Buying insurance is always a good decision. It’s important that you explore the options available. Explore the options of buying modes. Explore the options of buying offline vs online insurance. Select the best-suited policy for you. Select the best-suited mode of buying the policy for you. Whether you should buy offline vs online term insurance. Keeping in mind you and your family’s need.
Insurance companies keep on introducing online term plans that have lesser premiums. This, in a way, is great news as it means you save more. It matters much if the price is the only criteria for your selection. But is it?
Buying insurance, whether Life, Health or general is a very important step to take. It may affect the future of your loved ones tremendously. Therefore, the price shouldn’t be the only criteria for choosing an insurance plan. We give you a few pointers that will help you make the right decision between offline vs online term insurance. It is very important that you know the right method of buying an insurance policy. Below is an analysis that will help you pick up the policy method best suited for you.
Comparison: Offline vs Online Insurance
offline vs online insurance: WealthBucket
Premium:
The premium offered in the offline plan is higher. On the other hand, the premium offered in online plans is lower. Online term plans are on average 40% cheaper than the offline options. The reason for this is because there is no intermediary involved in the process. You are directly connected to the company through their website, hence there is no opportunity for any commission to Insurance Agent or Insurance Broker.
Offline insurance plans are availed through agents. Insurance Agents charge a fee for services like premium collection, medical test co-ordination, policy servicing and so on. Accordingly, offline term insurance is more expensive when compared to online term insurance plans.
Disclosures:
In offline insurance plans, we often depend on the agent to fill the insurance proposal form. Agents may miss out on some information or other. There have been cases when certain details are not filled honestly and sometimes certain columns are left blank intentionally or unintentionally. Such situations may all lead to claim rejection years later. Also, there have been cases when agents have misguided the applicant to escape from what they term as cumbersome health checkups that are required. Even if our application gets accepted, non-disclosure of facts in the proposal form can lead to rejection of the claim at a later time.
In online insurance plans, you need to fill out all relevant details yourself. Hence, there is no chance of missing any information. Insurance companies get all the information they seek.
Sum Assured:
Online insurance plans have low premiums for the same sum assured when compared to offline insurance plans. Offline insurance plans come with high premiums. Insurers offer online insurance plans with sum assured ranging from Rs 5 Lakhs to Rs 5 Crores and beyond. Therefore, individuals tend to avail of an insurance plan with a higher sum assured.
People opting to buy offline term insurance plans tend to avail term insurance plans with a low sum assured as they will have to spend more on premiums.
Details:
When you avail of an online life insurance plan, you get complete access to company details. You get to know first-hand information on the product directly from the website. Several online aggregators allow you to compare quotes, policies, and reviews on policies offered by different insurers. However, in the case of an offline term insurance plan, you tend to rely on the Insurance Agent and don’t get accurate information. Therefore, the chances of mis-spelling are high.
Claim Settlement Ratio:
The biggest concern in our minds when buying insurance is regarding claim settlement. We don’t want our family to go through trouble while claiming the promised life cover for the life of the insured.
When you buy an online term insurance plan, all insurer’s website mentions their claim settlement ratio on the first page. This is to attract readers who could be potential customers. Contrarily, in case of offline term insurance policies, you have to rely on the agent to decide on an insurance policy. The person becomes an Insurance agent with the primary motive of earning a commission. They don’t care to explain to you, the claim settlement ratio.
Flexibility:
Online insurance plans are more flexible than offline term insurance plans. After researching and analyzing various available plans, all you need to do is visit the insurance company’s website, pay the premium and receive the policy documents at the home address.
If you have any major disease, the insurer will seek clarification. Most insurers also exempt medical tests on policies of Rs 50 lakhs or less, subject to rules concerning age. In the case of offline term insurance, the applicant has to visit the insurance company a few times. You may also have to go for certain medical tests even for a low sum assured.
Riders:
Online life insurance policies offer a lesser number of riders. Only riders such as death benefit riders and accidental death coverage are available with online term insurance. Offline term insurance policies have many riders. For example. permanent disability, partial disability, critical illness and so on.
Conclusion
offline vs online insurance: WealthBucket
Now that you are aware of the differences between the online and offline term insurance policies, you can decide which route is best for you to take. Even though you can save a lot on premiums in case of online policies, sometimes, they may not prove to be very favorable when it comes to rider benefits. However, individuals availing more than one policy can take advantage of lower premiums on online term policies.
The contact point in case of the demise of the insured person is the Insurance Agent for an offline purchase. On the other hand, in the case of online policy, the beneficiaries need to coordinate with the designated call center of the insurance company.
Hence, while choosing an offline vs online insurance plan, you must look at other factors and not just the cost incurred towards the premium. This will go a long way in fulfilling your purpose of buying the policy and avoid disappointment at a later stage.
It is advisable to weigh the benefits and limitations of both the methods when looking at buying. Only after careful consideration, decide as per your convenience.
With so many options of Insurance Plans. So many conditions to analyze. Finalizing the right Policy according to your objectives is an intimidating task. Therefore it is advisable that you take the help of professionals. Therefore it is advisable that you let WealthBucket assist you. Let us help you out in short-listing and personalizing your Insurance.
Our other services related to but are not limited to, equity fund investment, Debt mutual fund, Large Cap mutual fund or Multi-Cap mutual fund.
Do call us at +91 9999379929. Or you can mail at contact@wealthbucket.in.
[su_button url=”https://www.wealthbucket.in/insurance-agent/” target=”blank” size=”6″]Become Insurance Agent[/su_button]
Do Check our other Blogs:
How to sell insurance online: A complete guidebook
