You Have to be Able to Plan Properly and Secure the Financial Future of your Family

I recently paid off a Rs 35 lakh home loan from the sum assured of my husband’s term insurance policy. Seven years into my marriage, I had never thought that I would lose my husband to a car accident. Did you know that Indian road accidents claimed 1.2 million lives between 2004 and 2014? About 5.5 million individuals were left seriously injured during the same period due to road accidents, says an article published in DNA in November 2014. Life is unpredictable and we must prepare ourselves for any eventuality.

My Story

I am 32 years old, living in Delhi with my 5-year-old son and my parents-in law. The harsh truth of my husband’s death will still take time to settle in and for us to resume our lives as before. However, I have the peace of mind that our financial security is intact, thanks to my husband’s life insurance policy.

My husband bought a term plan just 5 years ago, when our son was born. He picked a Rs 1 crore cover, after lengthy discussions and consultation with our financial advisor. It was a great cover choice with a modest premium of Rs 12,000 per year. My husband bought the policy for 30 years. I remember telling him to buy an investment plan instead but it is only today that I realise that an investment plan wouldn’t provide me the financial security that this term policy is fulfilling.

I filed for claims settlement one week after my husband’s death in November 2015, with all the necessary documents. I received the sum assured within one week of all the paperwork having been completed. I received half of the sum assured as a lump sum amount of Rs 50 lakhs and the rest as monthly payments. This is what my husband had instructed at the time of buying the policy.

The first thing I did was to pay off the home loan. I did not want to lose the dream my husband and I had built together, our very own home. My husband took the home loan to buy a 2BHK flat 3 years ago. Hardly a fraction of the loan had been repaid when he passed away suddenly. I shudder with fear thinking what would have happened had there been no term plan in place.