Canara HSBC Smart Goals Plan

Smart Goals Plan by Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance is a unit linked life insurance policy. The plan offers you the flexibility of investing in six funds ranging from 0%-100% equity exposure depending upon your financial requirements. In addition to that, the plan also gives you the option called Auto Funds Rebalancing where you can maintain allocation of your investments in a specific proportion. The plan also provides you  tax benefits under Section 80C and Section 10(10D), as per the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Eligibility - Who is the Smart Goals Plan for?

It is important to know the eligibility criteria before applying for the Smart Goals Plan.

Parameters	Criteria for eligibility
Minimum age at entry	The minimum age at entry is 8 years.
Maximum age at entry	The maximum age is 64 years.
Minimum age at maturity	Minimum age if you are availing: Option 1: 18 years Option 2: 23 years
Maximum age at maturity	Maximum age if you are availing: Option 1: 74 years Option 2: 79 years

*Ages mentioned above are as on the policyholder’s last birthday.

Sum Assured and Premium Range - What you get and what it costs?

Sum Assured is the minimum amount that will be paid to you or your nominee by the insurance company. The sum assured is devoid of any additional benefits that you may be entitled to. The minimum and maximum sum assured is mentioned below in the table:

Minimum Sum Assured	For policyholders under the age of 45 years, Sum Assured will be the higher of: 10 times the Annualised Premium, or Policy Term x 0.5 x Annualised Premium For policyholders who are 45 years and above, the Sum Assured will be: 7 times the Annualised Premium
Maximum Sum Assured	Maximum sum assured will vary based on the policy’s premium payment term, the tenure of the policy, and the policy buyer’s age. However, this will be subject to the insurer’s Underwriting policy.

Premiums*

Your sum assured will decide the premiums you will have to pay. For the Smart Goals Plan, the premium to be paid will be invested in a fund opted by you. Your premium payment term starts from 5 years and can go up to 25 years depending upon your sum assured and other policy requirements.

Premium Payment Term (PPT)	Limited Premium Payment Term Options: 5 years if the policy term is 10 years Regular Premium Payment Term: Same as the policy tenure
Premium Payment Mode	Annual Monthly
Minimum Premium Amount**	For Option 1: Annual Mode: Rs.50,000 Monthly Mode:Rs.5,000 For Option 2: Annual Mode: Rs.25,000 Monthly Mode: Rs.3,000 Rs 25,000 p.a. and Rs 3,000 per month for minim
Maximum Premium Amount	There is no limit on maximum premium amount for both the options.

* Premiums will vary based on age, location, plan term, GST, and other factors.

** For monthly premium payment mode, the policy buyer will have to pay premiums for the first 3 months in advance.

Plan Coverage – What does the Smart Goals Plan cover?

Death Benefit	Death Benefit will be paid in the event of the insured’s death provided the policy is still in force. Death benefit payable as per the age of the insured is listed below: Before the age of 60: a.    Sum assured, excluding any partial withdrawals in the preceding two years. b.   Fund Value, or c.    105% of all premiums paid excluding GST. At the age of 60 or above: a.    Sum assured excluding partial withdrawal after having reached 58 years of age. b.   Fund Value, or c.    105% all premium paid excluding GST.
Maturity Benefit	The Fund Value will be paid on survival till the end of policy term.
Loyalty Additions	Loyalty additions will be paid as extra allocations to your funds at the end of specified policy anniversaries. The first loyalty addition will be made at the end of 10th policy year and second will be made at the end of 15th policy year.
Investment Fund Options	A customer has six funds to choose from depending upon their investment needs. The funds available are India Multi-Cap Equity Fund, Equity II Fund, Growth Plus Fund, Balanced Plus Fund, Debt Plus Fund, and Liquid Fund.

Exclusions - What the Smart Goals Plan doesn’t cover?

The Smart Goals Plan has a suicide exclusion. If the insured commits suicide within one year of the commencement of the policy, the claimant will be entitled to fund value. Any other charges recovered by the insurer will be paid to the claimant along with the fund value of the policy.

Other Key Features – Free-Look Period, Surrender Value, Grace Period, etc.  

Grace Period	A grace period of 30 days is given for the annual mode of premium payment and 15 days for monthly mode of premium payment.
Free-Look Period	If a policyholder doesn’t agree with the terms and conditions, they can cancel their policy within 15 days from the issuance of the policy document.
Auto Funds Rebalancing	Auto Funds Rebalancing gives customer the option to maintain his/her allocations of his/her investment in a definite proportion across funds. The allocation gets rebalanced automatically across all funds every three months according to the proportion assigned by the customer.
Safety Switch Option	On your policy approaching maturity, in order to protect your funds, the Safety Switch Option allows you to move your investment to a low risk Fund in the last four policy years.
Premium Redirection	This feature allows you to change the allocated proportions of your premiums from the 2nd policy year onwards. However, the redirection of premiums is allowed only once in a policy year.
Switching	You can opt to move your investments from one fund to another fund at any point of time. You can switch either a percentage of your money or take the option of moving the whole amount from one fund to another. The minimum amount that can be switched is Rs.10,000.
Increase/Decrease of Sum Assured	One can chose to change their Sum Assured from the 6th policy year onwards. The option can be availed only three times in a policy year, provided that all the premiums have been paid.
Partial Withdrawal	You can make partial withdrawals from your 6th policy year with the amount being in the multiple of 1000 rupees without completely surrendering your policy.
Settlement Options	This feature helps you get the option of receiving your maturity benefit in instalments over a maximum period of 5 years.

Tax Benefits – How you can save with the Smart Goals Plan

The plan offers you tax benefits under Section 80C and Section 10(10D), of the Income Tax

Act, 1961. Since, laws pertaining to Income Tax can change from time to time, it is always advisable to consult a tax consultant.

Other Benefits of Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance

The Smart Goals Plan also offers various other benefits to their customers. Some of them are:

• Buying plans online: You can buy your insurance plan online which not only saves time but is faster and convenient in nature.
• Insurance: Depending on your age and your annual income you can find out the best available insurance plan for yourself.
• Plans for all stages of life: People from different walks of life can chose plans for themselves based on their age, salary and other factors.
• Online Support: Canara HSBC OBC life insurance boast of an extensive customer support. A toll- free number is mentioned on their website, on which you can call with their executives ready to assist you 24x7.

Why you should buy the Smart Goals Plan from Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance?

The Smart Goals Plan is a Unit Linked Insurance Plan and hence not only provides you with an insurance cover but also provides you with the opportunity to see your money grow. Benefits such as death/maturity benefit, option to partially withdraw a certain amount from your fund and the option to allocate your funds in different proportions in different funds makes it one of the most sought after insurance plans.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance is a joint venture between two of India’s largest nationalised banks i.e. Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce and foreign insurer HSBC Insurance Holding Limited. The company boasts of having close to 93% success in settling claims. The company has a very good customer care record with almost 100% grievance issues settled by them. The company has a host of insurance plans to choose from amongst which the Smart Goals Plan is one of the prominent ones.