An insurance industry panel, a five member sub-committee of actuaries, has embarked a uniform method for calculating the fee structure of unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPS), but left it to individual companies to fix the exact amount to be charged.
The committee has defined six specific charges and no company can levy charges in excess of these six categories.
The six categories are premium-related charges, withdrawal load, insurance charge, fund-related charge, policy administration charge and specific service charge. The policy administration charge, which has been allegedly misused by insurers, has been further categorised into three segments and an insurer can only apply one of them.
In a separate development, AEGON Religare Life Insurance launched its first pension product – AEGON Religare Pension Plan which offers policy-holders a regular pension after retirement.
The policy holders also have the option of paying the premium over the term of the policy or increasing the premium amount by 5-8% every year considering their increasing incomes. The plan is very customer-friendly as it has several unique features making it easily understandable.