Max Life Insurance Review

Pros Explained

• Online quotes available: Rather than having to contact an agent or broker to get information on pricing, Max Life Insurance has a detailed online calculator you can use to estimate your premiums based on different benefit amounts. 
• Riders can be added to policies: Max Life Insurance has several optional riders you can add to your policy to give you additional coverage, such as a waiver of premium rider. 
• Some customers qualify for discounts: As a Max Life Insurance customer, you can qualify for loyalty discounts and get 5% off your premiums if you maintain your policy.

Cons Explained

• Residency and citizenship restrictions apply: Only some people will qualify for non-resident policies, and residents of certain countries are completely excluded. 
• Low coverage maximums: Max Life Insurance’s plans have relatively low coverage maximums relative to typical life insurance policies sold in the United States. The maximum amount of coverage with a term life policy is five rupee crore or around $605,000 in U.S. dollars.
• Policies function differently than plans sold in the U.S.: If you’re used to life insurance plans that are sold in the U.S., Max Life Insurance plans may be confusing. For example, its child policies don’t provide coverage for the child; instead, the parent is the covered person. 

Available Plans

Max Life insurance sells term and child life insurance policies. While it has many options, only a few of its plans are available to people not living in India. For the purposes of this review, we focused on plans available to people living outside of the country. 

If you aren’t a citizen of India or aren’t currently living within the country, you may qualify for a Max Life Insurance policy if you fit into one of the following categories:

• Indian citizen: You live in another country but are a citizen of India with a valid passport issued by the Government of India.
• Person of Indian origin: This exception is based on your heritage and family history. You can qualify for insurance if:
• You previously held an Indian passport
• You have parents or grandparents that were citizens of India under the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act of 1955
• You are married to an Indian citizen
• Foreign nationals: If you are not an Indian citizen but are living in India, you are eligible for coverage. 

Max Life Insurance offers the following plans for non-residents: 

Term

Max Life Insurance’s term life policies share some similarities with policies sold in the U.S. Your coverage lasts for a predetermined term, and your beneficiaries only receive a death benefit if you die within that term. 

However, Max Life Insurance policies differ in several key ways. While term life coverage in the U.S. typically has terms of 10 to 30 years and a fixed lump sum death benefit, Max Life Insurance’s plans have terms as long as 50 years, and some plans include growing benefits or provide monthly income. 

Max Life Insurance has four types of term life insurance: 

• Basic Term Insurance: The basic term plan provides a death benefit as a lump sum payment when the covered person passes away during the policy term. 
• Term Insurance Plan With Monthly Income: Instead of your beneficiaries receiving only a lump sum death benefit, this plan pays a death benefit and a fixed monthly sum. 
• Term Insurance Plan With Growing Monthly Income: With the growing monthly income term life plan, the policy pays a fixed amount to your beneficiaries. In addition, your loved ones will also receive a monthly income that increases every year. 
• Term Insurance Plan With Return of Premium: With a return of premium term life policy, you’ll receive the premiums you paid—minus taxes and fees—if you survive your plan’s term. If you opt for this plan, you’ll pay an additional premium. 

Child

With child policies sold in the U.S., the child is the covered person, and the beneficiaries are usually the child’s parents. 

Max Life Insurance’s child plans work differently. While advertised as child plans, the covered person is the parent and the child is the beneficiary. The policies combine life insurance with the ability to save for the child’s future education. 

There are two child life insurance policies available to non-residents: 

• Max Life Future Genius Education Plan: You can choose a term of 13 to 21 years based on your child’s educational goals. Once the plan reaches its maturity date, there is a maturity benefit that is paid out that is separate from the death benefit. During the last four years of your policy’s term, you can also withdraw money to pay for your child’s college tuition or other education-related fees.
• Max Life Shiksha Plus Super: With this plan, you have a death benefit as well as an investment component. You can invest in equity markets to potentially help your money grow faster, and you can choose to invest in government securities, corporate bonds, money market funds, and equity-related securities. Terms range from 10 to 25 years.

Available Riders

Like insurance companies based in the U.S., Max Life Insurance has several insurance riders that you can add to your policy at an additional cost. By adding riders to your policy, your premiums will increase, but you’ll get additional benefits and coverage.

The following riders are available from Max Life Insurance: 

Critical Illness and Disability Rider

If you become permanently disabled or are diagnosed with a critical illness and your income is affected, the disability benefit rider can help cover some of your expenses while you’re still living. 

One-Year COVID-19 Rider

This is a short-term rider available to existing customers. If you add the COVID-19 rider to your policy and are diagnosed with COVID-19 within the rider’s term, you can receive a benefit to cover your COVID-19-related medical expenses. If you pass away from COVID-19, your beneficiaries will receive an additional benefit. 

Waiver of Premium

With the waiver of premium rider, your policy will remain in force if you become disabled and are unable to work, but the company will waive your monthly premiums.  

Customer Service

Max Life Insurance has a robust website with an online portal for policyholders. Customers can view policy information, make payments, download forms, and start a claim through the portal. 

If you aren’t a citizen or resident of India and need to contact customer service, you can call 1-860-120-5577. Or, send an email to nri.helpdesk@maxlifeinsurance.com. 

Complaint Index

Because Max Life Insurance doesn’t sell policies within the United States, it doesn’t have a complaint ratio from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. 

Third-party Ratings

Because Max Life Insurance is a life insurer in India, it hasn’t been evaluated by AM Best, the credit rating agency that is focused on the U.S. insurance industry. Nor was it part of the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Individual Life Insurance Study. 

In the past, Max Life Insurance has had issues with regulatory authorities. In April 2021, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) penalized Max Life Insurance for violating corporate governance and disclosure rules. 

Cancellation Policy

In the U.S., insurance companies offer 10-day free-look periods, but some states require longer periods.

For Max Life Insurance, there is a 15-day free-look period. You have 15 days from the day you receive your insurance packet to review your policy, change your plan, or cancel for a full refund. If you purchased your policy offline through a broker or agent, you have 30 days after receiving your insurance packet. After the free-look period ends, you will have to pay a surrender charge to end your contract. 

To cancel your policy, you must send your policy documents, a copy of your photo ID, and a cancellation form to service.helpdesk@maxlifeinsurance.com. 

Price

Max Life Insurance has an online rate tool that you can use to estimate your cost for different benefit amounts. If you are a policyholder and make your payments on time, you can also qualify for a loyalty discount to reduce your premiums. 

As with other companies, Max Life Insurance requires you to select either “male” or “female” when getting a quote for a policy or submitting a life insurance application.  As Max Life Insurance is a company based in India, it may have different guidelines and restrictions than U.S.-based companies for nonbinary individuals. 

Alternative Choices

Max Life Insurance has several different term and child policies for non-residents. However, it’s only available if you meet certain residency or citizenship requirements, and its coverage amounts are relatively low. 

If you’re looking for an insurer that caters to U.S. residents and has more coverage options, consider New York Life, a leading life insurance company. 

New York Life has 10 different policy options, including term, whole, universal, and variable universal plans. It has a lengthy list of optional riders you can add to your policy, including chronic care, accidental death, and disability waiver of premium riders. Through New York Life, you can get a policy with a death benefit of $1 million or more, providing your family with substantial financial security. 

Final Verdict

As a company based in India, non-residents may find Max Life Insurance’s eligibility restrictions frustrating and its coverage limits too low. If you live outside of India and are looking to provide your family with lasting protection, apply for insurance through a U.S.-based company to get a policy that is better designed to meet your needs.

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Methodology

Our reviews of life insurance companies are based on a quantitative methodology that analyzes each insurer on their stability and reliability, customer service, claims experience, diversity of product lines, and cost. We compare the terms of each type of policy offered—including available coverage amounts, optional riders, and premium payment options—with that of other major life insurance companies. Lastly, we look at how the company is rated by third-party organizations to determine its reliability and overall reputation.