In short (tl;dr)
Jeevan Kiran is a term plan with return of premium. Die during the term and the family gets the sum assured; survive it and you get all your premiums back.
About LIC Jeevan Kiran
Jeevan Kiran (Plan 870) is a non-linked, non-participating term assurance with a Return of Premium maturity benefit. The death benefit works exactly like an ordinary term plan. The difference is at the end: if the life assured survives the policy term, LIC returns the total premiums paid, excluding taxes, rider premiums and any extras charged for substandard health.
That refund is not free. The premium for Jeevan Kiran runs roughly three to four times the equivalent New Tech-Term premium, because LIC has to hold and return your money as well as carry the risk. The refund is also nominal — you get back the rupees you paid, with no interest, thirty years later.
It is worth running the numbers on the alternative: buy New Tech-Term and invest the difference. Over a 30-year term the invested difference will usually exceed the premium refund comfortably. Jeevan Kiran's argument is behavioural — the money comes back automatically, whether or not you would have actually invested it.
Key features
- Full term life cover with a return of all premiums paid on survival
- Both Level and Increasing Sum Assured options available
- Minimum sum assured ₹15 lakh
- Separate smoker and non-smoker rates; lower rates for female lives
- Surrender value available, unlike a pure term plan
Jeevan Kiran at a glance
- Plan number
- 870
- Category
- Term Insurance
- Entry age
- 18 to 65 years
- Policy term
- 10 to 40 years
- Premium paying term
- Same as policy term
- Sum assured
- ₹15 Lakh and above
- Maximum maturity age
- 80 years
- UIN
- 512N353V01
We checked the plan number and UIN above against LIC's own page for this plan on 2026-09-02. Check it on licindia.in
Benefits under Jeevan Kiran
Death benefit
The Sum Assured on Death — the higher of 7 times the annualised premium and the absolute amount assured, never less than 105% of premiums paid — payable as a lump sum.
Maturity benefit
The total premiums paid, excluding taxes, extra premiums for substandard lives and rider premiums, returned in full on survival to the end of the term. No interest is added.
Who it suits
Someone who genuinely will not buy term cover unless they get something back, and who would not otherwise invest the premium difference.
What to watch out for
The refund carries no interest. ₹4 lakh returned in 2056 buys far less than ₹4 lakh does today. Compare against term cover plus a recurring deposit before choosing.
How this calculator works
Jeevan Kiran is priced here on its own parameters, not a generic formula. We build the plan's full cash-flow schedule — the death benefit in each policy year, every survival payout, and the maturity value — and discount it on a basis calibrated to a reference premium for this plan. That reference is checked two ways: against LIC's published tabular rate, and against the return the plan's own benefits imply for the policyholder.
- Reference premium
- ₹4.60 per ₹1,000 at age 30, 30-year term, 30-year premium term
- Discount basis
- 2.65% a year, on LIC (2012-14) Ultimate mortality scaled to 55% for this plan's underwritten pool
- GST
- Nil. Individual life insurance premiums have been exempt from GST since 22 September 2025, so the instalments shown are what you actually pay.
Bonus rates are declared annually and are not guaranteed; only the sum assured and any contractual guaranteed additions are. Read our editorial and methodology policyfor the full basis, and confirm every figure with LIC before you buy.
Check the source:Jeevan Kiran on licindia.inLIC valuation and bonus declarationsIRDAI regulations
What this premium does not include
The figure above is the premium for the base policy. LIC allows 2 optional riders on Jeevan Kiran, each a separate contract with its own sum assured, term and premium. Take one and you pay more than the figure above — the base premium itself does not change.
- LIC's Accidental Death and Disability Benefit Rider (AD & DB Rider)UIN 512B209V02
- LIC's Accident Benefit Rider (AB Rider)UIN 512B203V03
Premiums for all the life insurance riders put together cannot exceed 30% of the premium under the base plan. That cap is the useful number to hold an agent to: whatever riders are proposed, the total should stay inside it.
Why we do not price them. A rider premium follows from the rider's own sum assured and term, so it cannot be worked out from a tick-box — and LIC does not publish rider rates in the plan brochure, which tells you to read the rider brochure or ask a branch. We would rather name the riders and their UINs, which you can check, than show a number we cannot source.
Source: Jeevan Kiran sales brochure (PDF), Optional Rider Benefits clause.
LIC Jeevan Kiran — frequently asked questions
What do I get back at maturity in Jeevan Kiran?
The total of all premiums you have paid, excluding GST, rider premiums and any extra premium charged for health or occupation. There is no interest and no bonus on top.
How much more expensive is Jeevan Kiran than a plain term plan?
Roughly three to four times the premium of New Tech-Term for the same sum assured, age and term. Run both calculators side by side — the gap is the price of the refund.
Is return of premium worth it?
Mathematically, usually not. Buying New Tech-Term and investing the difference in almost any long-term instrument beats a nominal refund thirty years later. Jeevan Kiran wins only if the alternative is that you would have spent the difference rather than invested it.
Does Jeevan Kiran have a surrender value?
Yes, unlike a pure term plan. Because the policy accumulates a reserve to fund the premium refund, it acquires a surrender value once sufficient premiums have been paid.
Related calculators
Plans people usually weigh up against Jeevan Kiran before deciding.
New Tech-Term
No. 954LIC's online term plan — the cheapest cover it sells.
Open calculatorNew Jeevan Amar
No. 955The offline term plan — same cover as Tech-Term, bought through an agent.
Open calculatorSaral Jeevan Bima
No. 859The standard term plan every insurer must offer, with identical terms across the market.
Open calculatorJeevan Azad
No. 868Short premium term, guaranteed maturity equal to the sum assured.
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