Advantages and Disadvantages Of Term Life Insurance Plan – A Complete Guide
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Planning to buy term insurance for your loved ones? Know all the pros and cons of such policies before putting your money into them.
Term insurance is one of the best insurance products you can fall back upon in times of need and distress. However, like any other form of insurance, term insurance too has its set of pros and cons, which are worth considering before buying the plan for either yourself or your loved ones. Here we discuss in detail the advantages and disadvantages of term life insurance plan to help you make an informed decision.
Meaning of Term Insurance
Before we delve any further, let us take a quick look at the meaning of term insurance. It is essentially the most basic life insurance product that works by offering a huge life cover to the insured. Life cover refers to the total amount of sum assured. A term insurance plan generally offers life cover at a very reasonably affordable premium to the policyholder with the objective to ensure that insurance is made available to every person.
This is because term insurance is a very vital component of financial planning for the future. It makes sure that in the unfortunate event of death of the policyholder, their respective family is well taken care of through the financial protection guaranteed by term insurance. In other words, a monetary benefit is given by the insurance company to the beneficiary/nominee of the insured in case of the latter’s death.
Since term insurance is issued for a specific time period, it only makes sense then that for the financial benefit to be handed out to the nominee, the death of the insured must have happened during the term of the policy. The specific policy term is stated in the term insurance plan.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Term Life Insurance Plan
As stated earlier, every insurance product comes with a set of pros and cons which must be taken into consideration before buying a plan. For instance, life insurance being one of the most important insurance products, also has certain drawbacks. Just like the disadvantages of life insurance, there are disadvantages of health insurance and other types of insurance plans.
Advantages of Term Life Insurance Plans
There are several reasons why term insurance plans are one of the best choices to invest in for a lifetime:
- Term insurance policy allows you the flexibility to choose the exact time when you can pay the premium amount to the insurer towards the maintenance of the plan. This means that you can choose from a wide array of options – monthly, quarterly, or yearly – as per their budget.
- Term insurance is also one of the cheapest life insurance plans. This is because term insurance plans do not offer an investment choice to the investor. Hence, the premium to be paid for the plan is quite easily affordable to a common man.
- There are several rider options to choose from after buying term insurance. These rider benefits help enhance the coverage protection of the plan for the insured. A few examples include critical illness over, accidental death benefit, and the like.
- Term insurance also allows the policyholder to decide how the sum assured amount would be transferred to the beneficiary in case of the death of the insured. Now this amount can be paid either as a lump sum or in several installments, as per the comfort of the beneficiary or nominee.
- Term insurance offers tax deduction benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. A deduction of up to Rs. 1.5 lakh is permissible under the Act on the premium payable towards the plan. Moreover, the sum assured under term insurance is also entitled to enjoy tax benefits if it is 10 times the premium payable. This benefit is promised under Section 10(D)D.
Disadvantages of Term Life Insurance Plans
Just like a term insurance policy has several benefits to offer, there are a couple of disadvantages of buying term insurance for your loved ones:
- Unlike a lot of other insurance products that offer maturity benefits like bonus to the policyholder upon the completion of policy term, no such benefits are provided in case of term insurance. This is because term insurance is a pure life insurance product; hence, no investment can be considered under term insurance.
- Another drawback of a term insurance plan is that the rate of premium payable under the plan varies with the age of the policyholder. This means that the younger you are, the lower the premium to be paid, and the older you get, the higher the amount of premium payable towards the plan.
- The varying surrender value of the plan is yet another of the disadvantages of term insurance. In case the policyholder wishes to discontinue the policy before the expiry of its full term, they can do so by putting a stop to the premium payable towards the plan. However, in such a case, the surrender value offered by the insurance company might differ between insurers. Also, some insurers may not offer a surrender value for term insurance plans at all.
Pros and Cons of Term Insurance
Term insurance plans offer several advantages, such as:
Affordable premiums: Term insurance plans generally have lower premiums compared to other types of life insurance policies, making it an affordable option for individuals.
High coverage: Term insurance plans provide high coverage for a specified period, allowing policyholders to secure their family's financial future in case of any unfortunate event.
Flexibility: Policyholders have the option to choose the policy term and the coverage amount as per their requirements.
Tax benefits: The premiums paid towards a term insurance plan are eligible for tax deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
While term insurance plans offer several advantages, there are also a few disadvantages to consider:
No maturity benefits: Unlike other types of life insurance policies, term insurance plans do not provide any maturity benefits. If the policyholder outlives the policy term, no benefits are payable.
No investment component: Term insurance plans do not offer any investment component or savings element. Therefore, the premiums paid do not earn any returns.
Age limit: The policyholder needs to be within a certain age limit to purchase a term insurance plan. Once the age limit is crossed, it may become difficult to purchase the plan or the premiums may increase significantly.
Health risks: In case the policyholder develops any health conditions during the policy term, the premiums may increase or the policy may become invalid.
The ideal policy term for a term insurance plan depends on the policyholder's financial goals and needs. Typically, the policy term should be long enough to cover the policyholder's working years, until their retirement. The policyholder should also consider their financial liabilities, such as loans or mortgages, and the number of dependents they have, while deciding the policy term.
In most cases, a medical examination is required to purchase a term insurance plan. The medical examination helps the insurance company determine the policyholder's health risks and decide the premium amount. However, some insurance companies may offer term insurance plans without a medical examination, but such plans may have higher premiums.
Yes, some insurance companies offer the option to convert a term insurance plan into a permanent insurance policy. However, the policyholder needs to pay an additional premium for this conversion. The conversion option is usually available during a specified period, and the policyholder needs to meet certain conditions to avail of this option.
Author Bio
Paybima Team
Paybima is an Indian insurance aggregator on a mission to make insurance simple for people. Paybima is the Digital arm of the already established and trusted Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd., a reputed name in the insurance broking industry with 17 years of experience. Paybima promises you the easy-to-access online platform to buy insurance policies, and also extend their unrelented assistance with all your policy related queries and services.
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