Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus: Review (2023) – Should you buy?

We all have the responsibility to fulfill the financial dreams of our family and also to provide them with financial safety in the case of our unfortunate absence.

So let’s look at the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Policy and see whether it caters to our dual needs.

Max life insurance claims that Flexi wealth plus is a simple & flexible solution that combines life protection & savings for you. 

Will the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan really help you grow your wealth & provide life protection in one go? Let’s find out.

Table of Contents:

1.) What is Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan?
2.) Features of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
3.) Eligibility Criteria of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
4.) Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan at a Glance

• Wealth variant
• Whole Life Variant

5.)Five Investment Strategies of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

• Self-Managed Portfolio Strategy
• The Systematic Transfer Plan
• Lifecycle-Based Portfolio Strategy
• Trigger-Based Portfolio Strategy
• Dynamic Fund Allocation (DFA) strategy

6.)11 Fund options of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
7.)Benefits under Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

• Death benefit
• Maturity Benefit
• Survival Benefit

8.)Other Benefits of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
9.)Various Charges of the Max Life Wealth Plus Plan
10.)Grace Period, Discontinuance & paid-up, Revival of Max Life Flexi
Wealth Plus Plan
11.) Free look period of the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
12.) Surrendering Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
13.) Advantages of the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
14.)Disadvantages of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
15.)Research Methodology
16.)IRR of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan
17.)Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan Vs. Other Investment Products
18.)Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan Vs. Pure Term Insurance Plan + ELSS
19.)Final Verdict on Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

What is Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan?

It is a Unit Linked, Non – Participating, Individual, Life Insurance plan. Based on your risk appetite, you can choose your investment strategy & funds. 

The sum assured on death is based on your policy term & premium paying term. 

On maturity you will receive the fund value as a lump sum amount or your nominee will receive the death benefit in the unfortunate case of your death.

Features of the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

• Options to choose the Policy Term and the Premium Payment Term at your convenience.
• There are two variants to choose from as per your needs. Option 1 – Wealth Variant & Option 2 – Whole Life Variant.
• You have a wide range of 11 funds and 5 investment strategies to choose from.
• Guaranteed Loyalty Additions and Guaranteed Wealth Boosters which will enhance your Fund Value.
• All the mortality charges you have paid during the term are returned at maturity.
• Unlimited free switches & 12 free partial withdrawals are allowed in a year.

Eligibility Criteria of the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

The below tabular column will give you a detailed comparison between the two options that is Wealth Variant and Whole Life Variant.

	Wealth Variant	Whole life Variant
Minimum Age at Entry	91 days	18 years
Maximum Age at Entry	Single pay:	(65-PPT) subject to a maximum value of 55 years
	1.25 times cover -70 years
	10 times cover – 45 years
	Limited Pay: (65-PPT) years
	Regular Pay: 60 years
Minimum Maturity Age	18 years	100 years
Maximum Maturity Age	85 years	100 years
Policy Term	10 to 67 years	100-Entry age
Premium Payment mode	Single, Annual, Semi-Annual, Quarterly and Monthly.

Option	Premium Paying Term	Policy term
Wealth Variant: Single pay	Single	10 years to 30 years
Wealth Variant: Limited pay	5 to 29 years	10 years to 67years
Wealth Variant: Regular pay	10 to 67years	10 years to 67years
Whole Variant	7 to 20 years	100 less Age at entry

Premium Bands:

Band 1: Annualised premium less than ₹ 100,000 

Band 2: Annualised premium between ₹ 100,000 to ₹ 199,999 (both inclusive). 

Band 3: Annualised/Single premium of ₹ 200,000 and above

Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan at a Glance

There are two types of Variants available under this plan.

Wealth variant- You can choose from multiple options of Single, Limited, and Regular pay. This variant helps you to grow your wealth while securing your family financially for a limited-term cover.

Whole Life Variant – You can choose from multiple Limited pay options. In this option, there is a death cover that is applicable for your whole life.

Five Investment Strategies of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

1. Self-Managed Portfolio Strategy:

In this strategy, you can manage your investments by choosing amongst the following ten (10) investment funds in the proportion of your choice.

1. High Growth Fund 
2. Diversified Equity Fund
3. Growth Super Fund 
4. Growth Fund 
5. Sustainable Equity Fund 
6. Balanced Fund 
7. Conservative Fund
8. Dynamic Bond Fund 
9. Secure Fund 
10. Money Market Fund

2. 2. The Systematic Transfer Plan: 

It allows the policyholder to duplicate the rupee cost-averaging approach on the policyholder’s annualized premium. 

First, units will be acquired in Secure Plus, then on each consecutive monthly anniversary, units available in the Secure Plus Fund will be progressively moved to the Growth Super Fund based on the following formula: 

[1 / (13 – month number in the policy year)]

3. 3. Lifecycle-Based Portfolio Strategy:

Based on the life change, the policyholder can choose the funds to create a balance between equity and debt. The investments are distributed between Fund 1 and Fund 2 with their proportions varying as per your different life stages.

Fund options for Fund 1:

• • Growth Super Fund 

• • Growth Fund

• • Diversified Equity Fund

Fund options for Fund 2: 

• • Secure Fund

• • Conservative Fund

• • Secure Plus Fund 

Age (last Birthday)	Proportion in Fund 1	Proportion in Fund 2
Up to 25	85.00%	15.00%
26-30	80.00%	20.00%
31-35	75.00%	25.00%
36-40	70.00%	30.00%
41-45	65.00%	35.00%
46-50	50.00%	50.00%
51-55	35.00%	65.00%
56 & above	30.00%	70.00%

4. 4. Trigger-Based Portfolio Strategy:

This investment strategy can help you to secure your gains. Primarily this investment strategy distributes the equity and debt ratio of 75%:25% proportion. 

At each monthly anniversary of the policy, the portfolio will be rebalanced and funds will be reallocated depending on a pre-defined trigger event.

Fund options for Fund 1:

a) Growth Super Fund 

b) Growth Fund

c) Diversified Equity Fund

Fund options for Fund 2: 

a) Secure Fund  

b) Conservative Fund

c) Secure Plus Fund

5. 5. Dynamic Fund Allocation (DFA) strategy:

This strategy can help the policyholder to strike the right balance between debt and equity by rebalancing on yearly basis till the end of the date the policy matures. 

The funds will be divided between the Growth Super Fund and the Secure Fund in a predetermined proportion that varies according to the number of years before the policy maturity.

Number of Years to Maturity	Proportion in Growth Super Fund	Proportion in Secure Fund
16 & further	80%	20%
11 – 15 y	60%	40%
6 – 10 y	40%	60%
0 – 5 y	20%	80%

11 Fund options of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

The following table will give you different types of Fund options that are available in the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus.

Funds	Equities	Govt Sec	Corporate bond	Money Market	Risk profile
High Growth	70-100	0-30	0-30	0-30	Very High
Diversified equity	70-100	0-20	0-20	0-30	High
Growth super	70-100	0-20	0-20	0-30	High
Growth	20-70	0-30	0-30	0-40	High
Sustainable equity	70-100	0-20	0-20	0-30	High
Balanced	0 – 40	20-50	20-40	0-40	Medium
Conservative	0-15	50-80	0-50	0-40	Low
Dynamic bond	0	60-100	60-100	0-40	Low
Secure	0	50-100	0-50	0-40	Low
Secure plus	0	60-100	0-40	0-40	Low
Money market	0	0	0	0-100	Low
Discontinuance Policy Fund	NIL	60-100	NIL	0-40	Low

Benefits under Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

Death benefit:

On the death of the Life Insured anytime during the term of the policy, the nominee shall get the highest of the following benefits:

• • Sum Assured (reduced by applicable partial withdrawals, if any), or

• • Fund Value (as of the date of death)

• • 105% of the total premiums received up to the date of death (reduced by applicable partial withdrawals, if any), from the fund value.

Maturity Benefit:

There are two maturity benefits which are Fund Value & Return of Mortality charges.

Fund Value: On maturity, you will be eligible to receive an amount, provided the settlement option has not been exercised, equal to the Fund Value.

Return of Mortality Charges (ROMC): At the end of the policy term, on the maturity date, the total amount of mortality charges deducted in respect of life cover provided throughout the policy term, will be added back as ROMC, to the Fund Value, as applicable.

Survival Benefit:

Survival benefit includes Guaranteed Loyalty Additions and Guaranteed Wealth Boosters.

Guaranteed loyalty additions: These are payable as a percentage of the total fund value at the end of each policy year starting from the 6th policy year and at the end of each policy year thereafter, provided all due premiums have been paid.

Guaranteed Wealth Boosters: A percentage of the Fund Value to be added to the Fund by the creation of additional units, at the end of every 5 years starting from the 10th policy year. 

Premium Band	Guaranteed loyalty additions	Guaranteed Wealth Boosters
Band 1	NA	NA
Band 2	0.25%	2%
Band 3	0.40%	2%

Other Benefits of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

Switch:

There is no limit on the number of switches done in a policy year i.e., you may switch any number of times between the available funds without any charges being levied. The Minimum Switch amount is ₹ 5,000.

Premium Redirection:

You may redirect your future premiums between available Funds at any time. A maximum of six premium redirections are allowed in any policy year and all are free of charge.

Partial Withdrawal:

No partial withdrawals are allowed in the first five policy years and thereafter a maximum of twelve (12) partial withdrawals are allowed in any policy year. 

The minimum amount of partial withdrawal allowed per transaction is ₹ 5,000 & the maximum amount is 25% of the fund value as of the date of the partial withdrawal. Not allowed during the period of discontinuance and settlement period.

Increase or decrease in Premium Payment Term or Policy Term:

An Increase or decrease is allowed in the premium payment term and policy term under this plan subject to all the due premiums being paid and completion of the lock-in period.

Settlement Option:

“If the settlement option is chosen, then the policy will continue after the maturity date for a period not exceeding 5 years from the maturity date”. The first installment will be paid out on the Date of Maturity. 

Premium Reduction:

Available after completion of the first five policy years. Option to decrease the premium up to 50% of your original Annualized Premium, subject to the minimum premium limit.

 This option can be opted for only once during the term of the contract, and the premium once reduced, cannot be subsequently increased. The Sum Assured of the base plan will be reduced in the same proportion as the reduction in premium.

Additional rider benefit:

• • Max Life Critical Illness Rider

• • Disability Secure Rider

These riders provide benefits upon diagnosis of any of the critical illnesses covered in the policy brochure.

Various Charges of the Max Life Wealth Plus Plan

Premium Allocation Charge:

The premium allocation charge is levied as a % of each premium paid. The rate of premium allocation charge depends on the premium paying term & policy term, it ranges between 4% & 6%. There is no premium allocation charge from the 11^th policy year onwards.

Policy Administration Charge:

It is a percentage of the annualized/single premium & will be deducted between year 1 and year 10 (from year 11 – zero). From the 13th month, it will inflate by 5% p.a.

Fund Management Charge:

The annual rate of the Fund Management Charge is as below:

Fund Management Charge (% of Fund Value)
Fund Name	Fund Management Charge (p.a.)
Money Market II	0.90%
Secure Plus Fund	0.90%
Secure Fund	0.90%
Dynamic Bond Fund	0.90%
Conservative Fund	0.90%
Balanced Fund	1.10%
Growth Fund	1.25%
Growth Super Fund	1.25%
Diversified Equity Fund	1.25%
High Growth Fund	1.25%
Sustainable Equity Fund	1.25%
Discontinuance Policy Fund	0.50%

Mortality Charge on Death Benefit:

The charge is per 1000 of Sum at Risk and will depend on the gender and the attained age of the life insured.

Charge per 1000 of Sum at Risk;

Attained Age	Age 25	Age 35	Age 45	Age 55
Male	0.84	1.08	2.32	6.76
Female	0.84	0.94	1.77	5

Surrender / Discontinuance Charge:

The surrender/discontinuance charges are expressed as the lower of X% of Annualised Premium, X% of Fund Value, ‘Y’ fixed rupee amount where X and Y vary according to the year of premium discontinuance/surrender. The charge differs for Single Pay and Limited/ Regular Pay.

Switch Charge:

All switches will be free of charge.

Premium Redirection Charge:

There is no charge for premium redirection. A maximum of six premium redirections are allowed in any Policy year.

Partial Withdrawal charges:

Partial withdrawals are free of any charge. A maximum of twelve partial withdrawals are allowed in any policy year.

Miscellaneous Charges:

There are no miscellaneous charges

Inference from these charges: 

Some of the charges are essential to run the plan /fund like mortality charges, and fund management charges. But most of the other charges weigh down the investment return like premium allocation charges, and policy administration charges. Even the discontinuance/ surrender charges lower your maturity value.

Grace Period, Discontinuance & paid-up, Revival of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

Grace period:

A Grace Period of 15 days from the due date of the first unpaid premium will be allowed and it will be extended up to 30 days if the policyholder uses any other mode of payment.

Discontinuance & Paid-up:

Discontinuance of payment of premium during first five policy years (Lock-in Period) – Upon the expiry of the grace period, the Fund Value, by the creation of units will be credited into the Discontinued Policy Fund after deducting applicable Discontinuance Charges. 

The risk cover under the policy will stop and no further charges will be levied other than the Fund Management Charge.

Discontinuance of payment of premium post first five policy years (i.e., after the expiry of the Lock in Period) – the policy shall be converted into a reduced paid-up policy with the paid-up sum assured i.e., current sum assured multiplied by the total number of premiums paid to the original number of premiums payable as per the terms and conditions of the policy.

Revival:

You will have a Revival Period of three years from the Date of Discontinuance to revive your policy.

Free look period of the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

If you disagree with the terms and conditions of the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus policy, you can return the policy within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy.

If you bought this policy under other modes such as distance or electronic, then the free look period will be extended up to 30 days from the date of receipt of the policy.

Surrendering Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

You have the right to surrender the policy at any time during the Policy Term. The surrender benefit is equal to the Fund Value less applicable to surrender / discontinuance charges.

Advantages of the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

• • You have the options to choose from 2 variants, 5 investment strategies & 11 funds.

• • Guaranteed loyalty addition & guaranteed wealth boosters to increase your fund value.

• • Return of Mortality charges.

• • You get unlimited free switches, 6 premium redirections & 12 partial withdrawals which are allowed in a policy year.

• • You are allowed to Increase or decrease the Premium Payment term or Policy Term.
  • Settlement option can be exercised during maturity.

Disadvantages of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

• • No liquidity in the first 5 years of the policy.

• • Loyalty addition starts from the 6^th year & Wealth booster starts from the 11^th year onwards only.

• • The loan option is not available.

• • During the settlement period, the investor should bear the investment risk.

To gain more knowledge on Max Life Flexi Wealth Plan, you can read its Policy Brochure.

Research Methodology

Till now we have covered all the necessary information that you need to know about the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan.

But will this information be enough to determine whether this insurance plan is suitable for you or not?

Whenever you plan to invest, you should always look for the potential return that you can generate from your Financial Investments.

There is also the important factor of the time value of money which has to be considered for calculating the return. 

So, let us find out the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for the Max life Flexi wealth Plus plan using a benefit Illustration provided on the Max Life website.

Let us analyze the IRR of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus & then compare it with other similar investment avenues.

IRR of Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

The Assumption for Comparison:

Male	35 years
Premium Payment Term	5 years
Policy Term	10 years
Sum Assured	₹ 10,00,000
Annualised Premium	₹ 1,00,000
Fund chosen	Balanced Fund
Variant	Wealth variant

The fund value at the end of 10 years at an assumed rate of 4% in the worst case scenario will be ₹ 5,56,594 and at an assumed rate of 8% in the best case scenario will be ₹ 7,60,100. 

Please note that the above-assumed rates of return of 4% and 8% p.a. respectively, for Balanced Fund, are not guaranteed and they are not the upper or lower limits of returns of the Funds. 

		Wealth varient
		At 4% p.a.		At 8% p.a.
Age	Year	Annualised premium / Maturity benefit	Sum Assured	Annualised premium / Maturity benefit	Sum Assured
35	1	-1,00,000	10,00,000	-1,00,000	10,00,000
36	2	-1,00,000	10,00,000	-1,00,000	10,00,000
37	3	-1,00,000	10,00,000	-1,00,000	10,00,000
38	4	-1,00,000	10,00,000	-1,00,000	10,00,000
39	5	-1,00,000	10,00,000	-1,00,000	10,00,000
40	6	0	10,00,000	0	10,00,000
41	7	0	10,00,000	0	10,00,000
42	8	0	10,00,000	0	10,00,000
43	9	0	10,00,000	0	10,00,000
44	10	0	10,00,000	0	10,00,000
45	11	5,56,594		7,60,100
46
	IRR	1.35%		5.34%

Working out IRR for this annual cash flow demonstrates that the return at the worst-case scenario is at 1.35% & the best-case scenario is at 5.34%. 

This proves that Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus plan couldn’t even reap a bank Savings account return @ 4% assumed rate & couldn’t even reap a bank FD rate @ assumed 8% rate which makes it difficult to beat inflation in the long run.

Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan Vs. Other Investment Products

Since Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus is a ULIP plan, it is appropriate to compare it with any market-related investment. Also, it is important to incorporate another alternative that also provides us with life cover as the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan has life cover for the term period. 

The annual premium of Rs. 1 lakh as seen in the above illustration could be utilized for a pure-term policy for life cover & the balance amount could be invested in an ELSS mutual fund for wealth accumulation purposes.

Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan Vs. Pure Term Insurance Plan + ELSS

Let us assume that a Pure Term Insurance Plan with a Sum Assured of Rs.10 lakh, a policy term of 10 years & premium paying term of 5 years has been opted. 

The annual premium for the same would be Rs. 8000. The balance amount out of Rs. 1,00,000 could be invested in the Mutual Fund ELSS fund.

Male	35 years
Sum Assured	₹ 10,00,000
Premium Payment Term	5years
Policy Term	10 years
Annualized Premium	₹ 8,000
Balance amount (ELSS)	₹ 92,000

At the end of 10 years, the fund value (post-tax) would be Rs. 10,94,262. The IRR works out to 10.16% in the Post Tax Return. This is beneficial to the investor in the long run as the return is higher than the inflation rate. 

		Term insurance+ ELSS
Age	Year	Term Insurance premium + ELSS	Death benefit
35	1	-1,00,000	10,00,000
36	2	-1,00,000	10,00,000
37	3	-1,00,000	10,00,000
38	4	-1,00,000	10,00,000
39	5	-1,00,000	10,00,000
40	6	0	10,00,000
41	7	0	10,00,000
42	8	0	10,00,000
43	9	0	10,00,000
44	10	0	10,00,000
45	11	10,94,262	10,00,000
46
	IRR	10.16%

Final Verdict on Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan

This new scheme from Max Life will enable you to have flexibility in terms of the policy term, investment strategy, and also fund options. 

Since this is a ULIP. It also has some complex charges and is not very transparent in its operation. The crucial factor of how you get low IRR is mainly because of charges which get deducted before being invested in the fund yielding you low returns.

Overall, we can conclude that investing in a ULIP like Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan has some pros and cons. 

If you are willing to take the risk, then you have much better market-related instruments in the market rather than investing in the Max Life Flexi Wealth Plus Plan.

You can invest in Mutual Funds that cater to your needs and also suits your time horizon. 

Any insurance scheme which provides a combination of dual benefits will not be able to generate the inflation-beating return that you are looking for. So, it is better to keep both your Insurance and Investments separate to potentially yield better returns in the long run. 

To better understand other Investment alternatives, you can discuss them with your Financial Advisor to see which will be the right fit for you.