All you need to know about HDFC SL Crest !

Savings and growth are the two basic ingredients of a successful financial planning. Saving money is not enough when you have the option to create wealth for future. A ULIP product gives you the opportunity to invest in various investment instruments like stocks, equities, bonds or mutual funds, and get a future return based on market performance. Moreover, it provides life coverage to the policy holder so that his or her family remain financially secure in case of any unfortunate event like death.

HDFC SL Crest is a unit Linked life insurance Product that gives the dual benefit of insurance and investment. The risk profile of ULIP products is quite high. But this product provides you with the flexibility to decide your investment strategy. You can choose from the following 4 fund options based on your risk appetite:

 

Fund name	Risk rating
Blue Chip Fund	Very High
Opportunities fund	Very High
Balanced Fund	High to Moderate
Income fund	Moderate

 

HDFC SL Crest is a short term ULIP product as you have to pay only for a limited period of 5 years and receive market linked returns for 10 years. Moreover, it allows you to start investing from a very early age. The eligibility criteria of this plan are shown in detail below:

 

Eligibility	Age on your Last Birthday
Entry Age	14 – 55 years
Premium paying Term	5 years
Policy Term	10 years
Maturity Age	65 Years

 

 

HDFC SL Crest is a well-managed savings plan that gives you numerous benefits. Before going over to the benefits that come along with this plan, let us see the charges that are deducted under this policy to provide the benefit costs and better returns in future. Following is the list of charges under this plan:

1.       Premium allocation charge

2.       Policy Administration charge

3.       Fund management charge

4.       Mortality charge

5.       Partial Withdrawal Charge

6.       Premium redirection charge

7.       Switching charge

8.       Discontinuance charge

9.       Miscellaneous charge

 

Benefits are one of the most important criteria for choosing an insurance plan. The benefits received under HDFC SL Crest are as follows:

Death Benefit:  HDFC SL Crest offers comprehensive life cover. So, in case of your unfortunate death during the policy tenure, the nominee will receive the lump sum assured as the death benefit. The minimum death benefit is 105% of your annual premium.

Maturity Benefit: After the maturity of the policy, you will receive the total fund value as the maturity benefit.

Partial withdrawal:  As it is a ULIP product, you are not allowed to touch your fund during the first 5 years of the policy term. After the completion of the 5th policy year, you can partially withdraw your fund any time you want.  In return, you will receive the withdrawal amount which is at least Rs.10, 000/-

Surrender:  If you surrender your policy after 5 years of the policy term, you will immediately receive your fund value as the surrender benefit.

Discontinuance:  This plan allows a period of 30 days as grace period. In case you fail to pay your premium, you have to pay within this period to prevent your policy from getting lapsed. In case you want to discontinue the plan, you can completely withdraw from the policy without risk cover.

Revival of Discontinued Policy:  If you fail to pay your due premium within grace period, your policy will lapse. But you can revive your policy by paying all the due premiums within 2 years from the date of discontinuance.

Tax Benefits: You will enjoy Tax Benefits under section 80C and section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act of 1961.

 

Before investing in a ULIP product, it is important to check the latest NAV (Net Asset Value) of the plan. The following table shows the latest NAV of HDFC SL Crest:

 

Returns (as on 26-04-2016)
Period	Annualised (%)	Absolute (%)
1 year	1.2	1.2
2 year	8.2	17.1
3 year	7.1	22.9
5 year	5.5	30.7

 

Above was a detailed overview of the HDFC SL Crest plan. We have tried to provide everything you need to know before buying a plan. Now it is your risk appetite, and financial goals, based on which you have to decide whether you should invest in this plan or not.