Overview ULIPs vs Mutual Funds: Which Offers Better Returns? ULIPs (Unit Linked Insurance Plans) combine insurance and investment, while mutual funds focus purely on wealth creation. In general, mutual funds offer better short- to medium-term returns due to lower charges and dedicated fund management. However, ULIPs provide tax benefits and life cover, making them suitable […]
Articles Tagged: ULIP
No loan facility with new Ulips but you may borrow against older policies
Published in Mint on Feb 27 2017, Written by Abhishek Bondia I have a unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) that I had bought in 2009. I have a family situation where I need to help my brother to pay his son’s college fees. Can I borrow against this policy? Will it be of the same value […]
A life annuity plan may be issued without any medical underwriting
Published in Mint on Dec 15 2016, Written by Abhishek Bondia I will retire in 5 years. I am single with no dependents. Also, I have diabetes but have not gone through any other major treatment. How can I plan for my retirement? Would you recommend an insurance plan? —Oscar D’silva The key risk for […]
Taking the trick and trap out of insurance
Published in Mint on Sep 16 2015 Mint Money has always advised you to avoid traditional insurance policies that double up as investment products. This is primarily because of three reasons: high costs, opaque structures and poor investment returns from these policies. But if recommendations of the Sumit Bose committee are implemented, most of these […]
Standard term insurance covers only death, but some also provide terminal illness benefit
Published in Mint on 12th March 2018. Written by Abhishek Bondia My father is 58 years old. He had term insurance with a policy term till 60 years of age. Last year he suffered an accident and has been hospitalized since then. The doctors are now saying that he is brain dead. Can we file […]
It is not recommended to buy an annuity plan that starts payout after the age of 90
Published in Mint on 26th February 2018. Written by Abhishek Bondia I am 55 years old. One of my nieces has joined an insurance company as an agent. She is proposing that I take a life insurance policy that will give me a regular income after I reach 90 years of age. After my death, […]
New regulator should move away from micro-managing
Published in Mint on 19th February, 2018. Mint’s Insurance Conclave 2018 in Mumbai, held on 13 February, saw a discussion on IPOs and changing market trends in the life insurance industry. The panelists included Amitabh Chaudhry, managing director and chief executive officer, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd; Arijit Basu, managing director and chief executive […]
Your friends cannot be the beneficial nominees of a life insurance policy
Published in Mint on 12th February, 2018. Written by Abhishek Bondia I am single and have no dependents. Can I buy an insurance policy and make my friend a beneficiary? I have taken some loan from him, which I am repaying regularly. —Rohit Bhatia Yes, it is possible to make a friend a nominee in […]
If you were mis-sold Ulips, exit when surrender cost is zero
Published in Mint on, Oct 08 2013, Written by Kapil Mehta I started investing in a life insurance-cum-investment plan amounting to Rs.50,000 per annum as premium and it had a lock-in period of three years. Till date, I have paid 4 instalments (total amount paid till date is Rs.2 lakh for four years) but its […]
Nominees can file life insurance claims even if beneficiaries of the policy are no more
Published in Mint on May 21, 2017, Written by Abhishek Bondia. My brother had bought a term plan on his life for Rs1 crore (more than 4 years ago). He had a wife and 2 children who were the beneficiaries. Both children were below 7 years of age. As his children were very young, I […]