Every year at this time, people start talking about taxes and investments that can reduce their taxable income. And it’s crucial that you only use legal ways while trying to lessen your tax burden. Elephant.in can help with that.

In this article, we have outlined a legal strategy you may use to not only reduce your tax burden but also create a sizeable fund for you and your family’s health emergencies.

One of the legal tax-saving avenues is Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, which allow you to get tax benefits on health insurance premium(s) paid from your income up to a limit of ₹ 1,00,000. Let us understand this Section in detail.

Health Insurance Tax Benefit in India

Under Section 80D, you can avail income tax deductions against healthcare-related expenses and payment of health insurance premium. The amount of tax deductions that you can claim under Section 80D depends on the number of people included under the health insurance coverage as follows:

• A policy that covers individual, spouse, and children (no member is a senior citizen) – a maximum of ₹ 25,000
• A policy that covers individual, spouse, and children + parents who are not senior citizens – a maximum of ₹ 50,000
• A policy that covers individual, spouse, and children + parents who are senior citizens – a maximum of ₹ 75,000
• A policy that covers individual, spouse, and children where you or your spouse is a senior citizen + parents who are senior citizens – a maximum of ₹ 1,00,000
• Section 80D also covers payment made for preventive health check-ups, critical illness life insurance plan and other health-related riders provided under a life insurance policy.

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It’s almost the end of the third quarter of the current financial year and is the right time to start planning your investments for the year and save some of your hard-earned tax money.

You can visit Elephant.in to choose your preferred insurance company, compare various plans and buy the one that best fits your requirements.

Tax Disclaimer: Tax benefits are defined by the Income Tax Act of 1961 and are subject to any future changes. It is suggested that you consult with a tax consultant.

Source: https://incometaxindia.gov.in/

People begin discussing taxes and investments that can lower their taxable income around this time of the year. It’s vital that you only reduce your tax bill using legal means. That is where Elephant.in can help.

In this post, we’ve covered a one of the most-opted legal ways you can employ to – not only lower your tax bill but also build up a sizable emergency fund – that can protect you and your loved ones in uncertain situations.

One of these legal tax-saving options is Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, which enables you to receive tax benefits on expenses from your income up to a maximum of ₹1,50,000. Let’s take a closer look at this Section.

Life Insurance Tax Benefits in India

One of the most well-known and preferred tax-saving options is Section 80C – because it enables taxpayers to make tax-saving investments like life insurance products to lower their taxable income.

It allows a maximum annual deduction of ₹ 1,50,000 from the total yearly income.

For example, You are a 26-year-old individual, that falls under the highest tax slab rate of 30% having an annual income of less than Rs 50 lakhs. You have opted for the old tax regime.

You have purchased a term life insurance plan from Elephant.in. for an annualized Premium of ₹19,500 for a Premium Payment Term and a Policy Term of 36 years. You get a life cover of ₹ 2 crores. In the case of your unfortunate demise, your nominee will get a lump sum payout of ₹ 2 crores.

As per 30%, the tax on ₹ 19,500 is ₹5,850
+
Education Cess of ₹ 234 at 4% of ₹45,000
=
You save ₹5,616 in a year

In this way, you can save ₹5,616 X 34 years (premium paying term) = ₹ 2,02,176

Additionally, you get the following benefits from a term life insurance plan:

• Life cover  of over ₹ 2 Crore
• You save ₹ 2.02 lakhs in tax benefits under Section 80C
• Get tax-free pay-out under Section 10(10D)

Suggested Read: How much term insurance cover do I need?

It’s almost the end of third quarter of the current financial year and is the right time to start planning your investments for the year and save some of your hard-earned tax money.

You can visit Elephant.in to choose your preferred insurance company, compare various plans and buy the one that best fits your requirements.

Tax Disclaimer: Tax benefits are defined by the Income Tax Act of 1961 and are subject to any future changes. It is suggested that you consult with a tax consultant.

Source: https://incometaxindia.gov.in/

People looking for term life insurance coverage frequently ask us, “How much term life cover do I need? ” The amount of life insurance that each person needs will vary depending on a variety of circumstances. In this post, we will discuss the factors that will influence how much life insurance you need.

3 Important Factors to Consider

Before choosing any life insurance plan, consider the following three most crucial factors to take into account while deciding how much term life cover is required:

• Does it cover your financial liabilities and loans?

Even if something unfortunate were to happen to you, unpaid debts like your home loan or car loan would still need to be repaid. In addition, you can have further unpaid debts. Make a list of all these liabilities and do the math to determine your total amount owed that must be paid regardless of what.

• Does it include both primary and secondary education for your kids?

If you are the sole breadwinner for the family, you are responsible for your child’s financial stability. Your child shouldn’t be denied the education s/he needs in the event of your unfortunate demise. Hence, determine a likely cost based on the program and institution you want to register your child in.

For example, A 4-year engineering program, which costs around 5 to 8 lakhs today, by 2025, it would likely cost at least 15–16 lakhs. Further, it is likely to reach 20 lakhs by 2030 and 35 lakhs by 2040. Hence, keep the inflation rate in mind while calculating the cost.

• Does it cover replace your current income?

Your family’s monthly expenses, such as those for groceries, transportation, medical care, and housekeeping, are also covered by your current salary.

These expenses could change if an unexpected incident occurs or if you retire. Say the monthly expenses for your household are ₹ 45,000 at the moment. Due to rising prices and an improvement in the level of living, this may rise in the future. Hence, decide how much you might need to spend annually to cover the family’s essential costs.

Calculate the Coverage You Require

After you’ve finished, add up all these numbers to get an idea of the total life cover you require. Your term plan’s sum assured must cover the expenses. If it is, you can relax knowing you have enough protection. It is that simple!

The Final Step

Now analyze and compare every term life insurance plan offered on Elephant.in and buy the one that seems most reasonable. Do not forget the premium cost that you will have to pay each month or annually while making this decision.

Life is unpredictable. Unexpected events may be beyond our control, but we can plan our family’s financial protection against them efficiently. In this aspect, one of the best tools for ensuring that your family never runs out of money is term life insurance.

A term insurance policy is a straightforward and cost-effective approach.

Having complete knowledge will enable you to make an informed choice, which will ultimately result in a stress-free future. Hence, before you decide to search online for the best term insurance policy, let’s understand how it works.

How a Term Life Insurance Work?

Here is how a term life insurance policy works:

• Step 1: You choose to buy a particular term insurance plan that fits best with your requirements.
• Step 2: You choose the sum assured or coverage amount that your nominee will receive in the unfortunate incident of your (life insured’s) demise.
• Pro Tip: To decide the coverage amount – try the DIME formula. Add your debt, income, mortgage, and education costs along with the salary needed for the number of years your loved ones require protection. You’ll get an idea of the needed coverage.
• Step 3: You choose the tenure of the policy i.e., the policy term and the duration of premiums to be paid i.e., the premium paying term – based on your earning years.
• Step 4: The life insurance company determines the premium amount to be paid based on a number of factors like your age, your overall health, sum assured, policy term, preferred term for paying premiums, and so on.
• Step 5: Decide the nominee(s). The death benefits do not need to go to just one person. You can split it between your adult children and spouse. In case you don’t have a family, leave the benefits to a friend, a charitable organization or a trust.
• Step 6: You buy the term insurance plan and in return you pay premiums.

Life Cover/ Death Benefit:

In the tragic circumstance, if the life insured passes away, the death benefit is given to the life assured’s nominee, and the life insurance policy is terminated.

Maturity Benefit:

Because a term plan is a “pure-risk” cover, if the life insured lives to the end of the policy term, there is no maturity benefit. Nevertheless, only in the case of “term insurance with return of premium plans” – if the life insured lives, s/he is given the agreed maturity benefit, which is the total premiums paid minus taxes, additional premiums, and so on.

With so many options available in the market, selecting the best term life insurance plan for you can be a task. However, Elephant.in can help you.

Contact us and we will arrange a meeting for you with our financial experts who will help you take a right decision without charging anything for their service. Dial 1800 266 9693 or email us at support@elephant.in.

Between 2021 and 2022, Indian ownership of term insurance plans increased from 39% to 43% ¹.

Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic has made us realize the importance of having a term life insurance plan!

It’s a type of plan that provides pay-out to your nominee(s) in the case of your unfortunate demise.  This pay-out will not only protect your loved ones from a sudden loss of income but also help paying back the unpaid loans such as home loans, student loans, etc.

Even though it’s smart to buy term insurance early, you still have time! So, yes! It is worth buying term insurance in your 50s. Here’s why:

5 Benefits of Buying Term Insurance in Your 50s

Here are the five most important benefits of buying term insurance in your 50s:

1. Replace Lost Income and Pay Living Expenses

Irrespective of your age when you die, a term plan can help your dependents make up for the lost source of income, especially if you were the sole breadwinner. The pay-out received can help them pay their living expenses.

2. Meet Your Family’s Lifestyle Needs

Over time, our lifestyle requirements change. Alongside, inflation keeps rising and that brings down our purchasing power. The pay-out that your nominees get from term insurance can financially aid them to maintain their lifestyle.

3. Protection against Liabilities

You may have taken out loans to buy a house, a car, and other assets. You can rest assured that even if you pass away, the burden from these loans won’t put your family in financial danger. If something tragic happens, the payment from the term plan might be able to pay off the loan(s). Moreover, his gives them peace of mind to focus on their own needs.

4. Financial Security for Children

Your kids are growing and so are their costs to have a stable livelihood. The maturity benefit of term insurance can also help financially secure the future of your children, at least until they start earning themselves.

5. Tax Benefits

Taxpayers may claim specific tax benefits in accordance with the guidelines set in the Income Tax Act. The most often claimed tax benefits fall under Section 80C and Section 10(10D). Please note that the tax norms are subject to change.

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To conclude, you can enjoy the above benefits irrespective of the age at which you opt for term insurance. So, compare and buy the best term life insurance plan most suited for your and your family’s future financial security.

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Tax Disclaimer: Tax benefits are defined by the Income Tax Act of 1961 and are subject to any future changes. It is suggested that you consult with a tax consultant.
Sources: https://www.business-standard.com/article/finance/term-insurance-ownership-has-risen-to-43-from-36-in-two-years-ipq-survey-122022300838_1.html

Every two-wheeler owner is required to have at least a third-party insurance plan to ride a bike or a scooter in India. As per Indian Motor Traffic laws, it is illegal to drive without a 3^rd party insurance in the country. Therefore, it is advisable to purchase a bike insurance plan without fail. Not renewing the bike insurance on time could result in the lapse of the policy. This is in effect, an expiry of the policy.

Bike insurance policy renewal can be easily done online rather than visiting the insurance company’s branch office. The policy can still be revived, even if you missed the deadline. It’s better to renew a policy than take a new one, as you do not need to be on-boarded once again. The insurer already has all your details.

Many insurance companies remind their policyholder through emails, calls, WhatsApp or texts as their insurance premium payment date approaches. Sometimes we tend to miss these when we don’t see the appropriate communication or we forget to make payments in time. However, if you have missed the renewal date of your insurance policy, immediately get in touch with your insurance company.

The first step you can take is to call your insurance company and ask for assistance related to policy renewal. In case you have lost track of your two-wheeler insurance renewal date or have missed renewing it before the due date, try to check your details online first. In situations where you are only paying after the due date, insurance providers avoid vehicle inspections.

There are two ways to renew your lapsed two-wheeler insurance plan i.e. online and offline. Follow these steps to complete the two-wheeler insurance renewal online after expiry:

1. Check if you have all the policy requirements ready with you. You can make changes to your policy at the time of renewal.
2. Login to your insurer’s website.
3. Enter the details related to your bike.
4. Select the type of bike insurance policy.
5. Select add-ons if required.
6. Make a payment through available payment methods.

Your two-wheeler insurance will be renewed and your renewed bike insurance policy will be sent to your registered email.

Consider the following points before purchasing/renewing a two-wheeler insurance policy.

1. Be aware of fraudulent offers
2. Never click on unknown links, asking you to renew on other platforms
3. Ensure that the insurer’s authorized signature is there on all policy documents.
4. Always ask for a payment receipt.

When purchasing two-wheeler insurance, the best way to do it is online, on a reputed website like Elephant.in. This way you can compare different bike insurance quotes and get insured with the best policy.

International travel can be scary and fun! Did you know that some tourists are known to travel with chefs who can cook food for them – while they travel? This can be a wise decision for most vegetarians who may or may not find the food they need in smaller countries! To what extent should this be done? Should you travel with a Doctor too? The point is you can be careful, but you cannot prepare for everything – it’s practically impossible.

Life is erratic, and the risks only multiply when you are in a foreign land among people you don’t know. There is no guarantee that your trip will go as per plan. You are highly vulnerable from being robbed to meeting an accident or missing your flight. Your trip can take the most unexpected turns in the most inconvenient of times. This is where having travel insurance can come to your aid.

A travel insurance policy can help you maximize the benefits of travelling and ensure that you are prepared for any circumstance in your journey.

Here are a few reasons to consider buying a travel insurance policy:

Support in case of medical emergencies

Being in a medical emergency while in a different country or on a flight is completely different from just being ill. Getting medical treatment abroad can be very expensive. Furthermore, instances of medical evacuation from the country will add to your expenses.

Having a travel insurance policy with an adequate cover that protects medical hospitalization/expenses, will save you from hefty medical bills. Your insurance provider can also connect you to the right doctors and hospitals for getting prompt medical care.

Retrieve flight scheduling and cancellation fees

Cancelling or rescheduling flights due to bad weather, strikes, or medical emergencies, can disturb your travel plans. Without travel insurance, you might end up paying the flight cancellation charges. With travel insurance, such charges can be taken care of, and you can enjoy your vacation as planned.

Replacement of stolen or lost luggage

Misplaced or theft of your luggage is not uncommon when travelling. Be it the loss of your debit/credit card/passport or a broken phone due to the carelessness of an airline baggage handler, the right travel insurance will cover you.

Protection against personal liability

A travel insurance policy can come to your aid if you are responsible for property damage or any injury suffered by a third party. Instead of being a victim, you could be at fault in a certain situation and have to compensate for damages. A travel insurance policy can cover you in such scenarios too.

Safeguard your home when you travel

Certain travel insurers provide security to your house while you travel abroad. Protection against expenses incurred due to burglary or fire falls under this plan.

Stress-free travel and stays

With an appropriate travel insurance policy, you can enjoy a stress-free journey while reclaiming losses against uncertain events. It helps to compensate for longer stays due to poor health. It will cover you till you are healthy to travel again.

A travel insurance policy is a must for those who want to make the most of their travel/ vacation. With several insurance plans available on Elephant, you can compare and get the best one for yourself.

Critical illness insurance protects the insured against serious diseases, which require expensive treatment. When diagnosed with critical diseases like heart attack, cancer, liver cirrhosis, any major surgeries, etc, critical illness insurance ensures a smooth process to settle huge bills. Critical illness bills can result in all your savings drying up. These can easily set you back by Rs 10 lakhs plus.

It helps the family to save costs, and isn’t it wise to buy a critical illness insurance plan before the need arises? The benefits of buying critical illness insurance at an early age are as follows:

• Lower Premiums

The age of a policyholder is an important factor when deciding the insurance premium. With good health and a lower probability of contracting a serious disease, insurers allow younger policyholders to pay cheaper premiums. Applying for a critical illness plan is easier when one is still in their 20s or 30s because insurers allow low premiums ensuring maximum savings. If the insured does ever require coverage, the longer time that they have paid premiums ensures an easy claim settlement process.

• Lump-Sum Payment for diagnosis and treatment

Treatment of critical illnesses is more expensive than regular diseases. Critical illness insurance plans usually provide lump-sum payments for treatment, diagnosis, and post-operative care. Many people cannot seek proper treatment as these are not affordable for all. Opting for a critical illness insurance plan at a young age ensures you get the best treatment and procedures when needed

• Related expenditure coverage

To seek the requisite treatment, patients with cardiovascular or other serious diseases may often need to travel to a different city or country. The patient may be accompanied by friends or family members, and the travel expenses can become too much to bear, especially when you are worried about how much the treatment will cost. Critical illness insurance also allows paying for the miscellaneous expenses that occur in the course of treatment.

• The family’s lifestyle need not change

When a family member, especially the sole breadwinner, is diagnosed with a critical disease, it affects the entire family’s lifestyle. The family works to save funds to aid the member’s recovery, and they compromise on living comfortably. However, with a simple heart or overall critical illness insurance, the family members need not worry about cutting down their expenses and living comfortably while taking care of their unwell relative.

Buying critical illness insurance prevents a lot of stress by taking care of expenses incurred during diagnosis and treatment. Visit Elephant.in and compare plans to safeguard yourself against critical illnesses and surgeries.

The cost of dealing with data breaches is beyond strengthening security procedures, repairing databases, or replacing lost laptops. Traditional business insurance is not enough to protect companies from cyber-crime. But do you wonder how does cyber insurance works?

Cybercrime is one of the most frequent types of crime, and yet it is not given the attention it requires. Individuals and businesses are susceptible to cybercrime. 2020 made conditions worse as companies had to work remotely without sufficient security measures.

India saw a 65% rise in cybercrime cases filed in 2020. Various small, medium and large-scale enterprises get affected by such crimes. To recoup the losses and expenses incurred while facing a cyberattack, it is wise to get cyber insurance.

The cyber security insurance process works like any other form of insurance. Cyber insurance is provided by many insurers who also provide other forms of business insurance, such as property insurance, errors and omission insurance, and liability insurance. Cyber insurance policies often include first-party coverage, which means losses that impact an organization, and third-party coverage, which means losses incurred by other organizations due to business relations with affected enterprises.

A cyber insurance plan helps an enterprise to pay for any financial losses that incur in the event of a data breach or a cyberattack. It also helps them cover the costs of legal services, investigation, crisis communication, and refunds to the customers.

Cybersecurity insurance typically includes first-party coverage of losses due to hacking, data extortion, data destruction, and data theft. The main areas covered by cyber insurance include:

1. Data Recovery

Cyber insurance usually enables the business to pay for the recovery of data compromised by a cyberattack.

2. Recovering personal identities

A cyber liability insurance policy helps an organization restore the personal identities of affected customers. Theft of personal identities is one of the scariest things that can happen to any individual. A stolen identity can help a criminal check into a hotel in London, United Kingdom while you are actually in Mumbai, India.

3. Customer notifications

Enterprises are required to notify their customers of a data breach, especially if it involves theft or loss of personally identifiable information(PII). Cyber insurance helps businesses cover the cost of this process.

4. System damage repair

The policy covers the cost of repairing computer systems and servers damaged by a cyberattack. It does not cover the cost of data recovery. It is important to read the fine print in each case.

5. Ransom Demands

Cyber insurance can help enterprises to cover the cost of meeting extortion/data ransom demands of the compromised data. A lot of times, computation of this amount is difficult. In case intellectual property or competitive trade secrets are lost – identifying the amount to be reimbursed is tough. The amount spent in building this IP or competitive advantage is difficult to calculate and you may or may not get the full amount you believe the Insurance company must give.

Pricing the cyber risk depends on the organization’s revenue and operating industry. To qualify for insurance, the insurer will carry out a security audit. The information gathered from the audit will guide the type of policy the insurance company can offer and the cost of premiums.

Policies vary between different insurance companies. Therefore, it is best to visit Elephant.in and compare policies to ensure required provisions and protection are covered by the policy.

A Term Insurance Policy is one of the most basic and traditional forms of life insurance. There must be someone to look after the expenses of your family and term insurance does this job in your absence.

These plans protect your family against unforeseen circumstances by offering financial security for managing their expenses if you are not around. A specific time period assigned to the term insurance plan is known as the plan term. In case a policyholder dies during the plan term, your family is paid a sum assured by the insurance company.

Term Insurance can be broadly classified into 6 types, based on their coverage and term insurance benefits:

1. Level Term Plan

It is the most simple and basic form of term insurance where the sum assured is fixed throughout the policy tenure. Nominees will receive benefits after the death of the policyholder.

2. TROP (Term Return of Premium)

This insurance plan comes with a maturity benefit wherein the total premium amount will be returned to the insured if he/she survives the policy tenure.

3. Increasing Term Plan

While maintaining the premium amount at the same value, the policyholder has the option to increase the assured sum annually during the tenure.

4. Decreasing Term Plan

Unlike the increasing term plan, the sum assured keeps on decreasing every year to meet the decreasing insurance requirements of the policyholder. This policy comes in handy if the insured person has taken a huge personal loan or is paying an EMI.

5. Convertible Term Plans

With these plans, the policyholder can convert this plan into any other type of insurance plan at a future date. For instance, if you have bought a term insurance policy for 25 years, but after 5 years, if you want to convert it into whole insurance, an endowment plan, etc., you can change it without any hassle.

6. Term Plan with Riders

This type of plan comes with rider options such as critical illness cover, death cover, etc., which can be purchased with the term insurance by paying a small premium.

Life throws a lot of surprises, and these surprises may be bitter sometimes. You can visit Elephant and opt for online term insurance to protect your family against the uncertainties of life.