Policybazaar, India’s leading online insurance marketplace, has announced the launch of a new vertical, where visitors can buy income loss insurance products. The current COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown situation has a significant impact on the economic climate of India. As per the NSO reports, India’s GDP growth in the first quarter of 2020-21 is 23.9%. There is high pressure in the private sector to generate employment opportunities and helps people to deal with jobs or income losses. New vertical users can know more about the products provided by India’s leading insurers, Shriram General, Universal Sompo, SBI General, and Aditya Birla Insurance. Here, Policybazaar’s objective is to provide income replacement benefits schemes to customers for a stipulated period.
Presently, these Job loss insurance policies are not popularly sold in the market. By the launch of new business lines, plans with coverage of job/income loss would be compared and purchased online. A key highlight of the insurance plan is that they not only cover loss of income due to job loss but also cover consumers if they are self-employed. The plans provide coverage with two different conditions, the first one is that job/income is lost due to termination or lay-off and the second condition includes job/income loss due to disability or death. In case of loss of job/income due to termination/layoffs or retrenchment, the plan will help by paying off loans for up to 3 months. If job/income is lost due to unexpected events that result in death or any disability the insured will get benefits of salary up to 2 years.
Job/Income loss arrives at the time when people have completed their savings or any emergency funds. A loss of job/income insurance is an appropriate option to tide off financial emergencies while maintaining long-term financial stability. Sarbvir Singh, CEO of Policybazaar.com said that it would be helpful to the middle-income groups in the country who need financial assistance to pay-off monthly installments to service loans and to protect themselves from sudden financial shocks. A loss of job/income insurance is the best policy to own to protect from such events.
There are different plans and benefits available to both salaried and self-employed individuals. The categories might be change from one plan to another. In case of job loss due to termination/layoffs or retrenchment, the insurer will pay the insured’s loan installments for 3-months. The coverage of loss of income/job due to partial or permanent disability includes benefits ranging from ₹1 lakh per week for a maximum of 100 weeks. Some plans even give coverage of loss of job/income due to critical illness, partial permanent disability, or partial temporary disability. Customers will get a tax rebate under Section 80 (D) of the Income Tax Act on premiums paid against the policy.
