HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan

HDFC Life Sanchay Savings is a non-participating traditional insurance plan that provides you guaranteed benefits and a great level of flexibility to choose your investment goals. The plan is associated with premium payment terms of 5, 8, or 10 years. The customer also has the flexibility to choose a policy term ranging from 15 to 25 years. The policy can be purchased through EMI by HDFC Bank credit card holders. Optional riders are available to enhance the plan, if required.

Eligibility - Who is the HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan for?

For a customer to be able to purchase the HDFC Life Sanchay Savings plan, he/she would have to satisfy certain eligibility criteria. These factors include limits on his/her age and the number of years of insurance that he/she would like to avail. The eligibility conditions of the plan are tabulated below:

Minimum Entry Age	30 days
Maximum Entry Age	45 years
Minimum Maturity Age	18 years
Maximum Maturity Age	70 years

All ages mentioned above are with respect to the last birthday of the policyholder.

You can choose to buy the policy with a term ranging between 15 and 25 years. This is however, subject to meeting the maturity age limits.

Sum Assured and Premium Range - What you Get and What it Costs?

Sum Assured:

The policy offers multiple benefits in the form of Guaranteed Addition, Maturity Benefit, and Death Benefit that are elaborated in the coverage section below. Policyholders can avail Guaranteed Additions of 8% or 9% of the sum assured to the maturity benefit. The total guaranteed maturity benefit is between 220% to 325% of the sum assured at maturity, subject to all premiums being paid.

The Minimum Sum Assured at Maturity is Rs.105,673. There is no limit on the Maximum Sum Assured at Maturity, subject to underwriting guidelines.

Premium:

The premium can be chosen as per the needs of the customer. The premium frequency also varies between annual, semi-annual, quarterly and monthly. The limits on premium are as shown in the table below:

Frequency	Minimum Installment Premium (Rs.)	Maximum Installment Premium
Annual	30,000	No limit
Semi-annually	15,000
Quarterly	7,500
Monthly	2,500

Note: The minimum premium amounts are not inclusive of the education cess and applicable service tax.

If the policyholder opts for the monthly payment mode, the insurer will accept premiums corresponding to three months in advance, prior to the initiation of the monthly mode of premium payment.

Plan Coverage - What the HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan Covers?

HDFC Life Sanchay Savings is an insurance plan that offers you substantial savings through guaranteed returns. The plan is quite flexible with various options for premium payment and customisation of coverage.

The HDFC Life Sanchay Savings plan offers the following coverage:

• Guaranteed Additions (GA) - The policy offers GA as a percentage of the sum assured at maturity. This amount is accrued at a simple rate for each policy year that is competed, until the end of the policy term. The Guaranteed Additions are paid to the insured at maturity or death, whichever comes earlier. If the policyholder surrenders the policy, the surrender value of Guaranteed Additions will be paid.

Policy term	GA as percentage of sum assured at maturity
15 to 19 years	8%
20 to 25 years	9%

• Maturity Benefit – If the policyholder survives till the end of the policy term, he/she will receive a lump sum benefit that is the sum of the following:
  • Sum Assured at maturity
  • Accrued Guaranteed Additions

The maturity benefit for varying policy terms are as follows:

Policy Term	Maturity Benefit, as a percentage of the Sum Assured at maturity
15 years	220%
16 years	228%
17 years	236%
18 years	244%
19 years	252%
20 years	280%
21 years	289%
22 years	298%
23 years	307%
24 years	316%
25 years	325%

 

When the maturity benefit is paid, the policy will terminate with no additional benefits. If the life insured is a minor, the policy will automatically vest when he/she attains 18 years of age.

• Death Benefit - If the policyholder faces death during the policy term, the nominee will be paid the sum assured at death along with the accrued guaranteed additions. This is however, subject to all due premiums being paid. The sum assured at death will be the highest among the following amounts:
  • Sum assured at maturity
  • 105% of the premiums paid
  • 10 times the annualised premium

The premium amount considered for determining the death benefit will not include any underwriting extra premiums, taxes paid like the education cess and service tax, and loadings for modal premiums. When the death benefit is paid, the policy will terminate with no further benefits.

Add-On Plans – Additional Coverage under HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan:

The HDFC Life Sanchay Savings plan can be enhanced with the HDFC Life Critical Illness Plus Rider and the HDFC Life Income Benefit on Accidental Disability Rider.

• HDFC Life Critical Illness Plus Rider - This rider provides the Rider Sum Assured in the form of a lump sum amount if the policyholder is diagnosed with any of the 19 predefined critical illnesses, and subsequently survives for a period of 30 days. The minimum rider sum assured is Rs.25,000 and the maximum rider sum assured is subject to underwriting policy.
• HDFC Life Income Benefit on Accidental Disability Rider - If the policyholder suffers total permanent disability from an accident, he/she will be paid a regular income on a monthly basis that equates to 1% of the Sum Assured for a period of 10 years. The total benefit paid under the rider will be less than or equal to the sum assured of the base policy. Death benefit and maturity benefit are not payable under this rider.

Exclusions - What HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan doesn’t Cover?

If the life insured commits suicide within 12 months:

• From the risk commencement date of the policy, the nominee will be entitled to 80% of the premiums paid if the policy is still in-force.
• From the date of revival of the policy, the nominee will receive an amount which is higher among the following:
  • 80% of the premiums paid till the death of the policyholder
  • Surrender value on the date of death

Other Key Features – Freelook Period, Surrender Values, Grace Period etc.

• Free-look Period:

If the policyholder is not satisfied with the terms and conditions included in the policy documentation, he/she can return the policy to the insurer, stating relevant reasons. The return should be made within 15 days from the receipt date of the policy. The free-look period for policies that are bought through distance marketing is 30 days. When the insurer receives the returned policy with the letter from the customer, they will initiate a refund of the premium. After the policy is returned, it cannot be reinstated, revived, or restored again.

• Grace Period:

This is the time period following the premium due date when the policy is considered to be in-force with risk coverage. The HDFC Life Sanchay Savings plan has a grace period of 30 days from the premium due date when the premium payment frequency is annual, semi-annual, and quarterly. The grace period for policies with monthly frequency is 15 days from the premium due date. If the policyholder raises a valid claim within the grace period, the insurer will honor the claim after deduction of the due and unpaid premiums.

• Lapsation:

If the due premium is not paid within the grace period and the surrender value has not been acquired, the policy lapses. Lapsed policies will not have a risk cover and no benefits are payable. It is possible to revive a lapsed policy.

• Reduced Paid Up:

If the policyholder stops paying premiums after the policy reaches a guaranteed surrender value, it will be made reduced paid-up when the grace period ends. Once the policy moves to reduced paid-up status:

• The Sum Assured at Maturity/Death will be reduced, as per the following formula:

Paid-up Sum Assured at Maturity/Death = (Original Sum Assured at Maturity/Death) * (Premiums Paid) / (Total Premiums Payable)

• The Guaranteed Additions accumulated on the policy will continue as is. However, no further Guaranteed Additions will accrue on the policy.

The death benefit for a Reduced Paid-up Policy will be the highest amount among:

• Paid-up Sum Assured at death + Accrued Guaranteed Additions
• 105% of paid premiums

After the payment of maturity or death benefit under a reduced paid-up policy, it will terminate without any further benefits. It is possible to revive a paid-up policy.

• Revival of Policies: It is possible to revive a lapsed or paid-up policy within the revival period. For revival of a policy, the policyholder is required to pay all outstanding premiums and taxes. A charge of Rs.250 will be levied for the policy revival. Currently the revival period is 2 years, and it may be revised in the future, based on changes in regulations. When a policy is revived, all contractual benefits will be resumed.
• Surrender :

In order to enjoy all benefits of your policy, you should continue on it till the end of the policy term. However, it may not be possible to do so always, and you may be required to surrender your policy.

A policy acquires a Guaranteed Surrender Value (GSV) when:

• The premium for the first 2 years have been paid for policies with premium paying terms of 5 and 8 years.
• The premium for the first 3 years have been paid for policies with premium paying term of 10 years.

The minimum GSV is the aggregate of the following:

• The GSV of paid premiums
• The Surrender Value of Guaranteed Additions that are already accumulated on the policy

When the Surrender Benefit is paid, the policy terminates with no further benefits.

Tax Benefits – How you can save with HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan?

Premiums paid towards this plan are eligible for tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Under Section 10 (10D), the benefits received from the policy are exempt from tax as well. These rules are subject to change in the future, and you are advised to consult your tax advisor for updated tax rules.

Other Benefits – How you can save with HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan?

HDFC Life is a leading insurance company in India, offering a bouquet of individual and group insurance schemes. The solutions provided by them include insurance policies for the purpose of Pension, Protection, Health, and Investment. The insurer is known to have a great claim settlement ratio and claim settlement timeline. They also have an efficient customer service cell that offers guidance to policyholders on all issues related to claims.

Why you should Buy Sanchay Savings Plan from HDFC Life?

HDFC Life has a wide network across the country with 398 branches and 9,000 touch-points. This ensures that their products are always available to one and all. The insurance company also has an efficient financial consultancy wing that offers solutions to customers within the country and abroad.

HDFC Life Sanchay Savings Plan FAQs:

Q. Can I avail a loan on the policy?

A. When your policy has reached surrender value, you can avail a policy loan of upto 80% of the surrender value. This is however, subject to certain terms and conditions.

Q. After the purchase of the policy, what alterations are allowed?

A. Once the policy has been purchased, it is not possible to change the premiums, premium paying term, sum assured at maturity, and policy term. However, it is possible to alter the premium frequency. This may lead to a change in the premium, though.

Q. Are there any discounts on premium if the policy is bought through online sale?

A. The policyholder will receive a 3% discount on premium rate if the policy was purchased through a channel which does not require the payment of commission. Examples of this include worksite marketing, tele-assisted marketing, online sales, and branch walk-ins.

Q. Can this policy be assigned or transferred?

A. The HDFC Life Sanchay Savings policy may be assigned or transferred partly or in whole. The instrument of transfer should indicate the reasons for the transfer or assignment. A fee will have to be paid for the assignment or transfer. Once the fee has been received by the insurer, they may accept or decline the request.

Q. What should I do if my policy assignment request has been rejected by the insurance company?

A. In this scenario, the policyholder can prefer a claim to IRDAI within 30 days of receipt of the refusal from HDFC Life.

Q. Is Service Tax applicable on the policy?

A. The taxes applicable on the policy are as below:

• Indirect taxes - Service Tax and Cess will be levied on the policy. In the future, if any statutory levy becomes applicable, the policyholder will have to pay this amount.
• Direct taxes - Direct taxes will be deducted from payments under the policy, at the prevailing rates.

Q. What are the different types of Savings Plans?

A. Savings plans can be of the traditional endowment type or unit-linked type. You can choose a plan based on your risk appetite, your understanding of the financial market, and your ability to track the movements in your investment. So, individuals who can bear investment risks for higher returns should look to purchase unit-linked products. The converse is true for traditional savings plans as well.

Q. I already have a savings and investment plan from HDFC Life. Do I need to buy a pension plan in order to support my expenses during retirement?

A. A savings and investment plan has a totally different purpose, when compared to a pension plan. Retirement plans are designed to provide you a steady source of income post retirement. On the other hand, a savings plan is configured to provide you guaranteed savings during the years you are employed. This type of plan helps you build a financially secure life for your loved ones by fulfilling your financial needs.

Q. Can I purchase multiple policies from HDFC Life?

A. Yes, you can buy more than one policy from HDFC Life. However, the approval for this will be subject to underwriting regulations.

Q. How will I know if my claim is rejected?

A. If your claim has been rejected by the insurer, you will be notified through a letter that includes the reason for rejection.

Q. How long does the insurer take to process claims?

A. After HDFC life receives all relevant information from the claimant, they make the claim payout within 30 days. In case the claim needs to be investigated further, the insurance company will initiate the investigations at the earliest. The claim payout will depend upon the investigation results.