Last month Suresh Kumar (name changed on request) received a call on his cellphone from an insurance salesgirl who claimed to be calling from a leading private life insurance company. The girl told Suresh that if he invests Rs 30,000 per year in a unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) for the next 15 years, he could have a fund value of over Rs 13 lakh at maturity. She also told him that the plan would provide an insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and a health insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh for the next 15 years (the policy term). Further, she said, he would get a bonus of Rs 6,000 every year from the insurer so long as he continued paying the annual premium. On being queried, she specifically claimed that the call was being made from the insurer’s head office and not from an agency or a broking house.

The plan appeared attractive, so Suresh decided to invest in it. A person came over to his residence to get his signature on the application form and collect the required documents (photocopy of PAN card as identity proof and a photograph). Suresh did not think twice before signing the application form as the terms of the policy were clear to him and he looked forward to a long association with the company. Little did he know that he was getting into a financial quagmire and would have to spend a substantial amount of time and energy to get out of it.

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