How To Track Your ULIP Investment and Returns?

ULIPs are termed "unit-linked insurance plans," which give life insurance coverage and investment opportunities to get a return on your investment. ULIP plans have become popular these days as they offer multiple benefits to individuals. 

What sets a ULIPs apart from other investment instruments is its flexibility. It allows you to switch between debt and equity ULIP funds according to the market situation and your requirements. 

It is essential to determine whether you have invested in the best investment plan in the market. However, tracking your ULIP performance, investment, and returns can be a bit challenging, especially if you are new to investing. 

This article seeks to help you learn how to track your ULIP investment and returns. Keep reading!

Step to track your ULIP Investment 

1. Understand Your Policy

Before investing in ULIP investments, read your policy document's details carefully about everything. Carefully assess the premium payment terms, sum assured, premium payment frequency, all kinds of charges, etc. 

2. Log In to Your Account

Most insurers have an online portal where policyholders can examine information about their policies, including fund value, history of premium payments, and policy documentation. 

3. Check your Fund Value

Once you have logged in to your account, view the value of your money. The fund value is the current value of your ULIP investments, and the entire worth of all the units you have across various funds is added up to calculate it. The fund value can fluctuate depending on the ULIP fund performance. 

4. Keep Track of Your ULIP Performance

ULIPs provide a variety of fund types, including balanced, debt, and equity funds. Each fund has a diverse risk profile and investment objective. Therefore, it is crucial to frequently check on the progress of the assets you have invested in to know how the funds have performed in the past compared to their benchmark. 

5. Examine Your History of Premium Payments

Policyholders of ULIPs must make recurring premium payments. so, it is critical to check your premium payment history to ensure that all premiums have been paid on time. If you miss any payment, penalties may apply. Consequently, it might lower the value of your fund.

6. Monitor the Charges

ULIPs often have different types of charges, like premium allocation charges, fund management charges, mortality charges, and surrender charges. For instance, before your premium is put into funds, the premium allocation charge is deducted from it, lowering the amount available for investment. 

So, always monitor these fees to determine the potential impact on your fund's value. 

Tracking Your ULIP Returns

To track your ULIP policy returns, you need to follow these steps:

1. Calculate Your Returns

ULIP returns are calculated based on the fund value and the premiums paid. The returns are calculated by subtracting the total premiums paid from the current fund value and adding additional benefits or bonuses.  

For example, if you paid a total premium of ₹1 lakh and your current fund value is ₹1.2 lakhs, your returns would be ₹20,000 (1.2 lakhs minus ₹1 lakh). 

Alternatively, you can use a ULIP calculator as well for calculating your returns. 

2. Contrast Your Results With Those of the Benchmark

To know how your ULIP has performed, you can compare your returns with the benchmark. The benchmark measures the fund's performance by considering an index to get an idea of how your fund has performed in the market.

3. Consider the Investment Horizon

Considering your investment horizon while tracking your returns is essential, as ULIPs are long-term investments. And it is important to remember that ULIPs are subject to market risks, and the returns may fluctuate over the short term. 

Conclusion

Regularly monitoring and tracking your ULIP investment are essential to take the necessary steps on time. So, stay current on market changes and your needs, and align them with current performance to create the best investment plan for you.