Before entering to technical part of the subject we wish you to know the concept of insurance clearly; to identify the proper type of policy; to know the premium structure of the policy and to get the doubts, if any, on our different insurance plans clarified through your agent or LIC Branch Office.
Concept of insurance and different types of plans:
Life risk cover i.e. financial protection to the family in case of an unforeseen event- say death, illness, disability on account of accident, etc –is the main purpose of insurance. But, it is also seen as a ‘compulsory savings’ leading to creation of wealth which can be utilized for education/marriage of children; for old age provision; for construction of house; etc. Policies are taken to get exemption from Income Tax and to assign these to financial institutions as collateral security while availing different type of credit facilities including housing loan. In order to meet various socio-economic needs of different people, LIC has designed more than 40 types of plans which include whole life policies, endowment policies with a definite term, joint life policies, money back policies having provision for periodical lump sum payments called survival benefits, term insurance policies which have low premium but high risk cover, pension plans, children plans, Unit Linked Plans which provide an opportunity to invest in capital market, etc. etc.
Each of our plans has distinct features covering certain type of benefits. The selection depends on your needs. Details of plans are available under the option ‘products-insurance plans’. Each plan is given a table number for identification purpose. e.g. Table 14 refers to Endowment Plan which is most popular in India.
Calculations of premium:
Once short listing of two to three plans is made, you would proceed to know the premium rates & calculations. For this, you should decide the term of policy, Sum assured, Mode of payment of Premium ( Yearly, Half yearly, Quarterly or Monthly ) and whether you require additional benefits like accident benefit. You may go to the option :‘tools - premium calculator’ for knowing the premium amount to be paid for the policy of your choice. Thereafter, you would be required to know the formalities to be completed for obtaining the desired type of policy.
Requirements to take a policy of insurance:
Submission of prescribed proposal form ( Form No. 300 in majority of the cases )is the basic requirement. Medical report may be required to assess the health of the proposer. Proofs of age and income, agent’s recommendations, special reports in case of any deformity or history of major illness, etc. would be required to evaluate the risk. This process is called ‘Underwriting’ and it is done in India based on the facts appearing in proposal form and allied papers. If the proposed life is acceptable and sufficient amount is received towards the First Premium, acceptance letter would be sent to the proposer and policy bond would be issued in due course.
