Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan
Is the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan truly a “shining” choice for long-term savings and protection — or just another traditional policy with a bright name?
Is the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan suitable for creating a financial legacy — or better suited only for conservative savers seeking safety over growth?
Does the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan offer true flexibility — or are the payout and premium options more limiting than they first appear?
This article examines the plan’s features, highlights its advantages and limitations, and provides clarity to support informed decision-making.
What is the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan?
What are the features of the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan?
Who is eligible for the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan?
What are the benefits of the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan?
Grace Period, Discontinuance and Revival of the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan
Free Look Period for the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan
Surrendering the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan
What are the advantages of the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan?
What are the disadvantages of the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan?
Research Methodology of Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan
Benefit Illustration – IRR Analysis of Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan
Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan Vs. Other Investments
Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan Vs. Pure-term + PPF/Equity Mutual Fund
Final Verdict on the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan
Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan is a Non-Linked Non-Participating Individual Life Insurance Savings Plan. The plan allows you to choose the benefit payout options depending on your child’s needs.
The Maturity Benefit can be taken either as a lump sum amount at Maturity or at the end of any year in the Maturity payout period or as five equal annual payouts at the end of every year starting from Maturity.
In case the Life Insured survives till Maturity Date and all due premiums have been paid, the Maturity Benefit will be payable to the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan Policyholder on the date of Maturity
Maturity Benefit is the Sum Assured on Maturity, which is equal to the Sum Assured under the policy and will be paid as a lump sum.
The Policyholder has the flexibility to choose any one option from the two Maturity Payout Options, as defined below, to receive this Maturity Benefit during the Maturity Payout Period. Maturity Payout period is the period of 4 years from the date of maturity.
Flexi Payout Option
Flexibility to receive Maturity Benefit as a lump sum amount at the end of any year during the Maturity Payout period.
Depending on the year of payout chosen, the benefit will be determined as Flexi Payout Factor * Sum Assured, where the Flexi Payout Factors are as defined below:
| Year of Payout | Flexi Payout Factors |
| One Year after the maturity date | 105% |
| Two Years after the maturity date | 110% |
| Three Years after the maturity date | 116% |
| Four Years after the maturity date | 122% |
Annual Payout Option
Maturity Benefit to be paid as five equal annual payouts at the end of every year during the Maturity Payout period, starting from the date of maturity.
Each annual payout will be equal to 22% of the Sum Assured.
The Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan policyholder may choose to take the present value of outstanding annual payouts as a lump sum amount.
The lump sum shall be calculated as the net present value of outstanding annual payouts at a rate of 5% p.a.
In case of the death of the Life Insured during the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan policy term, provided the policy is in force, and all due premiums till the date of death have been paid, the Death Benefit will be payable immediately on death.
Death Benefit is the Sum Assured on Death, which is the highest of:
In addition to the death benefit mentioned above, the policy shall continue after the death of the Life Insured till the end of the Policy Term with no further premiums to be paid, and the Maturity Benefit shall continue to be payable to the nominee at the time of Maturity as per the Maturity Payout Option chosen by the Policyholder.
In case of the death of the life insured during the Maturity Payout Period, the maturity benefit will continue to be paid out to the nominee according to the Maturity Payout Option chosen by the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan Policyholder.
The grace period is 15 days for the monthly mode and 30 days for annual/ semi-annual/ quarterly premium payment modes.
The policy acquires a surrender value after completion of the first policy year, provided one full year’s premium has been received.
If the Policy has not acquired Surrender Value: If the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan policyholder does not pay the due premiums within the Grace Period, the policy shall lapse with effect from the date of such unpaid premium (‘lapse date’).
You can revive the policy within the period allowed for revival of the policy. At the end of the revival period, if the policy is not revived, then the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan policy will be terminated, and no benefits will be payable.
If the Policy has acquired Surrender Value: After completion of the first policy year, provided one full year’s premium has been received, and further premiums have not been paid for any reason, the Policy will automatically be converted into Paid up, on expiry of the Grace period, and all the guaranteed benefits under the Policy will be reduced.
You have the flexibility to revive your lapsed/ paid-up policy within the revival period of five years after the due date of the first unpaid premium.
The Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan Policyholder has a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the policy document to review the terms and conditions of the policy, and if the Policyholder disagrees with any of the terms and conditions of the Policy, there is an option to return the original Policy along with a letter stating reasons for objection.
The policy acquires a surrender value after completion of the first policy year, provided one full year’s premium has been received. On surrender post the Policy acquires surrender value, you will receive the higher of:
Guaranteed Surrender Value (GSV)
Special Surrender Value (SSV)
The Special Surrender Value shall become payable after completion of the first policy year, provided one full year’s premium has been received.
The policy acquires a Guaranteed surrender value after the payment of premiums for at least two consecutive years.
The Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan allows you to structure income payouts in line with different financial objectives. The income benefit can be taken either as a lump sum or in five equal instalments, with all payouts being guaranteed.
However, before investing, it is critical to assess the plan’s actual return potential. To do so, let us examine the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) using the figures outlined in the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan policy brochure.
Consider a 35-year-old male choosing the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan with a sum assured of ₹7,42,501. The policy term is 15 years, with a premium-paying term of 10 years and an annual premium of ₹50,000.
| Male | 35 years |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 7,42,501 |
| Policy Term | 15 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 10 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 50,000 |
If he opts for a one-time lump-sum payout at maturity, the total maturity benefit received at the end of the term is ₹7.42 lakh. This translates into an IRR of approximately 3.78% as per the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan maturity calculator.
| Age | Year | Annualised premium / Maturity benefit | Death benefit |
| 35 | 1 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 36 | 2 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 37 | 3 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 38 | 4 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 39 | 5 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 40 | 6 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 41 | 7 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 42 | 8 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 43 | 9 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 44 | 10 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 45 | 11 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 46 | 12 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 47 | 13 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 48 | 14 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 49 | 15 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 50 | 7,42,501 | ||
| IRR | 3.78% |
Over a 15-year horizon, education-related inflation—typically in the range of 8% to 10%—would substantially increase the cost of the intended goal.
Unfortunately, the returns generated by the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan fail to keep pace with this level of inflation over the long term.
In conclusion, although the plan provides the comfort of guaranteed benefits, its relatively modest returns significantly restrict its ability to effectively meet long-term financial goals, particularly those such as children’s education that are highly inflation-sensitive.
The Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan is structured as a bundled insurance-cum-savings product, offering customisable benefits to address individual requirements.
However, despite the assurance of guaranteed payouts, the plan’s return potential remains relatively modest. To evaluate a more efficient approach, let us consider an alternative strategy that separates insurance and investment using the same premium outlay.
Using the parameters from the earlier example, a pure-term life insurance policy with a sum assured of ₹7.50 lakh can be purchased at an annual premium of ₹5,350.
The policy term is 15 years, with premiums payable for 10 years. This leaves a surplus of ₹44,650 from the original ₹50,000 annual premium for investments.
| Pure Term Life Insurance Policy | |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 7,50,000 |
| Policy Term | 15 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 10 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 5,350 |
| Investment | ₹ 44,650 |
The choice of investment should align with the investor’s risk profile. Aggressive investors may prefer equity-oriented instruments, while conservative investors may opt for debt-based avenues.
In this illustration, the surplus is allocated between an equity mutual fund and a Public Provident Fund (PPF), representing equity and debt investments, respectively.
| Term Insurance + PPF | Term insurance + Equity Mutual Fund | ||||
| Age | Year | Term Insurance premium + PPF | Death benefit | Term Insurance premium + Equity Mutual Fund | Death benefit |
| 35 | 1 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 36 | 2 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 37 | 3 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 38 | 4 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 39 | 5 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 40 | 6 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 41 | 7 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 42 | 8 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 43 | 9 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 44 | 10 | -47,500 | 7,42,501 | -50,000 | 7,42,501 |
| 45 | 11 | -500 | 7,42,501 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 46 | 12 | -500 | 7,42,501 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 47 | 13 | -500 | 7,42,501 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 48 | 14 | -500 | 7,42,501 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 49 | 15 | -500 | 7,42,501 | 0 | 7,42,501 |
| 50 | 9,34,733 | 14,24,704 | |||
| IRR | 6.00% | 10.09% | |||
To comply with the minimum investment requirement of ₹500 per year in PPF for 15 years, minor adjustments are made in the final year’s contribution. The PPF investment accumulates to a maturity value of ₹9.34 lakh, delivering an IRR of approximately 6%.
The equity mutual fund investment is redeemed after 15 years, generating a pre-tax value of ₹15.46 lakh. After accounting for capital gains tax, the post-tax corpus stands at ₹14.24 lakh.
When combined with the pure-term insurance strategy, the overall post-tax IRR works out to 10.09%.
| Equity Mutual Fund Tax Calculation | |
| Maturity value after 15 years | 15,46,591 |
| Purchase price | 4,46,500 |
| Long-Term Capital Gains | 11,00,091 |
| Exemption limit | 1,25,000 |
| Taxable LTCG | 9,75,091 |
| Tax paid on LTCG | 1,21,886 |
| Maturity value after tax | 14,24,704 |
This significantly higher return enhances the ability to build a meaningful corpus and meet long-term financial goals for children.
While the Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan offers guaranteed and flexible income options, its comparatively lower returns may limit its effectiveness in achieving such objectives.
Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars Plan is positioned as an insurance-cum-savings product aimed at meeting children-related financial goals.
The plan offers flexibility in structuring cash flows, allowing the maturity benefit to be received either as a lump sum or through periodic instalments.
While the payouts are guaranteed, the return potential is not comparable to that of other debt instruments. In addition, the sum assured is insufficient to meet even the family’s basic financial requirements.
A closer return analysis indicates that the plan delivers returns at the lower end of the spectrum, whereas education inflation continues to rise sharply.
As a result, there is a high likelihood of falling short of the required corpus, which can directly impact the achievement of children-related goals and it also has a high agent commission.
The combination of insurance and investment further dilutes both life cover adequacy and return efficiency, making the plan less compelling on both fronts.
A more efficient approach would be to secure adequate protection for the earning parent through a pure-term life insurance policy. For children’s future goals, investments should be chosen separately based on the appropriate risk profile and time horizon.
As parents, the intent to provide the best for our children often leads to investments in pre-packaged children’s plans without a thorough evaluation.
Do Quora, Facebook, and Twitter have the final say when it comes to financial advice?
Rather than opting for off-the-shelf education plans, consulting a Certified Financial Planner can be far more effective.
Professional guidance helps design a customised financial strategy that is better aligned with your family’s specific goals and circumstances.
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