01The detail

Life Shield Plan in one table

Claim settlement ratio

98.5%FY 2024–25

95% recommended

Complaints per 10,000

2.33policies

Under 10 recommended

Insurer	Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited
Sum insured	No stated upper limit. Higher amounts are decided case by case on your health, income and existing cover.
Entry age	18 to 65 years on plan options 1, 3, 5 and 7. Options 2, 4, 6 and 8 close at 50.
Cover runs to	Up to 85 years (last birthday)

Claim settlement and complaint figures are IRDAI-published and held centrally by NYVO, not taken from the insurer's marketing.

02Cover

What Life Shield Plan does, and what it does not

Term insurance is a narrow product, so the useful question is not how this plan scores against a benchmark – it is what it pays for and what it leaves out. Both lists come from Aditya Birla Sun Life's own documents.

What this plan does

01Eight plan options, so the shape of the cover can be matched to what you actually need

02Terminal illness cover built in rather than sold as a rider

03Cover can run to age 85, on terms up to 55 years

04Single, regular, or limited premium over 6, 8 or 10 years

05Optional riders to extend the cover

06Backed by the lowest complaint volume of any major Indian life insurer

What it does not do

01Entry to 65 on every option options 2, 4, 6 and 8 close at 50

02A short policy term the minimum is 10 years, and 20 on options 7 and 8

03Variants

Which variant should you take?

This plan is sold in more than one form, and the choice is made once at purchase. Picking the wrong one is not something you can quietly correct later, so it is worth a minute now.

Plan options 1, 3, 5 and 7Most buyers

The options that stay open to entrants up to age 65. If you are over 50, these are the only four available to you.

Plan options 2, 4, 6 and 8

Entry closes at 50 on these four. Worth confirming which group you have been quoted, because the difference does not show up in the price alone.

04Exclusions

What this plan will not pay for

Every policy carries exclusions, and they are the clauses people read for the first time at claim stage. These are the ones worth knowing before you buy.

Not coveredIndicative, not exhaustive. Your policy wording is the contract.

01Suicide within 12 months of the policy starting or of its latest revival - 80% of the premiums paid is returned, provided the policy is in force.

05The honest bit

Where Life Shield Plan falls short

No plan is right for everyone, and a page that only lists strengths is not much use to you. These are the gaps we would raise on a call before recommending it.

Worth knowing before you buyNone of these are dealbreakers on their own. They are the trade-offs this plan asks you to accept.

01Eight plan options behind one name, and the entry age depends on which one you pick - four close at 65 and four at 50. That difference does not show up in a price comparison, so confirm the option number on your quote.

02Options 7 and 8 need a minimum 20-year term. If you wanted cover for a shorter stretch, those two are not available to you.

03ABSLI publishes a V06 brochure alongside a V02 policy contract. The brochure is the newer filing, so check that the UIN on your own paperwork matches what you were quoted.

04This is the agent-sold plan. ABSLI's DigiShield covers similar ground with ten options and a documented online route, which usually costs less. Price both.

05ABSLI's 98.5% settlement ratio is a little below the best in the market, though its complaint volume is the lowest of any major insurer here.

06Source documents