Protect your family with 100% pure life insurance

key-features-0

Coverage from

₹25 lakh onwards

key-features-1

Adjust your coverage

when you need

ARN: L0130 | *T&C Apply
background-image-desktop-widget

What Happens If You Outlive a Term Insurance Policy?

Increasing market inflation and sedentary lifestyles have led many people to opt for life insurance policies. Life insurance plans generally fall into two types: Term and Permanent. Term insurance is the most straightforward and common life plan, affordable and adopted by millions of people to ensure their family's financial security. Considering purchasing term insurance for your loved ones' financial stability is a wise step. However, it's crucial to understand these policies' intricacies before purchasing. This article will answer the most common question: what happens if you outlive the entire policy period? Keep reading to learn more.

What are Term Insurance Policies?

Term insurance is a type of life insurance product that provides financial coverage to your family in the form of a death benefit. The cash amount your family gets will be tax-free, and it can only be paid when the policyholder dies within the policy period or when the policy is still in effect.

This means that if your death occurs at a time when your term insurance policy has lapsed, your family will not get the death benefit amount. Let's understand term insurance better:

The basic idea behind purchasing a term insurance plan is to secure your family financially after your death

The amount you opt for when purchasing the plan is called the sum assured. You can determine this amount by considering your family's financial requirements and changing circumstances.

Term insurance policies generally offer policy periods of up to 40 years, during which your dependents can receive a high sum assured as a death benefit.

The premiums for a term insurance plan tend to be lower than those for other types of life insurance policies. Also, the premium amounts usually remain the same throughout the policy period.

What Happens When You Outlive Your Term Insurance Policy?

Term insurance is specifically designed to provide life coverage for a specific term, such as 10, 20, or even 30 years. So, the key concern for policyholders is what happens if they outlive the policy term.

  • With traditional term insurance, no payment is made if the insured survives beyond the policy term. However, there's an alternative for those seeking term insurance with the option to receive premiums back at maturity, known as Return of Premium (TROP) plans. 
  • Under these plans, if the insured outlives the policy term, all premiums paid are refunded, excluding GST. This simply means that if you survive through the policy period, you will get back the funds you invested in the policy. However, it's important to note that TROP plans come with higher premiums compared to traditional term plans.
Carousel Circle Pattern

What Should You Do If Your Term Insurance Policy Is Expiring?

It is always ideal to plan what you wish to do with your existing term insurance plan at least one year before it ends. However, you must remember to implement your plan when the policy is still active. You can take one of the following steps to stay covered:

Several insurance companies offer life insurance policies with renewability. Thus, when your term insurance plan is about to expire or reaches the end of its term, you have the option to renew it. However, the premiums will be revised and generally higher than before. This increase is due to your older age and potential health concerns. 

Having a term plan with immense flexibility is wise; ACKO Life Flexi Term Plan is one such option in the market that allows you to increase or decrease your coverage, duration, change nominees and more. 

If you are still in good health when your insurance policy expires, you can plan to buy a new one, which would cost you a much lower expense than conversion. But, you need to remember that whenever you purchase a new policy, you must again go through all the medical tests and processes you did while buying the previous one.

Most of the term insurance policies come with conversion options that allow you to change your existing plan to a permanent one. In case you are still eligible to afford further premiums, converting a term insurance plan to a permanent one is a good option to have your family covered for longer.

Even though it is not a very wise decision, you can also drop your life insurance policy once it expires. However, it is advisable to only opt for this option when you feel like you have saved enough funds to ensure your family's financial security after your demise.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, you will have different options to implement when your existing term insurance plan is about to end. Whether you wish to discontinue or renew your expired term insurance plan or buy a new one, you must take an informed approach, keeping in mind your family's financial requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following points are some of the frequently asked questions about what happens if you outlive a term insurance policy:

Yes, increasing term insurance can typically be renewable. The renewal feature enables you to extend your coverage for another term, often in increments of 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years, depending on the policy terms. You can also renew it without repeating the medical tests or opting for any requalification. 

The brief answer is yes, but it depends on certain conditions. For instance, if you have included a term conversion rider in your existing term insurance plan, your insurance policy can be converted to a whole life one. 

Life insurance plans can generally be of two types - term and permanent. While term insurance can last up to a certain period, say for 20 or 30 years, a permanent one shall last until the policyholder dies. So, if you wish to invest in a life insurance plan that provides you with coverage forever or throughout your lifespan, permanent life insurance will be ideal for you.

If you fail to pay your premiums on time, your existing insurance policy can be terminated. However, several insurance companies provide reinstatement or revival policies through which you can revive your policy by paying the due premiums.

When opting for renewable or convertible term insurance plans, you have the provisions to renew or extend the term period of your plan as per the terms and conditions associated with the policy.

However, some plans in the market, like the ACKO Life Flexi Term Plan, offer unmatched flexibility. With this unique plan, you can increase or decrease your policy term based on your changing needs and lifestyle.

Explore Life Insurance Product

Neviya Laishram profile avatar

Written by

Neviya Laishram

Senior Editor – Health, Life and Group Health Insurance Content at ACKO

Vaibhav Kumar Kaushik profile avatar

Reviewed by

Vaibhav Kumar Kaushik

Senior Director – Life Insurance Strategy