Spouse term insurance – A Guide for Term insurance plan for husband & wife

They say that a couple runs the vehicle of a household together. Even if one wheel (partner) breaks apart, the vehicle (household) can come to a halt. Keeping this in mind, life term insurance has introduced a plan called Spouse Term Insurance. It is essentially a joint term insurance plan under which both the husband and the wife can seek coverage together under one single policy. The prime advantage of this plan is that in the event of any unfortunate event, such as the demise of any one partner, the other would still be secured with insurance (monetary death benefit).

How Does Spouse Term Life Insurance Work?

As stated earlier, a term insurance for husband and wife is one where both the husband and wife can get themselves insured under the same policy. This means that both the partners enjoy comprehensive coverage under the plan. More so, in the case of an untimely or unfortunate death of any one of the partners during the term of the policy, the other spouse would receive complete protection by way of death benefit (monetary) under the policy.

The whole idea of introducing term insurance for husband and wife plan is to highlight the equal importance of both the partners (husband and wife) in a marriage. In case the sole breadwinner for the family (in most cases, the husband) passes away, his wife’s financial future would still be secured with a term insurance for husband and wife.

Top Benefits of Availing Spouse Term Insurance

Here are some of the best advantages of investing in a joint or term insurance for husband and wife:

1. It guarantees financial security for the children. Buying a term insurance for husband and wife can be more useful than you’d think, assuring financial security not just for your surviving spouse but also for your kids in a rare unfortunate event of death of both the parents. In this case, the child or children would be entitled to receive a lump sum amount (sum assured) or a regular amount every month as income. This would help take care of the kids’ future financial goals in the absence of the parents.
2. It is reasonably affordable. The premium payable for an individual term insurance plan is generally higher when compared to paying the premium on a joint or term insurance plan with spouse cover. This makes the latter more reasonable and affordable to invest in for both the partners.
3. It offers tax exemptions and benefits under Sections 80C and 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to both the partners under the plan.
4. It provides a premium-waiver facility upon death of any one partner. This means that the surviving spouse is not burdened to keep paying premium after the death of his/her partner to maintain the policy’s life cover. In the event of death of the primary policyholder during the term of the plan, his/her partner would be entitled to receive the entire sum assured in a lump sum as death benefit. No more premium payments would need to be made in the future thereafter.
5. It offers the flexibility of availing rider benefits to enhance the coverage under the plan. Terminal illness cover and accidental death benefit are some examples of rider options offered with the term insurance plan with spouse cover.

Can a Homemaker Avail Spouse Cover in Term Insurance?

There is a general notion in our Indian society that a housewife does not need coverage under term insurance because in the event of their demise, their husband or other family members would not be impacted financially. This is not true at all. Agreed that homemakers do not make a financial contribution to the household; however, they do play an equally beneficial and rather significant part in running the entire house.

This is up to the extent that in their absence, the smooth functioning of the house would actually need to depend on external sources (such as hiring a domestic help). This would in fact prove to be a much costlier affair, the expenses of which can be comfortably managed from the insurance coverage under the term insurance plan with spouse cover.

Besides this, if the housewife is also covered under joint insurance, the monetary benefit granted to the husband in the event of death of the wife can be used to further the cause of higher education of the kids or their marriage. Therefore, either way, covering both the partners in a spouse term insurance policy only makes sense for the benefit of everyone in the family.

Best Term Insurance Plan with Spouse Cover in India

Now that we know the benefits of buying spouse term insurance for husband and wife (earning and homemakers included), let us look at some of the top joint term insurance plans offered by some companies in India:

Name of the Insurer	Name of the Plan	Age of Entry	Maximum Age of Maturity	Minimum Sum Assured Under the Plan	Premium Payable	Term of the Policy
PNB	Metlife Mera Term Plan	Min. 18 years; Max. 65 years	99 years	Rs. 10,00,000	Monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually	10 to 99 years (minus age upon entry)
Aegon Religare	iSpouse	Min. 21 years; Max. 60 years	65 years	Rs. 25,00,000	Monthly and annually	5-65 years
Bajaj Allianz	iSecure	Min. 18 years; Max. 65 years	85 years	Rs. 25,00,000	Monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually	10 to 85 years (minus age upon entry)
SBI Life	Smart Humsafar	Min. 18 years; Max. 46 years	65 years	Rs. 1,00,000	Monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually	10-30 years
Max Life	Smart Secure Plus Plan	Min. 18 years; Max. 65 years	85 years	Rs. 20,00,000	Monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually	10-67 years