I Have Life Insurance Through My Employer. Why Do I Need Another Policy?

“Neha lost her husband due to a sudden heart attack and it was just last month that Neha and Anurag celebrated their wedding anniversary. Little did Neha know that it was last wedding anniversary together!”

Sumit who was Anurag’s colleague narrated this incident to his wife Anita.

“Anurag was a devoted, caring and responsible husband. Coping up with his sudden demise might be so difficult for Neha. It has been about 4 months she is struggling paying the outstanding debts. The employer’s insurance was not enough to pay off the debts due to which Neha had to borrow money from her family and friends.”

Anita then interrupted Sumit asking, “Why didn’t he purchase a term insurance Sumit?”

Sumit replied, “No idea why he didn’t purchase it but as far as I am concerned that is what I am thinking. I am planning to buy Edelweiss Tokio Life- Zindagi Plus since it has a better half benefit which not covers the policy holder but also his/her spouse. Under this benefit, after the death of the policyholder, a life cover will start in his/her spouse’s name. This will be 50% of the life cover of the policyholder, up to an amount of Rs. 1cr. The spouse won’t have to pay any premium and the nominee will also get the sum assured.

There is also an option of waiver of premium. The premium waiver is triggered in case the life insured is diagnosed with any critical illnesses. This feature is highly beneficial because when an individual is dealing with a critical illness he/she is already financially impaired and the income earning capacity will also be impacted. During this testing phase in life, it would be difficult for the policyholder to even pay premiums. The waiver of premium benefit ensures that all the future premiums are waived off while the policy benefit continues.

There is also an additional benefit of life stage in which there is an option of increasing the life cover as the life events like getting married, having children, buying a dream home are additional responsibilities and liabilities which increase in time. In order to take care of these increased responsibilities, ‘Life Stage Benefit’ increases the protection and secures your family during these key life stages.

I suggested Anurag to determine the appropriate cover amount based on his financial responsibilities and choose features available in the term plan that matches his needs.

If Anurag would have opted for a term plan then Neha’s life would have been smooth without facing any financial worries.”

“Yes, Sumit you are right I know it’s not good to think about the death of our loved ones but to be prepared for the worst is always needed. It is always better to be safe and secure than sorry.”