Its not just the agent who does not mention the 65% charge upfront, only saying that if you want to exit in the initial years you will have a guaranteed return of 3%. The details of the scheme on the BirlaSun Life website also misleads you(its there in the archives). They initially talk about returns with flexibility and say that for all exits there is a guaranteed returns of 3% net off policy charges, surrender charges etc . Only what they forget to mention in the same sentence is that policy charges can be high as 65% of premium in the first year(in the first 4 years it can add up to a whopping 80%). This 65% is mentioned in another page, it sits innocuously in one of the cells in the table. When a cost is as high a 65%, there is no question of a guaranteed return isnt it? Clearly upfront they have to state with no ambiguity that if the holder withdraws in the initial years the costs can be very high for eg: 65% in the first year if its a 15 year scheme. The bottom-line is that agents are somehow expected to hide these details as want to make the sale, but what about a reputed company group like Birla. Do they not have a reputation to protect?
oneMoreFool