HDFC standard life insurance
Not worth it

No point complaining. Am hoping that this would be an eye opener for folks who are planning to take an HDFC Standard Life Insurance (ULIP linked). In plain words it is not worth it.

My name is Anup and I work in the UK currently. Two and a half years ago, I felt that it would be a good idea to take an insurance and spent quite a lot of time discussing with ICICI, HDFC and SBI to get the best deal for my requirements/situation. I went with HDFC and took a policy with a high premium (obviously because the returns were claimed to be on the higher side). My wife on the other side went with the SBI Life policy for a relatively smaller amount.

We knew that ULIPs are costly and that the company (HDFC/SBI) would take a cut (eg approx 55% in the first year, around 12% in the second and keeps going down every year hence). Well, almost three years of investment later, my wife's SBI portfolio is 8% profitable while my HDFC portfolio is at a staggering 40% loss.

I did factor in the recession attribute which ate into the profits but comparing the two - it looks like HDFC is losing the plot BIG TIME. My personal investments fared a lot better. Am sorry to generalize and people may differ on this but HDFC customer service is not great either. I am a guy who believes that if a service provider takes ages to return your mail/calls, it is an indication to get the hell out of that relationship. After multiple attempts, I had got through to my HDFC fund manager who asked me to wait for 5 years minimum for the portfolio to even out. FIVE YEARS!!! We scheduled a follow up call two days later and the dude never showed up. I sent another query email last month and no response yet (26 days and counting). Apologies - I lied - I got an immediate automated reply thanking me for my query.

Am sunk in this mess and I lose a lot of sleep over my HDFC investment. Given that I have invested quite a big amount (by my standards), I am planning to continue till the end of the third year and stop further investment. That will cover the minimum term requirement mandated by HDFC. There is no point jumping out now as that will give HDFC a chance to rip me completely off whatever I have invested so far (fine print within the policy).

The guy who sold the insurance policy to is no longer with HDFC. Might have got fired for not finding more bakras like me.

Anyways folks - I strongly believe that everyone should take an insurance but I would not advise HDFC. They may be great for home loans but stay away from their insurance products. And please, this is not an advertisement for SBI Life or any other provider/product. If you have someone in your family or close friends you can trust, try taking a policy via that route.

For me - I will wait and see if anything improves in my HDFC portfolio after 5 years (two more years) as advised by the great fund manager.

Take care and stay safe from such disasters

Anup

Company: HDFC standard life insurance
Country: India
State: Kerala

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