Term Insurance Online vs Offline—Differences and Benefits

Purchasing a term insurance plan is a crucial decision of one’s life as it provides financial cover to the family of the insured in their absence. This makes it important to understand the different ways in which you can choose and purchase a term insurance plan best suited for yourself and your family.

Online vs Offline Term Insurance Plans

In today’s day and age, a term insurance plan can be purchased easily both online and offline, both having their own advantages and disadvantages.

When you purchase an online term insurance plan, you purchase the plan directly from the insurance provider. You can visit the insurance provider’s website or mobile app, browse the different kinds of term insurance products available and purchase a plan that suits your needs all from the convenience of your home. Since you deal directly with the insurance provider, in this case, there are no third-party agents involved.

Conversely, when you purchase a term insurance plan offline, an insurance agent is involved between you and the insurance provider. The agent helps you choose a plan that fits your needs and takes care of the entire application and life cover disbursal process; this makes the process hassle-free. However, it does cost a little more as the agent charges a commission in addition to the charges levied by the insurance provider.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of purchasing a term insurance plan both online and offline.

Advantages of Online Plans

Convenience: As mentioned, online term insurance plans can be purchased from the convenience of your home. Just visit the website or app of the insurance provider you would like to purchase the plan from, browse the different plans offered and find the one that suits your needs. You can then complete the application process and make the payment online without having to step out of the comfort of your home.

Since, in the case of online term plans, everything from research and filling out the application forms is done by you, there is also greater control and less room for error. However, it does require more work on your part.

Lower costs: In an online term plan, since you deal with the insurance provider directly, there are no additional costs and commissions charged by a third-party agent. This makes online term plans cheaper as compared to offline plans (you can use the term insurance calculator to calculate the premiums of your plan). Whether you purchase a plan online or offline, make sure you know and understand any additional costs that accompany your term insurance plan and any commissions being charged by your agent. Further, ensure to do your own research and pick a plan accordingly.

Zero fraud: As there is no third-party agent involved in the case of online term plans, there is more transparency between you and the insurance provider, thus eliminating the risk of fraud. In the case of offline plans, the agent may try to present the terms and conditions of the plan in a way that makes the plan more attractive to you, thereby making offline plans riskier and more prone to fraud.

Advantages of Offline Plans

Hassle-free: In an offline insurance plan, the entire application process and all the accompanying documentation is taken care of by the agent. This means that all you have to do here is sit back and relax and let your agent take care of the entire process. This does, however, come at the cost of losing some of the control that online plans provide. Not to mention that the agent charges a commission.

Usually covers more benefits: Online term plans usually only cover just the death benefit. If you would like to include other additional benefits in your plans, such as an accidental cover and disability cover, you will be required to pay some additional cost.

In an offline plan, these additional riders are usually already covered in the plan, providing more value to the insured. So, if you are looking for a plan that provides more than just life cover and includes additional riders like an accidental cover, you may consider looking at offline plans.

At the end of the day, whether you should purchase a plan offline or online depends on your needs and what you value most. Use the above-mentioned points and your own research to pick a plan that is best for you. Moreover, use the term insurance calculator to determine the premium amounts on a particular sum assured.