ICICI Pru Platinum: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance floats first ULIP with focus on value-based distributor payouts

Leading private insurance company ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has launched its first new unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP) --- ICICI Pru Platinum. The plan aims to bridge the gap between distributors' interests and policyholders by aligning distributor commissions with the customer's fund value. It incentivises distributors to encourage their customers to stay invested for the entire policy tenure.

A ULIP is an insurance plan that offers the dual benefit of investment to fulfill your long-term goals, and a life cover` to financially protect your family in case of an unfortunate event. Under these plans, investors pay premiums which are then invested in various funds. The returns on these investments are linked to the performance of those funds.

ULIPs are safe instruments given a long-term investment horizon. You can choose to invest in low-risk debt funds, high-risk equity funds, or a mix of both as per your risk appetite. 

ICICI Pru Platinum: Highlights

> Customers can choose from an array of 21 funds under this product, which includes 13 equity funds, four debt funds, and four balanced funds. 
> Additionally, they can choose from four portfolio strategies.
> This product, which provides a cost- and tax-efficient way to build long-term wealth, will also incentivise distribution partners to encourage their customers to stay invested throughout the policy term.
> Under the plan, investors have unlimited free switches between asset classes. This would help policyholders to adjust their investment mix based on market conditions and their evolving financial needs. 
> These switches can be made without any additional cost or tax implications, maximising the potential returns.

ICICI Pru Platinum: Life cover options
Under the plan, investors have a choice between two life cover variants: Growth Plus and Protect Plus. 
These options cater to different needs, which offers flexibility in terms of the death benefit payout.

The Growth Plus variant entitles the nominee to receive either the sum assured or the fund value, whichever is higher. 
The Protect Plus variant offers the nominee both the sum assured and the fund value.

Claim Settlement

The plan has a remarkable claim settlement ratio of 99.2% for FY2024, with an average turnaround time of just 1.3 days. 

“ICICI Pru Platinum, our company’s first unit-linked product, is designed to align distributor payouts with their customers’ fund value, promoting the long-term interests of both,” said Amit Palta, chief distribution officer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

In FY2023-24, the proportion of the linked savings product in the insurer's overall Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) rose to 43.2%, up from 35.9% in FY23. Concurrently, the representation of non-linked savings products diminished, accounting for 25.8% of APE compared to 37.3% in the previous fiscal year.