Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance: ULIP Plan Guide

Quick Overview

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI) unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) combine life cover with market-linked investments across equity, debt, and hybrid funds. Plans like Wealth Smart Plus, Salaried Suraksha ULIP, Fortune Wealth Plan, and Platinum Gain Plan offer flexibility, multiple investment strategies, and features like charge refunds and loyalty additions. With a strong distribution network of 445+branches, ABSLI has a solid market presence. However, ULIPs come with multiple charges and typically offer lower life cover compared to standalone term insurance.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited was established in 2000 as a joint venture between Aditya Birla Capital and Sun Life Financial. Headquartered in Mumbai, it is a private life insurer with a 51:49 shareholding split between Aditya Birla Capital Limited and Sun Life Financial (India) Insurance Investments Inc.

As part of its broader portfolio, ABSLI offers term insurance, ULIPs, savings/endowment plans, retirement plans, health plans, child plans, and group solutions, such as ABSLI DigiShield Plan, ABSLI Her Care term insurance for women, ABSLI Wealth Aspire Plan, and ABSLI Guaranteed Milestone Plan. In recent news, ABSLI launched its Super Term Plan in June 2025, reflecting a continued push into protection-led products.

This guide explains how Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance’s ULIP plans work and reviews the insurer’s key performance metrics.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance: Performance Metrics

Metrics	Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (FY 2022-25)	Industry Average (FY 2022-25)
Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR)	98.45%	98.66% (Mean)
Amount Settlement Ratio (ASR)	94.34%	94.83% (Mean)
Avg Complaints received per 10,000 claims	2.33	17.67 (Median)
Annual Business / Gross Written Premium (in Crores)	₹8,664	₹3,411.73 (Median)
Solvency Ratio	1.79x	2.04x (Median)

Note: These metrics are for the entire life insurance portfolio of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, and not just for their ULIPs.

Insights:

CSR is slightly below the industry average, but still within a very tight range, indicating a stable and reliable claims approval experience overall.
ASR is marginally lower than the industry average, indicating that while most claim amounts are honoured, a small proportion may remain unsettled, particularly in complex or high-value cases.
Average complaints are significantly lower than the industry median, which is a strong positive indicator of good customer experience.
Annual business volumes are substantially higher than the industry median, reflecting strong market presence, distribution strength, and scale of operations.
Solvency ratio is below the industry median but comfortably above the regulatory requirement, indicating adequate financial stability, though with relatively lower capital buffers compared to peers.

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ULIP Plans Offered by Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited

Feature	ABSLI Wealth Smart Plus	ABSLI Salaried Suraksha ULIP	ABSLI Fortune Wealth Plan	ABSLI Platinum Gain Plan
Focus	A unit-linked savings plan designed for long-term wealth creation with life insurance protection, offering flexibility to meet goals like retirement, child education, or financial milestones.	A ULIP designed specifically for salaried individuals, combining high life insurance cover (up to 125X) with market-linked wealth creation and return of charges to boost long-term fund value.	A ULIP aimed at long-term wealth creation with life cover, offering flexibility through multiple plan options (Classic & Assured) and guaranteed additions to boost fund value over time.	A premium ULIP designed for long-term wealth creation with life cover, offering features like wealth boosters, loyalty additions, and return of charges to enhance fund value over time.
Fund Options	Offers 20 funds across equity, debt, and hybrid categories, along with 5 investment strategies (Self-Managed, Systematic Transfer, Return Optimiser, Smart, Life Cycle) to suit different risk appetites.	Offers 18 funds across equity, debt, and hybrid categories, along with 5 investment strategies (same as Wealth Smart Plus)	Offers 18 funds across equity, debt, and hybrid categories, along with 5 investment strategies (same as Wealth Smart Plus)	Offers 18 funds across equity, debt, and hybrid categories, along with 5 investment strategies (same as Wealth Smart Plus)
Premium Payment Options	Flexible options including Regular Pay and Limited Pay (5–15 years) with multiple payment modes (annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly).	Fixed Limited Pay options (6, 8, 10, 12 years) with annual premium payment mode and flexible policy terms ranging from 15 to 30 years.	Limited Pay (5–19 years) and Regular Pay (10–20 years) with multiple payment modes (annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly).	Limited Pay (5–12 years) and Regular Pay (10–20 years) with multiple payment modes (annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly).
Riders Available	Accidental Death Benefit Rider Plus and Waiver of Premium Rider	Accidental Death Benefit Rider Plus, Waiver of Premium Rider, and Comprehensive Critical Illness Rider (multiple variants).	Accidental Death Benefit Rider Plus, Waiver of Premium Rider, and Comprehensive Critical Illness Rider (multiple variants).	Accidental Death Benefit Rider Plus, Waiver of Premium Rider, and Comprehensive Critical Illness Rider (with multiple variants).
Best Suited For	Individuals looking for market-linked wealth creation with flexibility, especially those planning for long-term goals like retirement, while maintaining life cover.	Salaried individuals seeking high protection + disciplined long-term investing, especially those who want structured benefits like return of charges.	People looking for flexible, long-term market-linked wealth creation with features like guaranteed additions and a choice between a standard ULIP structure and continued benefits (Assured Option).	High-income individuals looking for premium ULIP features + long-term wealth accumulation, especially those who value charge refunds and periodic fund boosters alongside market-linked returns.

Note: Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance also offers other ULIPs like Her Growth, Pram Suraksha, Wealth Infinia, Wealth Max, Wealth Secure, and Wealth Aspire. Refer to the respective brochures on ABSLI’S official website to see the Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance policy details.

Premiums of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance ULIP Plans

Parameter	ABSLI Wealth Smart Plus
Plan Variant	Smart Life
Annual Premium	₹1,00,000
Sum Assured	₹10,00,000
Premium Payment Term	5 years
Policy Term	20 years
Illustrated value at 8% (before charges impact)	₹15,69,132

Note: Projected values are illustrative for a 35-year-old. Actual returns are not guaranteed and will depend on market performance. The figures are extracted from the ABSLI Wealth Smart Plus plan page.

Drawbacks of Buying an Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance ULIP Plan

Multiple Charges Eat Into Your Returns

ABSLI ULIPs come with several charges: fund management fees (up to 1.35%), mortality charges, and others. Even if some plans promise to return charges later, the money is still deducted upfront, which slows down compounding, especially in the early years.

Life Cover is Usually Not Enough

Most ULIPs offer life cover of around 7–10 times your annual premium. So if you’re paying ₹1 lakh a year, you might only get ₹10 lakh in cover, which is far from enough for most families.

You’re Locked In for 5 Years

Like all ULIPs, you can’t access your money freely for the first 5 years. If you exit early, your funds move to a low-return pool (4%), and your life cover stops.

You’re Limited to Their Funds

Even though ABSLI offers multiple fund options, you’re still choosing from their in-house funds. With mutual funds, you get access to a much wider universe and better-performing options across the market.

Tax Benefits Aren’t Always Straightforward

Tax-free maturity (under Section 10(10D)) comes with conditions. If premiums are too high relative to the cover, or cross ₹2.5 lakh annually (for newer policies), your returns could end up being taxed.

ULIP vs Term Insurance: Which is Better?

ULIPs combine insurance and investment in a single product, but this bundling often comes with trade-offs, like lower life cover and reduced net returns due to multiple charges. Because of this, many people prefer separating insurance and investments for better flexibility and outcomes. For a detailed breakdown, check out our guide on ULIPs vs term insurance.

Numerical Illustration based on Aditya Birla Sun Life ULIP plans

Consider a 35-year-old individual investing ₹1,00,000 annually for 20 years to build a retirement corpus while also ensuring financial protection.

Option A: ABSLI ULIP

Component	Value
Annual premium	₹1,00,000
Approximate life cover offered	₹10,00,000
Premium allocation charge	Nil
Policy administration charge	Nil
Mortality charge	₹1.68 per ₹1000 of the sum at risk
Fund management charge	A maximum of 1.35% per annum
Total premiums paid over 5 years	₹5,00,000
Gross fund return assumed	8% P.A. (net return may be 6% - 7%)
Corpus at the end of 20 years	₹15,69,132

Here, P.A. refers to per annum.

Option B: Term Insurance + Direct Mutual Fund Systematic Investment Plans (SIP)

Component	Value
Annual term insurance premium (₹1 crore cover)	₹12,000/year (indicative)
Life cover	₹1 crore (much higher than ULIP)
Amount available for SIP after term premium	₹1,00,000 - ₹12,000 = ₹88,000 P.A.
Fund management charge (direct mutual fund)	0.5% P.A.
Gross fund return assumed	12% per annum
Return after expenses (net)	Around 11.5% P.A.
Corpus at the end of 20 years	Around ₹60–₹61 lakhs

The Difference

Metric	ULIP	Term + Systemic Investment Plan	Advantage
Annual outflow	₹1,00,000	₹1,00,000	Equal
Life cover	₹10,00,000	₹1 crore	Term + SIP: 10x higher
Net return	8% P.A. (6-7% in reality)	Around 11.5% per annum	Term + SIP: higher
Corpus at 20 years	₹15,69,132	Around ₹60–₹61 lakhs	Term + SIP: significantly higher
Charges	Multiple embedded charges	Low expense ratio only	Term + SIP: lower costs

Note: Figures are illustrative and based on assumed returns. Actual outcomes will vary.

At lower effective returns (after charges), ABSLI ULIP outcomes can be modest. For instance, in the example above, a total investment of ₹5 lakh grows to around ₹15.7 lakh over 20 years, reflecting the impact of charges and capped return assumptions.

Check out the infographic below to understand the difference between a term insurance policy and ULIP.

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Conclusion

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance ULIPs offer a range of options with flexible investment strategies, decent fund choices, and added features like charge refunds and loyalty additions. However, like most ULIPs, they come with multiple embedded costs and relatively lower life cover. If your goal is disciplined, long-term investing with bundled insurance, these plans can work.

That said, if you specifically prefer the Aditya Birla group, it may be more efficient to consider the Aditya Birla Super Term Plan, which is among the top term insurance plans recommended by Ditto, and pair it with mutual fund SIPs for investing.

Overall, for higher returns and stronger protection, a combination of term insurance and mutual fund SIPs is often a more effective approach.

Disclaimer: Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance is not a partner insurer. The information presented in the article is taken from publicly available sources like the insurer’s website and is for educational purposes only.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are ABSLI ULIPs good for long-term investment?

They can be suitable for long-term goals due to market-linked returns and features like fund switching, but returns may be impacted by charges compared to mutual funds.

What is the Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance customer care number?

The Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance customer care number is 1800-270-7000 for Indian residents and +918045860777.

Can I withdraw money from an ABSLI ULIP anytime?

No. ULIPs have a mandatory 5-year lock-in. Partial withdrawals are allowed only after this period, subject to policy terms.

Are ULIP returns guaranteed?

No. ULIP returns are market-linked and depend on the performance of the chosen funds. The 4% and 8% figures shown are only illustrative.

Is it better to choose ULIP or term insurance + SIP?

For most people, a combination of term insurance and SIP offers higher life cover, lower costs, and better long-term return potential. ULIPs may suit those who prefer a bundled product with disciplined investing.

Last updated on: 24 Mar, 2026