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Is the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan the smart ULIP for building wealth — or just another hybrid product with complicated trade-offs?
Does the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan truly offer both growth and protection — or do you end up sacrificing one for the other?
Is the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan truly “super” in performance — or just another ULIP with a fancy title?
This review analyses the plan’s features, benefits, and drawbacks in detail.
Table of Contents:
What is the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
What are the features of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
Who is eligible for the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
What are the benefits of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
3. Persistency Units and Persistency Boosters
4. Return of Mortality and Return of Waiver of Premium Charges
What are the investment strategies and fund options in the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
What are the charges in the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
Grace Period, Discontinuance and Revival of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
Free Look Period for the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
Surrendering the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
What are the advantages of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
What are the disadvantages of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
Research Methodology of Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
Benefit Illustration – IRR Analysis of Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Vs. Other Investments
Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Vs. Pure-term + PPF/Equity Mutual Fund
Final verdict on the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
What is the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan is a Unit-Linked Non-Participating Individual Savings Life Insurance Plan. With Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan, you can enjoy the benefit of life cover and secure your family’s future against the uncertainties of life.
With this, you can fulfil your life goals by choosing from three different plan options for different life stage needs.
What are the features of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
- Enjoy the dual advantage of life cover and financial security for your family against life’s uncertainties.
- Achieve your life goals by selecting from three flexible plan options.
- Choose between two investment strategies and six fund options tailored to your investment preferences.
- No premium allocation charges — enjoy 100% allocation of your premium in all policy years.
- Earn Persistency Additions and Persistency Boosters at predefined intervals during the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan policy term.
- Meet your recurring financial needs conveniently through the Systematic Withdrawal Facility.
- Avail tax benefits on premiums paid and benefits received, as per prevailing tax laws.
Who is eligible for the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
What are the benefits of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
1. Death benefit
For Wealth Builder and Inheritance Builder:
The Death Benefit shall be the higher of
- Sum Assured, including Top-Up Sum Assured, if any, or
- Fund Value, including Top-Up Fund Value, if any, or
- 105% of total premiums paid till date of death, including Top-Up premiums, if any.
Where Sum Assured is a multiple of Annualised Premium chosen at the inception of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Policy
For Dream Builder:
The Death Benefit shall be
- Immediate Lumpsum on Death of Life Insured: A lump sum benefit equal to the higher of the Sum Assured, including Top-Up Sum Assured, if any, or 105% of the total premiums paid, including Top-Up premiums, if any, shall be paid immediately to the nominee or the beneficiary, as the case may be.
- Waiver of future premiums (WOP): All future premiums will be paid into the policy by the company as and when they are due till the end of the Premium Payment Term, and the policy will continue.
- Fund Value at Maturity: Fund Value, including Top-Up Fund Value, if any, shall be paid to the Nominee or the beneficiary, as the case may be, at Maturity.
2. Maturity Benefit
(For all Plan Options)
On survival of the Life Insured till the maturity date, the Fund Value, including Top-Up fund value, if any, shall be payable, and the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan policy shall terminate.
3. Persistency Units and Persistency Boosters
Persistency units will be calculated as a percentage of the average of Fund Value (including Top-Up premium fund value) of preceding 36 monthly policy anniversaries and will be allocated to your unit account at the end of every policy year, starting from the end of the sixth policy year.
Persistency Booster as a percentage of average Fund Value, including Top-up Fund Value of preceding 36 monthly policy anniversaries, would be allocated to the policyholder’s unit account at the end of the 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th and 30th policy year, if they fall within the prevailing policy term.
4. Return of Mortality and Return of Waiver of Premium Charges
On Survival of the Life Insured till the end of the Policy Term, an amount equal to the total of all the Mortality Charges and Waiver of Premium Charges deducted during the Policy Term will be added to the total Fund Value (Base Fund value plus Top Up Fund value) at the Maturity Date provided the Policy is in-force and all due premiums have been received in full as on the Maturity Date.
What are the investment strategies and fund options in the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
At inception, the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Policyholder can choose one of the following investment strategies:
- Defined Portfolio Strategy
- Life Stage Portfolio Strategy
A. Defined Portfolio Strategy
Under this option, you can choose to invest in any of the funds available (except the discontinuance fund or Liquid Fund) in proportion to your choice.
Within the Defined Portfolio strategy, you also have the option to select the Systematic Transfer Plan (STP) option, for which the Liquid Fund will be made available to you.
You can switch money among these funds using the switch option. You can choose from six funds to invest your money. If you opt for more than one fund, the minimum investment in any fund should be at least 1% of the Annual Premium.
The funds and fund objectives are as follows:
| S.no | Fund Name | Asset Allocation | Risk Profile | ||
| Equity & Equity-related instruments | Govt. Securities & Corp. Bonds | Money market instruments | |||
| 1 | Debt fund | 0% | 50-100% | 0-40% | Low |
| 2 | Balance Equilibrium Fund | 65-75% | 25-35% | 25-35% | Medium |
| 3 | Growth Momentum fund | 75-85% | 15-25% | 15-25% | High |
| 4 | Large-cap advantage fund | 85-100% | 0-15% | 0-15% | High |
| 5 | Flexi Cap Opportunities Fund | 85-100% | 0-15% | 0-15% | High |
| 6 | Pramerica Nifty Mid Cap 50 Correlation Fund | 90-100% | 0-10% | 0-10% | High |
| Liquid fund | 0% | 0% | 100% | Low | |
| Discontinued policy fund | 0% | 60-100% | 0-40% | Low | |
Systematic Transfer Plan (STP)
With STP, you can invest a specific amount at monthly intervals, which gives you the advantage of Rupee Cost Averaging.
You can buy more units when markets are down and fewer units when markets are up, thereby reducing the average unit purchase cost.
You can choose STP only for 12 months; an option would be available to policies wherein the premium is to be paid annually.
B. Life Stage Portfolio Strategy
The Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan offers a life-stage-based investment strategy wherein the investments are distributed between the Large Cap Advantage Fund and the Debt Fund, with their proportions varying as per the different life stages.
At inception, the funds will be distributed between two funds, the Large Cap Advantage Fund & Debt Fund.
As and when the next milestone is achieved, the funds will be redistributed according to the attained age (age bands) as given in the following table:
| Age as on the last birthday and the last policy anniversary | Debt fund | Large-cap advantage fund |
| Up to 25 | 15% | 85% |
| 26 – 30 | 20% | 80% |
| 31 – 35 | 25% | 75% |
| 36 – 40 | 30% | 70% |
| 41 – 45 | 35% | 65% |
| 46 – 50 | 40% | 60% |
| 51 – 55 | 45% | 55% |
| 56 and above | 50% | 50% |
What are the charges in the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
i. Premium Allocation Charge
There are no allocation charges in this product.
ii. Policy Administration Charge
| Policy Year | % Charge per month |
| 1 to 5 | 0.35% |
| 6 to 30 | 0.25% |
| 31 onwards | NIL |
iii. Mortality Charge
A Mortality charge will apply to the sum at risk. It will be deducted monthly by cancellation of units from the unit account.
| Attained Age | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Mortality Charge | 0.7392 | 0.7816 | 1.344 | 3.5448 |
iv. Waiver of Premium Charge (Applicable for Dream Builder)
This Charge is deducted by cancellation of Units from the Unit Account at the applicable Unit Price at the beginning of each Policy Month.
v. Fund Management Charges (FMC)
| S.no | Fund Name | Fund Management Charges (FMC) per annum |
| 1 | Debt fund | 1.20% |
| 2 | Balance Equilibrium Fund | 1.35% |
| 3 | Growth Momentum fund | 1.35% |
| 4 | Large-cap advantage fund | 1.35% |
| 5 | Flexi Cap Opportunities Fund | 1.35% |
| 6 | Pramerica Nifty Mid Cap 50 Correlation Fund | 1.25% |
| 7 | Liquid fund | 1.20% |
| 8 | Discontinued policy fund | 0.50% |
vi. Discontinuance Charge
Discontinuance charge will be based on the year of discontinuance and the premium amount. There is no discontinuance charge from the 5th policy year.
Inference from the charges: These charges are levied throughout the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan policy term, thereby reducing the portion of your premium that is actually invested.
Over time, this leads to lower compounding benefits and can significantly impact your long-term wealth accumulation.
Grace Period, Discontinuance and Revival of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
Grace Period
You will have a grace period of 30 days in case of non-monthly mode policies and a grace period of 15 days in case of monthly mode policies from the due date to pay the Premium.
Discontinuance
Discontinued during the first five Policy years (Lock-in Period): the fund value, after deducting the applicable discontinuance charges, shall be credited to the Discontinued Policy Fund, and the risk cover and rider cover, if any, shall cease.
The proceeds of the discontinuance fund shall be paid to the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Policyholder at the end of the revival period or lock-in period, whichever is later.
Discontinued after the first five Policy years: the policy shall be converted into a reduced paid-up policy with the paid-up sum assured, i.e. original sum assured multiplied by a ratio of “total period for which premiums have already been paid” to the “maximum period for which premiums were originally payable” as per the terms and conditions of the policy.
Revival
You have the option to revive your discontinued policy within three years from the date of the first unpaid premium
Free Look Period for the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
You will have a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the Policy document to review the terms and conditions of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Policy, and if you disagree with any of these terms and conditions, you have the option to return the Policy.
Surrendering the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
Surrender during the first five Policy years (Lock-in Period): the Policyholder have an option to surrender the policy anytime, and proceeds of the discontinued policy shall be payable at the end of the lock-in period or date of surrender, whichever is later.
Surrender after the first five Policy years: the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Policyholder have the option to surrender the policy anytime, and proceeds of the policy fund shall be payable.
What are the advantages of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
- Return of Mortality and Waiver of Premium Charges on the survival of the Life Insured till the end of the policy term.
- Enjoy unlimited fund switches and premium re-directions within the Defined Portfolio Strategy to capitalise on market movements.
- Option to pay additional Top-Up Premiums over and above the regular premium to enhance your investment corpus.
- Partial withdrawals are allowed only after completing 5 policy years (lock-in period).
- Access the Systematic Withdrawal Option (SWO) — an automated partial withdrawal facility available anytime from the 10th policy year onward.
- The Settlement Option allows you to receive your maturity benefit as a structured payout over a period of up to 5 years.
What are the disadvantages of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan?
- No loan facility is available under this plan
- After deducting applicable charges, only the net premium is invested
- The life cover offered may be inadequate to meet your family’s financial needs
- The plan comes with a mandatory 5-year lock-in period
Research Methodology of Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
The Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan offers a market-linked investment opportunity, which naturally comes with associated risks.
As an investor, it’s crucial to assess whether the potential returns justify the level of risk involved. Let’s evaluate this using the figures provided in the policy brochure and estimate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR).
Benefit Illustration – IRR Analysis of Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
A 35-year-old male purchases the plan with a sum assured of ₹10 lakhs, opting for a 20-year policy term and a 10-year premium payment term, paying ₹1 lakh annually under the Wealth Builder option.
| Male | 35 years |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 10,00,000 |
| Policy Term | 20 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 10 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 1,00,000 |
If he pays all premiums as scheduled, he will receive the fund value, which includes boosters and return of charges, as the maturity benefit.
The brochure illustration assumes a future investment return of 4% and 8% per annum, though these rates are not guaranteed and should not be seen as a fixed projection.
| At 4% p.a. | At 8% p.a. | ||||
| Age | Year | Annualised premium / Maturity benefit | Death benefit | Annualised premium / Maturity benefit | Death benefit |
| 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 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 41 | 7 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 42 | 8 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 43 | 9 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 44 | 10 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 45 | 11 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 46 | 12 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 47 | 13 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 48 | 14 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 49 | 15 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 50 | 16 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 51 | 17 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 52 | 18 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 53 | 19 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 54 | 20 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 55 | 14,43,066 | 26,19,962 | |||
| IRR | 2.38% | 6.31% | |||
At a 4% return scenario, the fund value is projected at ₹14.43 lakhs, yielding an IRR of 2.38% as per the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan maturity calculator.
At an 8% return scenario, the fund value is projected at ₹26.19 lakhs, with an IRR of 6.31% as per the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan maturity calculator.
Even at the higher assumed rate, the returns do not appear proportionate to the risk associated with a market-linked product.
Typically, investors expect equity-linked investments to generate higher returns that comfortably outpace inflation over the long term.
The potential return from the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan is more in line with debt instruments, making it difficult to justify this plan as a true equity investment option within a diversified portfolio.
Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Vs. Other Investments
The Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan presents itself as a market-linked product, yet its returns are comparable to those of a debt instrument. In contrast, other market-oriented investment options offer higher yields and greater transparency.
To assess this more objectively, let’s compare the returns of similar investments by separating the life cover and investment components of the plan.
Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan Vs. Pure-term + PPF/Equity Mutual Fund
Using the same parameters from the earlier example, a pure term life insurance policy with a sum assured of ₹10 lakhs, a 20-year term, and a 10-year premium payment period costs approximately ₹7,500 annually.
This allows you to save ₹92,500 per year, which can be invested separately.
| Pure Term Life Insurance Policy | |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 10,00,000 |
| Policy Term | 20 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 10 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 7,500 |
| Investment | ₹ 92,500 |
Depending on your risk appetite, this amount can be directed towards either equity (high-risk) or debt (low-risk) options. For this analysis, we consider two alternatives:
A Public Provident Fund (PPF) representing the debt option, and
An Equity Mutual Fund represents the equity option.
| 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 | -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 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 41 | 7 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 42 | 8 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 43 | 9 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 44 | 10 | -97,500 | 10,00,000 | -1,00,000 | 10,00,000 |
| 45 | 11 | -500 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 46 | 12 | -500 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 47 | 13 | -500 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 48 | 14 | -500 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 49 | 15 | -500 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 50 | 16 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 51 | 17 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 52 | 18 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 53 | 19 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 54 | 20 | 0 | 10,00,000 | 0 | 10,00,000 |
| 55 | 27,29,733 | 50,72,011 | |||
| IRR | 6.58% | 10.74% | |||
In the case of PPF, a minimum monthly contribution of ₹500 is required for 15 years. Since the premium payment term here is 10 years, adjustments are made to align the contribution period.
At maturity, the PPF corpus amounts to ₹27.29 lakhs, generating an IRR of 6.58%. Interestingly, this is on par with the 8% return scenario of the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan, even though PPF is a low-risk debt instrument.
On the other hand, investing the same ₹92,500 annually in an equity mutual fund results in a fund value of ₹56.46 lakhs after 20 years. After accounting for capital gains tax, the post-tax value comes to ₹50.72 lakhs, translating to an IRR of 10.74%.
| Equity Mutual Fund Tax Calculation | |
| Maturity value after 20 years | 56,46,584 |
| Purchase price | 9,25,000 |
| Long-Term Capital Gains | 47,21,584 |
| Exemption limit | 1,25,000 |
| Taxable LTCG | 45,96,584 |
| Tax paid on LTCG | 5,74,573 |
| Maturity value after tax | 50,72,011 |
Clearly, these returns are substantially higher than those offered by the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan and comfortably beat inflation, enabling faster wealth accumulation over time.
In conclusion, separating insurance and investment—by opting for a pure term plan and investing independently—proves to be a more efficient and rewarding strategy.
Final verdict on the Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan
The Pramerica Life Super Investment Plan is essentially a Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) with three variants offering slight variations in features.
The Wealth Builder option focuses on accumulating a sizeable corpus, the Inheritance Builder provides whole life protection, and the Dream Builder ensures policy continuity even after the policyholder’s demise.
Across all three variants, the maturity benefit comprises the fund value, boosters, and return of charges.
However, an analysis of the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) indicates that the plan’s performance is not compelling for long-term investors. The returns are not proportionate to the level of market risk undertaken and it also has a high agent commission.
Comparable market-linked instruments, such as mutual funds, generally offer superior returns and liquidity.
If your goal is wealth accumulation, it is advisable to avoid ULIPs. Your equity portfolio should consist of high-yielding investments aligned with your goals.
The more prudent approach is to opt for a pure-term life insurance policy to ensure adequate financial protection and build a separate investment portfolio based on your risk appetite, financial goals, and time horizon. In short, never combine insurance and investment.
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