Term Plan Vs Comprehensive Plan

With a wide variety of insurance plans to choose from, you may be confused about what is the right choice to protect your loved ones. If your primary aim is to just safeguard your loved ones in your absence, then a term plan is what you are looking for.  

But is a basic term plan enough to cover for every eventuality? Term insurance only provides life cover if you unexpectedly pass away. However, what happens when you’re still around but are unable to work due to a critical illness or an accident? If you want to be protected against all eventualities, then you need to look for a comprehensive term plan. Comprehensive plans not only provide life cover but also ensure financial protection in case of critical illness or other debilitating conditions.   

Main Differences Between Basic Term Plans & Comprehensive Term Plans 

	Basic Term Plan	Comprehensive Plan
Definition	Term insurance is a life insurance product offered by an insurance company which offers financial coverage to the policy holder for a specific time period. In case of death of the insured individual during the policy term, the death benefit is paid by the company to the beneficiary.	A comprehensive plan is a life insurance product that gives benefits over and above a life cover/death benefit. It also protects you through a critical illness cover.
Claim Stage	One claim: on death of the life  assured.	Two claims: first on the diagnosis of  critical illness, and regular  instalments to cope with the loss of  income as well as death; and  second on the death of the life  assured.
Claim Payment Mode	Lump sum payout in case of policyholder’s death.	Choice of lump sum, instalments  or a mix of both for critical illness,  and lumpsum at death.
Primary Objective	To reduce financial burden on  dependents in case of death.	To provide for treatment costs  during serious illnesses, to  support the family for income loss  during critical illness, and reduce the  financial burden on dependents in  the case of death.

 

Are Comprehensive Term Plans Worth the Additional Cost?

No one can predict what the future holds, and that is why people opt to invest in term insurance. But basic life cover alone may not be enough if you fall critically ill or are unable to work due to a disability. A comprehensive plan is far more diverse in its coverage, as it protects your loved ones against various eventualities other than death. If you don’t like taking any chances with your family’s future, then a comprehensive term plan will be preferable.

Of course, the one downside of a comprehensive plan is that you will have to pay additional premium to avail of these benefits. But the extra cost is not significantly higher than that of a basic term plan. Plus, if your main goal is to secure your family completely, then a small premium surcharge will likely be worth the cost.

Is Edelweiss Life- Zindagi Protect a Comprehensive Term Plan?

Edelweiss Life- Zindagi Protect is a flexible plan that lets you pick and choose your preferred benefits. If you just want a basic term plan that offers life cover, then you need not choose any of Zindagi Protect’s optional benefits. But if you want comprehensive protection, then you can choose from a variety of riders and optional benefits to enhance your plan coverage. Let’s go through some of the optional riders and benefits offered by Edelweiss Life- Zindagi Protect.

Critical Illness Rider- The critical illness rider is an optional addon that provides a lump sum payout if you’re diagnosed with any of the conditions listed in the policy document.

Accidental Total and Permanent Disability Rider- This optional rider provides a payout if you suffer from a disability due to an accident.

Accidental Death Rider- This rider provides an additional sum assured if you pass away due to an accident. Note that even your basic term plan covers accidental death, this rider simply provides an additional sum alongside the life cover to financially assist your family.

Child Future Protect Benefit- If you select this optional benefit, you child will receive an additional sum assured to safeguard their future dreams.

Return of Premium Option- Choose this option if you want to get back 100% of your paid premiums (excluding cost of medical tests) as a maturity benefit.

Special Exit Benefit- This benefit allows you to exit your term plan whenever you want. You will also get back your total paid premiums as an early exit benefit.

Premium Break Benefit- With this benefit, you can skip up to 8 premium payments at any point during the policy term.

So, as you can see, the protection offered by Edelweiss Life- Zindagi Protect can be greatly enhanced by including these optional benefits to your plan.

Conclusion

A comprehensive plan is just a term plan that provides even more coverage! If securing your family’s financial future is your top goal, then invest in a comprehensive plan as soon as possible. And you can even customize your benefits according to your personal needs with plans like Edelweiss Life- Zindagi Protect.

 

Swati Tumar - Travel & Finance Writer   

Swati is a Writer in the day and an illustrator at night. Among her interests, she is quite fond of art and all things creative. She often indulges herself in creating doodles, illustrations, and other forms of content. She identifies herself as an avid traveler and shameless foodie.