Friday, March 2, 2012

LIC launches single-premium insurance plan

LIC launches single-premium insurance plan

Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched a limited-offer single-premium policy which promises to nearly double the premium amount at the end of 10 years. The policy, which works like a bond, also provides life insurance of up to five times the premium paid.

Similar policies offered have been a huge hit with policyholders in the past and the corporation raised over Rs 10,000 crore each time it launched such a scheme. The new plan, 'Jeevan Vriddhi', will be available only for the next six months. Given that it yields a tax-free return of 7.65% and there is no upper ceiling on the investment, the plan is likely to be a hit among high net worth individuals.

The minimum age for the plan is 8 years (completed) while the maximum is 50 years. The term under the policy is fixed at 10 years. The minimum sum assured is Rs. 1.50 lakh while there is no upper limit. The minimum premium under the policy is Rs 30,000 and shall increase in multiples of Rs 1,000.

A 35-year old who pays a one-time premium of Rs 1,00,000 will get insurance cover for Rs 5 lakh and a guaranteed return of Rs 1,97,023 after 10 years. LIC has said that depending on the performance of the fund, the corporation will provide an additional loyalty addition on maturity. This loyalty addition could go up to Rs 24,648.

In the past, LIC had come out with similar instruments at times when interest rates were high and there was uncertainty in the equity markets. This helped the corporation to take advantage of investor concern and deploy funds in high yielding fixed income instruments such as government securities, which are currently yielding around 8.2% for 10-years. While the yield on government bonds is higher than Jeevan Vriddhi, income on G-secs is taxable.

Article Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/LIC-launches-single-premium-insurance-plan/articleshow/12104508.cms 

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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Single-premium life insurance policies under regulator's lens

After highest net asset value (NAV) guaranteed products, the single premium, two-year premium and three-year premium policies are the latest life insurance products to come under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (Irda) scanner.

According to sources with direct knowledge, the regulator is working on norms whereby life insurance policies must come with a minimum five years of regular premiums.

 “Irda is not approving any two-pay or three-pay policies at the moment. Though there is no official communication, the regulator is not encouraging any products where the premium tenure is less than five years,” said a senior official at a life insurance company.

In a single premium policy, a policyholder needs to pay premium only once, while he or she is covered for its term. Similarly, for two-pay and three-pay policies, irrespective of the tenure, a policyholder pays premium only twice or thrice, respectively.

“We are not thinking about any regulatory interventions immediately, but the product clearances speak for themselves,” said Irda Chairman J Hari Narayan.

“Having said that, single premium policies or two-pay or three-pay policies, for that matter, are not a good idea. The life insurance industry cannot sustain on single premium policies and insurance, by nature, has to be long-term. Ideally, premiums’ tenure should be a minimum of five years.”

The moves assume importance, as single premium policies are currently 46 per cent of industry sales. During the April-December period, 24 life insurance players collected premiums worth Rs 52,053 crore by writing new policies.

Of these, single premium polices were Rs 33,239 crore (including group and individual policies). However, the sales were down 23 per cent compared to the corresponding period a year before.

If insurance companies have to do away with single premium policies, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) would be the worst hit. These products are 52 per cent of its new policies.

For private life insurance companies, single premium products are 30 per cent of sales.

“We are aware of the concerns of the regulator and are not pushing individual single premium products. This is the reason why our dependence on single premium polices has come down in the current fiscal to 51 per cent from nearly 60 per cent a year ago,” said a senior official at LIC.

Consequently, in the current financial year, LIC collected Rs 27,126 crore through single premium policies, 26 per cent down from the corresponding period a year before. Individual single premium policy sales were down 65 per cent at Rs 8,032 crore from Rs 22,061 crore a year before. For private insurance players, too, the individual single premium collection was down 27 per cent in the same period.

According to an expert, growth in life insurance premium collections, already witnessing a downward slide, might slip further, as the group single premium business was the only segment where sales were positive. In the group business, industry collection from single premium products were up 31 per cent to Rs 22,000 crore, compared to the same period last year.

Private life insurance companies reported a 46 per cent jump in group single premium products to Rs 2,906 crore, whereas LIC recorded a 29 per cent rise in sales of such polices, to Rs 19,094 crore.

Article Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/single-premium-life-insurance-policies-under-regulators-lens/463285/

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

HDFC Life launches online term insurance plan

HDFC Life Click2Protect is available in more than 750 cities across the country

HDFC Life has launched its online channel called ‘HDFC Life Click2Protect’–an online term insurance plan. The plan is suited for those who seek insurance cover at nominal premiums against their liabilities.

Sanjay Tripathy, executive vice president and head, marketing and direct channels, HDFC Life said, “HDFC Life Click2Protect is available in more than 750 cities across the country, the highest reach of an online term insurance plan in the industry. The objective of launching HDFC Life Click2Protect is to cater to the needs of informed customers based not only in metros, but in Tier 2 and 3 cities in the country.”

“HDFC Life Click2Protect is a term insurance plan aimed at an informed customer who understands his/her liabilities, the extent of cover needed and is fairly conversant with online purchase practices. Click2Protect offers the convenience of experiencing a simple, fast, convenient, transparent, and cost-effective way of buying a life insurance plan,” Mr Tripathy added.

Apart from HDFC Life Click2Protect, HDFC Life also offers other online products such as HDFC SL Young Star Super II and HDFC SL Crest.

Article Source: http://www.moneylife.in/article/hdfc-life-launches-online-term-insurance-plan/22671.html

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