What are the important riders that can be bought with a basic term life plan?
—Kunal Gupta
Common riders available with a term life plan include: accidental death, permanent disability, and critical illness. Critical illness rider with a term plan is recommended. This helps avoid a separate pre-issuance medical check-up for a critical illness plan, and the premium is fixed for the term of the policy. The other two benefits—disability and accidental death—are better bought independently, in an individual accident insurance policy. Individual accident insurance policies have several advantages—no pre-issuance medical tests, fixed premium at any age, and lower rates than rider premiums charged by life insurers.
My father had bought a term plan in my name. He passed away last month. How do I make the claim?
—Rupali Beohar
You need to first inform the insurer about your father’s demise. You should mention the date, place and cause of death. Intimation via email is considered valid. Send the following documents to the insurer: filled-up claim form, death certificate, policy document and nominee details. Insurer may ask for more documents based on the stated cause of death. Other documents that are sometimes asked for are: hospital discharge summary, postmortem report, and copy of first information report (FIR), in case of unnatural death.
