Max Life (a Max Group conglomerate) was founded in 2000 as a joint venture between Max Financial Services and Axis Bank. With an average annual business volume of ₹7,897 crores, this life insurer stands as one of the most popular providers in the industry. The insurer hosts a comprehensive portfolio of financial products, including - term insurance plans, investment policies (ULIPs, savings plans, etc.), and health insurance policies and holds credibility over solid metrics (Claim Settlement Ratio, Amount Settlement Ratio, Complaint Volume, etc.).
Plans from Max Life are in demand due to their comprehensiveness, affordability, and potential for customisation over multiple riders.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Industry-best Claim Settlement Ratio | None |
| Low Complaint Volume | |
| Excellent Amount Settlement Ratio | |
| Affordable-term insurance plans |
Metrics of Max Life Insurer
Life insurance policies have always been in demand, considering how policyholders visualise the sum assured as a legacy left for their children after they pass away. However, as financial awareness grew, the life insurance products diversified into savings, investment, and pure protection plans. With investment policies like ULIPs, while there are returns on the premium paid, the financial risks are higher since the returns are linked to market fluctuations.
On the other hand, with pure protection tools like term insurance plans, there are no returns (hence no risks), and your nominee gets the complete sum assured in the event of your death. This death benefit acts as a financial replacement during your unfortunate absence, thereby guarding your family's future financial goals.
Max Life Insurer has managed to gather an extensive client pool across both these types of products owing to its excellent operational efficiency that is well-reflected across its multiple metrics -
Claim Settlement Ratio of Max Life Insurer
One of the primary metrics considered when choosing a term insurance provider is its Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR). It is given by -
(Total number of claims settled by an insurer across a year / total number of claims raised to the insurer in the year) * 100
Since all life insurance products involve a considerable sum assured, your insurer must hold an excellent insurance track record reflecting its claim settlement and the proportions of claims paid out. Hence, you need to check out its CSR.
Now, any CSR above 97% is good to go! However, it’s always a good move to know the industry average over the last 3 years and find an insurer with a CSR above this industry average. Also, looking into the insurer’s previous 3 years' numbers will help you understand its consistency across claim settlement metrics.
| Years | Max Life Insurer | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 - 2021 | 99.35% | 97.49% |
| 2021 - 2022 | 99.34% | 97.50% |
| 2022 - 2023 | 99.51% | 98.34% |
| Average (2020 - 2023) | 99.40% | 97.74% |
Insight: Max Life currently holds the industry’s highest average CSR number. This indicates its efficiency in settling almost all the claims it receives in a year. Regarding CSR, Max Life is the industry’s best term insurance provider.
Amount Settlement Ratio of Max Life Insurer
While CSR reflects the number of claims settled in a year, it does not reveal the exact amount of the claims paid. What if your insurer is smart, settles multiple small claims to up its CSR metric, and rejects a couple of claims with higher cover amounts? That wouldn’t be an insurer that you should approach, right? So, how do you find that out?
The answer is the Amount Settlement Ratio (ASR), which is given by -
(Total amount of the claim settled/ Total amount of the claims filed) * 100
The ASR of an insurer reveals its claim settlement intent and potential and throws some light on the financial stability of the insurer. The higher the claim amount settled (90% and above), the better the insurer’s financial potential to settle your claims, considering that it isn’t ignoring higher claim amounts but settling all claims regardless of the sum assured.
| Years | Max Life Insurer | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 - 2020 | 94.5 | 90.8 |
| 2020 - 2021 | 95.4 | 91.2 |
| 2021 - 2022 | 96.7 | 90.6 |
| Average (2019 - 2022) | 95.5 | 90.9 |
Insight: Max Life’s ASR has been increasing exponentially over the years. The numbers have always stayed well above the industry’s average despite the pandemic, which speaks volumes about its commitment to meeting client requirements. Currently, the average ASR of Max Life is one of the best in the industry.
Complaint Volume of Max Life Insurer
When purchasing a term insurance plan, you must look into the complaint volume of an insurer. Considering complaints lodged by clients are almost always about the hassles involved in settling claims or delays in the claim settlement process, the complaint volume metrics will give you an idea about the insurer’s overall operational proficiency.
| Years | Max Life Insurer | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 - 2021 | 3.0 | 67.6 |
| 2021 - 2022 | 8.0 | 76.5 |
| 2022 - 2023 | 10.0 | 65.3 |
| Average (2020 - 2023) | 7.0 | 72.8 |
Insight: While it’s true that Max Life’s complaint volume has been steadily increasing over the years, the numbers have managed to stay pretty low as compared to the industry average. Its current average complaint numbers are again one of the lowest in the industry. However, we would much prefer to see a drop in its complaint volume over the years.
Offered Riders in Max Life Insurer’s Term Insurance Plans
Term insurance plans are considered a vanilla financial protection tool that offers no returns and comes into play upon the policyholder's demise. However, over the years, term insurers have recognised the need to provide riders with term insurance policies that would customise the plan to suit the tailored financial goals of policyholders.
Max Life currently holds 3 types of term insurance policies - Smart Term Plan, Online Term Plan Plus, and Smart Secure Plus Plan. Each of these plans comes with a few sets of value-worthy riders. Here’s a quick look into them -
| Feature | Smart Term Plan | Max Life Online Term Plan Plus | Max Life Smart Secure Plus Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waiver of Premium | ✔ (In case of 11 listed critical illness and if diagnosed with total permanent disability) | ✔ (In case of critical illness and if diagnosed with total permanent disability) | ✔ (In case of 11 listed critical illness and if diagnosed with total permanent disability) |
| Accidental Death Benefit | ✔ | ✔ (Up to ₹1 crore) | |
| Critical Illness Rider (list of ailments) | ✔ (40 ailments)
|
✔(40 ailments) | ✔
|
| Total and Permanent Disability Rider | ✔ (Up to ₹30 lakhs) | ||
| Hospi Care Benefit | ✔ | ✖ | |
| Life Stage Add-On | ✔ (50% of death benefit Sum Assured chosen at inception up to ₹25 lakhs or ₹50 lakhs, based on the event) |
(ACI = Accelerated Critical Illness Rider)
Best Term Insurance Plans Offered by Max Life Insurer
- Smart Term Plan
The policy is unique considering the number of variants it offers for its death benefit feature:
| Variants | Lumpsum received upon the death of the policyholder | Monthly Income Perk | Accelerated Critical Illness + Life Stage Benefit Riders | Accident Cover Option | Return of Premiums |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life Cover | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Income Protector | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Income + Inflation Protector | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Life Cover + Income | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Life Cover + Increasing Income | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Increasing Cover | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Reducing Cover | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
The policy offers extensive coverage along with the return of premium options. This comprehensive plan provides Accelerated Critical Illness Benefits, Life Stage Benefits, Critical Illness and Disability Rider, and a Waiver of Premium Plus Rider.
- Max Life Online Term Plan Plus
Compared to the 2 other variants, the Max Life Online Term Plus Plan is a basic term plan offering Accelerated Critical Illness Benefit and Life Stage Benefit. Across its Death Benefit, you have 3 variants.
- Sum assured - A straightforward variant in which your nominee is paid the sum assured upon your death.
- Sum assured plus level monthly income - The death benefit is paid out as a lump sum, and along with this, 0.4% of the sum assured is paid out monthly as an income replacement for the next 10 years.
- Sum Assured plus Increasing Monthly Income - The variant is similar to the Sum Assured Plus Level Monthly Income. The only difference is that the income amount increases by 10% each year.
Apart from these variants, the policy also offers riders a comprehensive accident death benefit, waiver of premium plus rider, and critical illness and disability rider. While we would have preferred a few more options across its critical illness rider, the plan is still a solid pick and an affordable one at that.
- Max Life Smart Secure Plus Plan
The best of the 3 term insurance plan options offered by the insurer, the Max Life Smart Secure Plus Plan is
- Comprehensive,
- Affordable,
- It has an in-built terminal illness perk,
- Offers 3 variants across its critical rider
- Extends voluntary top-up sum assured
- Provides joint life cover option
- Has the Premium Break option to take a break from paying premiums in case of financial crunch. This perk can be used only twice across the policy tenure.
The policy also offers Waiver of Premium Plus, Critical Illness (22 or 64 illnesses), and Disability Rider.
Conclusion
Max Life checks all the boxes if you are looking for a credible life insurance provider who extends a hassle-free claim settlement process and hosts affordable and value-worthy term insurance plans. The insurer is genuinely one of a kind and caters to diverse financial requirements by offering riders to customise the policies as you see fit. Undoubtedly, it remains a top recommendation for policyholders seeking term insurance policies.