Benefits Of Buying ICICI Prudential Child Plan

Amongst the entire private life insurers in the country, ICICI has enjoyed a dominant position for more than twenty years by offering world-class products and quality consistent services. The range of products offered by ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company includes Protection plans in the form of term plans, Child Plans, Savings, and Investment Plans which are available in both conventional or ULIPs form and pension plans. With a wide range of products, the company strives to meet every individual's insurance-related requirement at a single source.

ICICI Prudential Life Child Plans

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company offers only one kind of child insurance plan which has an exhaustive list of features and benefits. Let us take a look at this child education insurance plan by ICICI Prudential in detail.

ICICI Pru Smart Kid Assure Plan

It is a unit-linked child plan which offers the following benefits to the customer:

• It offers two options in investment portfolio strategies which are Lifecycle based Portfolio Strategy and Fixed Portfolio Strategy. 
• Under the Lifecycle Based Portfolio Strategy, the premium is initially distributed between two funds namely Multi-Cap Growth Fund and Income Fund based on the age of the policyholder.  Multi-Cap Growth Fund is a high risk and high return fund with the maximum allocation of premium in the initial years while Income Fund is a low-risk low return fund. 
• With the passage of the policy term and the increasing age of the policyholder, the investment will be redistributed gradually every year with money being transferred from the Multi-Cap Growth Fund to the Income Fund to protect it from high volatility. 
• As the policy nears maturity, the bulk of the investment will be in the Income Fund which offers a low-risk profile. The distribution and balancing of the allocation are done by the company automatically.
• Under the Fixed Portfolio Strategy, the company offers a choice of 6 funds and the policyholder will have to choose the fund according to his risk appetite. The funds available under the options are Opportunities Fund, Multi-Cap Growth Fund, Blue Chip Fund, Multi-Cap Balanced Fund, Income Fund, and Money Market Fund.
• There is a feature of Automatic Transfer under the Fixed Portfolio strategy through which the policyholder may choose to invest all or a part of his premium in the Money Market Fund. From there, a chosen amount may be transferred automatically to the Blue Chip Fund or Multi-Cap Growth Fund, or Opportunities Fund as per the policyholder's choice.
• These options make this child education insurance plan by ICICI Prudential a good investment, given the opportunities to create a significant wealth corpus through a combination of high and low-risk funds. 
• On the maturity of the plan, the available fund value is payable to the policyholder. The policyholder may choose to receive the fund value on maturity in a lump sum or keep the proceeds invested with the company for further 5 years under the Settlement Option. During these 5 years, the policyholder can avail the fund value in installments. This particular feature makes for a good choice for parents looking to invest in this child's education insurance plan by ICICI Prudential. 
• In the case of death of the insured during the tenure of the plan, the Basic Sum Assured chosen at the time of buying is paid. Moreover, future premiums are waived off and the plan runs unaffected. On maturity, the available fund value is again paid to the beneficiary who is the child. 
• There is an option of adding the Income Benefit Rider wherein, in the case of death of the insured, 10% of the Rider Sum Assured will be paid to the beneficiary every year post-death till the maturity of the plan. This amount is in addition to the death benefit payable.
• Accidental Death and Disability Benefit Rider is also available under the plan which promises additional payment in case the insured succumbs to accidental death or disability
• The plan offers Guaranteed Additions which are added to the fund value at the end of 15 years. The additional income with this child education insurance plan by ICICI Prudential makes way for a bigger education corpus for the child.
• From the 6th year of the policy, there will be an additional allocation of premium @ 2%. Thus, from the 6th policy year, 102% of the premiums paid will be allocated to the fund.
• The Sum Assured can be increased or decreased subject to certain terms and conditions.
• Additional premiums can be paid through top-ups with a minimum value of Rs.2000.
• Switching between funds is allowed under the Fixed Portfolio Strategy with a minimum value of Rs.2000
• One free partial withdrawal is allowed every three policy years subject to a maximum of 20% of the available fund value as of the date of withdrawal.
• A change in a portfolio strategy is allowed once every year.
• Wealth Booster additions are made to the coverage amount under this child education insurance plan by ICICI Prudential. These are added on every 5th policy year starting from the 10 years.

Applying for a Child Education Insurance Plan at ICICI Prudential

ICICI Pru Child Education Plan can be purchased either online or offline through intermediaries. Each option comes with standard procedures as described below:

Online
The company offers specific plans which are available online only. The customer needs to log into the company's website, choose the required plan, choose the coverage and provide the details. The premium will be determined using the filled details. The customer then needs to pay the premium online through credit card, debit card, or net banking facilities and the policy will be issued

Intermediaries
Plans which are not available online can be purchased from agents, brokers, banks, etc. where the intermediaries help with the application process.

Conclusion

Therefore, the child education insurance plan by ICICI Pru not only provides for the expenses of the child’s future educational expenses but also covers the risk of the parent's life. This makes sure that if the parent dies prematurely, the child’s education is not affected.

Also read: Features Of Child Plans In India

How Are Child Insurance Plans Different From Other Life Plans?