Aviva Life Shield Premium Plan: Features & Premiums

Aviva Life Shield Premium (UIN:122N136V01) is a non-linked, non-participating, pure-risk term plan from Aviva Life Insurance. It offers three sum assured structures and three death benefit payout options to suit different protection needs.

This guide covers the Aviva Life Shield Premium Plan's features, eligibility, death benefit payouts, and limitations to help you assess whether it suits your protection needs.

Key Features and Riders of Aviva Life Shield Premium Plan

• Death Benefit: If the life insured passes away during the policy term, the insurer pays the sum assured in force on the date of death to the nominee, subject to the policy terms and conditions.
• Flat Sum Assured: The life cover remains unchanged throughout the policy term. For example, if you buy a ₹1 crore flat term plan for 30 years, your nominee remains eligible for ₹1 crore throughout the term.
• Increasing Sum Assured: The sum assured increases by 10% after every fifth policy anniversary, subject to a maximum increase of 50% over the original cover. This helps you increase your life cover as your financial responsibilities grow.
• Decreasing Sum Assured: The sum assured reduces uniformly on every policy anniversary. Each year's reduction equals the original sum assured divided by the policy term, so the cover gradually decreases until the policy ends.
• Protect-Lump Sum: This option provides life cover with an accelerated terminal illness benefit. If the insured is diagnosed with a terminal illness, 50% of the sum assured, up to ₹1 crore, is paid in advance, and all future premiums are waived. The remaining sum assured is paid to the nominee on death during the policy term. This benefit is available only with the Flat Sum Assured option.
• Protect-Income: If the life insured dies during the policy term, the nominee receives 1% of the sum assured every month for 10 years, totaling 120 installments. The first installment is paid after the claim is approved. The remaining 119 installments are paid on subsequent monthly anniversaries of the insured's death.
• Protect 50:50: This option combines a lump sum payout with a regular monthly income for 10 years. On the insured's death during the policy term, the nominee receives 50% of the sum assured as a lump sum. The remaining 50% is paid as monthly income, with each installment equal to 1% of that amount. For ₹1 crore of cover, this means ₹50 lakh upfront and ₹50,000 monthly for 120 months, totaling ₹1.10 crore in nominal payouts.

Riders Offered

• Accidental Death Benefit: This add-on provides extra cover of up to ₹50 lakh per insured person, subject to the insurer's aggregate accident-cover limit. The accident must directly cause death within 180 days. This option is not available with decreasing sum assured.
• Waiver of Premium for Accidental Total Permanent Disability: This add-on waives future premiums if the insured suffers a qualifying accidental total and permanent disability. It follows specific disability definitions and does not cover every loss of earning capacity. Cover ends at age 75 and is capped at ₹1 crore. The policy continues without further premium payments, subject to a maximum waiver cover of ₹1 crore per life.

Ditto’s Key Insights

• Sum Assured Option: We do not recommend the decreasing sum assured option because your family's financial needs will most likely grow over time. You can choose adequate level cover or an increasing cover option (though increasing cover will cost more) based on your current liabilities and future responsibilities.
• Rider Options: Along with Waiver of Premium (WOP), we recommend considering a Critical Illness (CI) rider for added financial support after a covered diagnosis. However, Aviva Life Shield Premium does not offer a critical illness rider.

Sample Premiums by Age and Sum Assured

The illustration is based on a healthy, salaried, non-smoking male residing in Delhi (pincode: 110010), seeking ₹2 crore in level term cover until age 65. First-year discounts are excluded. Premiums for Aviva Life are calculated using the official calculator. 

Note: Actual premiums may vary based on your personal details and the insurer's underwriting assessment. Use the Ditto premium calculator to get rough estimates for flagship plans from HDFC Life, Axis Max Life, and ICICI Life.

Based on these illustrations, Aviva Life Shield Premium costs more than several competing term plans, particularly for buyers aged 30 and above. Moreover, it lacks useful features such as premium breaks, which does not justify the higher premium.

Note: The data is for the insurer as a whole and is not limited to Aviva term insurance products. Figures are sourced from Aviva Life public disclosures and IRDAI annual reports. Explore the Ditto Data Lab for more life insurer metrics. 

Aviva Life Insurance claim settlement ratio is above the industry mean but lower than established insurers like HDFC Life and Axis Max Life. For FY 2024-2026, the two insurers reported an average CSR of 99.66% and 99.71%, respectively.

Pros and Cons of Aviva Life Shield Premium Plan

Pros of Aviva Life Shield Premium Plan

• Flexible Sum Assured: Choose flat, increasing, or decreasing cover based on your financial responsibilities and protection needs.
• Multiple Payout Options: Select from three death benefit structures to suit your nominee's financial needs.
• Built-In Terminal Illness Benefit: Get an accelerated payout for qualifying terminal illness under the eligible flat lump sum option.

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Conclusion

Aviva Life Shield Premium offers a reasonably basic traditional term insurance structure. However, it lacks modern features such as instant claim payouts and useful riders. 

From an insurer front, its annual business volume falls below our ₹5,000 crore benchmark, and the three-year average numbers indicate significant customer complaints. If you want broader policy features and stronger insurer credentials, explore the best term insurance plans.

Disclaimer: Aviva Life Shield Premium appears to be a legacy plan, and the insurer is not actively advertising the plan on its official website. Its fresh purchase status is unclear. Contact Aviva Life Insurance directly to confirm whether new applications are still accepted.