[digitalnirvana]

@shipnil @hothatchaway thanks for the replies. The desperation was because I was comparing term insurance policies yesterday on a new whim and today I got a call saying if I do not purchase today the premium will increase. Gullible as I am, I made this post. Thanks for your answers, I am not going to purchase anything right now.

[dass]

Originally Posted by diyguy

. You can ignore their existing base cover insurance and only claim under yours for any unfortunate expenses that do come up.

Unfortunately, I cannot just take just the top cover for my parents through my Er's service provider. They insist that I need to take the base cover as well and only then can I take the top up coverage as well.

[comfortablynumb]

I am thinking of buying an additional term policy of 1 cr sum assured cover for 25 years, and HDFC life Click2Protect Plus costs ~ 20k, while LIC e-term cost ~ 31k (41 years non-smoker in decent health).

Insurance Gurus, need your advice on whether or not HDFC Life is a good option for a term insurance policy, w.r.t claim settlement ratio, speed of disbursal etc. Or should I stick to the evergreen LIC?

Cheers,
Vikram

[MDED]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Please suggest me some good term and endowment policy providers & plans.

LIC is bit expensive with not so great returns with its endowment plans. Also is the interest earned through insurance policy taxable?

The first and last rule of investment-Keep life insurance for insurance needs and invest in MF and NPS for returns. Always remember that all endowment plan comes with mortality charges and other policy administration charges, resulting in reduced returns.

If you need tax saving, then please opt for ELSS or NPS. Trust me this is coming from a banker. Your term cover should be minimum eight times of your gross annual salary. Good term insurers are IDBI Federal, HDFC Standard and Bharti AXA.

Based on your age profile do invest in long term equity funds and some mid chip funds. Today's mid chip will be tomorrow's blue chip.

Happy investing.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

I am thinking of buying an additional term policy of 1 cr sum assured cover for 25 years, and HDFC life Click2Protect Plus costs ~ 20k, while LIC e-term cost ~ 31k (41 years non-smoker in decent health).

Insurance Gurus, need your advice on whether or not HDFC Life is a good option for a term insurance policy, w.r.t claim settlement ratio, speed of disbursal etc. Or should I stick to the evergreen LIC?

Cheers,
Vikram

While not a guru, I can attempt to answer your questions basis my experience with these products. While we may agonize over settlement ratios, please understand this - life is a highly regulated segment in the insurance business and once a policy has been issued, it is very difficult to deny a claim and once 3 years have elapsed after a policy has been issued, a claim CANNOT be rejected on any grounds whatsoever, even if the applicant had misrepresented information at the time of application - http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Lk8...over-3-ye.html

In light of the above, it should be a no brainer to choose between the two options you have listed above, I mean, do you really want to pay more than 50% extra premium? However, be advised that the rates quoted online can change post your medicals which at our age (35+) can throw up minor surprises. Insurers like HDFC are notorious for jacking up premiums on the pretext of the slightest of health scares.

Also, do take the maximum possible tenure, since you already seem to have an existing policy, you can always discontinue one or even both depending on your requirement at an advanced age. After all, one only need to stop writing cheques to discontinue the policy, but you would not be able to get/extend a policy later should there be a need to. The premium will slightly increase though. Getting a premium waiver rider on diagnosis of listed critical ailments is also a good bet. Do not get overwhelmed by the riders on offer though, there is only so much risk that you can mitigate for the amount that you are willing/afford to pay as premium.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

While not a guru, I can attempt to answer your questions basis my experience with these products..

hothatchaway, thanks a lot for your reply & advice!

After I wrote my post, I also checked out ICICI Prudential's term plan, and that is cheaper than even HDFC, for a sum assured of 1 crore (plain vanilla, no riders at all). So most likely, will be opting for that.

Thanks again

Cheers,
Vikram

[diyguy]

Need some advice on continuing my LIC endowment policy. I started a LIC endowment policy in the year 2000 for 5L cover at Rs. 19021 annual payment. I believe this is worthless and should be discontinued. Please suggest how I go about terminating the policy and recovering my investment paid so far.
I have other Term policies that are pretty good and will continue those instead. Please advise.

[nik0502]

Hi All,

I need your help. I have a LIC money back Policy. I was expecting a cash back on 4th of this month. This Policy was bought by my father for me when I had just started working. Now the problem is that my bank account details were not updated with LIC and since i was supposed to get cash back I started the procedure to get my bank account updated. I chased my LIC Agent for a month but no progress. I visited my local branch on 20th January which is not my home branch since I don’t live in the same city anymore. I handed over the documents to the officer and was told that details will be updated in 2-3 days. Since then I have been regularly following up with them but nothing has been done yet. Every time I call up the branch they would tell me it’s updated and when I confirm from the zonal office the details are not updated. Tired of this I visited my local branch today. Where one officer was trying to help me and was telling me that since my policy is from another city they can give a limited support. He informed me that he can update the NEFT details but my name in the policy and in the bank account differ and I will have to get my name updated from my home branch to which i agreed but his colleague sitting next to him asked him why he was helping me and asked me to contact my home branch. I told him that the home branch is 250 kms from here and for something which can be done here why should I visit the home branch to which he replied that I was wasting his time and asked me to get up from the chair and asked me to leave by pushing me. Want to make it clear he didn’t push me to hurt me but he pushed me enough to hurt my self respect. I have no clue why these government officials have so much ego and disrespect towards their own customers which are their bread and butter. I have filed a police complaint against the officer and the Constable accompanied me to the office so that a mutual conclusion can be reached but the guy was rude with the police man also. So he noted his phone number down and asked him to visit the police station since there was a police complaint against him. I am yet to hear from them. I had written an email to the nodal office LIC 3 days back but didn’t even get an acknowledgment. I have written another email today to the chairman of lic and irda as well. Though I don’t have much hope from them but I am certain I am not leaving it here. Want your suggestions what should I do if I don’t hear from LIC & the Police.

[Prafful_Rathod]

Originally Posted by nik0502

Hi All,

I chased my LIC Agent for a month but no progress.

Why is your LIC agent not doing his job ? Why dont you take him to task first. It is his duty to help you around with all these documentation and not just earn commission on the premium paid by you (and his other clients) to LIC.

[aadya]

Originally Posted by nik0502

Hi All,

I need your help. I have a LIC money back Policy.
========
Though I don’t have much hope from them but I am certain I am not leaving it here. Want your suggestions what should I do if I don’t hear from LIC & the Police.

BSNL,LIC and more. These are the largest philanthropic companies run by GOI. Though I have come across very dyanmic and friendly employees in many PSEs, in general , its a haven for otherwise inefficient thrash. They just live by the perception "Guaranteed by GOI".
I would suggest visit your home branch or regional head office of LIC and update your details. Its not worth fighting with them. Go with all the originals required and get it done. All the best.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by nik0502

Hi All,

I need your help. I have a LIC money back Policy.

Sorry to hear your ordeal and the way you were treated.
Problem 1 (which is also the main problem which should worry you more): You chose a money back/ endowment policy - While you may or may not realise it but any endowment or money back policy is total waste of money with extremely poor returns coupled with low protection of sum assured.I am saying it very loud and clear. Plus premiums of LIC are traditionally much higher than other insurers, almost going upto 2X. Insurance for ages have been sold to people in the 'bottle of investment' by misleading them. Keep your investment profile different from 'protection'. Go only for term insurance and close all your insurance needs with just one policy. There are many private insurers with excellent claim settlement ratios with way lower premium than what LIC would charge you.

Problem 2: Since you have filed a police case, the events will take their turn in the way investigation goes. Can't help much here.

Problem 3: Updation of account details: Try to connect to the customer care once on mail and on phone directly rather than branch/ agent etc.

Regards.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

I started my career in 2010 and was immediately coerced into signing up for LIC policies by relatives who are insurance agents. Didn't know any better at the time and signed up only for tax savings. Finally decided to take financial planning seriously last year, did lots of research over the internet and learnt a lot!

Since then I have surrendered the LIC policies and invested in ELSS mutual funds for tax savings. Signed up for Max Life term insurance last month. Peace of mind!

[aadya]

38Y/M. I do have AVIVA pure term insurance for 1.5cr since 4 years, signed up for MAXLIFE pure term insurance for additional 2cr + Accelerated Critical illness rider for 10lakhs at a cost of 27700/yr, upto 60yrs of age.

P.S. For general information and discussion.

[ramki067]

Hey guys,
Need help on Life Insurance.
I had a life insurance policy of 50 Lakhs previously around 10 years back, but now i had applied for another 50L with the same insurance provider(which is Aegon).
Now they had provided 6682/- as premium initially and now after medical examination and thread mill test, i was informed of premium revision due to "Diabetes" (which i have now and was not present when i took previous policy of 50L) was Rs.10000/-.
Is this revised premium justifiable? Please enlighten.
PS: I'm now going to be 39 in August this year.

Thanks,
Ramki

[rajathv8]

I picked up a term-only insurance few years back for healthy sum from Bharti Axa. A year back I wanted to discontinue payment and start a new term only policy with them for a significantly larger sum. I made the payment for the new policy and was awaiting the medical test team to reach out to me to take things forward.

However the customer service, which was swift the first time around, has plummeted south. I was disappointed with lack of response for months on end to the extent that I got the payment returned, which to my surprise was done pretty quickly.

This episode has left a bitter taste and I feel i cannot trust them with the policy currently in-force. I am compelled to switch to another insurance provider as I feel the customer service will make things difficult if one fine day I go to meet my maker.

Do you guys think this is a good enough reason to switch? Have others faced similar experience with Axa or other insurance providers?