5 Tips While Buying Insurance Online

 

Purchasing insurance online has become a quick, convenient and economic way to purchase insurance products.

The trend of purchasing insurance online is gradually gaining pace in India as it is becoming popular with today’s tech-savvy generation. With the advent of online insurance, you do not need to go to an insurance company’s office or visit an insurance agent. Rather, you can purchase any type of insurance policy online through the internet – be it health, motor, travel or life covers. Besides online insurance companies, which directly sell their products through their web pages, there are websites like Insurancepandit.com, Bimadeals.com, Policy-bazaar.com, etc. which display insurance products from different insurance companies. Such sites help you to compare the features of the different insurance plans thereby enabling you to make informed decisions while you buy insurance cover.

 Here are 5 smart tips you may consider while buying insurance online:

• Amount of insurance -

  You should buy only as much insurance as you need. The general thumb-rule is that you should buy a life cover which is 10 times of your annual income to protect your family in case any untoward incident happens to you. However, there are more accurate ways of gauging how much insurance you need. One popular method is by calculating your Human Life Value (HLV). To do this, all you have to do is go online and find a couple of HLV calculators. Fill in the requested fields and submit and they will give you an idea of how much insurance you should buy.

• Selecting an insurance company -

  This is one of the most essential steps in your insurance-purchasing exercise. Your decision to purchase a policy should never be dependent on how good the website of the company is or, for that matter, how easily or how fast you can purchase a policy through its website. Also, don’t select the company simply because it is the first one that appeared during your search on the internet. Rather, you should check its claim settlement ratio, its pedigree and its history within the insurance fraternity, before zeroing in on the company.  Also make sure that you find out about the customer service policies, location of offices, etc.

• Product:

  Once you have identified the quantum of insurance you want to purchase, based on your requirements and the company from which you plan to purchase insurance, it’s time to choose the type of policy that suits you best. You should check the features of the policy such as the term of the policy, the premium-paying term, the date of maturity, the charges and benefit structure. Benefit illustrations under different return rates are available with all ULIPS. They also disclose charges and your would-be investment status on a yearly basis.

• Performance of the fund -

  While purchasing a ULIP (which is an insurance policy which doubles up as an investment vehicle), you can check the company’s past performance. Details of the performance of all funds of life insurance companies can be easily accessed online. Stability is an important factor that needs to be considered here. A company that has a good track record is more likely to have a stable fund performance over time and hence is less risky.

• Security of the insurance company’s website -

  This is the most important of all tips for purchasing insurance online. While you are ready to pay, check if the website is Verisign protected or not. Also check whether the browser of the company’s website displays the term ‘HTTPS’ or just ‘HTTP’. If it is the latter, you should refrain from using the website for payment because the ‘S’ in ‘HTTPS’ denotes secure access.

Once you follow these tips, most of your key concerns will have been met. However, if you still feel unsatisfied after buying the insurance policy online, the ‘free look’ facility, allows you to return the policy within 15 days of purchase.