Bajaj Life eTouch II Review 2026

01The detail

eTouch II in one table

Claim settlement ratio

99.2%FY 2024–25

95% recommended

Complaints per 10,000

3.95policies

Under 10 recommended

Insurer	Bajaj Life Insurance Limited
Sum insured	₹50 lakh upwards in steps of ₹1 lakh, with no fixed upper limit – the limit is what underwriting will accept on your income and health
Entry age	18 to 65 years on all three variants. The Pay Till 60 option narrows that to 18 to 55, and to 25 to 55 on Life Shield ROP.
Cover runs to	Up to 99 on Life Shield and Life Shield Plus, and only where premiums are paid over a limited number of years. Everything else ends at 85.

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

02Cover

What eTouch II 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 Bajaj Life's own documents.

What this plan does

01Three variants pure cover, cover plus accidental death, or cover with premiums returned – fixed at purchase

02Cover to age 99 on Life Shield and Life Shield Plus, but only on a limited premium payment term

03Terminal illness paid early, capped at ₹2 crore, with premiums waived on any balance left running

04Premiums waived for good on accidental total permanent disability – built in, not a rider

05Payout shape fixed by you at purchase: lump sum, monthly income over 5, 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, or a split

06Premium Holiday: skip 1, 2 or 3 years opted at purchase, and only on terms of 20 years or more

07Early Exit Value: all premiums back after 25 policy years and attained age 60, Life Shield and Life Shield Plus only

08Life Stage Upgrade: raise cover on marriage, a child, a home loan or an education loan, before age 45

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.

Life ShieldMost buyers

Pure cover, with terminal illness and the accidental-disability premium waiver built in at no extra cost. It is the only one of the three that can be written to age 99, and it is the right starting point for most buyers.

Life Shield Plus

Everything in Life Shield, plus a separate accidental-death sum assured chosen at purchase between 10% and 100% of your base cover and capped at ₹2 crore. Worth it only if your work or commute carries real accident risk – and note the accident cover itself stops at 85 even where the base cover runs to 99.

Life Shield ROP

Every premium back if you outlive the term, as a lump sum or over five yearly instalments. The trade-offs are real: terms cap at 50 years, there is no Early Exit Value and no Life Stage Upgrade on this variant, and the refund is bought with a much higher premium than plain Life Shield.

04Add-ons

eTouch II add-ons you can buy with it

Each of these costs extra and each has its own conditions. Some are genuinely worth it; several exist to patch a gap in the base plan. Ask what each one adds before it goes on your quote.

New Critical Illness Benefit

A lump sum on the first diagnosis of a listed condition, in one of three options – 10, 25 or 60 major illnesses. Nothing is paid if the diagnosis falls inside 90 days of the cover starting, or if the life assured does not survive 14 days from it. Rider term 1 to 30 years, cover ends at 80, minimum ₹50,000, and the rider cover can never exceed the base sum assured. Female lives are covered for breast, cervical, uterine, ovarian, vulval and vaginal cancers under every option.

Accidental Death Benefit II

Pays the higher of the rider cover or 105% of the rider premiums you have paid, on top of the base death benefit, where death follows an accident within 180 days of it. Entry 18 to 65, cover ends at 85, rider term 1 to 67 years, minimum ₹1,00,000, and the rider cover is capped at three times the base death benefit. Death traceable to a disease or infection does not count as accidental.

Accidental Permanent Total / Partial Disability Benefit II

50% of the rider cover on permanent partial disability, and the higher of the rider cover or 105% of rider premiums paid on permanent total disability. The disability has to arise within 180 days of the accident. Only one partial-disability claim is ever paid; if a total disability follows within a year of it, the rider pays a further 50% and ends. Entry 18 to 65, cover ends at 85, minimum ₹1,00,000, and never more than the base death benefit.

Family Protect

Pays a named family member on your death or accidental total permanent disability, in four options covering a spouse, parents, children or the family together. The parental option pays 105% of the rider premiums as a lump sum plus a monthly income of 0.1% to 0.5% of the rider cover for the surviving parent's lifetime. Your entry age 18 to 65, rider term up to 57 years, cover ends at 75, minimum ₹50,000, and never more than the base cover. Nothing is paid if the covered relative dies before you do.

Care Plus, non-linked

An outpatient and wellness rider in five options – teleconsultations, second opinions, health check-ups, dental in the higher two – plus a lump sum and a waiver of the rider's own premiums if an accident leaves you permanently and totally disabled. Entry 18 to 65, rider term up to 20 years, cover ends at 75. This is a services rider, not protection; price it against what you would pay for the same consultations directly.

05Exclusions

eTouch II exclusions: what the 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.

01Death by suicide within 12 months of the risk starting or of the last revival. Your nominee gets the higher of 80% of the premiums paid or the surrender or termination value, and no death benefit.

02The extra accidental-death payout under Life Shield Plus is carved out where the base cover is not: alcohol or drugs taken outside a prescription, self-inflicted injury, a criminal act, racing or hazardous sport, aviation other than as a passenger on a scheduled airline, poison or gas, and any death traceable to a disease or infection.

03The built-in waiver of premium on accidental total permanent disability carries a similar list, and it is also withheld where the disability follows a failure to act on medical advice.

04The critical illness rider pays nothing where the diagnosis falls inside the first 90 days, where the life assured does not survive 14 days from it, or where the condition follows a hazardous activity or a criminal act.

06The honest bit

Where eTouch II 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.

01The payout shape is locked in at purchase, not at claim. Choose monthly income and your family cannot simply ask for the lump sum – they have to have the remaining instalments discounted at 5% a year, which costs them money at exactly the wrong moment.

02Early Exit Value reads as a free way out but carries three gates at once: 25 completed policy years, attained age 60, and not in the last five years. It also vanishes entirely if you have ever used a Life Stage Upgrade, and it is not offered on Life Shield ROP.

03Premium Holiday and Life Stage Upgrade cannot both sit on one policy. You are asked to pick at purchase, years before you know which one you will actually need.

04Terminal illness is capped at ₹2 crore. On larger cover the balance stays with the insurer until death – premium-free, but unpaid when the family is likely to need it.

05The minimum cover is ₹50 lakh, so this is not a plan you can use for a small top-up over an existing policy. And on Life Shield or Life Shield Plus bought on Regular Pay there is no surrender value at any point – stop paying and you simply lose the cover.

07FAQs

eTouch II questions, answered

Which of the three variants should I take?

Life Shield, for most people. It is pure cover, terminal illness and the accidental-disability premium waiver are already included, and nothing you pay for goes unused. Take Life Shield Plus only if your work or your commute carries genuine accident risk, and treat Life Shield ROP as a savings decision rather than an insurance one – compare the extra premium against what that difference would earn if you invested it over the same period.

Can this really cover me to 99?

Yes, but on conditions. Cover to age 99 is offered only on Life Shield and Life Shield Plus, and only if you pay the premiums over a limited number of years rather than for the whole term – the minimum policy term becomes 99 minus your age at entry. On Life Shield Plus, the accidental-death portion still stops at 85. Life Shield ROP cannot be written past a 50-year term at all.

How does my family get paid?

However you told the insurer at purchase. You choose between the full amount as a lump sum, monthly instalments over 5, 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, or 10% to 90% up front with the rest as income. This is a decision made years before anyone knows what the family will need, so think twice before locking in instalments. Your nominee can convert the remaining instalments into one payment, but the insurer discounts them at 5% a year to do it.

What is not covered?

For the base cover, suicide within 12 months of the policy starting or being revived – in which case the higher of 80% of your premiums or the surrender value is paid, and no death benefit. Beyond that the base cover is broad. The carve-outs sit on the extras: the accidental-death benefit under Life Shield Plus and the built-in disability waiver both exclude things the base cover does not, including alcohol and drugs outside a prescription, self-inflicted injury, hazardous sport and non-scheduled aviation, and the accidental-death benefit does not apply to any death traceable to a disease.

Can I pause the premiums?

There are two separate features and they work differently. Auto Cover Continuance lets you defer up to 12 months of premium once you are three policy years in, with the cover fully intact – but the skipped premium becomes due along with the next one, and you can only do it again after five years. Premium Holiday actually waives 1, 2 or 3 years of premium, but you have to opt for it at purchase, your term and premium payment term have to be 20 years or more, and the first one is only available after five policy years. Choosing Premium Holiday means giving up Life Stage Upgrade.

Can I increase the cover later?

Yes, through Life Stage Upgrade, but only if you opted for it at purchase and only on Life Shield or Life Shield Plus. It has to be exercised within six months of the event, before you turn 45: marriage adds up to 50% or ₹50 lakh, a first or second child up to 25% or ₹25 lakh each, a home loan up to 25% or ₹50 lakh, an education loan up to 25% or ₹25 lakh. The total increase is capped at 100% of your original cover, fresh underwriting applies, and once you use it the Early Exit Value is gone.

08Source documents