MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan Review

MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan is a Term Assurance Plan which, along with providing an assured death benefit, also provides a maturity benefit in the form of return of premiums paid.

Highlights of the MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

• This is a traditional Term Insurance Plan which requires regular premium payments throughout the chosen tenure.
• The plan has two cover options of Pure Term and Term with Return of Premium.
• The death benefit is paid in monthly incomes for a specified tenure depending on the chosen plan tenure.

Working of the MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

• The policyholder chooses the amount of monthly income he wishes to avail after death, the cover option and the plan tenure. Based on these criteria and the age of the insured, the premium is calculated.
• On death during the period, the death benefit is paid in the form of monthly incomes for a stipulated tenure.
• On maturity, the maturity benefit is paid if the Return of Premium option of cover is selected. In case of Pure Term cover, no maturity benefit is paid.

Benefits and Features of MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

• Maturity Benefit – When the plan matures and the premiums have been duly paid, the maturity benefit would depend on the cover option selected by the policyholder which is as follows:
  • Term Cover –no maturity benefit is payable.
  • Term with Return of Premium cover – 110% of the total premiums paid under the plan would be refunded in case of this cover option. 
• Death Benefit – If the insured dies during plan term and the policy is in force, irrespective of the cover option chosen, the death benefit payable would be the chosen monthly income for a pre-defined period. This period depends on the choice of the plan term and is as follows:

  Plan tenure	Income Payout Period
  10 years	240 months
  15 years	180 months
  20 years	120 months

  
  The nominee can also choose to avail the Death Sum Assured in lump sum instead of taking the monthly incomes. In this case, the Death Sum Assured under the plan would be higher of the following:
  • Base Sum Assured
  • Maturity Sum Assured
  • 10 times the annual premium paid.
  • 105% of all premiums paid till death
• Bonus – This is a term plan under which bonus is not declared.
• Loan –Loans are not available under the plan.
• Tax benefit – 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.

Eligibility Criteria of MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

The plan can be bought only by Resident Indians. The other eligibility criteria of the plan includes:

	Minimum	Maximum
Entry age (Last Birthday)	25 years	Term 10 or 15 years – 60 years Term 20 years – 55 years
Maturity Age (Last Birthday)	NA	75 years
Plan tenure	10,15 or 20 years
Premium payable	Term cover – Rs.3055 Term with Return of Premium Cover – Rs.24,137	Term cover – Rs.126,160 Term with Return of Premium Cover – Rs.629,670
Monthly Income	Rs.10,000, Rs.25,000, Rs.50,000, Rs.75,000 and Rs.1 lakh
Premium Paying Term (PPT)	10 years
Sum Assured	Term 10 years – Rs.14.20 lakhs Term 15 years – Rs.12 lakhs Term 20 years – Rs.9.10 lakhs	Term 10 years – Rs.1.42 crores Term 15 years – Rs.1.24 crores Term 20 years – Rs.0.95 crores
Premium payment mode	Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annually

Additional Benefits of MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

• Riders – The plan does not have any riders available.
• Grace Period – A grace period of 30 days is allowed for payment of premium after the due date for annual, half-yearly and quarterly modes of premium payment. For monthly mode, the allowed period is 15 days. The life cover under the policy would continue during the grace period.
• Free Look Period – 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

Premium Illustration

The following chart shows the annual premiums payable by a male at different combinations of age, cover options of Term and Term with Return of Premium (TRoP) and plan term if a monthly income of Rs.10, 000 is selected by him.



The premium rates are also tabulated hereunder for a quick reference:

Age	Term 10 years		Term 15 years		Term 20 years
	Term Cover	TRoP Cover	Term Cover	TRoP Cover	Term Cover	TRoP Cover
30 years	3,293	26,077	3,106	13,116	2,925	8,984
40 years	5,165	37,985	5,364	20,670	5,124	14,164
50 years	11,142	68,056	11,139	36,925	10,188	24,267

Exclusions in MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

• If the insured commits suicide within a year of policy issuance, 80% of the premiums paid would be refunded and the policy would become void.
• If suicide is committed within a year of policy revival, higher of 80% of the premiums paid till death or the Surrender Value acquired would be paid provided the policy is in force

Non-Payment of premium in MetLife Family Income Protector Plus Plan

If premiums for a Pure Term Cover are not paid, the plan lapses and no benefits are paid. In case of Term with Return of Premium cover plans, premiums have to be paid for at least 3 years otherwise the policy lapses and no benefits are payable. After this compulsory period, the policyholder can surrender the policy or make it paid-up.

Making the policy Paid-up

If at least3 full years’ premium has been paid, the policy would become a paid-up policy if future premiums are not paid in a Term with Return of Premium Plan. Pure Term Plans do not acquire any Paid-up Value. A paid-up plan has reduced benefits which are as follows:

• Death Benefit – A reduced Death Sum Assured would be paid to the nominee in the form of Reduced Monthly Incomes for the stipulated period.
  Reduced Monthly Income = Monthly Income * (number of premiums paid/total number of premiums payable)
  Reduced Death Sum Assured = Death Sum Assured *(number of premiums paid/total number of premiums payable)
• Maturity Benefit – The Reduced Maturity Benefit would be paid on maturity of the plan.
  Reduced Maturity Benefit = Maturity Sum Assured * (number of premiums paid/total number of premiums payable)

Surrendering the policy

Surrendering the policy is possible only in case of Term with Return of Premium Cover option plans. Pure Term Cover plans do not have a surrender value. In case of Term with Return of Premium Cover Plans, surrender is allowed only after the policy becomes paid-up, i.e. after3 full years’ premiums have been paid.On surrendering the policy, higher of the Guaranteed Surrender Value (GSV) or the Special Surrender Value (SSV) would be paid.

• GSV would depend on the policy year in which the plan is surrendered and is expressed as a percentage of the total premiums paid under the plan. 
• The SSV factors would be declared by the company based on its performance and would be calculated as a percentage of the total premiums 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.