LIC launches new pension plan to mark 54 th anniversary

To mark its 54th anniversary, the country's largest insurer, state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India on Friday introduced a new scheme - LIC Pension Plus, which is a unit-linked deferred pension plan. The plan offers the customer a minimum guarantee on the gross premiums paid.

The plan does not offer life cover during the term of the policy but provides a choice of investing the premiums in either of two types of investment funds available.

Explaining the option for fund allocation to the policyholder, Raghupal Singh, senior divisional manager of the LIC, said the minimum regular premium, under the new scheme, through modes other than the ECS is Rs15,000 per annum, while the maximum allowed for regular premium is Rs1,00,000.

Under the plan for the ECS mode of payment, the minimum premium is Rs1,500 per month with minimum single premium to be paid of Rs30,000 and there is no upper limit, he said.

Announcing the anniversary celebration, Singh said LIC was commemorating Insurance Week from 1-7 September with various social activities to be undertaken during the week including free health check-up camp, blood donation camp, dedicating days to environment, employees and agents, etc.

Singh added that the Chandigarh Division of LIC has delivered excellent 'new business' performance as on 31 August, 2010 and has secured the third rank in the entire North Zone.

It has collected Rs 292 crore premium through 1,10,348 policies, thus registering a growth of 114 per cent in First Premium Income, over the last financial year. For the month of August itself, the division has collected First Premium Amount of Rs115 crore, which is a record for a month's collection.

According to IRDA figures, LIC has a market share of 71.33 per cent in First Premium Income on 31st July, 2010 and 71.68 per cent on policies.

LIC has already completed over one crore new policies in the current fiscal by 14 August with a 'first premium income' of Rs15, 917 crore, on a growth rate of 96.17 per cent.