Best ULIP To Buy In 2024

ULIP Plans are among the top 10 investment choices as these offer a combination of insurance and investment simultaneously.  But with a plethora of ULIPs available, selecting the best one according to your needs can be pretty confusing. So, this blog is here to simplify the process for you! 

We have curated a list of the best ULIP plans to buy in 2024, highlighting their unique features and benefits to help you buy the right ULIP plan.

What is ULIP (Unit-Linked Insurance Plan)?

ULIP is a type of life insurance policy that combines the benefits of insurance and investment. The premiums paid by investors are divided into two portions: 

• One provides life coverage, 
• While the rest is invested in various funds, like large cap, mid cap, small cap, and flexi cap funds, according to the specific choice. 

Now, let’s understand how the ULIP plan works!

Top 10 ULIP Plans To Buy In 2024 

Here’s the list of top unit-linked investment plans offered by the best life insurance companies in India. 

Company Name	Plan Name
HDFC Life Insurance	HDFC Life Click 2 Wealth
HDFC Life Insurance	HDFC Life ProGrowth Plus
ICICI Life Insurance	ICICI Pru Signature
Max Life Insurance	Max Life Platinum Wealth Plan
Life Insurance Corporation India	LIC Endowment Plus
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance	Bajaj Allianz Invest Protect Goal
Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance	Aditya Birla Sun Life Fortune Elite Plan
ICICI Life Insurance	ICICI Prudential Wealth Builder II
SBI Life Insurance	SBI Life Smart Wealth Assure
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance	Bajaj Allianz Life Future Gain II

How Does the ULIP Plan Work?

We’ll understand the workings of the ULIP plan with an example. 

Let’s say Vijay is a 30-year working professional whose primary goal is to financially protect his family (in case of demise) and create enough wealth for his retirement. So, he bought a ULIP plan from InsuranceDekho. Here’s how it will work. 

• Premium Payment: He starts by paying a premium to the insurance company. This can be a single premium or regular premium (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually).
• Premium Allocation: The premium is divided into two parts-
• Life Coverage: One portion goes towards providing life insurance coverage.
• Investment: The remaining one is invested in various funds chosen by Vijay, such as equity funds, debt funds, or balanced funds.
• ULIP Fund NAV: The performance of the investment is determined by the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the selected fund. NAV is calculated daily based on the market value of the underlying assets.
• Insurance Cover: Due to any unfortunate incident, if Vijay dies, the nominee will receive the death benefit, which is the higher of the sum assured or the fund value.
• Returns: The returns on investment depend on the performance of the chosen funds and market conditions.

ULIPs also offer a tax rebate under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act of 1961 and the flexibility to switch between different funds based on your changing financial goals or market conditions. Additionally, you can make partial withdrawals after a lock-in period (usually five years).

Top 10 ULIP Plans To Buy In 2024 

Below is the list of the top 10 ULIP plans, along with their features. 

1. HDFC Life Click 2 Wealth  

HDFC Life Click 2 Wealth is a Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) that offers market-linked returns and provides life insurance coverage for you and your family. 

Key features of HDFC Life Click 2 Wealth

• HDFC Life Click 2 Wealth offers 3 plan options: 
• Invest Plus for Insurance cum Investment
• Premium Waiver to the future of your loved one in your absence.
• Golden Years Benefit for retirement planning with life cover benefits 
• Flexibility to choose from 13 fund options with unlimited free switching. 
• Unlike other plans that impose different types of charges, HDFC Life Click 2 Wealth levies only fund management charges from investors to manage the funds and mortality charges towards life cover. The best part is that mortality charges will be returned on Maturity. 
• Availability of three premium payment options: 
• Single Pay
• Limited pay 
• Regular Pay
• Get a special Addition of 1% of Annualized Premium for the first 5 years. 
• Maturity benefits are payable at the end of the policy term, and death benefits in case of the policyholder’s unfortunate death. 

2. HDFC Life ProGrowth Plus

Next on our list of top 10 ULIP plans is HDFC Life ProGrowth Plus. It is a regular premium unit-linked insurance plan that allows you to choose your regular premium and investment fund. Below are some of its key features! 

Key features of HDFC Life ProGrowth Plus

• HDFC Life ProGrowth Plus offers 2 plan options: 
• Life Option: Death Benefit
• Extra Life Option: Death Benefit + Accidental Death Benefit. The life option only provides death benefits, while the extra life option offers coverage for death along with accidental death benefits.

• Flexibility to choose from 10 fund options. Also, you can opt to pay premiums on monthly, annual, quarterly, or half-yearly intervals. 
• Policyholders can make lump sum partial withdrawals from their funds after a 5-year lock-in period. 
• Get an income tax rebate on the premium paid u/s 80C and on claims under Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act. 

3. ICICI Pru Signature

ICICI Pru Signature is a ULIP plan that offers dual benefits of life insurance and flexible investment options. It allows investors to choose from 4 portfolio strategies and a vast range of funds across equity, debt, and balanced funds, according to their risk appetite. 

Key features of ICICI Pru Signature

• The plan offers three Premium Paying Term options
• Limited Pay: 5,7 and 10 years
• Regular Pay: Same as the policy term
• Whole Life Cover: 7,10, or 15 years
• After the completion of five policy years, you can make an unlimited number of partial withdrawals according to your requirements. 
• Mortality and Policy Administration Charges are returned to the investor once the policy matures. 
• Get life cover for the entire policy term and ensure your family is financially secure even in your absence. 
• The company awards investors with Wealth Boosters at the end of every 5 years starting from the end of the 10th policy year. 

4. Max Life Platinum Wealth Plan

Max Life Platinum Wealth Plan is another one of the best ULIP plans to buy in 2024. It provides you with flexibility, portfolio strategies, and multiple Fund options. Let’s have a quick overview of its key features. 

Key features of Max Life Platinum Wealth Plan

• Choose the Policy Tenure and Premium Payment Term at your convenience. Either pay premiums for a limited period or the entire policy term. 
• Get guaranteed loyalty additions and wealth boosters that will further enhance your fund value. 
• A maximum of two partial withdrawals are allowed in any policy year after the first five policy years. 
• Flexibility to choose from 13 fund options with unlimited free switching. 

5. LIC Endowment Plus

LIC Endowment Plus provides a good combination of protection and long-term savings. The reason we have included this in our list of top ULIP plans is because it provides investors greater flexibility to build a better life and decide where they want to invest their hard-earned money. 

Key features of LIC Endowment Plus

• It is a regular premium ULIP plan that allows policyholders to pay premiums regularly at yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, or monthly intervals. 
• Policyholders can withdraw the funds partially after the 5th policy anniversary. 
• Avail LIC's Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider. In case of accidental death, the Accident Benefit Rider Sum Assured will be payable in a lump sum to the nominee. 
• Tax exemptions are available on the maturity benefit, death benefit, partial withdrawals, and premium payments.
• Flexibility to choose from 4 fund options as per your risk-taking capability. You can also opt to switch between the four fund types during the policy term. 

6. Bajaj Allianz Invest Protect Goal

Choose the Bajaj Allianz Invest Protect Goal ULIP plan if you want to secure your family's future and build a retirement corpus. Read on to find out the key features of this policy. 

Key features of Bajaj Allianz Invest Protect Goal

• The plan offers two Premium Payment Term options, i.e., Limited Pay and Regular Pay, with yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, monthly, and top-up payment options. 
• Loyalty additions are given as a reward to investors for staying invested. 
• Bajaj Allianz Life Linked Accident Protection Rider is available for enhanced protection. Investors can opt for this by paying an additional premium. 
• All the premium allocation charges with respect to your Regular/Limited premiums are returned back at the end of the 10th policy year. 
• Family Benefit is given if any of your family members is an existing policyholder of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited. 
• Option to partially withdraw the funds after the Lock-in Period, i.e., from the 6th policy year onwards. 

7. Aditya Birla Sun Life Fortune Elite Plan

Aditya Birla Sun Life Fortune Elite Plan is a Unit Linked Insurance plan that offers guaranteed additions along with 3 investment options, i.e., Return Optimiser Option, Systematic Transfer Option, and Self-Managed Option.

Key features of Aditya Birla Sun Life Fortune Elite Plan

• Add Accidental Death Benefit Rider Plus and Waiver of Premium Rider for enhanced protection. 
• Enjoy an annual tax deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakh under section 80C of the IT Act. 
• The sum of Basic Fund Value and Top-up Fund Value is given at policy maturity.

8. ICICI Prudential Wealth Builder II 

A savings-oriented ULIP plan, ICICI Prudential Wealth Builder II grows your money through market-linked investments and also provides life cover to protect your family in case of your unfortunate demise. 

Key features of ICICI Prudential Wealth Builder II 

• The plan offers two portfolio strategies:
• Fixed Portfolio Strategy
• LifeCycle-based Portfolio Strategy
• Choose from a diverse suite of 7 funds and levels of protection. 
• Wealth Boosters between 1.50% to 3.25% will be allocated as extra units at the end of every fifth policy year starting from the end of the tenth policy year. Loyalty Additions and Additional Loyalty Additions are also added from the 6th policy year at 0.25%.

9. SBI Life Smart Wealth Assure

SBI Life Smart Wealth Assure is a non-participating ULIP plan with a single-pay premium option. This means investors only have to pay premiums once, and they can continue to enjoy the benefits throughout the policy term. 

Key features of SBI Life Smart Wealth Assure

• Death Benefits are payable either as a Lump sum or as a Settlement option.
• Partial withdrawals are allowed after 5 policy anniversary or on attainment of age 18 by the life assured, whichever is later.
• Flexibility to choose from 7 fund options with unlimited free switching. 

• Enhance the policy coverage by adding the Accidental Death Benefit rider. 
• Income tax benefits are available as per Section 80C and Section 10(10D) of the IT Act.

10. Bajaj Allianz Life Future Gain II

Last but not the least, Bajaj Allianz Future Gain is a Non-Participating, Life, Individual, Regular & Limited premium Unit-Linked Savings Plan that provides life insurance coverage throughout the policy term and maximizes wealth by investing in the capital market. 

Key features of Bajaj Allianz Future Gain

• Availability of two premium payment options: 
• Limited pay 
• Regular Pay
• Flexibility to choose from 17 fund options. 
• This best ULIP plan offers two unique portfolio strategies:
• Investor Selectable Portfolio Strategy
• Wheel of Life Portfolio Strategy

Investors can choose these at the policy inception or on any subsequent policy anniversary. 

• Investors are given the flexibility to 
• Reduce regular premium,  
• Alter premium payment frequency, 
• Pay top-up premium
• Take death benefit/maturity benefit in installments
• Policyholders can opt to enhance policy coverage by choosing the optional additional rider benefits. 
• Premium paid, maturity benefit, death benefit, and surrender value are eligible for tax benefits according to income tax rules. 

The Bottom Line

This marks the end of our blog, but the list of best ULIP plans is never-ending. Here, we have only mentioned our top-10 picks. But if you are interested in exploring more or want to buy a ULIP plan from the above list, give us a call at +91-7551196989, and our advisor will help you buy the best policy according to your needs.  We won’t spam! (It’s a promise!)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a ULIP plan? 

ULIP, or Unit-Linked Insurance plan, is a policy that provides the benefits of life insurance with investment. One part of the premium is used for life insurance coverage, and the remaining is invested in various funds like equity, debt, or balanced funds. 

What are the benefits of investing in a ULIP?

ULIP plans offer several benefits, like 

• Life coverage
• Market-linked returns for retirement corpus
• Tax benefits
• Death benefits 
• Maturity benefits and many more accordion to the chosen plan. 

What should I consider when choosing a ULIP plan?

When choosing a ULIP plan, you must consider the below factors 

• Fund options
• Available premium payment options
• Flexibility in premium payments
• Charges associated with the plan
• Check the plan returns in the past 5 years
• Life coverage 
• Additional benefits like loyalty additions and partial withdrawals.

What are the tax benefits of ULIPs?

ULIPs offer tax benefits under the IT Act of 1961. Premiums paid are eligible for deductions u/s 80C, and the maturity benefits are tax-exempt under Section 10(10D), subject to certain conditions.

What is the return of ULIP plans in the past 5 years?

ULIP plans have given annualized returns of 10.90% to 16.18% in the past 5 years. However, the returns varies according to the selected ULIP plan. 

Also Read: 

Benefits Of Hdfc Life Critical Illness Plus Rider

Can You Add a Rider To An Existing Policy?