As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most businesses have moved online. The insurance industry is no different. Even earlier, most insurance companies had their online operations up and running, but due to the pandemic, companies are now streamlining and prioritising online operations over in-person business.
For many years, people were skeptical of online services and service providers and were afraid of getting ‘scammed’ online. However, over the past few years, India has seen a gradual shift of the mainstream population starting to accept online businesses as legitimate and trustworthy businesses.
It is important that customers remain aware of the facilities that online insurance companies provide, especially in the middle of a pandemic, when stepping outside of your house carries a risk. Here are some of the common misconceptions that people have regarding buying Term Insurance online and the truth behind them.
Misconceptions about buying Term Insurance online
- Low-cost online plans are just as safe as more expensive offline plans – Many customers can get confused when looking at insurance plans online and offline that differ in cost but offer the same benefits. Customers tend to think that there is some ‘catch’ with cheaper online term insurance plans. The same plans with the same benefits are comparatively cheaper online because there are no costs like agent commissions, infrastructure costs, and other miscellaneous expenses linked to buying online term plans.
- Online and Offline Plans offer the same benefits – While buying plans online, many people tend to think that online plans are inferior in some way or do not offer as many benefits as offline plans. This is completely false. Plans bought online offer the exact same term insurance benefits and options that are available in offline plans.
- The claim settlement process is just as easy – Many people have a misconception that just because some plans are online, the claims settlement process will be more difficult, or that they will have trouble with getting their claims approved. However, this is a misconception. The Insurance Regulatory and Development authority has set strict guidelines to ensure that there is no compromise in term policies that have been bought online and customers get the exact same benefits as people who bought policies offline. As long as customers submit the necessary and relevant documents related to the claims, there will be no problems in online claim settlements.
- People believe policies bought online have no customer support – This is not true either. Anyone who has purchased a Term Insurance policy online from a legitimate and reputed insurance company will be entitled to customer support. Most companies have dedicated customer support operatives to help solve any queries and problems that people who purchased their plans online may be having.
- People believe that buying Term Insurance online is a complicated process – Many peopleare often wary of buying products online, especially Term Insurance. They also believe that buying important products/services like insurance online can be a complicated process with room for error. Nowadays, you can buy Term Insurance online with the click of a button. Most insurance companies have developed their online products to be easy to understand and purchase.
- People believe there are limited choices in buying an online term plan – On the contrary, buying insurance online provides customers with all possible options when considering a Term Insurance. If they are unsure, they can also choose to compare and cross-check the benefits and options offered by term plans from many other companies and choose the option that best suits them. Many companies also provide term insurance calculators and options to customizeterm insurance plans as per the requirements of the customers.
- Many people are wary about sharing their personal data online – Online data protection is an important issue and people are rightly concerned about sharing their information like phone number, email id, address etc. online. However, most insurance companies have strict privacy policies to protect the data of their users to avoid anyleakage. However, it’s always safe to check a company’s privacy policy before sharing your personal information.