Term insurance policies are one of the most popular insurance products in the market due to their - straightforward structure, no-risk involvement, affordable premiums, and high chances of customisation via riders. Catering to this demand, the market currently has several term insurance plans that seem widely appealing. One such policy is the Max Life Smart Secure Plus plan.
Smart Secure Plus is one of the most affordable plans offered by Max Life. The plan is widely popular and is a flagship product from the insurer. It is customisable with an extensive range of sum assured. The insurer is also one of the leading life insurance providers in the country with the highest average (2020-2023) Claim Settlement Ratio and Amount Settlement Ratio and an industry-low complaint volume.
That such an insurer would give us a comprehensive plan - is no surprise. However, since the plan has already been followed by newer versions, we need to see if this policy still stands worthy! Let’s explore its details!
Quick Verdict on Max Life Smart Secure Plus
Max Life Smart Secure Plus policy is a great pick. The plan has extensive coverage, affordable pricing, a variety of riders, joint life options, voluntary top-ups, and variants in its critical illness add-on. While there are some restrictions on the features, they are not unreasonable.
As an insurer, Max Life is credible and has incredible, industry-high numbers in its CSR, ASR, and complaint volume.
Overall, if you are looking for a value-worthy term insurance plan, this is it.
Max Life Smart Secure Plus: Brief Overview
Max Life, backed by the renowned Max Group, is a leading life insurance company with popular, affordable policies and a diverse range of riders. Over the last three years (2020-2023), Max Life has maintained exceptional industry-high metrics:
- Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR) of 99.40% (the industry average is 97.74%)
- Amount Settlement Ratio (ASR) of 95.5% (the industry average is 90.9%)
- Complaint Volume of 7.0 (the industry average is 72.8)
Notably, Max Life's CSR, ASR, and complaint volume surpass industry standards, highlighting the company's unmatched credibility.
Now, coming to this insurer's Smart Secure Plus plan, the policy is a solid pick. It offers an extensive range of coverage from ₹50 lakhs to ₹35 crores, which is more than adequate to act as a financial replacement for the policyholder (in the case of their unfortunate demise). This policy also offers ample riders, including Waiver of Premium Plus, Accidental Death Benefit, Critical Illness Rider, Joint Life cover, Premium Break, and Total and Permanent Disability Rider. The critical illness add-on comes in 3 variants, based on the number of critical ailments it covers - 22, 40, and 64. Now, it’s true that the plan misses out on a crucial rider - Life Stage Benefit; however, as a substitute, the plan offers a Voluntary Top-Up option (which isn’t available with many top-notch plans), which offers similar perks.
Regarding what else the plan falls short of - well, we would have preferred if the plan also offered some of the most common riders like - Income Benefit on Accidental Disability Rider, Personal Accident Cover, and Cancer Cover.
Despite all the shortcomings, the plan is still a good pick. Take a look at the features to know why!
Features of Max Life Smart Secure Plus
| FEATURES | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Variants | Based on the number of illnesses covered by the Critical Illness Rider 22 illnesses | 40 ailments | 64 illnesses |
| Coverage | Up to 35 crores |
| Entry age | 18 years |
| Documents required for the purchase | PAN Card | Latest Photograph | Permanent and Current Address Proofs (Both required) | Income Proof | Other life insurance policy information, if any |
| Available Riders | Waiver of Premium Plus | Accidental Death Benefit | Critical Illness Rider | Total and Permanent Disability Rider | Joint Life Cover | Premium Break |
Should You Buy Max Life Smart Secure Plus?
- Max Life as an insurer: Founded in 2000, Max Life Insurance has emerged as a leading life insurance company over the last two decades. Despite an average annual business of ₹7,897 crores over the previous three years (2020-2023), which is below the industry average of ₹14,204 crores, the company remains a favoured choice among policyholders. Its popularity is primarily due to a streamlined claim settlement process and affordable policies offering multiple features. For a budget-friendly term insurance plan, this insurer is an ideal choice.
- In-built features of the plan: Max Life Smart Secure Plus is primarily comprehensive. This policy has everything from options in premium payment frequencies to special offers for homemakers and NRIs. Here’s what the vanilla version of the plan looks like -
- Premium payment frequency: The Smart Secure Plus policy allows you to select your payment frequency (Monthly/Quarterly/Half-yearly/Yearly) and choose the premium payment duration: regular, one-time, or limited pay (5/10/12/15 years or until age 60).
- Special exit / Zero Cost Term Plans: Say you want to exit the plan before the term ends. What happens to your premiums in that case? Max Life offers you the benefit of returning all your premiums paid (deducting the GST and rider premium) to date.
However, this perk comes with a series of clauses and conditions:
| USE CASES | CONDITIONS |
|---|---|
| CASE 1 (if the minimum tenure is 40 to 44 years) |
You can exit from the 25th year (and onwards) of the term plan tenure or when you turn 65, whichever comes earlier. |
| CASE 2 (if the minimum tenure is 45 years or above) |
You can exit from the 30th year (and onwards) of the term plan tenure or you turn 65, whichever comes earlier. |
In both cases -
- There is no minimum cover amount
- The insurer returns the premiums paid towards your plan after deducting the GST and the rider premiums.
- Restrictions: The Max Life Smart Secure Plus policy is also available for NRIs and homemakers. While this is a welcoming notion from the insurer, the perk doesn’t come without some restrictions
| USE CASES | RESTRICTIONS |
|---|---|
| For NRIs |
|
| For Housewives |
|
- Increasing cover: In general, term insurance plans are non-flexible, with no chances of changing the sum assured after the commencement of the term policy. However, with Max Life Smart Secure Plus, you can change the sum assured to a higher amount in the middle of the term plan (every year, 5% of the base sum assured will be increased for 20 years).
This flexibility accommodates changes in your financial needs, such as marriage or childbirth.
- Terminal Illness: In case you are diagnosed with a terminal ailment, and your doctor (a personal doctor and one from the insurer’s end) offers a written declaration that you have a poor prognosis with only a few months (maximum 180 days) to live, your insurer will offer you up to ₹1 crore as a lump sum. This amount can be used at your discretion.
However, please remember that this amount will be deducted from your base sum. So, in the event of the death of the policyholder, the nominee will receive a lower death benefit (base sum assured - lump sum paid during terminal illness diagnosis).
- Voluntary top-up: Max Life offers a unique feature in their Smart Secure Plus policy - a voluntary top-up option under which you can boost your base cover by up to ₹50 lakhs after the first renewal of your plan.
However, this feature comes with several restrictions and clauses -
- When this feature is availed, expect a revised premium based on the insured person's new cover amount and age.
- You will be undergoing both medical and financial underwriting again.
- The option must be exercised before you turn 50.
- The feature does not apply to single-pay
- Policy payment terms will remain the same.
- The perk can be availed only once across the entire policy tenure
- Top-ups can be made in multiples of ₹10 lakhs only.
- This feature can be exercised if no claims have been raised before (rider or otherwise)
- Pricing for smokers: When it comes to term insurance for smokers, insurers usually charge higher premiums (sometimes up to double the premiums for non-smokers), considering the higher risks of payouts. Such risks are linked to the higher chances of fatality over ailments contracted due to the smoking habit.
Max Life Smart Secure charges higher premiums for smoker profiles, too. However, their premiums are comparatively more economical than those of other insurers. Here, take a quick look at this comparison -
Let’s say the policyholder's age is 30 years, and he is seeking ₹10 crore coverage for up to 65 years. Here’s how the premiums look if the policyholder is a smoker -
| Max Life Smart Secure | HDFC Click 2 Protect |
|---|---|
| ₹1,64,966 | ₹2,31,352 |
(The ICICI Prudential iProtectSmart plan offers a slightly lower premium than Max Life Smart Secure for the smoker profile.)
3. Available Riders: As a standalone policy, the Max Life Smart Secure Plus is a decent policy. However, for those seeking customisation on their term insurance plan to ensure that it caters to tailored financial requirements, here is a list of the available riders:
- Total Permanent Disability: As the name suggests, this rider comes into action if you are left permanently and totally disabled by an accident. This situation will leave you without a source of income. Under such circumstances, if you have opted for the rider, you will receive a payout to support your daily household expenses. The maximum amount offered under this rider is capped at ₹30 lakhs.
- Critical Illness Rider: In case you are diagnosed with any of the listed critical illnesses, the insurer offers you a lumpsum payout to be used at your discretion.
Based on the number of critical illnesses covered, the Max Life Smart Secure Plus policy has 3 variants in its critical illness rider:
- Variant 1: 22 illnesses (the amount is capped at ₹30 lakhs and the amount paid is over and above the base sum assured)
- Variant 2: 40 ailments (the amount is capped at ₹50 lakhs, but it is an accelerated amount, that is, this sum is deducted from your base sum assured)
- Variant 3: 64 ailments (the amount is capped at ₹30 lakhs and the amount paid is over and above the base sum assured)
- Joint Life Cover: Although not widely recommended, the Joint Life cover rider is a decent pick, considering it covers both the husband and the wife under a single policy.
Here are the terms and conditions for the rider:
- The maximum cover under this perk is ₹50 lakhs.
- Suppose the secondary policyholder passes away before the primary individual (during the term period). In that case, the nominee will get a cover disbursal of ₹10 lakhs.
- Suppose the primary policyholder passes away before the secondary individual (during the term period).In that case, the nominee will get a cover disbursal of ₹50 lakhs.
- A minimum income eligibility of ₹5 lakhs is mandatory.
- Both policyholders have to undergo a regular set of physical medical examinations.
Please note that it’s better to hold a single plan for the earning spouse and a separate term plan for the housewife since the total cover amount will be more significant. Otherwise, if both spouses are earning members who can avail of different term plans, please avoid the joint cover since it will severely restrict the cover amount.
- Waiver of Premium Plus: In case you are diagnosed with any of the listed 11 critical ailments or are left totally and permanently disabled, all your future premiums towards the term insurance policy are waived off by the insurer. So, you can enjoy comprehensive financial protection with the Smart Secure Plus policy despite paying no premiums.
This is one of the most value-worthy and crucial riders available in the list of add-ons, and considering the nominal addition to the premium, you must opt for it.
- Accidental Death Benefit: If the policyholder passes away due to an accident (death happens within 180 days of the accident), the insurer pays an additional amount of up to ₹1 crore, which is over and above the sum assured. This rider makes sense for those who are either frequent travellers or are involved in high-risk occupations.
- Premium Break: Say, due to some unforeseen situation, you fall into a financial crunch. Under such circumstances, you should utilise your savings to arrange the monthly/yearly household expenses instead of paying premiums towards your term insurance plan. However, if you do that, you will end up with a lapsed-term insurance plan. On the other hand, if you opt for the Premium Break rider, the insurer allows you to skip a year-worth premium twice across the policy year. This is an excellent rider for your plan if you opt for the Max Life Smart Secure Plus policy.
What’s Unique About the Max Life Smart Secure Plus Plan?
The policy is comprehensive with unique features like Premium Break, variants in Critical Illness Rider based on the number of ailments covered, and voluntary top-ups. Despite such value-worthy features and riders, the policy remains affordable.
Conclusion
Max Life Smart Secure Plus policy is an exceptional pick across both the insurer and the policy front. You will rarely find such comprehensive policies at such economical pricing. As a pure financial protection tool, the plan is appealing and has become a top choice among policyholders.