Term Insurance

Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

Subhashish Banerjee

Written by Subhashish Banerjee

Insurance Writer

Ishita Jain

Reviewed by Ishita Jain

IRDAI-Certified Expert at Ditto

SP0738675913

Certified
Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

Overview

Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus is a customizable pure-term insurance plan that provides long-term financial protection, with coverage available up to age 100.

Key Features

  • Choice of Protection: Choose between the Life Cover option and Return of Premium option, which refunds eligible base premiums on survival, subject to policy terms.
  • Better Half Benefit: Provides separate life cover for the spouse after the primary policyholder's death, subject to applicable conditions.
  • Child's Future Protect Benefit: Provides financial support for children, with benefits available up to age 25, subject to policy terms.
  • Premium Break Benefit: Allows eligible policyholders to defer premium payments during financial hardship, with up to eight uses across the policy term, subject to applicable conditions.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Minimum Entry Age: 18 years
  • Maximum Entry Age: 65 years
  • Maximum Maturity Age: Up to 100 years

Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus packs several modern features into a term insurance plan, including special exit and premium break. But do these extras outweigh its limitations and the insurer’s smaller scale? Let’s examine whether it deserves your attention.

This guide covers the plan’s eligibility, features, riders, the insurer's performance, and whether the term plan meets your family goals.

What Is Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus?

Zindagi Protect Plus (UIN: 147N080V01) by Edelweiss Life is an individual, non-linked, non-participating life insurance plan designed for pure risk protection or savings. It offers two options: Life Cover and Return of Premium, allowing policyholders to choose based on their protection and premium-return preferences.

Note: At Ditto, we do not recommend return of premium plans. These plans are 60% to 100% more expensive and return only eligible base premiums, excluding rider premiums and other costs. Additionally, the returned amount does not earn any capital appreciation and loses value due to inflation. 

How Does Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus Work?

    • Choose between the Life Cover and Return of Premium (ROP) options.
    • Select your base sum assured, policy term, premium paying term, riders, and any applicable additional paid benefits. 
    • Choose how the death benefit is paid (lump sum, monthly, or combo) and pay your premiums regularly.
    • Under Life Cover, the nominee receives the death benefit if the policyholder passes away during the policy term. Under Return of Premium, if the policyholder survives the policy term, the eligible base premiums are returned.

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Key Features and Coverage of Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

    • Better Half Benefit: Provides life cover for your spouse only after the insured's death. You must select it at policy inception, when married, with the spouse's age within 10 years of the insured's age. The sum assured offered is 50% of the base sum assured. 
    • Child’s Future Protect Benefit: Allows you to increase your life cover by choosing an additional sum assured ranging from 10% to 100% of the base sum assured, in 10% increments. You must select it at policy inception if you have a child aged 0 to 18 years.
    • Premium Break Benefit: Available with the Life Cover option for premium paying terms of 10 years or more. After completing 7 policy years, you can exercise a premium break and defer premiums due for the next 12 months, subject to applicable terms and conditions. It is a paid benefit offered by the plan.
    • Special Exit Benefit: Available only with the Life Cover option, this benefit allows eligible policyholders to exit the policy in a specified policy year and get the eligible premiums back. It is not available under regular pay and requires a minimum policy term of 40 years and a maturity age of 70 years. 

Note: The maximum entry age is 50 years for the smart exit benefit. The refund excludes rider premiums, taxes, modal loading, underwriting extras, and premiums for Child's Future Protect and Better Half.

Riders and Add-Ons Available With Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

    • Accidental Death Benefit Rider: Provides an additional lump sum benefit if the policyholder dies due to an accident within 90 days of the unfortunate event. This benefit is paid separately from the base life cover, providing the nominee with additional financial support.
    • Accidental Total and Permanent Disability (ATPD) Rider: Provides a lump sum benefit if the policyholder suffers total and permanent disability due to an accident. The payout paid after 180 days of being diagnosed can help cover immediate expenses and compensate for the potential loss of future earning capacity.
    • Critical Illness (CI) Rider: Provides a lump sum payout upon diagnosis of any of the 12 listed critical illnesses, including third-degree burns and blindness. The illness must occur after the applicable 90-day waiting period, and the policyholder must survive for 30 days after confirmed diagnosis to receive the benefit.
    • Waiver of Premium (WOP) Rider: Waives future premiums if the policyholder suffers a covered critical illness or total and permanent disability caused by an accident. This helps keep the base policy active without requiring further premium payments, subject to the rider's terms and conditions.

Note: Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus offers a good rider ecosystem. At Ditto, we recommend evaluating riders like critical illness and waiver of premium. The two riders offer useful protection by providing lump sum payment and waiving off premiums.

Death Benefit Options Under Zindagi Protect Plus

Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus offers the policyholder the option to choose from 3 different death benefit payout options. You choose the death benefit payment mode during policy purchase, and you cannot change it later.

1) Lump Sum Death Benefit

The death benefit will be paid in a lump sum to your nominee. This lump sum payout helps your family meet daily expenses and repay any loans, if any.

2) Monthly Income

Instead of paying the entire death benefit as a lump sum, this option distributes a fixed percentage every month for 36 or 60 months. Payments begin from the next policy month anniversary after the policyholder’s death, providing beneficiaries with a structured income stream.

3) Lump Sum + Monthly Income

Under this option, you can choose how the death benefit is divided between an upfront lump sum and monthly income for your nominee. The lump sum portion can range from 1% to 99%, in whole-number increments.

Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus Sample Premium

The illustration assumes a salaried, non-smoking healthy male from Delhi (pincode: 110010) seeking ₹2 crore level term coverage until age 65 with no first-year discounts. Actual premiums may vary based on underwriting, medical profile, and other individual factors.

Sample Premiums Across Plans

AgeZindagi Protect PlusAxis Max Life Smart Term Plan PlusHDFC Life Click 2 Protect Supreme PlusICICI Prudential iProtect Smart Plus
25₹18,930₹17,222₹19,719₹16,111
30₹22,898₹20,656₹25,153₹19,283
35₹29,432₹26,154₹31,118₹26,030
40₹37,604₹34,380₹35,880₹34,229
45₹49,768₹50,548₹55,088₹45,597

Zindagi Protect Plus carries higher premiums across several profiles than comprehensive plans like Axis Max Life Smart Term Plan Plus and ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart Plus. Its CI rider also covers only 12 illnesses, compared with up to 64 illnesses covered under Axis Max Life and 60 under ICICI Prudential.

Compared with HDFC Life Click 2 Protect Supreme Plus, Zindagi Protect Plus may offer slightly lower premiums. However, HDFC Life also provides life-stage benefits, health and wellness services, and the backing of a more established insurer.

Explore the rate table for reference. It is one of the few retail term plans that publicly publishes its premium rate table on the website.

Edelweiss Life: Performance Metrics

Metric (Average FY 2024-26)Edelweiss LifeIndustry Average
Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR)99.28%99.00% (Mean)
Amount Settlement Ratio (ASR) (Average FY 2023-25)96.69%94.83% (Mean)
Annual Business Volume (In Crore)₹608.17₹3,778.58 (Median)
Volume of Complaints (Per 10,000 Claims)109.6713.10 (Median)
Solvency Ratio1.79x2.00x (Median)
Annual Death Claims Paid (In Crore)₹68.06₹237.24 (Median) 

Note: The data in the above table represents the insurer's overall performance. It is sourced from Edelweiss Life public disclosures and IRDAI annual reports. You can explore the Ditto Data Lab for more insurer metrics. 

Did You Know?

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance rebranded as Edelweiss Life Insurance on June 3, 2024, reflecting the insurer’s focus on innovation, simplicity, and a more contemporary approach to life insurance.

Eligibility and Documents Required for Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

Eligibility Criteria

VariantsLife Cover OptionReturn of Premium Option
Premium Paying Term (PPT)Regular, limited (5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 years), or pay till 60Regular, limited, or pay till 60
Entry Age18 years to 65 years (depends on PPT)18 years to 60 years (depends on PPT)
Maturity Age23 years to 100 years 28 years to 100 years
Minimum Policy Term 5 years to 25 years (depends on PPT) and 65 minus entry age (for pay till 60)10 years to 25 years (depends on PPT) and 65 minus entry age (for pay till 60)
Maximum Policy Term100 years minus entry age100 years minus entry age
Minimum Sum Assured ₹50 lakh and ₹25 lakh (for Better Half Benefit)₹50 lakh
Maximum Sum AssuredNo upper limit for base sum assured (subject to insurer underwriting) and ₹1 crore for Better Half BenefitNo upper capping (subject to insurer underwriting)
Premium Payment ModeYearly, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthlyYearly, half-yearly, quarterly, and monthly

Documents Required for Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

The documents required for term insurance purchase include identity and address proof, income proof, and age proof. Depending on your profile and coverage amount, the insurer may also request medical reports or additional documents.

Tax Benefits on Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

    • Premium Deduction: Eligible term insurance premiums can qualify for a deduction under Section 123 (previously Section 80C). The overall limit is ₹1.5 lakh under the applicable conditions and the old tax regime.
    • Health-Related Riders: Eligible premiums paid for health insurance-related rider benefits may qualify separately under Section 126 (previously Section 80D), subject to applicable conditions and limits.
    • Death Benefit Exemption: Death benefits received under a qualifying life insurance policy remain tax-exempt under Section 11, previously Section 10(10D), subject to applicable conditions.

Pros & Cons of Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus

ProsCons
Child’s Future Protect aligns additional protection with the years when children are financially dependent.The base plan lacks an accelerated terminal illness payout, creating a feature gap versus more comprehensive term plans like Smart Term Plan Plus.
Premium Break provides genuine cash-flow flexibility by allowing eligible customers to defer premiums during financial hardship while keeping the life cover active.Better Half does not offer simultaneous spouse insurance and has same-event exclusions, which can create a significant protection gap for couples.
Strong core flexibility with waiver of premium and long-term critical illness options provide multiple ways to customize protection around different financial risks and preferences.The insurer has lower scale and higher complaints than leading private players, while ROP removes key optional benefits and Special Exit remains conditional.

Who Should Buy Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus?

    • Young Parents With Children: Particularly useful when protection needs are highest during the child’s schooling and college years.
    • Buyers Needing Temporary Additional Cover: The Child’s Future Protect benefit can provide extra protection during the child’s dependency years.
    • Self-Employed or Business Owners: Premium Break can provide useful cash-flow flexibility during periods of financial difficulty.
    • Single-Income Households: Better Half can provide residual spouse protection, provided you clearly understand its limitations.

Who Should Avoid

Background Image

01

Dual-Income Couples

Two independent term policies generally provide clearer and more comprehensive protection than relying on Better Half. At Ditto, we recommend individual policies for spouses as they offer flexibility.

02

Buyers Prioritizing Terminal Illness Cover

Consider plans that offer terminal illness acceleration if this feature matters to you.

03

Young Buyers Expecting Future Life-Stage Increases

Consider plans offering structured cover enhancement after marriage, children, or a home loan.

04

Budget-Sensitive Buyers

Avoid ROP if the higher premium could reduce the core life cover your family actually needs. ROP plans cost 60% to 100% higher than pure term plans.

Why Choose Ditto for Term Insurance?

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Conclusion

Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus is a decent term insurance plan with modern features such as Special Exit. However, it lacks useful features like instant claim payouts and built-in health management benefits.

From an insurer perspective, Edelweiss Life does not meet Ditto’s ₹5,000 crore annual business-volume benchmark. Its complaint levels are also around 8.37 times the industry median, raising concerns about customer service.

Therefore, Zindagi Protect Plus makes it to Ditto’s Watchlist: Term Insurance Plans From Up-and-Coming Insurers. We are looking forward to seeing how the insurer performs in the coming years. If you prioritize comprehensive protection from an established insurer, explore the best term insurance plans instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus worth buying over a plain term plan?

Zindagi Protect Plus offers several benefits beyond basic term insurance, including Premium Break, Better Half, Child’s Future Protect, and other Edelweiss Tokio benefits. However, these features come with conditions and limitations. For most buyers, a plain term plan from a financially stronger, larger insurer may offer simpler and more comprehensive protection.

What is Edelweiss Life's claim settlement ratio and how does it compare to the industry average?

Edelweiss Tokio claim settlement ratio was 99.31% in FY 2025-26 compared to the industry average of 99.21%, indicating that it settled most individual death claims received during the year. However, the claim settlement ratio should not be considered independently. Compare it with the insurer's claim amount settlement ratio, solvency, complaints, persistence, and overall financial strength.

Where does Edelweiss Life rank among life insurance companies in India?

There is no official Edelweiss Tokio ranking India. Edelweiss Life is a smaller private life insurer compared with major players such as HDFC Life, Axis Max Life, ICICI Prudential Life, and SBI Life. Its smaller scale does not automatically make it unreliable. However, buyers should consider its market presence, financial strength, solvency, claims experience, product features, and service record before choosing it. The insurer is not listed among our best term insurance companies in India.

How long does Edelweiss Life usually take to settle a Zindagi Protect Plus death claim?

Settlement time depends on the claim's documentation, complexity, investigation requirements, and whether the claim is straightforward. Under IRDAI's current rules, a death claim that does not require investigation must be settled within 15 days from the date of claim intimation. If an investigation is required, the timeline is 45 days from claim intimation. If the insurer misses the applicable timeline, the claimant is entitled to interest at the bank rate plus 2%. 

Can I add a Critical Illness or Accidental Death Rider to Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus?

Yes. Zindagi Protect Plus allows eligible policyholders to add riders such as the Critical Illness and Accidental Death Benefit, subject to applicable eligibility conditions. The Critical Illness rider covers 12 specified illnesses, while the Accidental Death Benefit provides an additional lump sum payout following accidental death. Rider availability, premiums, and conditions depend on the policy selected.

Does Zindagi Protect Plus waive my future premiums if I am diagnosed with a permanent disability?

The waiver of premium rider can waive future premiums if you suffer a covered critical illness or total and permanent disability due to an accident. However, the waiver is not automatically included in the base policy. You must opt for the rider and meet its specific definitions, conditions, and eligibility requirements.

Can a smoker buy Edelweiss Life Zindagi Protect Plus and how much more does it cost?

Yes, smokers can apply for Zindagi Protect Plus, but they must disclose smoking during the application. The insurer will charge a higher premium because smoking increases mortality and health risks. Premiums start at ₹31,074 for a healthy, 25-year-old male smoker living in Delhi (PIN code 110010). The illustration assumes ₹2 crore of life cover until age 65. The actual loading depends on smoking frequency, duration, tobacco use, medical profile, age, coverage amount, and underwriting assessment.

What happens if the spouse dies before the policyholder under the Better Half Benefit?

The Better Half Benefit does not apply if the spouse dies before the life insured. It also does not apply if both die simultaneously or if the spouse’s death results directly or indirectly from the same event that caused the policyholder’s death. If the spouse dies by suicide within 12 months after the risk commencement or policy revival, the nominee may receive at least 80% of the Better Half Benefit premiums paid, provided the policy remains in force.

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