Skip to main content

Types of bonuses in insurance plans

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

 

IN THE most common understanding of the word, bonus is a reward or any extra amount that one may receive over and above the base amount. A similar concept is also applicable to your life insurance policy. In this context, a bonus is an additional sum that gets accrued to the policy on a yearly basis. This amount is paid out by the insurance company upon maturity of the plan, or in case of unfortunate death.


Understanding how bonus is determined: The premiums paid by policyholders are pooled within the insurance company's life fund. The company uses these pooled assets to pay out claims. A large part of the life fund is invested in government-secured debt instruments, with a small portion invested in equity to achieve a desired return. Based on the earnings from the investments made by the company and its claims experience, the company aims to distribute a part of its surplus to the with profits policyholders in the form of bonus.

The bonus rate is decided after considering a variety of factors such as the return on the underlying assets, the level of bonuses declared in previous years and other actuarial assumptions.

Bonus is offered on traditional plans that are built in to the plan structure. To avail of the bonus, it is important that the type of plan you have purchased is a `withprofits' one, often known as a participating policy as well.


Types of bonuses: The common types of bonus offered by insurers are simple reversionary bonus, compound reversionary bonus, terminal bonus, interim bonus, and cash bonus.

Simple reversionary bonus (SRB): This type of bonus is calculated on the sum assured only. This bonus is declared annually and is accrued to be paid out at the time of a claim or maturity.

Compound reversionary bonus (CRB): CRB is calculated as a percentage of the sum assured and all previously accrued bonuses. The bonus of each year is added to the sum assured and the next year's bonus is calculated on the enhanced amount.

Let's take an example to understand which type of bonus is beneficial for you.


Take for instance, Rahul Khanna owns two participating policies of Rs 5,00,000 each. Let's assume that on the first policy he gets a bonus using the simple revisionary method and on the second policy he gets a bonus using the compound revisionary method. The SRB declared on the policy is Rs 25 per `000 of sum assured, while CRB declared is 3 per cent throughout the policy term.

As seen from the table above, the CRB to be accrued at the end of the 10th year is much higher, compared with the SRB of the same year.

Terminal bonus: The terminal bonus, also known as a persistency bonus, is a bonus paid to indicate an overall performance of a participating policy. The terminal bonus is paid at the time of maturity or death of the life assured.

Interim bonus: Interim bonus is payable for those policies that mature or result in a death claim in between two bonus declaration dates. While the policy has already accrued the bonus declared at the end of the last financial year, there may be a short period in between the bonus declaration date and the maturity/claim date for which the policy has not received bonus. In such instances, bonus is added on a pro-rata basis using the interim bonus rates declared by the company. An interim bonus ensures that policyholders who claim benefits in midst of a year will receive credit for keeping the policy in force for that part of the year.

Cash bonus: The insurance company may decide to give the bonus in cash, that is, bonus accruing in a year will be paid to the policyholder at the end of the year.


This gives the policyholder an opportunity to receive the bonus year on year.


Things you should consider: Type of bonus offered: While evaluating a traditional policy, it is a good idea to consider beforehand the type of bonus that your plan offers. This would be mentioned in the brochure of the plan, or you could also check with your agent/intermediary.

Check bonus rates: While choosing your traditional plan, make sure to check the bonus rates offered by them over the years.


These rates are usually published on the insurer's website and will give you an idea of the kind of benefits you stand to gain from the particular policy. Additionally, it is recommended that you check the company's website as few insurers publish the declared bonus rate on their official website.

Happy Investing!!

We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

---------------------------------------------

Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds ( ELSS Mutual Funds ) to upto Rs 1 lakh and Save tax under Section 80C.

Invest Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

These links can be used to Purchase Mutual Funds Online that are regular also (Investment, non-tax saving)

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Applications

These Application Forms can be used for buying regular mutual funds also

Some of the best Tax Saving Mutual Funds available ( ELSS Mutual Funds )

  1. ICICI Prudential Tax PlanInvest Online
  2. HDFC TaxSaverInvest Online
  3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver FundInvest Online
  4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) FundInvest Online
  5. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief '96 Invest Online
  6. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) FundInvest Online
  7. SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993Invest Online
  8. Sundaram Tax SaverInvest Online
  9. Edelweiss ELSS Invest Online

------------------

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
    2. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
    1. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
    1. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
    1. Sector Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
    1. Tax Saver MutualFundsInvest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan
      2. HDFC Taxsaver
      3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
    2. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online
      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund

Popular posts from this blog

Am you Required to E-file Tax Return?

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   Am I Required to 'E-file' My Return? Yes, under the law you are required to e-file your return if your income for the year is Rs. 500,000 or more. Even if you are not required to e-file your return, it is advisable to do so for the following benefits: i) E-filing is environment friendly. ii) E-filing ensures certain validations before the return is filed. Therefore, e-returns are more accurate than the paper returns. iii) E-returns are processed faster than the paper returns. iv) E-filing can be done from the comfort of home/office and you do not have to stand in queue to e-file. v) E-returns can be accessed anytime from the tax department's e-filing portal. For further information contact Prajna Capit...
Read more

IDFC - Long term infrastructure bonds - Tranche 2

IDFC - Long term infrastructure bonds What are infrastructure bonds? In 2010, the government introduced a new section 80CCF under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (" Income Tax Act ") to provide for income tax deductions for subscription to long-term infrastructure bonds and pursuant to that the Central Board of Direct Taxes passed Notification No. 48/2010/F.No.149/84/2010-SO(TPL) dated July 9, 2010. These long term infrastructure bonds offer an additional window of tax deduction of investments up to Rs. 20,000 for the financial year 2010-11. This deduction is over and above the Rs 1 lakh deduction available under sections 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD read with section 80CCE of the Income Tax Act. Infrastructure bonds help in intermediating the retail investor's savings into infrastructure sector directly. Long term infrastructure Bonds by IDFC IDFC issued an earlier tranche of these long term infrastructure bonds on November 12, 2010. This is the second public issue of long-te...
Read more

Section 80CCD

Top SIP Funds Online   Income tax deduction under section 80CCD Under Income Tax, TaxPayers have the benefit of claiming several deductions. Out of the deduction avenues, Section 80CCD provides t axpayer deductions against investments made in specific sector s. Under Section 80CCD, an assessee is eligible to claim deductions against the contributions made to the National Pension Scheme or Atal Pension Yojana. Contributions made by an employer to National Pension Scheme are also eligible for deductions under the provisions of Section 80 CCD. In this article, we will take a look at the primary features of this section, the terms and conditions for claiming deductions, the eligibility to claim such deductions, and some of the commonly asked questions in this regard. There are two parts of Section 80CCD. Subsection 1 of this section refers to tax deductions for all assesses who are central government or state government employees, or self-employed or employed by any other employers. In...
Read more

ULIP Review: ProGrowth Super II

  If you are interested in a death cover that's just big enough, HDFC SL ProGrowth Super II is something worth a try. The beauty is it has something for everybody — you name the risk profile, the category is right up there. But do a SWOT analysis of the basket, and the gloss fades     HDFC SL ProGrowth Super II is a type-II unit-linked insurance plan ( ULIP ). Launched in September 2010, this is a small ticket-size scheme with multiple rider options and adequate death cover. It offers five investment options (funds) — one in each category of large-cap equity, mid-cap equity, balanced, debt and money market fund. COST STRUCTURE: ProGrowth Super II is reasonably priced, with the premium allocation charge lower than most others in the category. However, the scheme's mortality charge is almost 60% that of LIC mortality table for those investing early in life. This charge reduces with age. BENEFITS: Investors can choose a sum assured between 10-40 times the annualised premium...
Read more

FCCB buyback

WITH dismal share valuations causing bondholders to redeem, and not convert their foreign currency convertible bonds ( FCCBs ), which until early this year were regarded as one of the most preferred options for raising corporate debt, suddenly seem to have become millstones around the necks of issuers. It is the redemption pressure on cash-starved issuers, coupled with the need to preserve liquidity by mitigating further forex outflow, which seems to have prompted the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) to issue the circular permitting buyback of FCCBs. As per the circular, issuers can now buyback FCCBs under the automatic route up to any limit out of existing foreign resources or by raising fresh external commercial borrowings (ECBs,) if effected at a minimum discount of 15% on the book value. Further, FCCBs up to $50 million can be bought back with prior RBI approval out of rupee resources representing “internal accruals”, if effected at a minimum discount of 25% on the book value. I...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now