Is the SUD Life Aadarsh Plan the right path to financial security, or are there smarter choices out there?
Could the SUD Life Aadarsh Plan be your key to long-term wealth, or just another overhyped insurance product?
Is the SUD Life Aadarsh Plan built for your financial dreams—or someone else’s profits?
In this review, we evaluate the effectiveness of the SUD Life Addarsh Plan by examining its features, benefits, and drawbacks—backed with detailed calculations.
What are the features of the SUD Life Aadarsh?
Who is eligible for the SUD Life Aadarsh?
What are the benefits of the SUD Life Aadarsh?
Grace Period, Discontinuance and Revival of the SUD Life Aadarsh
Free Look Period for the SUD Life Aadarsh
Surrendering the SUD Life Aadarsh
What are the advantages of the SUD Life Aadarsh?
What are the disadvantages of the SUD Life Aadarsh?
Research Methodology of SUD Life Adarsh
Benefit Illustration – IRR Analysis of SUD Life Adarsh
SUD Life Adarsh Vs. Other Investments
SUD Life Adarsh Vs. Pure-term + Equity Mutual Fund
Final Verdict on SUD Life Adarsh
SUD Life Aadarsh is a Limited Premium Non-Linked Non-Participating Savings Life Insurance Plan. This plan offers you a Guaranteed Maturity Benefit with a short premium paying term and enhances your protection with an inbuilt, additional accidental death benefit.
| Parameter | |
| Age at entry | Minimum: 8 yearsMaximum: 55 years |
| Maximum Age at Maturity | 65 years |
| Policy term | 10 years |
| Premium paying term | 5 years |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 50,000/3 Lakhs/5 lakhs/10 Lakhs/15 Lakhs/20 Lakhs/25 lakhs. |
| Premium Payment Modes | Monthly/ Quarterly/ Half-Yearly / Yearly |
On survival of the Life Assured till the end of the SUD Life Aadarsh Plan Policy Term, provided the policy is in force, the Guaranteed Maturity Benefit, which is equal to the Basic Sum Assured, will be paid, and the contract ceases immediately.
Death Sum Assured is defined as the Higher of:
In case of death due to a cause other than accident: Death Sum Assured will be paid as a lump sum
In case of accidental death: Twice the Death Sum Assured will be paid as a lump sum
Grace Period
A grace period of 30 days in case of quarterly/half-yearly or yearly Premium Payment mode, and 15 days in case your Premium Payment mode is monthly, to pay the due premium.
Discontinuance
Lapse: If you have not paid the due premiums for the first full policy year, within the grace period, the SUD Life Aadarsh Plan policy lapses. Life cover will cease, and no benefits shall become payable under the lapsed policy.
Reduced Paid-Up: If the premiums due under this policy have been paid for at least one full year and subsequent premiums are not paid, then the policy will acquire Reduced Paid-Up status.
Revival
You can revive your Lapsed/Reduced Paid-Up policy within five years from the due date of the first unpaid premium.
If you disagree with any of those terms or conditions in the SUD Life Aadarsh Plan policy, you have the option to return the policy within 30 days from the date of receipt of the policy document.
You can surrender your policy any time after the completion of the first policy year. Surrender Value payable will be the higher of Guaranteed Surrender Value (GSV) or Special Surrender Value (SSV).
Special Surrender Value will be acquired after the receipt of one full Policy Year’s premiums, whereas the Guaranteed Surrender Value will be acquired after the receipt of the first two consecutive full Policy Year premiums.
In the SUD Life Adarsh Plan, once you complete the limited premium payment period, you become eligible for the maturity benefit at the end of the policy term.
The potential returns are estimated based on the figures in the SUD Life Aadarsh Plan policy brochure, and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) analysis helps assess the cash flow and effective return.
A 35-year-old male opts for this plan with a sum assured of ₹4.72 lakhs. He pays an annual premium of ₹47,290 for 5 years under a 10-year policy term.
| Male | 35 years |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 4,72,900 |
| Policy Term | 10 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 5 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 47,290 |
At maturity, the benefit works out to ₹3 lakhs. The IRR for this cash flow is just 3.01% as per the IndiaFirst Life Guaranteed Monthly Income Plan maturity calculator,—a very low return. Moreover, the death benefit coverage is inadequate.
| Age | Year | Annualised premium / Maturity benefit | Death benefit |
| 35 | 1 | -47,290 | 4,72,900 |
| 36 | 2 | -47,290 | 4,72,900 |
| 37 | 3 | -47,290 | 4,72,900 |
| 38 | 4 | -47,290 | 4,72,900 |
| 39 | 5 | -47,290 | 4,72,900 |
| 40 | 6 | 0 | 4,72,900 |
| 41 | 7 | 0 | 4,72,900 |
| 42 | 8 | 0 | 4,72,900 |
| 43 | 9 | 0 | 4,72,900 |
| 44 | 10 | 0 | 4,72,900 |
| 45 | 3,00,000 | ||
| IRR | 3.01% |
While the guaranteed payout may seem reassuring, the actual returns are far below what even traditional debt instruments can offer.
Locking into such a plan for the long term with minimal growth potential can severely limit your wealth creation journey. Thus, the SUD Life Adarsh Plan is unlikely to generate a meaningful corpus to meet your future financial goals.
As part of our review, let’s compare the returns from the SUD Life Adarsh Plan with alternative investment strategies using the same illustration. The SUD Life Adarsh Plan combines life cover and savings, but to assess its effectiveness, we separate these two components.
In the earlier example, the death benefit under the Adarsh Plan was ₹4.72 lakhs, which falls short of the IRDAI’s minimum guideline of ₹5 lakhs. For a fair comparison, we assume a pure-term insurance policy of ₹5 lakhs.
A pure-term life insurance policy with a sum assured of ₹5 lakhs costs an annual premium of ₹5,600. The policy term is 10 years with a limited premium payment period of 5 years. After paying the insurance premium, the remaining ₹41,690 per year is invested.
| Pure Term Life Insurance Policy | |
| Sum Assured | ₹ 5,00,000 |
| Policy Term | 10 years |
| Premium Paying Term | 5 years |
| Annualised Premium | ₹ 5,600 |
| Investment | ₹ 41,690 |
Depending on your risk profile, you can choose to invest in either debt or equity instruments. In our analysis, we consider an equity mutual fund.
| Age | Year | Term Insurance premium + Equity Mutual Fund | Death benefit |
| 35 | 1 | -47,290 | 5,00,000 |
| 36 | 2 | -47,290 | 5,00,000 |
| 37 | 3 | -47,290 | 5,00,000 |
| 38 | 4 | -47,290 | 5,00,000 |
| 39 | 5 | -47,290 | 5,00,000 |
| 40 | 6 | 0 | 5,00,000 |
| 41 | 7 | 0 | 5,00,000 |
| 42 | 8 | 0 | 5,00,000 |
| 43 | 9 | 0 | 5,00,000 |
| 44 | 10 | 0 | 5,00,000 |
| 45 | 4,99,103 | ||
| IRR | 9.67% |
In the equity mutual fund, the final maturity value is ₹5.22 lakhs. After accounting for capital gains, the post-tax value is ₹4.99 lakhs, resulting in an IRR of 9.67% (post-tax return) for the combination of the pure-term policy and Equity mutual fund investment.
| Equity Mutual Fund Tax Calculation | |
| Maturity value after 10 years | 5,22,767 |
| Purchase price | 2,08,450 |
| Long-Term Capital Gains | 3,14,317 |
| Exemption limit | 1,25,000 |
| Taxable LTCG | 1,89,317 |
| Tax paid on LTCG | 23,665 |
| Maturity value after tax | 4,99,103 |
Pure-Term insurance combined with a Mutual Fund investment provides higher returns, better liquidity, and flexibility. On the other hand, SUD Life Adarsh Plan locks funds, delivers just 3.01% IRR, and offers lower coverage.
Pairing a pure-term insurance plan for protection with smart investments tailored to your risk appetite ensures better financial security and meaningful wealth creation compared to relying on traditional endowment plans like the Adarsh Plan.
The SUD Life Adarsh Plan offers guaranteed returns on savings, but relying solely on this guarantee is not ideal for long-term wealth creation. The returns are below average, and the sum assured is inadequate to meet a family’s financial needs.
With a 10-year policy term and a 5-year premium payment period, the structure may not suit every investor. Ironically, while “Adarsh” means ideal, the plan falls short of being an ideal addition to your portfolio.
When evaluating long-term investments, the focus should be on inflation-adjusted returns that help you achieve future goals. Despite offering certainty, this plan does little to build the required corpus for financial milestones and it also has a high agent commission.
The biggest limitation lies in the bundling of insurance and investment. A smarter approach is to buy a pure-term insurance policy for protection and invest separately—based on your risk profile and goals.
This strategy ensures both adequate coverage and stronger growth potential.
Do Quora, Facebook, and Twitter have the final say when it comes to financial advice?
For a tailored roadmap, it’s best to consult a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) who can align your insurance and investment choices with your unique goals and investment horizon.
Listen to this article Is the SUD Life Samriddhi Plan the perfect blend of savings…
For decades, investors in India have worked hard to build wealth through shares, mutual funds,…
Listen to this article Parking short-term money used to be straightforward—open a liquid mutual fund,…
Listen to this article When Donald Trump announced higher tariffs on Indian goods, markets jolted…
Listen to this article Trade wars may sound like distant headlines about Washington and Beijing,…
Listen to this article Reaching a ₹5 crore corpus may sound like a dream reserved…