Aditya Birla Sun Life
DigiShield Plan
Digi Shield is a highly customizable policy with several variants. You can choose any variant, from a plain vanilla term policy to a full-fledged money-back policy. Some variants even come with add-ons, such as accidental death, critical illness,waiver of premium and hospital care, which make this policy even more comprehensive. Additionally, the policy offers various riders that further enhance its coverage. However, one of the few drawbacks across all variants is that the insurer will reduce the critical illness cover amount from the base cover amount.
Decent Claim Settlement Ratio
Aditya Birla Sun Life settles 98.23% of the total number of claims it receives as compared to the industry average of 97%. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either.
Good Complaints Ratio
Aditya Birla Sun Life receives 3.7 complaints (per 10,000 claims registered) as opposed to the industry median of 17 complaints. Pretty good figure overall.
Good Amount Settlement Ratio
Some insurers pay out the smaller claims while declining to pay out the few higher-value claims in a bid to improve the claim settlement ratio. So you will need to look at the total amount settled as a percentage of the total amount claimed. Aditya Birla Sun Life meanwhile has an amount settlement ratio of 93.9% as opposed to the industry average of 87%. Pretty good figure overall.
The aforementioned ratios have been averaged over three years for every insurer and the industry as a whole.
What's good here?
Accidental Death Benefit Available
Some policies offer you the option of adding extra protection for accidental deaths. And while we recommend customers choose a comprehensive cover without worrying about the specifics of death precisely, DigiShield Plan offers accidental death benefit nonetheless.
Premiums waived after permanent disability (due to accident) or critical illnesses
Some policies waive all future premium payments if you are ever disabled (due to accident) or diagnosed with a critical illness. And DigiShield Plan extends the waiver-of-premium option in both cases.
Payouts in the event of total permanent disability
Some policies offer you a monthly income or a large lumpsum in the event you are disabled totally for life. And DigiShield Plan extends this option.
Option to increase your cover with inflation
Some policies automatically increase your cover by a certain amount (usually inflation) to always provide you with the necessary protection. And DigiShield Plan extends this option.
What's okay here?
Decent Critical Illness Benefit
If you’re ever diagnosed with a debilitating illness, you would want your insurance policy to pay a fixed sum so that you can deal with any monetary obligations you may have. DigiShield Plan extends critical illness benefit without too many restrictions and pays up to undefined so long as you are diagnosed with 42 illnesses listed in the policy brochure.
Delayed Payouts:
Payouts for critical illnesses may not be made immediately. Instead, insurers expect you to survive for a certain duration before they make the payment. And DigiShield Plan will pay out the benefit 30 days after the diagnosis is confirmed.
Payout from total cover only:
Some policies will pay out the critical illness (CI) benefit from the total term cover available, i.e. Accelerated payout, while also offering you the option to avail it on top of the total term cover available. DigiShield Plan however only offers the accelerated option and pays out the benefit from the total cover available
Short waiting period:
Most policies impose a waiting period before they make the Critical Illness Benefit available. And DigiShield Plan imposes a 90 days waiting period before they can process any claim related to critical illnesses. This is shorter than the industry average.
Decent Terminal Illness Benefit
Certain policies will disburse the entire cover amount the moment you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. So even in the absence of death, you can still get the money and use it any way you wish. And while DigiShield Plan does not disburse the entire sum assured, you do have the option to receive a portion of your cover if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
You can recover your premiums after policy matures
Some policies return your premium after the policy matures if you don’t make a claim. However, we don’t recommend this option actively considering the option can be expensive. In any case, DigiShield Plan extends this option to those considering it.
Top-Up Option available (As Life Stage Benefit)
Some policies extend the option of increasing your total term cover even after you buy the policy. And while DigiShield Plan doesn’t offer you a blanket option to increase your cover, it does extend the provision to increase your cover during significant life events i.e. when you get married, when you have kids etc. The feature is called life stage benefit.
What's lacking here?
No Zero Cost Option
Some insurers will return all your premiums if you forego your policy before maturity, during a period specified by the insurer. So in essence, you get all your premiums back, while also being protected under the term plan during this time. Unfortunately, DigiShield Plan doesn’t extend this option.
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