I am 30 and have a health insurance cover from my office for R1 lakh. Should I buy a health cover on my own too?

Amit Jaiswal

Yes, it is advisable since employee health plans typically offer cover only while you are in employment. When you switch jobs, the health cover provider and employee health cover policy in the new place of work could be different. And, worse still, in case you remain between jobs at any point, you would remain without any cover at all. A cover bought in your individual capacity, on the other hand, would ensure that you are covered irrespective of your professional situation. It is vital that you are adequately covered at all points of time, especially given the escalation in healthcare costs. The earlier you buy a cover, the cheaper it would be, since health and medical conditions are impacted with advancing age, which, in turn, impacts the assessment of risk and, thereby, premiums. The quantum and type of cover would depend on your specific circumstances and personal and family medical history.

Should I wait till October to buy a new term insurance policy as reports say that new norms will come into effect by then?

Amit Bopna

No, you don?t have to wait as the new norms, if any, would concern savings products of the traditional variety. Term plans are pure protection products and there is no savings component and, hence, they cost less. You could consider buying term plans online, since they could come cheaper by up to 10-15% than their offline counterparts since the initial costs of acquisition are lower.

I am looking for a child insurance plan for my five-year old daughter. kindly advise.

Somya Pal

If you want to secure your child?s future by ensuring that her various financial life cycle needs, such as expenses for education and marriage, are taken care of, then you could opt for a child plan where you are the insured and the child the beneficiary. The child will get the benefits irrespective of the presence of the parent. Child plans exist in both the unit-linked and traditional spaces and you could choose either, based on your risk appetite. That apart, there are also plans that insure minors and can be used as an investment tool. Premiums will vary depending on the quantum of cover, type of plan, payment mode selected, etc.

What are the costs involved in buying an insurance policy?

Arindam Sen

In term plans, cost is usually the point of comparison. Traditional products being feature-based products, one is advised to buy a plan that has those features or a combination of them that suits one?s needs best, rather than buying based on costs alone. No separate bifurcation of costs is available in traditional plans. In Ulips, various charges, such as allocation charge, administration charge, switching charge, mortality charge etc, are stated up front in the Benefit Illustration.

The writer is executive vice-president, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance

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