Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Smart Goals Plan
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Smart Goals Plan Review
Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Smart Goals Plan is a Unit Linked Insurance Plan where insurance cover is provided along with market-related growth.
Key Features
This is a Unit Linked Plan which has two plan options.
The first option has a fixed limited premium paying term and plan term while in the other option premiums can be paid either for a limited tenure or for the entire plan tenure.
The plan has five funds to choose from according to the policyholder’s investment strategy.
The plan provides two flexible options of Auto Funds Rebalancing and Safety Switch Option.
Loyalty Additions are added to the Fund Value based on the Plan option selected.
Switching between the different funds is allowed provided that the minimum amount of a switch is Rs.10, 000. The first 6 switches in a policy year are free of cost after which a charge of Rs.250 per switch would be applicable. This charge can be increased subject to a maximum of Rs.500.
Future premiums can be redirected to be invested in another fund once in one policy year free of cost. Subsequent premiums would then be invested as per the revised redirected allocation. This facility is available from the 2nd policy year onwards.
The policyholder can increase or decrease the chosen Sum Assured after the completion of the first 5 years of the plan. Only one increment or decrement per policy year is allowed and a maximum of 3 alterations can be done in a chosen policy term.
Benefits
On maturity, the Fund Value including the Loyalty Addition would be paid to the policyholder. The policyholder may also opt for the Settlement Option under the plan where the maturity benefit is paid in installments over a period of 5 years.
If the insured dies when the plan is in-force, higher of the following is paid as death benefit:
- Sum Assured or
- Fund Value as on the date of death or
- 105% of the total premiums paid till death.
If the insured dies before attaining 60 years of age, the Sum Assured would be reduced by the amount of partial withdrawals made in the two years immediately preceding death
If the insured dies after crossing 60 years of age, the Sum Assured would be reduced by the amount of partial withdrawals made from the Fund Value in the two years before attaining 60 years and all withdrawals made after attaining 60 years.
The plan is eligible for Loyalty Additions which are added to the plan depending on the plan option selected. For Plan Option 1, Loyalty Additions are added at the end of the 10th policy year at the rate of 2% of the average Fund Value over the last 36 months. For Plan Option 2, the first Loyalty Addition accrues at the end of the 10th policy year @1.25% of the average Fund Value over the last 36 months. The other addition accrues at the end of 15th policy year at the same rate, i.e. 1.25% of the average Fund Value over the last 36 months.
Being a ULIP plan, bonus is not declared.
Loan is not available under the plan.
Premiums paid under the plan would be exempt from tax under Section 80C up to a limit of Rs.1.5 lakhs. The death benefit or the maturity benefit received would also be tax exempt under Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act.
There are no riders under this plan.
First four partial withdrawals are allowed free of cost in the plan after a completion of 5 policy years if the insured is above 18 years of age. Any exceeding withdrawal would attract a charge of Rs.250 per withdrawal. This charge can be increased up to a maximum of Rs.500 per withdrawals. The minimum amount of partial withdrawal is Rs.10, 000 and the maximum allowed withdrawal amount is such that the Fund Value after withdrawal should not be less than 120% of one annual premium.
A grace period of 30 days is allowed for annual payment of premium and 15 days for monthly mode of premium payment.
A cooling off period or a free look period of 15 days is granted to the policyholder after the policy issuance to review the policy terms and conditions. If found unsatisfactory, the plan can be cancelled within this period and the premium paid would be refunded after deducting the relevant mortality charge, service tax, cess and stamp duty paid
How it works
- The policyholder decides on the amount of annual premium he wants to pay, premium paying mode, the life cover, the plan option and the investment fund.
- There are five available finds for investment which are as follows:
- Equity II Fund
- Growth Plus Fund
- Balanced Plus Fund
- Debt Plus Fund
- Liquid Fund
- The premium paid, net of the applicable allocation charge is invested in the above funds based on the policyholder’s investment strategy.
- The policyholder can choose the Auto Funds Rebalancing option available under the plan. Under the option, the funds rebalance themselves in the chosen fund option after every 3 months in the proportion chosen by the policyholder.
- The Safety Switch Option is also available in the plan. The option allows the policyholder to systematically transfer his investments in the Liquid Fund in the last four years of plan maturity. This transfer protects the investment from any market volatility in the last years of the plan.
- If the policyholder dies during the tenure of the plan the death benefit is paid.
- If the plan attains maturity, the maturity benefit is paid.
Applicable charges in Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Smart Goals Plan
Being a ULIP plan, there are certain charges applicable. The charges include the following:
- Premium Allocation Charge – This charge is deducted on receipt of the annual premium before the premium is credited into the fund. There is a discount in the charges levied if premiums are paid through ECS or SI mode. The charges are as follows:
Policy year | Premium Allocation Charge for annual mode | Premium Allocation Charge in case of monthly mode |
1 | 8.40% | 7.25% |
2 and 3 | 6.40% | 5.00% |
4 and 5 | 5.40% | 5.00% |
6 to 10 | 5.40% | 5.00% |
11th onwards | Nil | Nil |
- Policy Administration Charge – A monthly charge is deducted from the fund value at the start of each month every year and is expressed as a percentage of the annual premium. The charge is 0.50% per month for the first five years. This charge increases from the 6th policy year @ 20% for every five years. However, the maximum charge is limited to Rs.500 per month.
- Fund management Charge – These charges depend on the type of fund selected and are charged on a daily basis. The applicable charges are:
Fund Type | Charge |
Equity II Fund | 1.35% per annum |
Growth Plus Fund | 1.35% per annum |
Balanced plus Fund | 1.35% per annum |
Debt Plus Fund | 1.35% per annum |
Liquid Fund | 0.80% per annum |
Discontinued Policy Fund | 0.50% per annum |
- Discontinuance Charge – Applicable if the plan is surrendered before the lock-in period of 5 years. The charges are:
Year of Discontinuance | Premiums less than or equal to Rs.25,000 | Premium above Rs.25,000 |
1 | Lower of 20% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.3000 | Lower of 6% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.6000 |
2 | Lower of 15% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.2000 | Lower of 4% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.5000 |
3 | Lower of 10% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.1500 | Lower of 3% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.4000 |
4 | Lower of 5% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.1000 | Lower of 2% of annual premium or Fund Value up to a maximum of Rs.2000 |
5 year onwards | Nil |
- Miscellaneous Charge – Any medical examination required for increasing the Sum Assured would entail a miscellaneous charge. This charge would be a maximum of Rs.3000 and the maximum limit can be increased to Rs.5000 as per IRDA’s approval.
- Mortality charge – This charge is deducted on the first day of each month based on the Sum at Risk, the policyholder’s age and gender.
Non-payment of premiums in Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Smart Goals Plan
Premiums are required to be paid for the stipulated tenure of 5 years. If the premiums are not paid the policy would lapse. The policyholder can revive the lapsed policy by paying the due premiums or surrender the policy and avail the Surrender Value
Surrendering the policy
- Within the first 5 policy years
The policy has a 5 year lock-in period. If the policy is surrendered within the first 5 years, the funds in the Fund Value would be transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund net of the applicable charges where it would earn a minimum interest of 4% per annum. The money would remain in the Discontinuance Policy Fund till the completion of 5 years and the Fund Management charges would be deducted as and when applicable. If the policyholder dies during this period, the Fund Value as on the date of death would be paid. Otherwise, after the completion of the lock-in period of 5 years, the available Fund Value would be paid
- After 5 years
If the plan is surrendered any time after the completion of 5 years, the available Fund Value would be paid.
Revival
Revival is allowed within 2 years from the date of the first unpaid premium. The policyholder would be required to pay the outstanding premium and any interest charged by the insurer to revive his policy.
Eligibility
The plan can be bought only by Resident Indians. The other eligibility criteria of the plan includes:
Minimum | Maximum | |
Entry age (Last Birthday) | 8 years | 64 years |
Maturity Age (Last Birthday) | Option 1 - 18 years Option 2 – 23 years |
Option 1 – 74 years Option 2 – 79 years |
Plan tenure | Option 1 -10 years Option 2 – 15,20 or 25 years |
|
Premium payable | Option 1: Annually – Rs.50,000 Monthly – Rs.5000 Option 2: Annually – Rs.25,000 Monthly – Rs.3000 |
No limit |
Premium Paying Term | Option 1 – 5 years Option 2 – 10 years to 25 years |
|
Sum Assured | Option 1: Ages below 45 years – 10 times the annual premium Ages 45 years and above – 7 times the annual premium Option 2: Ages below 45 years – higher of 0.5*term*annual premium or 10*annual premium Ages 45 years and above – 7 times the annual premium |
Option 1: 7,10,20 or 35 times the annual premium depending on entry age Option 2: 10,20 or 35 times the annual premium depending on entry age. |
Premium Paying Mode | Monthly and Annual |
Exclusions
- If the policyholder commits suicide anytime during the plan tenure, the available Fund Value would be paid to the nominee.