Feb 27, 2012 08:41 PM
11693 Views
(Updated Feb 27, 2012 08:43 PM)
Upfront disclaimer: I am not in any way associated with aegon religare except as a customer. We always take time time to write negative reviews but do not give enough positive ones IMHO. I thought I will write a few words about a good experience I had with aegon religare purchasing iterm insurance.
Every financial planner tells you that you should keep Insurance and investment separate. In India, we tend to mix them together mainly due to the way LIC(most popular) policies are sold by agents. Of late, a lot of private sectors insurers offer term life insurance at competitive rates. They are not money back but for pure risk cover and I believe is a must for everyone with a family to support.
My search started online and zeroed in on aegon religare. Negative reviews have been mostly around their claim settlement ratios. My hope is that if someone does not hide any information from insurer, it will be very difficult for anyone to reject a claim. I guess I will never find out if the money on my policy was paid out:-). Another thing to consider is if they will be around for the term of policy(25 years). Aegon is a big company and also I believe IRDA will not allow insurers to run away.
The premium for a 50 lakh policy for 25 years was very competitive. I am non smoking, relatively fit male without history of major illness.(guess that matters for premium counter offers). I filled up form online, paid through netbanking and uploaded all supporting documents. They required me to take a medical test. All details were communicated promptly by email and phone. The person taking blood and urine came to house on time. They arranged a treadmill test in a nearby clinic which went off smoothly.
After all tests were completed, I got the policy within a week. So far everything looks in order. The overall process was smooth and painless. All communication through emails which were responded to promptly.
Term life insurance is a relatively new concept for most Indians and plans like iterm help make their adoption widespread as they are affordable and easy to buy if you are internet savvy. The one thing I wish aegon would do is wait till medical results come back and then collect premium. Quite a few people seem to have been given higher counter offers based on history and medical reports after collecting a lower premium during the application process.
I will be happy to respond to any queries anyone may have regarding the Iterm policy.
