Akshay Tiwari and Aakash Sahni, both corporate lawyers based in Delhi in their early 20s, decided to purchase term insurance to build a reliable life cover. Akshay Tiwari was a fitness enthusiast who made healthy lifestyle choices every day. Aakash Sahni was a regular smoker who rarely took time for exercise. Both of them applied for a term insurance with the same insurance company. Still, Aakash Sahni was shocked to see the stark differences in premium cost and coverage that he was offered compared to his friend.
While Akshay got high coverage at an affordable premium, Aakash had to compromise on the coverage and pay significantly higher premiums. But why did the insurance company discriminate between the two?
The answer is simple: Their lifestyle choices. Akshay was a healthier individual, which, according to the insurance company, reduced the chances of a claim. On the other hand, Aakash Sahni had a lifestyle that exposed him to higher health risks, resulting in higher chances of claims under the term plan.
The age-old adage, "health is wealth," stands true even in the case of purchasing term insurance. Let’s understand the relation between lifestyle and term insurance premium in detail so that you are in a better position to make an informed decision while purchasing a policy.
Term insurance is a type of life insurance where the insurance company offers to pay death benefits in the form of a lump sum payment to the beneficiary in case of the untimely demise of the insured. This type of insurance offers pure life cover, and therefore, the policy comes to an end if the insured survives the policy tenure.
Insurance companies evaluate you, your lifestyle habits and health conditions to determine the premium.
Simply put, the healthier you are, the higher the chances of you getting affordable premiums and high coverage, whereas if you are exposed to more health risks, you likely have to deal with a high premium for the same coverage or even less in certain cases.
Unlike traditional term plans, today insurance companies give your lifestyle a significantly higher weightage when it comes to deciding the premium. Let’s analyse the rise of lifestyle in insurance premiums:
In recent years, there has been a growth in wearable technology like smart watches for tracking an individual’s health. Even insurance companies are now relying on wearable technology and advanced medical trackers to understand the health risks of policy seekers. So if you decide to go for that gym session or hit 10,000 steps every day, you are not only making your body healthier but also taking a step to lower the premium of your insurance plan.
An individual’s lifestyle has become paramount in determining the type of coverage and premium that the insurer is willing to offer. But it does not end here. Now, insurance companies are also offering incentives and wellness programs to the insured. In addition to regular health check-ups, insurance companies offer rewards for meeting specific health goals. Such wellness programs are directly linked to the insured’s term plan pricing.
As the word has spread, even policy seekers and insured are willing to take that extra step every day and become healthier. It’s a win-win for them. On one hand, they are getting healthier and on the other hand, they get better coverage under term plans at an affordable premium.
In today’s time, almost all of us are aware that when it comes to choosing health insurance, one size doesn’t fit all. There has been a significant rise in the demand for tailored term plans. This is where insurance companies rely on tracking the overall lifestyle of policy seekers to offer them tailor-made plans. It becomes a two-headed sword: the insured benefits from tailor-made policies catering to their specific needs, and the insurer benefits from offering coverage after knowing the potential risk and health conditions.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India is responsible for issuing rules and regulations for the insurance companies. IRDAI has repeatedly encouraged insurance companies to include active data monitoring while offering insurance plans.
Typically, a term plan is known for offering enhanced coverage at an affordable premium. However, to ensure that you get a term plan within your budget, here are a few tips to lower the premium.
We are all living in a world where health and financial security have become a priority. In such cases, choosing a healthier lifestyle every day is a smart way forward, especially when there has been a significant rise in lifestyle-based premiums under term plans. If you still haven’t secured the financial needs of your loved ones even in your absence, then this is your sign to head to the Jio Insurance Broking portal and purchase a term plan that best meets your requirements.