure adequate life insurance for a person. The amount of 18,000 per year (1500 per month) is to be considered as the price you are paying for the peace of mind you are getting in ensuring a decent living for your spouse and kids in your absence. After all, this 1500 per month is just the cost of a weekly outing.

Precautions while purchasing term policy

Insurance is based on the concept of ‘Utmost Good faith’. You are supposed to disclose your health/habits etc correctly while applying for an insurance policy. For example, if you are diabetic, or having hypertension don’t forget to mention these in the proposal form. Similarly if you are a smoker or consume alcohol, mention these in the proposal. The insurance company may charge a higher premium depending on your health/habits. It is called loading. This prompt disclosure is important to avoid confusion later. If you are hiding these details at the proposal stage, there is a possibility of claim rejection in future. Be 100% honest while purchasing the policy.

Claim Settlement Ratio

This is the ratio of clams settled out of claims reported. The higher the ratio, the better it is.

Some companies are claiming that their claim settlement ratio is highest in the industry. Suppose the claim settlement ratio of company A is 98% and for company B it is 90%. As a heart patient, if you purchase a policy from company A without mentioning this issue and die after 2 years the claim will be rejected. So, you will be within that 2% rejection of company A.

But if you are purchasing the policy from company B with prompt disclosure, your claim will be settled. This is because you will fall under the 90% of company B.

More than claim settlement ratio, prompt disclosure from your side is more important in insurance. You may purchase the policy from the company of your choice with prompt disclosure.

If the claim is rejected, there are many options for the claimants to represent the case. They can approach the grievance cell of the insurance company, insurance ombudsman or consumer forum with appeal. Normally all genuine claims will be settled.

Ensure Prompt Nomination

While purchasing the policy, ensure that you are nominating your legal heir as the nominee. If you are purchasing the policy before marriage and nominate parents as nominee, it is better to change the nomination in favour of your spouse after marriage. Remember, you can change nomination anytime and the nominee has a role to play only in case of your death.

Inform the nominee the following

I have purchased a policy for Rs. X from company ABC and as a nominee you are eligible to get Rs. X after my death.
The policy number, premium amount and the due dates of premium.
Where you are keeping the policy document
The contact details of company ABC to be contacted in case of your death.

Why term policies are not popular in India?

We feel that we are losing the premium in term policy because there is no maturity benefit. But see the large benefit in case of death of the bread winner! This is the only way to ensure a decent life insurance cover for a person at an affordable premium. If you really love your family, purchase a term policy of decent value when you are alive and healthy.

The main reasons for the low popularity of term policies are

1) Agents are not interested in selling this policy because of the low premium and the small commission involved.
2) Low awareness about the real benefit of term policy.
3) Feeling that you are not getting anything on maturity and losing the premium paid.
4) Emotional issues like wife saying – I don’t want any amount because of the death of my husband.
5) If every wife knows what a widow feels, no husband will remain uninsured.

It is high time that you should purchase a term policy and ensure all earning members in the extended family and friends circle are insured for a decent amount. Infact government can think of making it mandatory as a social security measure so that no family will suffer in case of death of the breadwinner.

Savings linked life insurance policies

The aversion to term policies by Indians motivated life insurance companies to innovate and come out with policies with maturity benefits along with death benefit.

Let’s understand this with an example:

If you are aged 35 and purchasing a 20 year endowment policy of 10 Lakhs, the annual premium will be around 50,000 per year. You have to pay 50,000 for the next 20 years and you will be getting the following at age 55.

Sum assured – 10 Lakhs
Bonus – 8.4 Lakhs
Total – 18.4 Lakhs

Bonus is declared by the insurance company every year based on its profitability and claim experience. In the above calculation, I have assumed a bonus rate of Rs. 42 per thousand sum assured. Since it is a 10 Lakhs policy, the bonus for a year will be 42,000. If you are getting the same bonus for the next 20 years, you will get 42,000 x 20 = 8,40,000 as bonus.

Let’s calculate the rate of return on this policy. It is around 5.5%. This is a pathetic return for a long term investment.

Please note that the bonus is not guaranteed and it can change every year. Since the interest rates are coming down in India, there is all possibility of a reduction in bonus rates in the near future.

Now, let us understand the benefits from this policy in case of your death. Your nominee will get the sum assured of 10 Lakhs and bonus accrued till date of death. Suppose the death happens at age 40, your nominee will get the following

Sum assured – 10 Lakhs
Bonus for 5 years – 2.10 Lakhs (42,000 x 5 = 2.10 Lakhs)
Total – 12.10 Lakhs

Will this 12 Lakhs is sufficient for the family in your absence? No.

This policy is not good as investments due to poor returns and not good for risk cover due to the low insurance cover it offers.

Who benefit from this policy?

When you are paying 50,000 as the first year, premium, your agent is getting around 25-30% of it. 12,500-15,000/- is going to his pocket. From second year, the commission is around 5%. The agent is getting 2500/- every year as long as you pay the premium. In the 20 year policy, the agent is getting 65,000/- in total!

This is the reason why agents and banks are trying to sell insurance policies.

What you can do?

Instead of paying 50,000 premiums under such policy, you can purchase a 1.5 Crore term policy by paying 18,000 per year. The balance amount of 32,000 can be invested in a mix of equity & debt as per your risk taking capacity. If you are investing 32,000 per year in an equity mutual fund, you can expect around 23 Lakhs assuming 12% returns. Please note that many good mutual funds have given 20% returns in the past 20 years.

In case of unfortunate death, your family will get 1.5 Crore immediately. This amount can really help your family in maintaining the standard of living in your absence.

This combination of term policy & mutual fund is beneficial both in case of death and maturity.

Different types of savings linked policies

To make it attractive, insurance companies are offering many types under this category. The most popular ones are the following:

Endowment Policy

In this policy, the sum assured and the bonus is payable at the end of the policy term. In a 20 year policy, you will get this at the end of 20 years as explained above.

Money back policy

In this policy, you will be getting certain percentage of the sum assured at different intervals. A typical 20 year money back policy will give you 20% after 5 years, 20% after 10 years, 20% after 15 years and 40% along with bonus at the end of 20 years. In case of death in between, the nominee will get the full sum assured irrespective of the payments made already. The premium under money back policy is high compared to endowment policy.

Children policies

This is sold in bulk on emotional appeal. The benefits under this policy are paid in instalments during the higher education of the child. In some cases, there is an option to waive the premium in case of unfortunate death of the parent proposer.

Pension policies

In this policy, the benefits are paid out as pension during your retired life.

Unit Linked Policies (ULIP)

In this policy, the insurance company is investing your premium in a mix of equity & debt instruments as per your mandate. ULIP policy can give better returns compared to other types of policies discussed above.

But there are many charges which are deducted from your policy, which will reduce your effective return.

Draw backs of savings linked policies

The main draw backs of savings linked policies are:

Lack of flexibility

Once you join for a 20 year policy and later, if you are not happy with the policy, exit options are limited. If you stop paying the premium in the first 3 years, you will not get anything back under most of the traditional policies. If you surrender the policy after paying premium for 3 years, then you will get only 30% of the premiums paid. After paying 50,000 for 3 years (1.5 Lakhs), you can exit the policy with just 45,000 as surrender value.

In ULIPs, you will not lose the premium paid, if you stop paying the premium within 3 years. The fund value will be moved to discontinuance fund and it will be payable to you on completion of 5 years from the start of the policy. During this period, you will get around 4% returns on the fund value.

If you want to surrender the policy after 5 years, you will get the fund value immediately.

If your fund is not performing the only option for you is to surrender and take the money out.

In both these cases, you can understand that there is no flexibility. But if you opt for a combination of term policy & mutual funds, you have 100% control on your money. If a new insurance company is offering a term policy with lesser premium, you can opt for that and just drop the existing policy (subject to your good health at that time). If your mutual fund is not performing, you can just sell it and reinvest in better funds without any difficulty.

Lower returns

In traditional policies, the returns will be in the range of 4-5% only. This is because the investment is happening mainly in debt products and a good amount is going towards commission and other expenses of the insurance company.

In ULIPs, there are many charges. When you pay Rs. 100/-, full amount is not invested in your account. The company deduct premium allocation charges from your premium and only the balance is invested. If the allocation charge is 10% only Rs. 90/- is invested in your account. There are other charges like policy administration charge, fund management charge and mortality charge etc. These charges are deducted by way of cancellation of units from your account. You will not understand it unless you verify the fund value statement carefully.

If you just check the percentage return on your Net Asset Value, it will not reflect the reduction in number of units due to various charges. Even if the fund is performing well, your actual return will be much less due to the cancellation of units.

Conclusion

The only policy you require from a life insurance company is a basic term policy. Buy it online to get the advantage of lower premium. All other policies are not beneficial to you. It will help only the insurance company and the agent.

सावधान कॅन्सर पसरत आहे

Sonali Bendre diagnosed with metastatic cancer

सोनाली बेंद्रे ला कॅन्सर झाल्याचे कळले

, अशीच बातमी मनीषा कोईराला, लिसा रे, इरफान खान यांच्या बद्दल ऐकली.
कॅन्सर सारखे क्रिटिकल इलनेस कोणाला हि व कधीही होऊ शकतात. हे सगळे अक्टर्स USA / UK मध्ये जाऊन उपचार करू शकतात.

आपण यातून काही शिकणार आहोत का ?

तुम्ही कधी असा विचार केला आहे का ? कि समजा तुम्ही त्यांच्या जागी असतात तर काय केले असते ?

तुमच्या कडे हेल्थ इन्शुरन्स / मेडीक्लेम / क्रिटिकल इलनेस कव्हर आहे का ?

त्याचे किती कव्हर आहे ?
१ – २ लाख कव्हर आहे ?
की
५ – १० लाख पर्यंत कव्हर आहे ?

कारण हे सगळे क्रिटिकल इलनेस चे पॅकेजेस मुळी ३ – ४ लाख पासून सुरु होतात.

 

आपण परदेशात उपचार करून घेऊ शकतो का ?

 

 

सोनाली ची बातामी वाचून वाईट तर वाटलं, पण यातून जर आपण काही शिकलो, व ते अमलात आणले तर खरे.

 

 

शेवटी पुढच्याला ठेच, मागचा शहाणा…..नाही तर आहेच आपला येरे माझ्या मागल्या….

 

…

हेल्थ इन्शुरन्स / मेडीक्लेम, क्रिटिकल इलनेस इन्शुरन्स माहिती साठी नक्की संपर्क करा.

कौस्तुभ देवळे

Compass

Use the Magic word & be Rich

Today, every single product is positioned as need based solution. Can you deny the need to save for child’s education, self retirement, safeguard family’s health & build wealth in long term? It is difficult to see the advantages of any investment when approached by a good salesman.

The world has evolved to a global state & so do any company or salesman. I would rather term them all as HAWKERS. They position the product so well that customers fall for sales pitch & buy it.

Game plan of HAWKERS: IF you have child, you require Child Plan. If you have family, you must have medical insurance. You also need Retirement Plan.

Result: You buy costly child Ulips & guaranteed plans, complex medical policies, inflexible pension plans. They push you to diversify across Stocks, gold, property, bonds, bank FD, PPF & other complex options. If you can’t afford a new home, bigger car, or foreign holiday, they will get you to leverage on future income.

You take a home loan, a car loan, a personal loan & you also collect few credit cards in bargain. This is sure shot recipe for financial worries. Use the magic word to safeguard your finances against such perils, make you rich & protect you from friends offering free advice, wealth managers, money quacks, banks, insurance companies, bank relationship managers, insurance agents who are trying to sell you something or other.

Magic word: No, Nahi, Nako, Na, Venda, Nahim, Illa, Illai.

‘NO’ is a very powerful word. Use it ruthlessly. Say ‘NO’ to the relative who wants to sell you an endowment insurance policy. Turn down bank executive who is pushing a pension plan. Refuse the offer of free add-on card from Credit Card Company. Don’t agree to buy child plan that costs a bomb.

Action Plan: Keep your financial life as simple as possible.

• One term insurance plan to cover your life risk.
• SIP’s in 4-5 well chosen diversified equity funds & debt.
• A simple no frills medical insurance for your family.

Kaustubh Deole

Value of Volatility

The incident in image will not happen if you hire Professional Financial Planner.

Invest when markets are down everytime.

Hence, #Advisor Jaroori Hai

Watch “How do you define Life – Sprint or Marathon?” on YouTube

Why Advisor Jaroori Hai

View the image & send your comments on it.

Protection is Better than Cure

Way to Simplify Life Series – 2

Majority of salaried employees ignore the individual health insurance and depend on mediclaim/health insurance provided by their employer (office health policy). Observations in many cases; the cover provided by the employer are insufficient to counter the growing hospitalization expenses.

Which are the reasons one shouldn’t depend on health cover from the employer, and have a individual health insurance or a top-up on hospitalisation product?

• The prime purpose of group health insurance is to protect the employer from any mishappenings related to a employee’s health.
• The employer gives cover for 1-5 Lakhs. It is insufficient as for major illness like heart bypass, Cancer package starts from 3.5 Lakhs.
• Employer – employee is a group cover product where coverage is constant & not increasing. You can increase the coverage by paying additional premium.
• There are certain limitations on specific diseases or surgeries.
• It is normally seen, employees cover their complete family in this product.
• In health insurance, there are age slabs which also convey the risk. Covering complete family with different age slabs increases the risk of not getting covered completely.
• Assume, Mr. Rohan has opted for this cover for self, spouse, his child & parents of coverage 5 lakhs. The internal allocation of coverage will be Mr. Rohan- 2.50 lakhs, spouse- 1 lakhs, child- 75k, & parents- 75k.
• These products are not inflation proof. It barely covers the employee with no additional benefits.

No Claim Bonus is not available in any group cover. It is provided in personal health cover to suffice the additional costs in coming years if you are not claiming in respective year.

Your employer won’t cover you after your retirement.

If you are thinking; I will buy health insurance just before retirement, think again? Because something happens during this period there is a possibility you don’t get health insurance as your application might get rejected due to medical history or you will be charged loading (extra premium) to cover the risk.

The government has increased 80D limit, Government wants its citizens to have enough health insurance as it protects individual from financial liability.

Recently, Government is giving health insurance cover of 5 Lakhs for 50 crores people who are Below Poverty Line. If Government is taking care of their citizens, why you are shying away for taking care of your own family?

Also, it costs average Rs 10000 – 15000 which is very small amount as compared to any medical bills of Rs 2-3 Lakhs.

So it’s always advisable to have a individual health insurance to cover self & family.

Protection is the Best Cure

Ways to Simplify Life – Series 1

I will address the various types of protection requirements in this series.

A Pure Term Insurance or Pure Vanilla Insurance is the basic step of Financial Planning. It will take care all the financial need & requirements of a family in the absence of a breadwinner or earner of the family.

Vanilla is termed as basic; which also means without any additional feature or optional riders.

Term plan is a life insurance risk mitigation policy that provides coverage for a certain period of time  & will ensure the financial protection for the family. A term life insurance policy is a pure life cover. This is the cheapest form of life insurance cover.
A person can take 10 or 15 times cover of his annual income.

I always advise my clients to increase the coverage on every block of 3 to 5 years to be inline with income increase.

This can be taken by any individual who is working and having financial documents like salary slips, businessmen filing Income Tax returns for 3 years or more.

Note of prime importance:

If you have already taken a term cover, any change in your personal habits, lifestyle changes, contracting of new diseases, surgery etc has to be intimated to your insurance company in writing along with medical reports for better claim settlement process.

How a Term plan works

Dr. Ganesh, age 30, a Doctor, has 2 dependants – his parents and his wife. Ganesh’s annual income is 10 lakhs is good enough to support his family, but he is concerned. Since he is the sole breadwinner, his dependants could be under tremendous financial stress in the event of his sudden & unfortunate death. Therefore, to mitigate the risk, Ganesh is considering buying a Term Plan.

He can get a term cover of RS 1 Crore for a policy tenure of 30 years (working age) for an annual premium of around Rs 8,500 – 9,500. The cheapest available option to claim a large cover.

In fact, by paying just 1 percent of his annual income, Dr. Ganesh will be getting a life cover of Rs. 1 Crore.

So in the event of  Dr. Ganesh’s sudden & unfortunate death, An Insurance company will give a cheque of 1 Crore to the nominee (dependable parents or wife or both). So this money can be used to take care of financial needs of the family as a sole earner of the family is no more.

Benefits of Term Plan

• Low premium: The premium for a term plan is relatively lower than all other insurance plans because there is no investment element in the amount insured.
• Protects family against the financial loss of income: A sudden death of a sole earner of the family is a huge stress on the family as the income is stopped but the daily requirements need to be met.

So take the first step in order to ensure the financial protection of your family by taking a Vanilla Term Plan.