LIC Premium Payment: Online & Offline Methods to Pay Premium

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) was established on 1st September 1956 when the Indian Parliament passed the Life Insurance Corporation Act to nationalize the life insurance business. LIC, therefore, became the sole life insurance provider in India enjoying a monopoly position in the insurance market. The company is, therefore, the oldest life insurance company in India and enjoys a customer base of more than 250 million individuals. Today, the company has a presence pan India with more than 2040 branch offices and 113 divisional offices. The company issues all types of life insurance policies so that individuals with different financial needs can find a suitable insurance solution at a single platform.

Since LIC is trusted among its customers, it has the largest market share in the life insurance segment. Many of its policies have been subscribed by policyholders who continue to enjoy good coverage under LIC’s plans. To make premium payments easy, LIC offers its customers various ways in which the premiums can be paid. Let’s understand what these premium payment ways are –

There are, broadly, two ways of paying LIC premiums – offline and online. Each of these ways is further sub-divided into different means to offer you flexibility in premium payments. So, let’s understand each mode of premium payment in details –

Paying LIC premiums offline

Offline premiums for LIC policies can be paid in any of the below-mentioned ways –

1. NACH (National Automated Clearing House)

   NACH means National Automated Clearing House and it is an electronic payment facility offered by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). You would have to submit a NACH mandate form at the nearest LIC branch from which you have bought the policy. Your bank account number should be mentioned on the form. After the form is submitted, LIC would clear it with your bank. If your bank validates the mandate, the premium would be automatically debited from your bank account.

2. Bill Pay

   You can register with your bank to pay LIC premiums directly from your bank account through Bill Pay facility. You can register for Bill Pay facility online or offline. After registration, you give your bank the authority to debit LIC premium from your bank account whenever it is due.

3. ATM

   You can also pay your LIC premiums through the ATMs of specified banks. Axis Bank and Corporation Bank will allow you to pay premiums through their ATMs. Premiums for all types of LIC policies, except unit-linked plans, health plans and online term plans, can be paid through ATM. Monthly premiums and premiums payable under the Salary Saving Scheme would, however, not be accepted at ATMs. To pay premiums through ATMs, you would have to register for the same with your bank and the facility is available only to the customers of Axis Bank and Corporation Bank.

Paying LIC premium online

Since digital premium payment modes have become popular, LIC allows you to pay its premiums online. LIC online payment can be done through the following means –

1. LIC website

   The website of the company allows you to pay LIC premium online with the help of a few clicks of your mouse. You can pay the premium directly without registering as a customer. Alternatively, if you are registered for LIC’s online services, you can pay through the company’s customer portal. The steps for payment through both of these means are as follows –

1. Without logging in (paying directly)
1. Visit https://www.licindia.in/Home/Pay-Premium-Online and choose ‘Pay Direct (Without Login)’
2. Select the type of premium payment that you want to do, i.e. whether you want to pay the renewal premium or the advance premium for the policy
3. Provide your policy number, date of birth, mobile number, email id and amount of premium
4. Click on ‘I Agree’ and submit the form to pay the premium online
2. Through Customer Portal
1. Enter in your valid User ID, email ID or mobile number registered with the policy
2. Enter in your online account password
3. Give your date of birth and sign in to your account
4. You would be able to check the policies that you have bought
5. Choose the policy whose premium you want to pay and pay the premium online

You can pay premiums through your debit card, credit card, mobile wallet, UPI platform or net banking facility offered by your bank.

2. Authorized Banks

   LIC has partnered up with Axis Bank, City Union Bank and IDBI Bank to serve as authorized premium collection points for LIC policyholders. You can, therefore, visit the nearest branch of any of these authorized banks across India and pay your LIC premiums on their counter through cash or cheque. If you are paying through cheque, the cheque should be drawn on the bank. Once the premium is paid, the bank would issue a premium receipt which is a valid proof of premium payment. LIC would not issue any other receipt as the bank issued receipt would be sufficient. You can pay premiums for all types of LIC policies except unit-linked plans, health insurance plans and online term plans. The premium can be paid up to 30 days in advance. However, monthly and quarterly premiums would not be accepted if the policy is maturing after the premium has been paid. No additional charges are levied by the banks if you pay your LIC premiums through them.

3. Franchisees

   LIC has various franchises which allow you to do LIC online payment of premiums. These franchisees are as follows –

   1. AP Online
   2. MP online
   3. Instapay
   4. PayTM
   5. Suvidha Infoserve
   6. CSC

   To pay premiums through any of these franchisees you would have to deposit cash. Premiums cannot currently be paid through cheques. As soon as you deposit the premium, the cash collection counter would issue a signed premium receipt which would be a valid proof of premium payment against your LIC policy. Premiums of all policies can be paid up to 30 days in advance. However, premiums for unit-linked plans, online term plans and health plans are not accepted by these franchisees. No additional cost is applied on a collection of the premium by these franchisees making it easy for you to do LIC online payment of your policy premiums.

4. Merchant

   Various merchants are also tied up with LIC for LIC online payment facility. These merchants are as follows –

   1. Empowered agents who collect premiums through specified premium points
   2. Senior Business Associates (SBAs) and LIC Associates who collect premiums through Life Plus Offices
   3. Chief Organizers
   4. Retired LIC employees

   These merchants are allowed a user ID and password which connects them with LIC portal. Using the portal connection, they can collect premiums on behalf of LIC and log the premiums with the company. After collecting premiums up to a predefined limit (the limit is defined by the marketing department of LIC), the merchants deposit the amount in Axis Bank or any branch of LIC. They can also deposit cash invoice online through LIC’s portal through the net banking facility of their bank account. Payment can be done through cash or cheque. You can pay the premiums for all types of policies except online term plans. Upon receiving the premium, the merchants issue a signed premium receipt which serves as a valid proof of premium payment.

Benefits of LIC online payment

By allowing online payment facility for premiums, LIC has offered its customers a host of benefits. These benefits are as follows –

• Customers can pay the premium even on the move as they don’t have to visit the branch of the company for premium payment
• Online premiums are credited almost instantly in real time-saving time for policyholders
• Even if the payment is made through alternate channels like merchants, franchisees, authorized banks, etc. no additional charges are levied which make the payment easy and convenient for the policyholder
• Given the different means of LIC online payment, you can choose any mode which is suitable for you and gets the job done quicker
• You immediately receive the premium receipt which you can use as proof in case of any type of premium payment-related disputes
• The chances of policy lapse reduce as you are given various options of paying premiums. Thus, you can easily continue your coverage and enjoy the benefits the policy has to offer

Grace period for premium payment

Once the policy is issued, you are required to pay the premiums on each due date. Premiums can be paid annually, half-yearly, monthly or quarterly and the due date is fixed accordingly. However, you might miss a premium payment due to any reason. Some common reasons why premium payments are missed include the following –

• Forgetting the due date
• Paying the premium very late on the due date which is not credited within the due date
• Travelling outside the country when the premium is due
• Financial crunch, etc.

If the premiums are not paid, the policy lapses and the coverage stops. However, LIC offers its customers the benefit of a grace period to pay the premium due. During the grace period, the policy does not stop. You get full insurance coverage.

Grace period means an extra period allowed to pay the outstanding premium. The grace period allowed under LIC policies is 30 days if you pay the premiums annually, quarterly or half-yearly. However, if the premiums are paid monthly, the grace period allowed is 15 days. Here are some of the aspects of grace period which you should know –

• The period starts from the next day of the premium due date. This means that if the due date is15th of September, the grace period would begin from 16th of September
• Usually, one month is allowed as a grace period. Thus, the number of days of grace can be 30 or 31
• If the insured dies during the grace period and the premiums have not been paid, the outstanding premium would be deducted from the claim amount and the death benefit would be paid
• Participating policies would earn a bonus during the grace period even if the premium is outstanding because, during the grace period, the policy does not lapse
• If the premiums are not paid even during the grace period, the policy would lapse