It is the dream of every person to bring happiness and security to his/her family. This is more so when the individual is not around. It is important for every person to create a suitable financial nest for his family. Insurance provides the required financial buffer which ensures that an individual's near and dear ones are not caught in a financial jeopardy, in case of any unfortunate event.

This week we present the Life Guard plan offered by ICICI Pru. The Life Guard Plan is a cost effective term policy which comes in three distinct variations.

This is a typical term plan where there is only a risk cover in the policy. On death of the policyholder the sum assured is returned to the nominees. However, there are no survival benefits. Any person between 18 years and 55 years may apply. The minimum term is 5 years while the maximum is 30 years. The minimum premium is Rs.2,400 per annum.

Under this plan there exists a risk cover to the extent of the sum assured. In case of death of the policyholder the entire sum assured is returned. However, on maturity all the premiums are returned to the policyholder. This plan also has a unique feature of an extended life cover. This plan provides an extended life cover for 5 years after the maturity of the policy, for 50% of the sum assured. This provides additional protection even after the premium paying term. Any person between 18 years and 55 years may apply. The minimum term period is 10 years while the maximum is 30 years, subject to a maximum of 65 years of age. The minimum premium is Rs.2,400 per annum.

Being a single premium plan the premium is a one time payment depending on the term and sum assured chosen by the policyholder. The minimum sum assured is Rs.2,50,000. There are no survival benefits. However, on death of the policyholder the sum assured is returned to the nominees of the deceased policyholder. Any person between 18 years and 55 years may apply. The minimum term period is 3 years while the maximum is 15 years. This is subject to a maximum of 65 years of age. The minimum premium payable is Rs.2,400 per annum.

Insurance policy can be made more effective by topping it with riders. But riders should not be selected arbitrarily but only after a close introspection of one's needs and requirements. The Life Guard plan offers the accidental and disability rider and the waiver of premium rider. The riders have been briefly explained below:

On the death of the policyholder due to an accident the beneficiary gets the additional sum assured under this rider. In case an accident related death occurs while travelling by mass surface public transport, the beneficiary gets twice the sum assured under this rider. In the event of total and permanent disability 10% of the sum assured is paid out every year for 10 years.

In case of total and permanent disability due to an accident all the future premiums will be waived under this rider. These riders come with a nominal cost over and above the actual premiums that is paid for the policy. In this context an important aspect that needs to be highlighted is that these riders are not available with the single premium variation of the plan.

There is no surrender value against the Life Guard level term plan and single premium plan. But on the surrender of the Life Guard level term plan with return of premium, a guaranteed surrender value is paid to the policyholder after three years' premiums have been paid.

Sum assured = Rs. 10,00,000:

Age	5 year policy	10 year policy	15 year policy	20 year policy
30 years	Rs. 2,751	Rs. 2,751	Rs. 2,751	Rs. 2,751
35 years	Rs. 2,878	Rs. 2,751	Rs. 2,947	Rs. 3,446
40 years	Rs. 3,917	Rs. 2,751	Rs. 4,299	Rs. 5,014

Sum assured = Rs. 10,00,000:

Age	10 year policy	15 year policy	20 year policy	25 year policy
30 years	Rs. 32,195	Rs. 15,642	Rs. 10,860	Rs. 9,047
35 years	Rs. 2,878	Rs. 2,751	Rs. 2,947	Rs. 3,446
40 years	Rs. 3,917	Rs. 2,751	Rs. 4,299	Rs. 5,014

Sum assured = Rs. 10,00,000: