Life Insurance is a long-term product and Unit-Linked Insurance Plans (Ulips) are no different. Unfortunately, some customers have bought Ulips with a short-term objective in mind, and in the volatile market conditions, they press the panic button and surrender the policies or discontinue payment of premiums. This action is detrimental to the financial health of the policy holder. It is important to keep the Ulip policy in force for the entire term by paying premium regularly.

IMPORTANCE OF COVER

You will lose the insurance cover on discontinuance or surrender of the policy. Please remember that you are losing not only the investment benefits, but also the insurance cover. To keep your insurance cover at the same level, you need to purchase another insurance policy, which may come at a higher cost than the mortality charges deducted from units.

Another option frequently exercised is discontinuing paying the premiums after the mandatory period and continuing to hold the policy. In such cases, you have to remember that the sufficient fund value should exist in the policy to cover the mortality charges for life cover to be maintained. The policy will be terminated if the fund value goes below the threshold limit prescribed by the insurer. The mortality rates will be available in the policy document.

PERSISTENCY/BONUS UNITS

Some of the Ulip plans offer bonus units in the form of additional units. They will be credited to your fund account at the time of maturity or after keeping the policy in force for a certain period. Discontinued policies are not eligible for this benefit.

NO SHORT-TERM PLAY

Do not treat Ulips as high-yielding short-term investments. Investment returns can turn negative in the short term, thereby reducing the value of your portfolio. Purchase Ulips by aligning them with your long-term objectives and stay put in the policy for the entire term.

DON'T SURRENDER IF MARKET CRASHES

Most policy holders surrender their policies while the market has crashed. On the contrary, it is the best time to pay the premium for a long-term product. Premiums paid while the market is at lower levels, purchase more units at a lower NAV. As the market goes up and NAV increases, the fund value increases.

HIGHER CHARGES IN INITIAL YRS

Insurers incur high costs for policy acquisition. These costs are recovered from the premiums paid during the initial years. As the tenure increases, these costs reduce drastically. As the higher costs have already been paid, it will be beneficial for you to reap the benefits of higher allocation to invest in the later years.

SPREAD YOUR INVESTIBLE AMOUNT ACROSS THE FUNDS

Ulips offer various fund options to select. If you are not an aggressive investor, spread your funds across equity, balanced and debt funds as offered by the insurer. Also remember to align your fund portfolio to suit your investment profile and Life Style.

USE FUND SWITCH OPTION

Most of the customers switch to debt funds after the markets crash. Instead, it is the time to switch in rather than switch out of equity funds. Switching out of equity funds should be done while the market is doing well and switch in the amount when the markets are doing badly. Effective rebalancing of your fund portfolio will increase value when the market goes up again.