Monday, August 26, 2013

Guaranteed Surrender Value

Life insurance companies provide for giving surrender value of the policies if a certain number of premiums have been paid by the customer. If payment of subsequent premiums is stopped the insurer pays the customer the paid-up value of the policy on the date of maturity. We have seen this in the Post on non-forfeiture regulations. The present value of the paid up value is called surrender value. It is a discounted value. The surrender value paid by insurance companies is known as special surrender value. Generally this is a very small percent of what is paid by the customer. There is a statutory requirement [Section 113 of The Insurance Act, 1938]  that the insurer shall pay the higher of special surrender value or guaranteed surrender value. With this background information let us read the privilege of guaranteed surrender value in ‘Conditions and privileges’. ‘This policy can be surrendered for cash if premiums have been paid for at least three years. The minimum surrender value allowable under this policy is equal to 30% of the total amount of the within mentioned premiums paid excluding the premiums for the first year and all extra premiums and or additional premiums for accident benefit that may have been paid provided that if a portion of the sum assured had become payable or has been paid on the life assured surviving to the stipulated date prior to such survival or surrender will be excluded for calculating the surrender value. The cash value of any existing vested bonus additions will also be allowed.’

Key words:

Conditions and privileges of policy
Guaranteed surrender value
Special surrender value

Section 113, The Insurance Act, 1938.

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