Life insurance is not the cheeriest thing to discuss, but it is an important discussion. Any person who becomes financially independent often makes this their first investment towards their future before anything else. It provides comfort knowing that your loved ones are taken care of, with or without you.
However, with the age of the internet and the hundreds of life insurance companies that seem to be cropping up every day, how do you choose the best life insurance company? In fact, do you even need a life insurance or a term insurance? What’s the difference between life insurance and term insurance? That’s a lot of questions and important ones. So first, let’s take a deep breath, acknowledge the collective existential crisis, and look at the top life insurance companies in India that you should check out. Sounds good?
10 Best Life Insurance Companies in India You Should Check Out
1. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC India)
LIC is the oldest and most trustworthy life insurance company in India. It currently holds a staggering 64% market share in the Indian life insurance industry. The company has been around for over 60 years and serves almost every part of the country, thanks to its robust coverage of agents and premium points. The company provides some of the most lucrative life insurance policies that are highly sought after by people of all ages. If you are looking for life insurance, this is the first place you start looking.
2. Max Life Insurance
It is a subsidiary of Max Financial Services and it is one of the older private life insurance companies in India serving customers for almost 25 years now. Max Life Insurance has a great claim settlement ratio, making them a trustworthy partner for your life and term insurance requirements. They offer dedicated plans for people of all income groups and can help you find the best term or life insurance plan for your requirements.
3. Bharti AXA Life Insurance
Bharti AXA Life Insurance is a joint effort of Bharti Group and the French multinational insurance company AXA Insurance. They have been in operation since 2005 and offer highly competitive term insurance plans at low monthly premiums. They also specialise in unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs), which are insurance policies that are market-linked and offer variable returns to the policyholder based on market performance. Recently Bharti AXA Life Insurance was merged with Reliance Nippon Life Insurance, which allows the two companies offer better services combined.
4. India First Life Insurance
IndiaFirst Life Insurance is among the new-age insurance companies in India that have developed over the last decade or so. They offer dedicated services across 1000 cities in India and are growing their market share exponentially. The company offers balanced life insurance plans and other goal-oriented insurance policies, which can be beneficial for investors. You can find out a lot about their products and policies online.
5. Shriram Life Insurance
Shriram Life Insurance started operating in 2006 and has since provided its services to thousands of policyholders across the country. They specialise in insurance plans for different age groups and also non-resident Indians (NRIs). You can check out their life insurance products if you have good coverage for their agents and centres in your vicinity.
6. Digit Life Insurance
Digit is one of the most popular modern life insurance companies in India because of their brand ambassador, Virat Kohli. Over the last five years, almost everyone on the internet has seen or heard of some of their advertisements, and as a brand, they’ve managed to uphold their popularity. They provide customised life insurance plans that are dedicated to helping you find personalised solutions. Their interface and overall structure rely on digital proceedings rather than in-person operations, so you can check it out if that’s something you prefer.
7. Kotak Life Insurance
The Kotak Group is a popular banking service provider in India and Kotak Life Insurance is a subsidiary of the larger Kotak Group. They offer life insurance and term insurance policies, among which their term policies are more popular. They offer high coverage term insurance plans that have a low yearly and monthly premium amount, and they also have a variety of other insurance products that can help you secure your future.
8. SBI Life Insurance
The State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank in India, and it is the most trustworthy name in the banking industry. The SBI Life Insurance is a wing of the bank and they offer very tried and tested life insurance policies. The policies have high coverage and offer a variety of riders and other features to improve your coverage and policyholder experience. SBI also has wide coverage across India, so it is very easy to find their agents and learn more about their policies.
9. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
Bajaj Allianz is a partnership between Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE. The Bajaj is a known and trusted brand in India and Bajaj Finserv specifically has a significant reach in every part of the country. They offer term insurance plans that have high coverage at relatively low monthly premiums. If term insurance plans are not your thing, you can also check out their life insurance policies, which are highly competitive and offer market-linked variable returns.
10. Tata AIA Life Insurance
Tata AIA Life Insurance is a joint venture of the Tata Group and AIA Group. As one of the most trustworthy brands in India, Tata AIA Life Insurance offers highly competitive insurance policies that are high coverage and low on monthly premiums. They specialise in term insurance policies and are highly popular thanks to the association of the Tata group.
Do You Need Life Insurance or Term Insurance?
The difference between life insurance and term insurance lies in two folds. First, term insurance policies have lower premiums, and they offer a payout to your family or chosen nominee in case of your unfortunate and untimely passing during the policy tenure. If you live through your policy tenure, there are no returns, and you don’t get the premiums you have paid, back. Life insurance policies, on the other hand, are built to offer returns on maturity and also if the policyholder is faced with an untimely passing. Even for lacklustre life insurance policies, the policyholder at least gets their premium back. So, due to the added benefits, life insurance policies have a higher premium compared to term insurance plans. That’s primarily the difference between these two insurance policy types.
Conclusion
Now, reading the previous section would make you feel like life insurance policies are better, and you should rather invest in them rather than term policies, but that’s not the case. Insurance companies read what their policies sound like from the eyes of the customers and actually made some changes. Now, there are term policies that offer high coverage, low premiums, and still offer the opportunity that they may send you your premiums back, if you live through the policy tenure. There are also other workarounds that term insurance policies offer nowadays, so don’t give up on them just yet. The key is to compare, judge, and most importantly know your coverage requirements properly at the time of choosing any life insurance company or policy.
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