LIC New Endowment Plan

Endowment plans are traditional savings oriented plans which help you to create a guaranteed corpus for your financial needs and also enjoy insurance coverage at the same time. LIC is the oldest life insurance company in India which enjoys the trust of millions of customers. The company also offers a range of life insurance plans to its customers for their needs. Endowment plans are also offered by LIC which allow guaranteed benefits with insurance coverage. LIC New Endowment Plan is one such LIC endowment plan which has good coverage benefits. Let’s explore the plan in details –

Overview of LIC Endowment Plan

LIC’s New Endowment Plan is a traditional savings oriented life insurance plan. The plan helps you save and generate returns while at the same time provides you with insurance coverage against the risk of premature death. You can buy the policy to fulfil different financial goals that you might have for the future. 

Key features of LIC Endowment Plan

Here are the key features and benefits of LIC’s New Endowment Plan which deserve to be mentioned – 

• This is a participating endowment plan which earns bonuses throughout the policy tenure
• There is an optional rider under the plan if you wish to enhance the scope of coverage of the policy
• Premiums are payable throughout the policy tenure
• Premium discounts are allowed under the plan to help reduce the premium payable
• You can also avail a policy loan if you need funds during the term of the policy

Eligibility conditions of LIC Endowment Plan

Benefits of LIC Endowment Plan

The different types of benefits paid by LIC’s New Endowment Plan are as follows –

• Death benefit
  If the insured dies before the policy tenure comes to an end, a death benefit is payable. This death benefit is equal to the Sum Assured on Death and vested reversionary bonuses and any final bonus. The Sum Assured on Death is defined as higher of the 10 times the annualized premium or the basic sum assured that you chose at the time of buying the policy. The total death benefit, including bonuses, should not be less than 105% of aggregate premiums paid till the date of death.
• Maturity benefit
  When the chosen term of the policy comes to an end, the plan is said to mature. On maturity of the policy, the sum assured, vested reversionary bonuses and any final additional bonus is paid to the policyholder as maturity benefit.
• Bonus 
  The plan earns simple reversionary bonuses every year throughout the term of the policy if the due premiums are paid on time. These bonus additions help in enhancing the benefit payable at the time of death or maturity. Moreover, at the time of payment of the death benefit or the maturity benefit, a final additional bonus might also be paid by LIC depending on its profit experience. 
• Rider benefit
  Under the plan, LIC’s Accidental Death and Disability Benefit Rider is offered as an optional coverage benefit. This rider covers deaths and disabilities suffered due to an accident. If the insured dies or becomes permanently disabled in an accident, the rider pays an additional benefit along with the basic benefit payable under the policy. In case of accidental death, the rider sum assured is paid. In case of permanent disability, on the other hand, the rider sum assured is paid in monthly instalments for 10 years. Moreover, future premiums are also waived off but the policy continues. You can buy the rider at an additional premium. The minimum rider sum assured that you can choose is INR 1 lakh and the maximum is limited to INR 50 lakhs. Moreover, individuals aged above 18 years can buy the rider and the rider cover stops when the insured attains 70 years of age.
• Premium discounts
  There are two types of premium discounts which are available under the plan. You can avail both these discounts if you fulfil the discount criteria. The types of discounts allowed and their criteria are as follows –
  • Mode rebate 
  If you pay premiums annually, you get a discount of 2% of the tabular premium. If, on the other hand, premiums are paid half-yearly, the discount reduces to 1%. No discount is allowed for quarterly and monthly modes of premium payments.
  • High sum assured rebate
  This discount is allowed if you choose higher sum assured levels. The discount starts if the sum assured is INR 2 lakhs and above. If the sum assured is INR 2 lakhs to INR 4.95 lakhs, the available discount is 2% of the basic sum assured. If, on the other hand, the sum assured is INR 5 lakhs and above, the available discount is 3% of the basic sum assured.

Other benefits of LIC Endowment Plan

Other benefits offered by LIC’s New Endowment Plan are as follows –

• Paid-up value
  If you have paid premiums for three complete policy years and are unable to pay future premiums, you would not lose the benefits of the plan. In this case, the plan would become paid-up and run at a paid-up value. The paid-up value would be the reduced value of the sum assured that you selected for the plan. Moreover, the bonuses added till the date the policy becomes paid-up would also be added to the paid-up value and the amount would be called the total paid-up value. The formula for calculating the total paid-up value is as follows –
  Total paid-up value = sum assured * (number of premiums paid / total number of premiums payable) + vested bonus
  This value would be paid on death or maturity. Future bonuses would not be added to a paid-up policy. Moreover, if you had selected the accidental rider, the rider would also stop to apply on a paid-up policy.
• Surrender value
  If the policy has become paid-up and has acquired a paid-up value, you can also terminate the policy before the completion of the policy tenure. This termination is called surrender of the life insurance policy. When you surrender LIC’s New Endowment Plan, the surrender value would be paid. This surrender value would be higher of the guaranteed surrender value or the special surrender value. The special surrender value is determined by LIC from time to time. However, the guaranteed surrender value is calculated using a formula which is as follows –
  Guaranteed surrender value = (aggregate premiums paid till surrender * surrender value factor for premiums) + (vested bonuses earned till surrender * surrender value factor for bonuses)
• Revival
  You get the option of reviving a lapsed policy which is running on a paid-up value. When the policy is revived, the policy acquires the full sum assured and the promised plan benefits are paid. To revive a lapsed policy you would have to pay the total outstanding premium and an interest on the outstanding amount of premium. A declaration of good health would also be required and if the company is satisfied with your insurability, the policy would be revived. Revivals are allowed within 2 years from the date of the first unpaid premium.
• Policy loan
  If the premiums for at least three policy years have been fully paid, the policy acquires a surrender value. Thereafter, if you want, you can avail a loan under the plan. Loan would be allowed as a percentage of the surrender value applicable under your policy. The maximum loan which you can avail would depend on the company. Moreover, an interest would also have to be paid on the loan which would be decided by LIC from time to time.

What is not covered under LIC Endowment Plan?

There are exclusions for suicide under LIC’s New Endowment Plan. These exclusions are as follows –

• If the insured dies due to suicide within 12 months from the date of buying the policy, the promised death benefit would not be paid. In such a case, 80% of the premiums paid would be refunded.
• If the insured dies due to suicide within 12 months from the date of reviving a lapsed policy, the promised death benefit would not be paid. In such a case, higher of 80% of the premiums paid or the surrender value available on the date of death would be refunded.

Premium details of LIC Endowment Plan

Here are the sample rates of premiums payable if you buy LIC’s New Endowment Policy. The rates are calculated using the following assumptions –

• The sum assured is INR 5 lakhs
• The life insured is a healthy, non-smoking male
• Premiums are paid annually
• The rider is not selected under the plan
• The premium amount excludes applicable taxes
• High sum assured rebate is not considered