In spite of a decline in investors’ interest towards multiple premium policies, insurers are launching new products
The past six months have seen many insurers launching new ULIP products in spite of the decline in investor interest towards long term plans.
The revised IRDA guidelines on ULIPs last year impacted most insurance companies adversely. But this has not discouraged companies like IDBI Federal Life Insurance, Aviva Life and Tata AIG Life from launching new products in the multiple premium space term plan.
The beginning of May saw IDBI launching IDBI Federal Retiresurance Milestone Pension Plan. This has been followed by the launch of Aviva online plan for ULIPS and term plans. Tata AIG life has launched two new plans InvestAssure Gold Supreme, a unit linked whole of life plan and InvestAssure Maximizer, a unit linked endowment plan.
Abhay K Raj, Head Product and Marketing, SBI Life, maintains that the life insurance companies are launching these products to address customer needs. He says, “The reason of new products being launched in term plan space is because consumer needs are met through them.”
On the issue of increasing number of single premium plans, he explains, “There is an ease in selling single premium plans as compared to term plans. The sharp commission difference between the term and single premium plans have come down post the September, 2010 IRDA guideline. There is only a meagre percentage difference in commissions now.”