Aviva Life Insurance is one of the many companies to have launched online products. Today, online options cover the entire gamut of insurance products: Health, motor, travel and life. Buying plans online is meant to be hassle-free as one is not dependant on the agent. However, the option is not without its share of hassles.
Policies sold online don’t entail the agent's commission or distribution cost, bringing down the overall cost by 30-50 per cent. And companies are willing to pass on the discount to customers.
For instance, a 35-year-old (non-smoker) buying Aviva’s online term product i-life for 20 years for a sum assured of 25 lakh pays an annual premium of Rs 4,528. A similar cover through an agent would have cost Rs 2,586 more as he would be paying an annual premium of Rs 7,114.
However, buying a health cover with a sum insured of over Rs 5 lakh would involve medical tests. The procedure cannot be circumvented even if one uses the online route. So, even as the product details are available online, it can’t really be bought. You will soon get a call from the insurer to undergo medical tests and the policy will be sold offline. You can buy life covers of up to Rs 30 lakh online (up to 45 years).
The absence of an agent may not really help customers who depend on them to choose the right policy. So, the online option is good only for financially evolved customers, who are sure of what they want to buy. Insurance companies have to still work around processing claims online. So, in case you need to make a claim, you will need to get in touch with your company or an agent.
