The recent outbreak of Coronavirus has made a large number of the population realise the importance of having a good term life insurance and a good Health Insurance plan for themselves and their families. As per a report by Indian Express, before COVID-19, only 10 % of Indian population showed an interest in purchasing any type of Health or Term Life Insurance. However, since the pandemic has spread across India, 71 % of people consider it a necessity.

The insurance industry in general and insurance companies have had to make several changes in Term insurance practices, to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has forced insurance companies to make major changes in their working style and many new trends in term insurance have been observed. Here are the major term insurance trends that insurance companies have adopted as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting regular business practices.

Changing trends for Term Life Insurance:

• Cover for pandemic – Many term insurance providers have made changes in their term insurance plans, and term plans with critical cover to include financial and medical costs coverage for the pandemic. This pandemic has been an unprecedented situation for the whole country and providing coverage for the same has helped insurance companies build trust with their customers and draw in new customers.

• Term Policies have become digital – While insurance companies had already started adopting online sale of insurance policies through their websites, the pandemic has essentially shut down face to face and physical forms of business. As a result, most insurance companies have had to change their priorities and focus on transforming their businesses online. It has become easier than ever to buy a term insurance online.

• New Term Insurance plans have been made available – In uncertain times like these, having term insurance has become a priority for many people. As a result, insurance companies have come up with many new term insurance plans with different levels of cover, term insurance premiums and customisations available to serve the diversity of their customer base.

• Insurance Settlements and Claims have moved online – With the insurance companies turning their businesses online, a majority of staff now work from home. As a result, insurance settlements and claims processes have also been moved online by many insurance companies. The Insurance Regulatory and Development authority has set strict guidelines to ensure that there is no compromise in term policies that have been bought online and customers get the exact same benefits as people who bought policies offline.

• A report by the PWC has also shed light on how the Coronavirus pandemic could result in an increased interest in people buying term insurance in the near future. The report predicts an increased demand for term insurance and Health Insurance in the coming years. However, the report also mentions that with a large number of people having unstable cash or liquidity positions, the demand for term insurance with lower cover could surge.

• As mentioned above, most insurance companies have moved their businesses online, and with that, most administrative, sales and marketing processes have also been moved fully online. The PWC report also mentions the steps that most insurance companies have taken to move their businesses online. Here are the digital practices enabled by insurance companies, due to the Coronavirus pandemic:

1. Tele calling and Digital Marketing have become a major part of the marketing and advertising effort, since the pandemic. A substantial amount of advertising budget has moved to online ads.
2. Many companies have started providing dedicated support via call centers for COVID-19 specific queries.
3. Many insurance companies have conducted webinars for the public to create awareness about term insurance and other types of life insurance.
4. Insurance companies have increased focus on cybersecurity and enhancing their websites/digital presence to promote their business online.