LIC policy surrender means discontinuing the policy before its maturity and receiving the surrender value in return. Once surrendered, all benefits, coverages, and bonuses under the plan cease immediately. Understanding how to surrender LIC policy is important as the process requires specific forms, documents, and eligibility conditions.
Key Highlights:
- The policyholder receives a surrender value after at least 3 years of premium payments.
- Surrender value is calculated using a formula with sum assured, bonuses, and surrender factors.
- Policies can be surrendered offline at an LIC branch or online via the LIC portal.
- Required documents include Form 5074, original policy bond, ID proof, PAN, and bank details.
- Once surrendered, the policy cannot be revived.
What is LIC Policy Surrender?
LIC policy surrender is the voluntary termination of a life insurance policy before maturity. The coverage stops immediately, and the policyholder gets back a lump sum known as the surrender value. Most LIC policies acquire a surrender value only after 3 full years of premium payment.
Types of Surrenders in LIC Policy
Here are some of the common ways of LIC policy surrender:
Full Surrender
This is when the policyholder chooses to completely cancel their ongoing policy. Hence, the policyholder won't need to pay premiums anymore and won't receive any policy benefits or claims in the future. Depending on the type of policy, LIC will make the pay-out which is typically a certain percentage of premiums paid, after the deduction of applicable surrender charges.
Special Surrender
It is applicable, especially in a few exceptional situations where LIC sets specific terms for surrendering the policy, differing from standard procedures. These situations may involve severe financial difficulties, unexpected events or serious illnesses, where LIC offers reduced charges or a better surrender value.
Surrender as a Result of No Payment of Premiums
If a policyholder is unable to pay premiums and renew the life insurance policy within a specified grace period, it will be treated as surrendered. In such a scenario, if the policy has got a surrender value, he or she will receive the amount as per the agreed terms. But if the policy has not got a surrender value, no such pay-outs would occur.
How to Surrender LIC Policy?
Here is the step-by-step guide on how to surrender LIC policy:
- To start with, visit your nearest LIC branch and obtain Form 5074, also known as the Surrender Discharge Voucher.
- Upon completion, the form along with the necessary documents must be submitted.
- Following submission, LIC will process your policy surrender request.
- Upon approval, the surrender value will be transferred to your bank account.
- Alternatively, instead of visiting a branch, you can opt to courier the discharge voucher and other necessary documents to LIC's head office in Mumbai.
How to Surrender LIC Policy Online Before Maturity?
Here is how to surrender your LIC policy online before maturity:
- Navigate to the LIC’s official portal and sign in using your credentials.
- Then, simply download the Surrender Discharge Voucher (LIC Form No. 5074).
- Fill it up carefully and submit the same along with the necessary documents to LIC.
- Once the form is accepted, the surrender process will start.
- The surrender value will be deposited into your registered bank account.
How to Calculate the Surrender Value of LIC Policy?
You can opt for LIC policy surrender only if you fulfil certain criteria such as payment of policy premium consecutively for 3 years. Hence, if you wish for a LIC policy surrender within the initial 2 years, LIC won't provide any incentives.
You can calculate the surrender value of your LIC policy by using the formula given below:
{Basic sum assured + (number of premiums paid/total number of premiums payable) + total bonus received} * X
Please note that X is the factor of surrender value.
How to Check LIC Policy Surrender Status Online?
Wondering how to check the surrender value of your LIC policy? Here are the steps guiding you to check LIC policy surrender status online:
- Navigate to the official LIC website.
- Log in to your account using your credentials. If you are a new user, click on ‘register’.
- Then from the left side of the homepage, select ‘Enrol Policies’.
- Click on 'Click to Enrol New Policies' and then on 'Proceed.'
- Enter the necessary details like the policy number, the policyholder's name and the premium amount. Then simply click on the 'Enrol your policy' option.
- Under the 'Loan and Bonus' column, select 'Click for details' next to your policy.
- Here, you can find information about your loan eligibility and surrender value.
LIC Policy Surrender Procedure
Here are the steps for how to surrender your LIC policy online before maturity:
- Contact your LIC agent through whom you have availed the LIC policy or visit a nearby LIC branch. Inform them that you want to surrender your existing LIC policy and they will provide you the required forms and guide you through the process.
- Carefully fill in the form for the surrender request and make sure that all the details you fill in are accurate.
- Keep all the necessary documents handy such as the Form 5074 (LIC surrender form), original policy bond, bank account number, identity proof in original, cancelled cheque along with an application stating why you want to surrender.
- Submit the above-mentioned documents to the concerned branch official or if you have opted through an LIC agent, you can submit the mentioned documents to him/her. Moreover, you can even upload the mentioned documents to the LIC's online portal.
- Post submission, you will receive an acknowledgement receipt confirming your policy surrender application.
- Now your policy surrender request will be verified; usually, it takes a couple of weeks for the process to get completed.
Documents Required to Surrender LIC Policy
Here are some of the documents required if the policyholder chooses LIC policy surrender:
- Policy surrender application form
- Form 5074: surrender discharge voucher
- Cancelled cheque for providing policyholder's bank account details
- Original policy bond
- NEFT mandate form
- PAN Card copy
What Happens After Surrendering an LIC Policy?
After LIC policy surrender, here are the following things that will happen:
- Your coverage ends right away.
- You get the surrender value.
- The policy becomes void and can't be restarted later.
- You lose all the benefits that come with the policy.
- You won't get any tax benefits under Section 80C anymore.
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