Now, buy term insurance even at 85

Wednesday 22, June, 2011 IDBI Federal Life Insurance-the three-way joint venture between public sector IDBI Bank, Federal Bank and European insurers Aegis- has floated a whole-life policy which allows individuals as old as 85 to buy insurance cover. While whole-life policies are not new to the Indian market, most providers, including Life Insurance Corporation, restrict maximum age at entry at 60 years. "To our knowledge, we are the first company to offer this cover to those as old as 85," said G Nageswara Rao, MD, IDBI Federal General Insurance. Typically, life insurance is bought with the objective of providing income protection to dependents and since most people retire in their sixties the target market for life insurers is the working population. "We have found that there is a large section among senior citizens who want to buy insurance because they would like to bequeath an inheritance for their relatives," said Rao. He said that another of the impediments was the medical checks which are required from all senior citizens. IDBI Federal's policy requires no checks. However, the policy does restrict maximum sum insured to Rs 5 lakh and limits the benefit to 125% of the sum insured if there is death in the first two years.

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