How to Opt for a Suitable Life Insurance Plan in the UAE?

With so many options to choose from, selecting the best life insurance in the UAE that suits your needs becomes a hectic task. There are numerous factors you need to consider while buying a life insurance plan amongst the available options. Not only your family’s financial requirements, but you also need to consider the coverage extent, inclusions and exclusions, etc. A basic life insurance plan may not fulfil all the needs of your family, and the inflation rate may also devalue the insurance benefit amount in the coming years. To have the right life plan suiting your requirements, you need to research extensively. The article below intends to provide you with an outline for choosing the best life insurance plan in the UAE.  

Why Should You Choose a Life Insurance Policy?

A life insurance plan secures the policyholder’s life by providing death benefits to his family members in the event of his untimely death. While choosing an insurance plan, you need to be specific about the amount your family would require after your demise. Based on the number of dependent family members, you may need a higher insurance benefit. Since the insurance amount is of immediate help during a difficult situation, you need to find the best life insurance plan in the UAE to stay confident and have peace of mind. The common reasons to choose a life insurance plan before buying it are as follows.

• Death Benefits
• Salary Replacement
• Growing Wealth
• Securing Loans

Death Benefits

Every life insurance plan offers death benefits in the event of an untimely death of the policyholder. The nominee or the beneficiaries receive the amount after filing a claim settlement. The death benefit is the emergency fund your loved one would need to tackle financial hardships. While selecting an insurance plan, you need to consider the right life insurance policy that provides adequate insurance benefits to help your family recover from your sudden loss. In case you have an active loan, you may also need to consider a bigger death benefit to remove the financial burden from their shoulders.  

Salary Replacement

For the dependent members, the insurance benefit acts as a salary replacement to meet their daily expenses. In the case of your sudden demise, your family would get enough time to recover from the financial burden using the insurance amount before they find some other means of regular income. The received amount would help your family to pay bills, tuition fees, other expenses, etc. However, while choosing the best life insurance in the UAE, you need to consider whether the amount your beneficiaries would receive can replace your income for an extended period. 

Growing Wealth

With financial advancements, several insurance providers offer bespoke insurance plans that not only secure your life but also grow your investment in the long run. Insurance plans such as endowment and unit-linked plans provide death benefits and give a return on your investment after a certain tenure. However, term insurance plans are not meant for financial growth and only aim to secure you for a fixed tenure ranging from 5 to 35 years. While choosing an endowment or a unit-linked insurance plan, make sure to go through all the financial risks involved and the policy terms and conditions.

Securing Loans

An active loan after your demise can be a significant financial burden for your family. Along with emotional hardships, they would also have to deal with the debt repayment, eventually adding to their problems. To avoid such a situation, you can also opt for life insurance to secure your active loans. In the event of unfortunate death, your insurance provider will be liable for loan repayment and your family will stay unburdened, thus making the situation easier to deal with. 

How Should you choose the best life insurance in the UAE?

When considering life insurance, it may seem overwhelming to choose the right insurance plan. However, if you draw an outline of your financial needs, it becomes easy to find the right plan for yourself and your family. You can consider the following ways to choose the best insurance plan in the UAE. 

• Define Your Financial Requirements - Before choosing a life insurance plan, you need to understand how much financial support you require to conveniently support your family in tough times. You need to take into account various daily expenses, bills, and other occasional expenses such as child’s marriage, higher education or paying off certain loans. If you have more dependent family members, you may need to consider life insurance offering a higher death benefit. However, buying life insurance with more insurance benefits demands higher premium payments. 
• Type of Life Insurance You Need - The insurance market in the UAE is vast, with numerous conventional and Islamic insurance plans available. You can opt for life insurance that fulfills your requirements and falls under your budget. Moreover, if your sole purpose of opting for a life insurance plan is security, you can go for a term life insurance plan. It is affordable and provides adequate insurance benefits. If you intend to grow your savings, you may opt for an endowment or a unit-linked plan that pays maturity benefits after a fixed tenure. Following are the various insurance plans in the UAE depending on the purpose they fulfil. 
• Term Life Insurance Plan - As the name suggests, a term insurance plan remains active for a fixed tenure, and during this period, you need to pay a premium to stay secured. If you die during the policy term, the insurance provider is liable to pay death benefits to your beneficiaries. However, if you surpass the term insurance tenure, the insurance company won’t pay you any death benefit. 
• Whole Life Insurance - Unlike the term plan, whole life insurance secures you until the age of 100 years, or in other words, for your complete life. The cost of whole life insurance is greater as compared to term insurance, and it also comes with maturity benefits.
• Endowment Plans - Endowment plans are designed to provide you with life security along with saving your investment. Upon maturity, you receive the investment amount along with accrued profits over the period. The plan is best suited for individuals who wish to secure their lives and grow their investments. Although the endowment plan appears advantageous in a financial sense, there are some downsides to the plan. Since your premiums are invested in equities, there are chances that you may not receive the desired growth. When choosing an endowment plan, you need to go through the terms and conditions of the policy and maturity benefits. 
• Unit Linked Investment Plans (ULIP) - A unit-linked investment plan is similar to an endowment plan. However, it carries more risk as compared to an endowment plan. A ULIP offers insurance benefits against untimely death and also provides maturity benefits. The premiums you pay are converted into multiple units and invested inequities. And based on the market performance, you receive returns on your investment. Individuals with a higher risk appetite can go for a unit-linked investment plan, but before purchasing a ULIP, they need to understand all the risks associated with the plan.
• Consider Inclusions and Exclusions - It is crucial to consider the coverage extent of your life insurance. Life insurance plans have several inclusions and exclusions depending on the type of policy and the insurance provider. When purchasing life insurance, you need to look for life insurance that includes a wide range of threats with reasonable premium costs. You may also consider purchasing comprehensive life insurance in the UAE since it protects the policyholder from numerous threats within a single plan. 
• Check for Critical Illnesses Cover - Most comprehensive life insurance plans provide coverage for critical illnesses. When purchasing a life insurance policy, you should ensure that your insurance provider covers critical illnesses. If it is not covered in the basic plan, they should provide add-on coverage with a nominal premium payment. Statistically, since it is common to acquire a critical illness in today’s time, getting a critical illness cover is important for the policyholder.
• Consider cost-effectiveness - Whatever insurance you acquire, you need to pay a price. Therefore, it is important to consider the affordability of your life insurance plan. You can compare various life insurance plans online and get the best price. For a detailed comparison, you can visit the life insurance section of Policybazaar.ae. 

Conclusion

You need to invest a bit of time in purchasing the best life insurance plan in the UAE. It requires not only detailed research but also sound financial planning and analysis. However, when you draw an outline of your financial requirements and the amount you can invest, it becomes easy to choose a suitable life insurance plan. Additionally, you can reach out to our insurance experts to get professional suggestions on the best life insurance plan that suits your requirements.