Zurich-Futura Investment Plan

A unit-linked investment plan is a financial product that combines insurance coverage with investment opportunities. With this plan, you can invest your premiums into various funds like stocks and bonds as per your risk appetite and financial goals.

Futura is a unit-linked policy that has been curated to protect you and your family throughout your entire life. It provides financial security in various situations such as death, serious illness, accidents, or disability.

Table of Content

Features and Benefits of the Zurich-Futura Plan
What is the Eligibility Criteria For Zurich-Futura Investment Plan?
Coverages Included in the Futura Investment Plan
Key Details Regarding the Premium of the Zurich-Futura Investment Plan

This policy offers flexibility and relief, ensuring that you and your loved ones are financially protected against unexpected events. Whether it's for personal or business purposes, Futura offers a reliable solution to meet your long-term security needs.

Features and Benefits of the Zurich-Futura Plan

The key features and benefits of the Zurich-Futura investment plan are as follows -

It offers lifelong insurance coverage that offers a cash sum to the policyholder’s loved ones upon the former’s unfortunate demise.
The investment plan offers comprehensive optional benefits to safeguard you from the financial effects of a severe accident or illness.
You have the flexibility to adjust the levels of protection and add more benefits from the available options.

What is the Eligibility Criteria For Zurich-Futura Investment Plan?

In order to obtain the Futura investment plan, you must meet the following eligibility criteria -

Coverage	Age Criteria
Life Cover and Family Income Benefit	18-74 Years
Optional Benefits	18-64 Years

Note that most optional benefits will stop at the age of 70 years.

Coverages Included in the Futura Investment Plan

We have enlisted the coverages offered within the Future plan by Zurich -

Mandatory Coverages

The basic plan includes the following coverage -

Life Cover

Provides a cash sum benefit upon the death of the insured individual.

Funeral Coverage

Includes funeral coverage, with an advance payment of USD 7,500 from the claim proceeds to cover initial funeral costs or repatriation expenses.

Terminal Illness

Offers life cover benefit payment upon diagnosis of a terminal illness for the insured person (not applicable to joint life last death policies).

Aeroplane Cover

Aeroplane cover pays an additional cash sum (up to USD 1 million) if the insured person passes away while travelling as a fare-paying passenger on a commercial airline.

Medical Second Opinion Service (Including Your Family)

Medical second opinion service connects policyholders to world-renowned medical experts to provide additional comfort and assurance when facing critical medical decisions.

Life Event Increase Option

The ‘Life Event Increase’ option allows policy owners to enhance selected policy benefits within 90 days of specific life events (e.g., marriage, childbirth, or buying a house) without further underwriting.

Optional Benefits

The optional benefits available with the Futura policy are as follows -

Family income benefit
Fixed-term income benefit
Hospitalisation benefit
Permanent and total disability
Waiver of premium
Accidental death benefit
Critical illness benefit or cancer cover (which includes children’s critical illness benefit or cancer cover)
Dismemberment benefit

Note that these optional benefits can be customised as per your requirements.

Key Details Regarding the Premium of the Zurich-Futura Investment Plan

Here are some key details related to premiums associated with the Futura investment plan -

You have the option to make a single premium payment or pay regular premiums until the age of 96. Alternatively, you can opt for a reduced premium period ranging from 7 to 50 years, known as a 'vanishing premium.' Regular premiums can be paid on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly basis. The choice of payment method offers flexibility and allows you to select a plan that best suits your requirements and preferences.
It is crucial to be fully aware of the level of risk and the potential investment performance of the funds that you select under this policy. Seeking guidance from your financial professional can be beneficial in determining which funds align with your risk profile. They can provide invaluable insights to help you make informed decisions about the most suitable investment options for your specific needs.
You have the option to raise your regular premiums at any time. However, keep in mind that the increased premium will also incur a regular premium charge. If you wish to make changes to the premium frequency, such adjustments can only be made on the policy anniversary.
While you have the option to lower your regular premium at any time, you will be required to consider the minimum regular premium amounts. It's important to be aware that if you decrease your regular premium, you might need to adjust the amount of cover on your policy. Failing to maintain sufficient policy value to cover ongoing charges may lead to the lapse of the policy without any value.
You have the flexibility to modify the amounts of any benefits and choose different additional benefits whenever you wish. However, keep in mind that altering the benefits might also require adjusting your premium levels. If you decide to increase the benefits, there could be additional requirements to fulfil.
Making withdrawals from your policy will lead to a reduction in the benefit amount equal to the withdrawal amount. In case you choose to surrender your policy entirely, you will receive the policy value at that time. While there is no surrender charge, surrendering your policy will result in the termination of the policy, meaning that all your benefits will cease accordingly.
In case premiums remain unpaid for over 90 days, one of the following two scenarios will take place. In the first case, the policy will either be converted to a 'paid up' status, where the policy value will cover the ongoing charges. However, the policy will lapse if there is insufficient policy value to sustain the ongoing policy and benefit charges.

It is essential to keep up with premium payments to ensure the policy remains active and provides the intended benefits.

Zurich-Futura Investment Plan: Fees and Charges

The fees and charges associated with the Futura investment policy are covered in the following table -

Policy Charges

Type of Charges	Applicable Rate			How and When to Pay
Regular Premium Charge	Policy Months	Charge%	Allocation Rate	-
	1-24	50%	50%	-
	25-60	7%	93%
	61+	2%	98%
Single Premium Charge	These premiums are allocated at 92%, i.e., Zurich takes a charge of 8%.			The charge is deducted from the premium before it is added to the insured’s policy.
Benefit Charges	The benefit charge is analysed asa per the life insured’s age, gender, smoker status, and other details along with the levels of cover required. Note that these charges increase annually.			These charges are deducted on the first of every month by cancelling units in the insured’s funds.
Policy Administration Charge	USD 7.5 monthly			The policy charge is deducted from the insured’s policy by cancelling units in the insured’s fund monthly.

Fund Charges

Type of Charges	Charges	How and When to Pay
Ongoing Charges Figure	The ongoing charges figure is deducted from each fund by the respective fund manager before calculating the unit price. It includes charges levied by the fund managers to cover fees and costs incurred in the running of the funds.	-
Fund Investment Adviser Charge	This type of fee is charged if the insured appoints an authorised fund investment adviser at the commencement of the policy to give instructions to Zurich regarding the insured’s funds and the insured agrees with them to pay a charge for the service the company provides.	This charge is deducted monthly by the cancellation of units on the first day of each month and while the agreement between the insured and their fund investment adviser is in place.

Transactional Charges

Type of Charges	Charges	How and When to Pay
Currency Switch Charge	0.175% of the value switched between currencies	If the insured switches between funds of different currencies, Zurich will make a charge based on the value switched between currencies.
Currency Exchange Charge	Charges are applicable when: Zurich receives premiums in a different currency to policy currency, or Zurich makes payments from the policy (including claims) in a different currency to the policy currency, or Zurich buys or sells units in a fund in a different currency to the policy currency.	A currency exchange charge is not an explicit policy deduction — it is incorporated within the currency exchange rates that Zurich uses for each transaction.

What is the Cancellation Policy for Zurich-Futura Investment Plan?

If you wish to cancel your existing policy, you can do the same within 30 days of receipt of your policy documents. You would be required to complete and return the cancellation notice in the policy pack provided to you. Once the authorities of Zurich accept your cancellation notice, they will refund your entire premiums.

As a policyholder, you can also cancel your policy even before receiving the policy documents by getting in touch with Zurich or the respective financial professionals.

Key Details Regarding Zurich-Futura Plan Claims

To file a claim for the Futura investment plan, individuals must notify Zurich via dropping an email at benefit.claims@zurich.com. The provider may need the insured’s medical record to proceed with the claim process. For waiver of premium claim, Zurich may ask the insured to undergo a medical examination. Note that all of these will be conducted at the policyholder’s expenses.

There are certain circumstances in which Zurich will not pay the claim. Here is the list of the exclusions as per this plan -

The claim is attributed to a criminal act perpetrated by a life insured or beneficiary, or policy owner against a life insured.
The claim is attributed to the addiction to, abuse, or misuse of alcohol, prescribed, or non-prescribed drugs.
The policy or benefit has lapsed or terminated before the claim was made.
The life insured commits suicide within the first year of policy, attempts to commit suicide, or/and intentionally causes a self-inflicted injury.
The life insured intentionally or unknowingly misrepresents or fails to disclose any fact in relation to the policy and the non-disclosure or misrepresentation is such that it would cause Zurich to reject any benefits in part or in full.
The claim event does not meet the definition of benefit or it occurred before the risk commencement date, before the policy was reinstated, or before the completion of a qualifying period relevant to the benefit being claimed.

Which Critical Illnesses are Covered in Zurich-Futura Investment Plan?

Here is the list of critical illnesses covered in the Zurich Future investment plan -

Traumatic head injury with permanent symptoms
Third-degree burns covering 20% of the body’s surface area or 50% of the face’s surface area
Systemic lupus erythematosus of specified severity
Stroke with permanent symptoms
Primary pulmonary arterial hypertension that results in permanent symptoms
Parkinson’s disease before the age of 65 - resulting in permanent symptoms
Total, permanent, and irreversible paralysis of limbs
Open heart surgery with surgery to divide the breastbone
Multiple sclerosis - with persisting symptoms
Motor neuron disease - resulting in permanent symptoms
Major organ transplant
Aorta graft surgery for disease and trauma
Aplastic anaemia that leads to permanent symptoms
Bacterial meningitis resulting in permanent symptoms
Encephalitis
Heart attack – of specified severity
Heart failure
Heart valve replacement or repair – with surgery to divide the breastbone
HIV infection – caught in a specified country from a blood transfusion, a physical assault, or work in an eligible occupation
Kidney failure that requires dialysis
Benign brain tumour that results in permanent symptoms
Permanent and irreversible blindness
Cancer – excluding less advanced cases
Cardiomyopathy
Children’s critical illness
Coma – resulting in permanent symptoms
Coronary artery by-pass grafts with surgery to divide the breastbone
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – requiring continuous assistance
Permanent and irreversible deafness
Dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) before age 65 – resulting in permanent symptoms
Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (`DCIS’) of the Breast – with specific treatment (Partial Liver failure – end stage
Loss of hands or feet – permanent physical severance
Loss of independent existence resulting in permanent symptoms
Total, permanent, and irreversible loss of speech
Lung disease – end stage/respiratory failure – of specified severity