Life is uncertain and beyond our control, every now and then we see people lose their hard earned money after accidents for paying hospital bills, families are ruined due to death of a earning family member due to no insurance cover. Every individual must have Insurance to cover this type of risk to protect their dependent family members.
In case of any untoward incident, they can get risk covered amount from Insurance Companies which will help in education, or any other expenditure of dependent.
Importance of Insurance
Insurance is an essential cost that one needs to make in order to secure the future of his/her family. Even the financial advisers suggest you avail of insurance before you start with your financial planning. Insurance is an important necessity for various reasons. Following are some of the reasons:
- Insurance provides you with financial security and a safety net:
If something unforeseen happens to the bread earner of the family, the financial situation of the family may come to a standstill. Insurance compensation can become a source of income for the family and stabilize the finances. With insurance, your family is financially secure even when you are not around. - Insurance safeguards you and your family’s future goal:
The sudden demise of a family’s breadwinner can have the worst repercussions on the family’s financial stability. With insurance, your family can achieve financial stability even when you are not around. Also, their future financial goals will stay intact. - Insurance encourages savings:
There are various products offered by life insurance companies that not only provide life cover but also provide a provision for wealth creation to achieve future goals. The requirement of periodic investment into such products encourages savings. For example, endowment plans, money back plans, unit-linked investment plans etc. - Insurance is an effective risk management tool:
The insurance covers uncertainties such as the risk of death, risk of getting hit, falling sick and many more. Insurance is all about managing these risks effectively. Every insurance policy provides coverage against insured risk. - Insurance provides peace of mind:
As insurance manages risk effectively, you can only make regular payments towards insurance and stay tension-free. Peace of mind is what you get by insuring.
Following is the list of best insurance companies in India
| Sl. No. | Company Name | Claim Settlement Ratio (2017-18) | Claim Settlement Ratio (2018-19) | Premium (in INR) |
| 1. | Life Insurance Corporation of India | 94.45% | 97.79% | 17,228 |
| 2. | Max Life Insurance Company | 95.26% | 98.74% | 10,148 |
| 3. | HDFC Life Insurance Company | 88.63% | 99.04% | 12,478 |
| 4. | ICICI Prudential Life Insurance | 92.03% | 98.58% | 12,502 |
| 5. | Tata AIA Life Insurance Company | 94.00% | 99.07% | 9,912 |
| 6. | Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company | 96.29% | 97.28% | 9,440 |
| 7. | Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company | 83.94% | 95.01% | 14,067 |
| 8. | SBI Life Insurance Company | 92.13% | 95.03% | 15,070 |
| 9. | Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company | 86.11% | 97.71% | 11,012 |
| 10. | AEGON Life Insurance Company | 94.58% | 96.45% | 8,331 |
| 11. | Aviva Life Insurance Company | 92.25% | 96.06% | 9,007 |
| 12. | Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company | 90.51% | 97.15% | 10,270 |
| 13. | Kotak Life Insurance Company | 88.88% | 97.4% | 9.558 |
| 14. | PNB MetLife Insurance Company | 82.40% | 96.21% | 10,146 |
| 15. | Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Company | 92.03% | 94.04% | 9,491 |
The Indian life insurance market offers freedom of choice to the customers and they can select the plans which suit them best. Select a plan from one of the 15 best companies in India today and gift yourself a safe future.
How to Choose the Best Insurance Company?
While choosing a life insurance product, most people use advise from their friends, colleagues or relatives which is not good. Some also are attracted to price alone. But this behavior is not good, one should go through various factors such as Insurance Company Service Quality, their track record of claim settlement, variety of Insurance products, premium paying facilities, customer service etc. A good Insurance company can provide you best results if researched correctly. So research well before going for any Insurance Company.
Following are the important factors to consider to choose the best insurance company:
- Financial solidity : While choosing a life insurance company, it’s important to look at the financial soundness of the company as life insurance is a long-term investment. You need to look at the solvency ratio of the life insurance company. A higher solvency ratio represents a company’s financial solidity to protect itself from the risk of insolvency during difficult times.
- Service quality : Customer satisfaction and service quality are the two important aspects to consider while choosing a life insurance company. It is important to go with the insurance company that offers excellent quality customer service along with high-level customer satisfaction.
- Claim settlement ratio : Claim settlement ratio refers to the percentage of insurance claims settled by the life insurance company against the total claims received in the particular year. The industry regulator, IRDAI publishes the claim settlement ratio of each life insurance company in the annual report. It’s always ideal to go with life insurance companies that have a high claim settlement ratio.
- Premium and cost : Insurance companies will have to incur various expenses such as the commission for intermediaries, agents, cost of advertising, underwriting, etc. However, these expenses will be taken out of the premium charged. Hence, the higher the expense ratio higher will be the premium. With the online plans, Insurance plans are offered at a reduced cost. The premium for the life insurance plans varies from insurance company to insurance company based on your age, type of the plan, features and the coverage amount you are opting for. Hence, while choosing the life insurance company, it is important to compare the plans offered based on the benefits and cost of the insurance products.
- Product portfolio : Most of the life insurance companies in India offer a broad range of products. Every insurance company keeps coming up with innovative insurance products with unique features. While selecting the insurance company, you need to check the type of products it offers and its features that meet your life insurance and investment needs.
