Life Insurance Corporation begins special campaign to help revive policies

NEW DELHI:  If your insurance policy from the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has lapsed during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, worry not, because you may still have the chance to revive it. The state-run insurance giant has initiated a special Revival Campaign for just such policy holders beginning January 7  as an effort to help them renew their policies which had lapsed due to the disruption caused by the pandemic.

“Under this Special Revival Campaign, policies of specific eligible plans can be revived within five years from the date of the first unpaid premium subject to terms and conditions,” LIC said in a statement on the campaign. Policies which were in lapsed condition during the premium paying term and had not completed the policy term as on the date of revival are eligible to be revived in this campaign, the insurance firm noted. 

According to the company, policy holders will get a 20 per cent late fee concession, or Rs 2,000 for revival, while a 25 per cent concession for annual premiums between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 3 lakh will be offered. LIC has also authorised its 1,526 satellite offices to revive policies where special medical tests are not required mandatorily.

However, the life insurer maintained that the policy revivals will remain subject to certain conditions. LIC also said that most policies can be revived only on the basis of a declaration of good health and a Covid-19-related questionnaire that is to be submitted by the proposer. The insurance firm noted that the campaign will benefit those policyholders who could not pay premiums due to unavoidable circumstances. 

Due to Covid-19 and the economic slowdown induced by the pandemic, insurance policy growth had crashed. At the end of May 31, 2020, the life insurance industry had recorded a de-growth of 27.92 per cent in FYP (first year premium) at Rs 20,466.75 crore compared to Rs 28,395.89 crore in the same period of the previous year. It also recorded a massive de-growth of 51.02 per cent in the number of policies issued  at just 14,24,373 policies compared to 29,08,093 in the previous year.