A unit linked insurance plan can be used for various purposes, including providing life insurance, building wealth, generating retirement income, and paying for the educations of children and grandchildren. In many cases, an investor opens a ULIP to provide benefits to their descendants. With a life insurance ULIP, the beneficiaries would receive payments following the owner’s death.
A unit linked insurance plan’s investment options are structured much like mutual funds, in that they pool investments with those from other investors. As such, a ULIP's assets are managed with an eye toward accomplishing a specified investment objective. Investors can buy shares in a single strategy or diversify their investments across multiple market-linked ULIP funds.