Endowmwnt Plan | Life Insurance

ENDOWMENT PLAN

The New Endowment Plan from Insurance Companies is a non-linked, participating, life insurance policy. This policy guarantees a death/maturity benefit with additional bonuses. The higher the period of maturity the higher is the maturity amount as the bonuses are higher. Further, the policyholder can also avail of a loan against the policy if he/she is in need of emergency funds. Policyholders can also increase the level of coverage offered by the Endowment Plan by opting for Accidental Death and Disability Benefit Rider. One is also entitled to claim tax benefits under Section 80C and Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

If you are looking for a plan which gives you guaranteed returns along with tax benefits then an Endowment Plan is the most appropriate option. It is the right policy for people of any age group and saving capacity. An endowment plan will bring stability to your financial portfolio.

BENEFITS

Low-risk plans as the maturity benefits are almost guaranteed and well defined.
Gives financial security to your loved ones.
Tax benefits under section 80-C under Income-tax Act.
Premiums can be paid in monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual options.
A policyholder gets benefits under Section 80-C and Section 10(10)D

Bonus of two types are paid

Revisionary Bonus: It is the additional money to be paid to the nominee in the event of death of the policyholder or added to maturity amount in case of with-profits policy. Once this option is taken it cannot be changed if the policy is in force till maturity or death of the insured.
Terminal Bonus: It is the discretionary amount of money that is added to the payments to be made at end of the policy or on the death of the policyholder.

Rider Benefits

Following are the riders for the policyholders to choose as per requirements:

Accidental Death Benefit
Family Income Benefit
Critical Illness Benefit
Hospital Cash Benefit
Waiver of Premium Benefit
Accidental Permanent Total/Partial Disability Benefit

Eligibility for New Endowment Plan

Policyholders who wish to purchase an insurance policy will have to ensure that they meet the eligibility

Parameters	Criteria for eligibility
Minimum age at entry	8 years
Maximum age at entry	55 years
Maximum age at maturity	75 years

Other Key Features

Free-Look Period	The policy buyer is given a 15-day free-look period to review the policy terms and return them if they find them unsatisfactory.
Policy Loan	Once the policy has acquired a surrender value, one can avail a loan against the policy.
Surrender Value	The policy can only be surrendered if a minimum of 3 years’ due premiums have been paid. The insurance company may choose to pay the policyholder the Special Surrender Value or the Guaranteed Surrender Value, based on whichever is the higher out of the two.
Paid-Up Value	If the life assured has paid the due premiums for at least 3 years and has missed the subsequent premium payment, the policy will not wholly void, but will be converted into a paid-up policy.
Policy Revival	If due premiums are not paid by the end of the grace period, the policy will lapse. The policyholder can revive a lapsed policy within 2 years from the date of the first due unpaid premium.
Rebates	Policyholders who pay their premiums on a yearly/half-yearly mode are entitled to receive a rebate on their total premium. Policyholders who have opted for a sum assured over Rs.2 lakh are eligible to receive a rebate.
Grace Period	Annual, Bi-Annual, Quarterly Mode of Premium Payment: 30-day grace period Monthly Mode of Premium Payment: 15-day grace period

CLAIM PROCESS

The main purpose of taking an insurance policy is that it should come into use in times of crisis

Death claim settlement process

Step One : Intimation to the insurance company about the claim.

The nominee should inform the insurance company as soon as possible to enable the insurance company to start with the claim process. The details required for intimation are policy number, name of the insured, date of death, cause of death, place of death, name of the nominee, etc. The claim intimation form can be obtained from us or even by downloading it from the insurance company website.

Step Two: Documents required

The nominee will be asked to furnish the following documents:

Death certificate
Age of the life insured (if not already given)
Original Policy document
Any other document as per the requirement of the particular insurer or case-related.
For early death claims i.e. the claim that has arisen within three years of the policy being in force the company will do an extra investigation to ensure it is a genuine claim.

They might do the following

Check with the hospital if the deceased was admitted to the hospital.
In case of an air crash confirmation from the airline, authorities check if the policyholder was a passenger on the plane.
In case of death from medical causes, the insurance company will ask the hospital to provide a doctor's certificate, treatment records etc If the policyholder dies due to murder, suicide, accident then a police FIR report, post mortem report etc shall be required.

Step Three: Submission of required Documents for Claim Processing

For quicker claim processing, the nominee must submit complete documentation as early as possible and any other documents that the company needs to pass the claim.

Step Four: Settlement of Claim

As per regulation 8 of the IRDAI (Policy holder's Interest) Regulations, 2002, the insurer is obligated to settle a claim within 30 days of receipt of all necessary documents including extra documents sought by the insurer. If the claim requires further investigation, the insurer needs to complete its procedures within 6 months from receiving the written intimation of the claim.

Maturity & Survival Claims

The payment made by the insurance company on completion of the term of policy or maturity date is called maturity payment. The amount payable consists of the sum assured plus any bonus/incentives.
The insurance company informs the policyholder in advance by sending a bank discharge form for filling details in it. The form needs to be returned to the insurance company with an original policy document, ID proof, Cancelled Cheque, and copy of the passbook.

Rider Claims

Different riders can be attached to the base life insurance policy for enhanced protection. The riders can be an accidental rider, critical illness rider, waiver of premium rider, etc. For different riders, different claim proceedings are required. Some riders may be valid with the death claim like accidental death rider or some riders need to process standalone like a waiver of premium rider in case of disability.
For Critical Illness Rider- necessary medical documents such as first diagnosis report, Doctor's report, etc are required. For Accidental disability riders - a copy of FIR, Certificate of disability by the treating doctor, doctor's report, etc are required.