Emerging trends in Life Insurance and how to choose the right plan

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic change in the way we live, our needs, expectations, and perspective on life; eventually leading to an increased emphasis being placed on life insurance products by the Indian masses. In its recent report tabulating the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian Insurance industry, a leading consultancy firm has confirmed that increased awareness has been created amongst customers to buy Insurance protection to safeguard their loved ones from unexpected risks. This is especially true for young Indians with leading insurance provider PNB MetLife confirming that their website has witnessed a nearly 150% jump in traffic from users in the 20+year old age group; with many of them purchasing life insurance cover for the first time since the pandemic ravaged the global economy. Moreover, a survey conducted by PNB MetLife has confirmed that even amongst those who are financially independent, 56% of the surveyed individuals have shown a greater inclination towards purchasing Life Insurance products for themselves to protect their loved ones in the future.

Let us look at key aspects that need consideration when choosing an Insurance product and how it can safeguard your future through small investments made today.

Choosing the right product based on your financial needs is the foremost important step to ensure adequate cover in times of need. PNB MetLife’s survey has indicated that 41% of the respondents are prioritizing the purchase of additional cover for income protection while 48% are opting for an enhanced medical insurance post the COVID-19 outbreak. While insurers perform an in-depth need analysis for their customers, some like PNB MetLife follow the concept of ‘Circle of Life’ to offer solutions catering to different stages of life like Child Education, Family Protection, Long Term Savings and Retirement plans thereby catering to a wider audience with different financial needs.

Choosing a policy with flexible premium payment terms can go a long way in ensuring that you continue to enjoy your life without undue worry or stress towards maintaining your insurance cover. In case of PNB MetLife’s Guaranteed Future Plan, customers can choose flexible premium payment terms and policy term duration without losing the benefit of Life-insurance cover for the entire period. It offers policy holders the flexibility to choose a special date to receive income pay-outs with additional benefits of Guaranteed additions, Wealth additions and boosters that will grow your corpus to an amount as much as 3 times the premiums paid. To sweeten the proposition even further, customers enjoy tax-free pay-outs as per extant of the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 that ensures that the entire amount can be used towards fulfilment of needs and desires.

With PNB MetLife having sold 42% more guaranteed policies compared to previous year, it is indicative of an increasingly growing trend of customers making better life decisions with an eye on securing their future in case of any eventuality. With the growing number of salaried individuals now involved in Work from Home (WFH), PNB MetLife has made its key products online to provide them with the ease of understanding the finer nuances of choosing the right life insurance product and even purchasing a policy without needing to step out. This added convenience factor should facilitate those looking out for an appropriate Life Insurance product and lead to more Indians moving closer to leading a secured life, for themselves and those they care for.

Covering the risk of death and providing for a regular income post-retirement is important to ensure that in either scenarios, you can provide for yourself and loved ones in any unfortunate scenario. While a term Life insurance helps cover the risk of early death, an annuity plan ensures regular income even after retirement. Combining the benefits of both is a Guaranteed Savings plan that assures a healthy fixed monthly pay-out post-retirement for 30 years or more while also protecting your family’s financial requirements in case of your unfortunate demise. In a macro environment with reducing interest rates now becoming a certainty, a Guaranteed Savings plan offers a greater degree of flexibility by allowing you to choose between receiving the policy benefits as a lumpsum amount, regular income or a combination of lumpsum and regular income to power your family’s aspirations and facilitate a comfortable life.