Birla Century SIP: Birla Sun Life Century SIP Plan Review

Along with Reliance SIP + Insure Plan, there is a similar offering from Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund which claims to offer both investment as well as FREE insurance for the investor or insured. In this article, let’s discuss How good is this Birla Century SIP plan & should the investor invest in such Birla Century SIP plan?

What is this Birla Century SIP plan from Birla mutual fund house?
The Birla Century SIP plan claims to offer a unique combination of Investment through SIP or Systematic Investment Plan along with FREE insurance to the investor – FREE because the investor does not have to pay separately for the premium of insurance.

The benefits of Birla Century SIP plan are as follows:
• Wide Coverage: 18 years to 46 years for investor age group
• Cover continues till 55 years
• No medical check-up only a signed declaration of good health from investor
So process appears to be smooth.

How is the insurance cover detail in Birla Century SIP plan?
Year 1 – Insurance coverage till 10 times of Monthly SIP Installment
Year 2 – Insurance coverage till 50 times of Monthly SIP Installment
Year 3 onwards – Insurance coverage till 100 times of Monthly SIP Installment, that why the name “Century SIP”
Here is the flowchart explaining how the Birla Century SIP plan works for different time horizons:


However, the maximum insurance value is capped at 20 Lakh Rs., irrespective of your SIP amount and investment horizon.

What is the minimum SIP installment amount for Birla Century SIP plan?
The minimum investment monthly SIP amount is Rs. 1000 per month.

What is the entry load and exit load charges for Birla Century SIP plan?
It’s the same as standard mutual funds.
Entry load of 2.25% and exit load of 2% upto 3 years and Nil from 3 year onwards.
Maximum to Minimum tenure for Birla Century SIP plan: 3 years to 37 years.

Related: Competitor Product: Reliance SIP + Insure Scheme

What happens to Life insurance cover in case an investor decides to discontinue the SIP?
If SIP discontinues within 3 years of 1st installment: Life Cover ceases
If SIP discontinued after 3 years of 1st installment: Life Cover continues at fund value subject to maximum of 100 times monthly SIP value.

Other things to look for in Birla Century SIP plan?
There are a few exceptions in which the insurance cover will not be available:
• Death due to suicide
• Death within 45 days of SIP start except when the death is due to accident
• Death due to pre existing diseases – this is the biggest and most ambiguous exception – in case someone dies of a disease like heart attack, there are always issues in proving that the disease was or was not pre-existing.

In a nutshell, a good option for investors looking for investment + insurance. However, the load charges are heavy. How about simply investing in ETF’s for investment and buying a put no-frill life insurance cover?? May be that combination costs you less than the fund, if you can find the right insurance policy.

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