Ineffective ICICI Prudential Guaranteed Savings Insurance plan

Dear friends this is wrt the product of ICICI Prudential called Guaranteed Savings Insurance plan that I took in June 2012.

The adviser at the time of entry briefed me that this is an elite savings plan which unlike ULIP is traditional with assured life insurance and guaranteed return after maturity that is 15 years while the customer has to pay only for 7 years among host of other critical false promises. I’m outlining some of the issues

a. False promise – 1
At the time of entry, I was told that the policy holder can avail loan after successful completion of 3 years of premium payment.The loan amount will be 80% of surrender value which will be equal to the total premium paid. It was recently I found that I’m eligible for an amount which is close to 25% of total premium paid as the so called surrender value itself was 50% of total premium paid

b. False promise -2
As the loan offered to the customer is against the collateral (premium paid) the interest will be lower and competitive to the customer. Recently the customer care/advisers of ICICI up on enquiry told me that my so called eligibility which is 25% of the total premium comes at an interest rate of 14.2% which is higher than non collateral backed personal loans today. When I strongly reacted the same advisers told me that they can pursue the case for ~ 9.5% but no guarantee
This is strange as ICICI Prudential takes money from us, they strangely set rules of financial access and moreover charge exorbitant interest rates to the owners of that money!

c. False promise -3
At the time of proposal entry, the agent did tell me that this plan is unlike ULIP and traditional savings; however there is something called RA Yield value which is equal to annual return and that more or less match prevailing FD rates. To my horror very very recently I found that the so called RA rate of the annual yield is 3.9% for the past 5 years which is far far far below even the traditional FD

Every time I complained in the last one year, I have been asked to meet the advisers personally at the nearest branches and I did judiciously in addition to speaking to advisers at customer care – every one says this is traditional plan but the most traditional financial tool know is FD+RD combination through which I would have made more benefit when compared to this plan. Everytime question them on so called traditional plan the reply has been consistent – (with a sheepish grin the advisers say) ‘this policy is like that Sir’
Another point to note that even ICICI Bank today allows 90% overdraft facility with least interest had I opted for FD 5 years ago

With above critical false promises, the option given to me is exit with loss of 50% of principal amount and nobody talks about the gains made out of the locked principal for the past 5 years. This is even more painful.

Finally friends, Indian consumers forum – I chose this platform to explore possible ways of redressal. I have come across so many complaints about this product in the forum and wondering if we can go together to IRDAI to complain and convey about this spurious product of ICICI Prudential.

Please note: I have already written the detailed mail to ICICI Prudential grievance redressal committee and received no response.Will wait few more days and then proceed for legal path.

Srainivas Vunnav
Hyderabad 500045, Telangana
Email: sxxxxxxxxxx7@gmail.com
23/05/2017 / 12:36 am