Do you have the curiosity to know how much your spouse trusts you? If yes, you will be delighted to learn that there is indeed an insurance product that exactly tests this.
This is Jeevan Saathi -- a joint life insurance product offered by Life Insurance Corporation of India. Most private insurance companies do not offer this policy as it involves larger risk on the part of the insuring company.
A couple can save about Rs 17,519 per annum for a sum assured of Rs 5 lakh for a period of 20 years if it opts for Jeevan Saathi rather than two endowment policies, given that the husband is aged 40 years and wife 35 years.
Under the joint life insurance, the premiums to be paid will be Rs 33,251 per annum, while under two endowment policies taken by the spouses, the husband will have to pay Rs 25,899 and wife Rs 24,861 per annum.
In the case of the above example, the assured amount -- Rs 5 lakh -- will be payable on the death of one spouse to the surviving partner. Again on the death of the survivor during the term of the policy, the children or the nominee will be paid the sum assured, i.e. Rs 5 lakh.
Only Jeevan Sathi offers this benefit, by paying the total sum assured to one of the spouses on the unfortunate death of the other, and again, the assured sum is even paid to the children or the nominee on the demise of the other spouse.
In the event of an unfortunate death of one of the spouses, further premium payments are also waived. If one of the spouses or both the husband and the wife survive till the maturity date the sum assured along with the vested bonuses will be payable on maturity date.
This double-life cover also provides accident benefit to the basic sum assured on the first death occurring due to accident. However, if the spouses die simultaneously in an accident, or die within the specified period following the same accident, or if after the first death the second spouse also dies in the same policy year in a separate accident, accident benefit will be available in respect of both the lives.
The joint-life policy does not underline any strict policy conditions regarding procedures to be followed in case a married couple opts for a divorce.
However, they could be based on the policyholders' discretion -- the available choices will be to surrender the insurance cover and get the sum assured to the extent premiums have been paid or with the consent of both policyholders the policy could be converted into an endowment policy in any one person's name.
