Mumbai-based Bandhan Life Insurance has introduced new ULIP products following its rebranding, focusing on digital customer experience, flexible investment options, and long-term wealth-building despite competitive challenges and mixed financials.
Bandhan Life Insurance, the private insurer based in Mumbai, has built its ULIP proposition around a simple pitch: combine life cover with market-linked investing and keep the experience largely digital. The company was formerly known as Aegon Life Insurance before Bandhan Financial Holdings acquired it in February 2024 and gave it a new name. Its unit-linked insurance plans are aimed at customers who want the discipline of insurance alongside exposure to equity, debt or balanced funds.
Bandhan Life says its ULIPs work by splitting each premium between protection and investment, with policyholders able to choose from fund options that match their risk appetite. The insurer also highlights fund-switching flexibility, partial withdrawals after the 5-year lock-in and tax benefits under current rules. On its ULIP pages, Bandhan Life presents the products as long-term wealth-building tools rather than short-term savings instruments, and it stresses features such as loyalty additions, return of certain charges in later years and multiple investment strategies.
The product range includes iInvest Advantage, iInvest II and ULIP Plus. According to Bandhan Life’s own material, iInvest Advantage and iInvest II offer life cover of up to 20 times the annual premium, while ULIP Plus goes further with cover of up to 50 times premium and five investment strategies. The company also says ULIP Plus includes loyalty additions from the seventh year, a partial return of mortality charges from the 11th policy year and a special discount for women.
The numbers in Ditto’s guide suggest that these plans may appeal to investors focused on a blended insurance-and-investment approach, but they also underline the trade-offs. For a 35-year-old paying ₹1 lakh a year for 10 years, the projected maturity value ranges from about ₹14.62 lakh to ₹16.77 lakh at a 4% gross return and from about ₹26.51 lakh to ₹34.66 lakh at 8%, depending on the plan. Those are illustrative figures, not guarantees, and they come before the effect of market swings, charges and policy conditions.
Ditto’s comparison with a standalone term policy plus a mutual fund SIP reaches a familiar conclusion: ULIPs may suit some buyers, but they are rarely the cheapest or most flexible route to protection and investing. The guide points out that ULIPs carry multiple charges, lock savers in for 5 years and usually offer less life cover than a separate term plan bought with the same budget. It also notes that Bandhan Life’s wider business metrics are mixed: claim settlement and solvency are strong, but complaints remain relatively high and the company still operates at a much smaller scale than larger industry rivals.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
