ICICI Pru Life declares record bonus of ₹867 crore for clients
ALL POLICIES AS OF MARCH 31 ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THIS BONUS AND WILL BE ADDED TO THE POLICYHOLDERS’ BENEFITS
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Monday declared its highest-ever annual bonus of ₹867 crore for the policyholders for fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21).
“ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has announced an annual bonus of ₹867 crore for all eligible participating policyholders for FY2021. The bonus declared is the highest ever by the company till date and is also 10% higher than the bonus announced in the last fiscal” it said in a release.
Bonus is the share of profits generated by the company’s participating policyholder’s funds, which are added to their guaranteed maturity benefits, thus enhancing the corpus.
All participating policies in force as of March 31, 2021, are eligible to receive this bonus and will be added to the policyholders’ benefits, said the insurer.
A total of 9.8 lakh participating policyholders will benefit from this, taking them closer to their long-term financial goals. ICICI Prudential Life said this is the company’s 15th consecutive year of declaring a bonus.
The stringent investment philosophy of the company has ensured zero defaults in its portfolio since inception and across market cycles.
As of March 31, 2021, 96.8% of the fixed income portfolio is invested in sovereign or AAArated paper.
“We are delighted to announce that the annual bonus for FY2021 is the highest ever in the history of the company. What gives us special satisfaction is the fact that it coincides with the 20th anniversary of our operations.
“It demonstrates our customer focus, resilience and ability to navigate through the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic,” N S
Kannan, MD and CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said.
Meanwhile, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance also introduced a retirement solution by combining two variants of ‘Guaranteed Pension Plan’ (deferred and immediate annuity), which offers a guaranteed return on investments.
According to a press release, “This solution provides customers with increasing regular income that doubles after five years and triples after the 11th year, thereby shielding them against the rising cost of living.”
The annuity products enable customers to plan for their retirement and are available in two variants i.e. immediate and deferred annuity.
The immediate annuity option allows customers to start receiving regular income immediately by paying a one-time premium. On the other hand, the deferred annuity option gives flexibility to start receiving income in the future, for instance closer to retirement. Customers have the option to defer the start of the income for a maximum period of 10 years. The longer the deferment, the higher would be the income.