Indian Insurance

Will I have saved enough for my son’ higher education, for my daughter’s marriage? Will I have the money to renovate my house during a festival? Will I be able to provide for my wife even when I am not around? Find answers to these and many more such questions in our Birla Sun Life Insurance LifeCompanion Money Back plan. It’s the plan that suits the budget for every individual. Not only that it also acts as a cushion by giving you regular income at regular intervals in life. So that you can sit back and enjoy the joys of life… Now family bhi fit ,budget bhi fit.

Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between The Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest business houses in India and Sun Life Financial Inc., a leading international financial services organisation. The local knowledge of the Aditya Birla Group combined with the expertise of Sun Life Financial Inc., offers a formidable protection for your future.

The Aditya Birla Group has a turnover of close to Rs. 119000 crores, with a market capitalisation of Rs. 133875 crores (as on 31st March 2008). It has over 100,000 employees across all its units worldwide. It is led by its Chairman – Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla. Some of its key companies are Hindalco, Grasim and Aditya Birla Nuvo.

Sun Life Financial Inc. and its partners, have operations in key markets worldwide. These include Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. Sun Life Financial Inc. has assets under management of over US$404.7 billion (as on 31st March, 2008). It is a leading performer in the life insurance market in Canada.

Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI) has been operating for 7 years. It has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the life insurance industry in India. It pioneered the launch of Unit Linked Life Insurance plans amongst the private players in India. It was the first player in the industry to sell its policies through the Bancassurance route and through the Internet. It was the first private sector player to introduce a Pure Term plan in the Indian market. BSLI has covered more than 2 million lives since it commenced operations. And its customer base is is spread across more than 1500 towns and cities in India. The company has a capital base of Rs. 1274.5 crores as on 31st March 2008.

The plan is ideally suited for any person looking for a life insurance protection and regular savings for meeting the milestone needs. The plan protects those who depend on your earnings, such as your spouse, children and quite possibly, your parents. If any unfortunate event were to take place prematurely, the plan can provide emergency support for their life’s needs such as education, marriage and medical costs.

The plan pays you fixed amounts at regular intervals depending on the duration of a your plan. These amounts will be a percentage of the life insurance coverage Sum Assured as shown in the payout table below. This can help you to take care of your financial needs at important occasions in your life.

The Survival Benefit is guaranteed at the specified period if the following conditions are satisfied:
1) All premiums are paid by you; and
2) Each premium is paid by you on or before the expiry of a period of 60 days from the due date.

On completion of the policy duration, you will receive a guaranteed amount equal to a percentage of the life insurance cover (Sum Assured). The maturity amounts for various durations are shown in the Payout table given above. If the Fund Value (described in the next question) is higher than the amount shown in the Payout table, then the Fund Value will be paid.

The Maturity Benefits are guaranteed on maturity if the following conditions are satisfied:
1) All Premiums are paid by you; and
3) Each Premium is paid by you on or before the expiry of a period of 60 days from the due date.

The death benefit is the amount payable to your nominees in case of death. The benefit amount will be equal to the sum of the Sum Assured and the entire Fund Value at the time of death.

In case of death as a result of an accident an additional amount equal to the Sum Assured chosen by you will be payable to your nominee. The maximum amount will be Rs.10 lakh across all LifeCompanion Money Back policies owned by you. This benefit is available only in case of death due to accident between the ages of 18 and 65 years.

This rider waives payment of future premiums on the happening of any of any of the unforeseen events as covered under this rider. This rider is available only with 20-year premium payment term option. For further details please refer to detailed brochure on riders.

Please note that the riders are not available if you are an NRI investor.

You stand to gain an additional 5% of the Fund Value, as Guaranteed Additions in your maturity benefits, provided of course, that the two conditions for guaranteed Maturity Benefit as mentioned in the paragraph on maturity benefits above are satisfied.

The premium that you pay and all the benefits payable to you under the plan are eligible for tax benefits under Section 80 C and Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act of 1961.

The key benefits of the plan are summarised in the table below for your reference:

Premium Discontinuance
(a) In case the premium is discontinued within first three Policy Years: If the premium is not received on the premium due date, a grace period of 30 days is given. Even at the end of the grace period if the premium is not received, then the Policy will lapse and all Coverages will terminate immediately.If policy is not revived within two years  from the lapse date, the Surrender Value as at lapse date will be paid out at the end of third Policy Year or at the end of the revival period whichever is later. In case the policy is surrendered during the revival period then the Surrender Value as at the lapse date will be paid out at the end of the third policy year or the date of surrender whichever is later.  The Surrender Value will be calculated by deducting the Surrender Charges applicable on the lapse date. The Surrender Value will not be affected by the market fluctuations and will remain constant till the time it is paid out. There will be no deduction of the Policy Charges (as set out in the Policy Charges provision) thereafter from the Surrender Value.
(b) In case the premium is discontinued after the first three Policy Years: If all the due premiums have been received for the first three Policy Years and subsequent due premium is not received on the premium due date, a grace period of 30 days is given. At the end of the grace period if the premium is not received, you will be given a period of two years to pay all due but unpaid Policy Premiums. During these two years all Coverages will continue to be in force and all applicable charges will continue be deducted from the Fund Value till the Surrender Value falls to one Annual Policy Premium. At this time the policy will be terminated and the Surrender Value will be paid out. At the end of the two-year period we will give you an option to continue the policy. If you do not opt to continue the Policy, the Policy will be terminated and the Surrender Value paid out.If you decide to continue with the Policy the company will not accept further Policy Premium under this policy. All Coverages will continue to be in force and all applicable charges will continue be deducted till the Surrender Value falls to one Annual Policy Premium. At this time, the Policy will be terminated and the Surrender Value paid out.

The Effective Date of Revival is the date on which the above requirements are met and approved by the Company. On this date, the Fund Value as on the lapse date will be re-invested in the Investment Fund at the NAV applicable on the Effective Date of Revival.  All outstanding Policy Charges, if any, for the period between the lapse date and the Effective Date of Revival shall be deducted from the Fund Value.
We reserve the right to levy a charge subject to our administrative rules then in force to cover the Underwriting costs arising at the time of revival. The revival charge currently is Rs 100. This charge cannot exceed Rs.1000.

In case of non-receipt of premium after the first three Policy Years, you can request that it be continued within two years from the end of grace period after non-receipt of premium by contributing all Policy Premium due but unpaid from the date of premium discontinuance.

The indicative portfolio of the fund where the savings portion of the premiums will be invested is as under:

This Investment Fund has a varying amount of debt and equity.

The investment objective and strategy of this Investment Fund offered is as follows:-

Objective: The objective of this Investment Fund is to achieve value creation of the policyholder at an average risk level over medium to long-term period.

Strategy: The strategy is to invest predominantly in debt securities with an additional exposure to equity, maintaining medium term duration profile of the portfolio.

The Premium Allocation Charge is a charge recovered as a percentage of the Annual Premium and varies as per the Policy Year as given under:

The Premium Allocation Charge on Underwriting Extra (if any) is 2.0%. There is no Premium Allocation Charge on Rider Coverage Premiums

In addition to the above Premium Allocation Charge, the following Charges will be recovered from the Fund Value.

The Mortality Charge of the Life Insurance Coverage will be deducted by cancellation of Units on a monthly basis ,at the prevailing NAV. The Mortality Charges per thousand of the Sum Assured for sample ages are as follows:

You will have the right to return your policy to us within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy. We will pay the Fund Value plus all charges levied till date (excluding the Fund Management Charge) once we receive your written notice of cancellation (along with reasons thereof) together with the original policy documents.

Traumatic death caused solely by external, violent, unforeseeable and visible means, occurring independently of any other causes; and
Occurs within 6 months of the trauma; but
Does not result from any of the causes listed in the Exclusions stated below.

We will not pay the accidental death benefit amount referred to in the ‘Benefits Payable’ provision of your Policy if the accidental death is a direct or indirect result of any of the following:

No person shall allow or offer to allow, either directly or indirectly, as an inducement to any person to take or renew or continue an insurance in respect of any kind of risk relating to lives or property in India, any rebate of the whole or part of the commission payable or any rebate of the premium shown on the policy, nor shall any person taking out or renewing or continuing a policy accept any rebate, except such rebate as may be allowed in accordance with the published prospectuses or tables of the insurer.