HDFC Life Child Plans

These plans have some common features and promise some unique benefits which are highlighted in the following points: 

• The plan can be bought only by a parent who has a minor child for whom he would like to plan. Other individuals cannot buy the plan. HDFC offers two HDFC child plans 

• These plans cover the life of the parent and he is also the person responsible for paying the premiums. Some plans, however, also cover the life of the child while the parent is supposed to pay the premiums and is called the policyholder. 

• Child insurance plans can be offered as a traditional plan where the benefits payable on death or maturity is fixed or a unit linked insurance plan where the benefits payable will depend on the growth experienced in the capital market. This is because the premiums are invested in funds representing the capital market and so the growth is market related. One of the HDFC child plan is an ULIP while the other HDFC child plan is a traditional product 

• Unlike other plans of insurance, a child plan will have an inbuilt benefit of the waiver of premium rider. This rider ensures the continuation of premium even after the policyholder who is responsible for premium payments dies. So, the child, who might be the life insured or the beneficiary will not have to worry about paying premiums if the parent dies because the company will take care of the same. 

• Normal maturity benefits are payable if the policyholder survives till maturity. However, on death two things happen. One, an immediate death benefit is paid to the nominee. Two, the plan still continues and the premiums are paid by the insurance company on every due date. When the plan matures, the maturity benefit is paid again to the nominee and then the plan is completed. HDFC child plan helps the policyholder to get maximum maturity benefits and also take advantage of various payout options under these HDFC child plans. 

• If the child’s life is insured, the insurance company does not take the risk immediately since inception. There is a few years’ wait which is called the deferment period during which the Sum Assured cover is not provided on the child’s life. If the child dies only the total premiums paid till the child’s death are returned to the policyholder, i.e. the parent. 

• Another feature in case where the child is covered is the vesting of the policy. Vesting means transfer of ownership of the policy. Since, the child being a minor cannot have the title to the policy, the parent acts as the policyholder. But, after the child attains 18 years of age, he is legally matured and then the policy ownership transfers in his name automatically making him the policyholder. 

Why do you require a child plan?

The plan comes with various features which ensure the financial stability of the child and as such becomes very important. For instance, the premium waiver benefit which is inbuilt takes care of the crisis faced in the absence of the parent. Though in other plans of insurance, one can opt for this rider additionally, it would involve extra payment of premium which is not applicable in a child plan. By paying benefits twice in the case of death of the parent, the plan also provides the needed funds both for the immediate use and also for the future use. These features make the plan a compulsory requirement. 

Tips to Buy a Child Plan

Becoming a parent is one of the high points in the life of any individual. Every parent wants to ensure that the transformation of their child from an infant into a confident young adult is smooth, without any breaks and roadblocks. They want to provide the best education to their child and offer the best facilities so that their child can become whatever he or she desires to be in life. 

A child plan helps in providing much required funds at key milestones in a child’s life. This insurance-cum-investment product even works in the unpleasant scenario of the parent not being around to personally take care of the child. It takes care of the child’s needs when he or she grows up. 

HDFC child plan serves the dual purpose of insurance and investment. The following tips help in short listing and buying an appropriate child insurance plan, including HDFC child plans:

• Start Early

  The importance of saving and investing early cannot be stressed enough. The earlier one starts, greater are the chances of having a bigger corpus for the child’s needs. One will be able to reap higher returns due to power of compounding and greater returns in the capital market over a long period of time. HDFC child plans start early; for instance the HDFC child plan, HDFC Life Young Star Udaan Plan, allows entry from the age of 30 days for the child

• Choose a Suitable Sum Assured Amount

  The sum assured amount of the HDFC child plan should be adequate, such that it can provide for the child’s future needs and accommodate inflation and other factors. Proper thought should be given while deciding on the sum assured amount.

• Pay Attention to Fine Print

  Due attention should be paid to the terms and conditions mentioned in fine print of the HDFC child plan. Each HDFC child plan has unique features and serves different needs of people. The policy document of these HDFC child plans helps in understanding the features and benefits in detail so that there is no confusion and disappointment later on. This also helps in choosing an appropriate plan.

• Insist On Premium Waiver Option

  Most child plans have an inbuilt premium waiver feature or self-funding of premium which allows the policy to continue even after the death of the applicant / policyholder (parent), where the insurance company waives future premiums, allowing the child to receive complete maturity benefit. The policy does not lapse with the death of the parent and the family, especially the child, is not burdened for payment of remaining premiums. If a policy does not come built with this option, it can be taken as an add-on. 

  The HDFC child plans provide premium waiver of future premiums on the death of the parent.

• Look for Provision of Partial Withdrawals

  A child plan which offers the provision to partially withdraw money is useful as emergencies and unplanned expenses can be take care of easily without disturbing regular income.

• Choice of Funds

  Child plans invest part of the premium in debt and equity instruments linked to capital markets to earn higher returns. Insurance companies provide a choice of funds with varying levels of exposure to debt and equity to suit different risk appetites. Funds options can range from 100% debt to 100% equity. The HDFC child plan, HDFC SL Young Star Super Premium, is a ULIP plan that helps maximise growth potential.

  Both HDFC child plans provide a choice of funds to suit a policyholder’s risk appetite. 

  Facilities like Systematic Transfer Plan and Dynamic Fund Allocation help in safeguarding investments against market volatility.

Child Savings Plan vs Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Scheme and Public Provident Fund

HDFC Child Plans

HDFC Life Insurance Company currently offers two types of Child Plans to its customers. Details of both HDFC child plans are discussed below with their respective features and benefits in both summary and detailed format. 

HDFC Child Plan – Summary

Plans that offer Critical Illness Rider

The following five plans come with the option of additional benefits of Critical Illness Riders:

1. HDFC SL Young Star Super Premium

   • The HDFC child plan provides two types of insurance coverage options of Life Option and Life & Health Option.

   • Life Options provides only the death benefit in case of death of the insured during the tenure of the plan while Life & Health Option provides for both death benefit and critical illness benefit if the insured dies or is diagnosed with a critical illness during the plan tenure.

   • There are two preferences of payment of death benefit under this HDFC child plan which are Save Benefit and Save-n-Gain Benefit and the death benefit will be paid as per the Benefit Payment Preference chosen by the policyholder at the time of buying the plan

   • If the policyholder chooses the Save Benefit under any of the plan option, then on death or critical illness, the Sum Assured is paid to the beneficiary who is the child, all future premiums are waived off and paid for by the company and the plan continues. On maturity, the available fund value is again paid to the beneficiary and the plan terminates.

   • If the chosen Benefit Payment Preference is Save-n-Gain under any of the plan option, in case of death or critical illness suffered by the insured during the tenure of the plan, the Sum Assured is paid to the beneficiary who is the child, all future premiums are waived off and 50% of the premiums are paid by the company towards the plan and 50% to the beneficiary on every premium due date and the plan continues. On maturity, the available fund value is again paid to the beneficiary and the plan terminates.

   • The death benefit under any case shall not be lower than 105% of all premiums paid till the date of death.

   • On maturity, if the policyholder is alive, the available fund value is paid to him and the policy terminates. The policyholder has the option to choose the Settlement Option on maturity under this HDFC child plan wherein the fund value can be kept invested with the company for a further 5 years and the policyholder will avail of the funds in instalments over those 5 years.

   • The policyholder has an option to choose from 4 available funds for investing the premium in this HDFC child plan. The funds available are Income Fund, Balanced Fund, Blue Chip Fund and Opportunities Fund

   • Partial withdrawals can be made after 5 years with a minimum value of Rs.10, 000

   • Premium redirection is allowed to redirect future premiums to a different fund than that currently chosen under this HDFC child plan

   • Switching is also allowed to switch between the available funds in this HDFC child plan

   • A total of 6 Critical Illnesses are covered under the Life & Health Option in this HDFC child plan which include cancer, CABG, heart attack, kidney failure, major organ transplant and stroke.
     
     HDFC Child Plan – HDFC SL Young Star Super Premium Eligibility Details
     
     

     	Minimum	Maximum
     Entry Age	18 years	Life Option - 65 years Life & Health Option – 55 years
     Maturity Age	-	Life Option - 75 years Life & Health Option – 65 years
     Policy Term	10 years	20 years
     Sum Assured	10 / 7 times the annual premium depending on age	40 times the annual premium
     Annual Premium Amount	Rs.15, 000	No limit
     Premium Payment Term	Equal to the policy term
     Premium Payment Frequency	Yearly

2. HDFC Life Young Star Udaan Plan

   This HDFC child plan is a traditional life insurance plan with the following features and benefits:

   • The plan is a participating plan which earns bonuses and combines the benefits of an Endowment Plan and a Money Back Plan

   • Guaranteed Additions accrue in the first five years of this HDFC child plan at a rate of 3% of the Sum Assured every year if the policy tenure is lower than 20 years or 5% of the Sum Assured every year if the policy tenure is more than 20 years.

   • For receiving the maturity benefit, the policyholder has the option to choose from three different options of Aspiration, Academia and Career under this HDFC child plan.

   • Under the Aspiration Option, on maturity, the chosen Sum Assured is paid along with the Guaranteed Additions accrued in the first five years of the plan. Thus, 115% or 125% of the Sum Assured is paid in case of the Aspiration option.

   • The Academia Option is a money back option wherein money backs start from the last 5 years of the plan. The first money back is paid at 30% of the Sum Assured in the fifth last year of the plan. Thereafter, 15% of the Sum Assured is paid in every consecutive year. On maturity, 15% of the Sum Assured is paid along with the Guaranteed Additions accrued in the first five years of the plan which may be a total of 15% or 25% of the Sum Assured. Thus, a total of 120% or 130% of the Sum Assured is paid under the plan including the Guaranteed Additions

   • The Career Option also behaves like a money-back option wherein money backs start in the last 5 years of the plan. 15% of the Sum Assured is paid in every year in the last 5 years and on maturity, 40% of the Sum Assured is paid along with the Guaranteed Additions accrued in the first five years of the plan which may be a total of 15% or 25% of the Sum Assured. Thus, a total of 140% or 130% of the Sum Assured is paid under the plan including the Guaranteed Additions

   • The policyholder may avail of the money back benefits monthly which will be paid @8.5% of the annual payout amount every month for 12 months under this HDFC child plan

   • There are two options for availing the death benefit under this HDFC child plan which are Classic Death Benefit Option and Classic Waiver Death Benefit Option.

   • Under the Classic option, the death benefit will be higher of the Sum Assured on Maturity or 10 / 7 times the annual premium depending on the age of the policyholder or 105% of all premiums paid till the date of death.

   • Under the Classic Waiver option, the death benefit will be higher of the Sum Assured on Maturity or 10 / 7 times the annual premium depending on the age of the policyholder or 105% of all premiums paid till the date of death. Moreover, all future premiums are waived off and paid for by the company while the plan continues and earns bonuses.

   • Reversionary Bonus, Interim Bonus and Terminal Bonus are paid under the HDFC child plan.

   • Loans can be availed against this HDFC child plan which will be for a maximum of 80% of the Special Surrender Value applicable under the plan

   • Rebates are allowed in premiums for higher Sum Assured ranges of Rs.4 lakhs and above.
     
     

     HDFC Child Plan – HDFC Life Young Star Udaan Plan Eligibility Details 

     	Minimum	Maximum
     Entry Age	30 days	60 years
     Maturity Age	18 years	75 years
     Policy Term	15 years	25 years
     Sum Assured	Depends on age, term , premium and premium paying term
     Annual Premium Amount	Rs.24, 000	No limit
     Premium Payment Term	Limited Pay for 7, 10 or Term minus 5 years
     Premium Payment Frequency	Yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, monthly

3. Sample Rates of Premium

   The following table shows sample rates of premium by individuals aged 30 years and under different maturity benefit options

   Sum Assured	Aspiration	Academia	Career
   Rs.1 lakh	Rs.16, 733	Rs.18, 825	Rs.19, 046
   Rs.2.5 lakhs	Rs.41, 833	Rs.47, 063	Rs.47, 615
   Rs.5 lakhs	Rs.83, 665	Rs.94, 125	Rs.95, 230

Applying for a Child Plan from the company:

1. Online

   The company offers specific plans which are available online only. The customer only needs to log into the company’s website, choose the required HDFC child 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 

2. Intermediaries

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

HDFC Life Child Plans - FAQs