OP Unit-linked Insurance (OP Sijoitusvakuutus)

You know what is most important for you
1

Unit-linked insurance is suitable for long-term investing and saving

If you are planning to save a specific sum for retirement, home improvement or travel, or are thinking about building wealth in general, a good first step that will take you to your target is to start saving systematically using endowment insurance. Unit-linked Insurance is an endowment insurance designed for long-term saving that lasts at least three years.

2

Many benefits from one agreement

Making a single agreement will allow you to choose one or more funds that suit your goals. The selection consists of up to fifty OP mutual funds, including OP Premium investment baskets, responsible investment funds and saver’s funds. You can get started with 100 euros per month, for example. If you are an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, your savings will also earn you OP bonuses.

3

Switch investment products for free

You can use the digital services to switch between investment products free of charge, even daily if necessary. You are also not liable to pay tax on your accumulated returns when you switch investment products. You only pay tax when you withdraw funds.

4

Save for your loved ones

You can name either yourself or a loved one you want to save for as the beneficiary of your unit-linked insurance savings. OP Unit-linked Insurance also includes death benefit, which means that if you were to die, the beneficiary you have selected would receive your savings even before the estate inventory was drawn up.

What is unit-linked insurance all about?

Despite its name, unit-linked insurance or endowment insurance is not a traditional insurance policy, but a form of saving and investing. Unit-linked insurance is an insurance contract that allows you to choose investment products from our large selection:

  • OP Premium investment baskets
  • Responsible investment funds
  • Saver’s funds
  • OP’s wide selection of 50 investment funds

If you save through insurance, you do not pay tax on the investments’ return when you switch investment products within the insurance. This means that your investments benefit from the compound interest effect, and you have the best chance of good returns. You only pay taxes on the return of the unit-linked insurance when you withdraw savings.

 

You can build up the savings of the unit-linked insurance in the long term because the agreement is valid until you turn 100. However, you can still withdraw some or all of your savings at any time or take a break from saving and begin again later.

Watch the video to see how OP Unit-linked Insurance (OP Sijoitusvakuutus) works

 

 

Customer stories

Seppo

“A bit like an equity savings account for funds”
Seppo, 60

”I can switch the funds included in my unit-linked insurance for free. This feature is important to me because I actively follow the market and adjust my investment strategy, depending on the situation.”

Tiina

”I save for my children”
Tiina, 45

”My eldest child just moved away from home. I wanted to get OP Unit-linked Insurance with my son as the beneficiary. This way, he will be okay if anything ever happens to me.”

Saija

”I want to live abroad”
Saija, 28

”I started investing in unit-linked insurance because I dream of living and working abroad. I invest a small sum each month and larger lump sums every now and then.”

Taxation of OP Unit-linked Insurance

When you have unit-linked insurance, you do not pay tax on the investments’ return when you switch investment products within the insurance. You only pay taxes on the return of the unit-linked insurance when you withdraw savings. The return is taxable capital income. The taxation of endowment insurance depends on how much of the amount withdrawn consists of returns.

Costs of OP Unit-linked Insurance

The costs consist of the service fees of the unit-linked insurance and the expenses of the investment products. Withdrawing your savings becomes free after three years have passed.

Service fees

  • Service fee of 0.4% per year up to €82,500
  • Service fee of 0.2% per year for the amount exceeding €82,500
  • Service fee of at least €1.65 per month from the beginning of the fourth year.

Investment product expenses

The expenses of the investment products chosen for the unit-linked insurance vary. The lowest investment product cost is currently 0.08%, and the highest 2.52%.

Withdrawing savings

You can withdraw savings from your unit-linked insurance free of charge once your agreement has been valid for three years.

See the list of service charges and fees 

OP Savings Agreement as an alternative

You can also choose to invest with an OP Savings Agreement, which is a capital redemption contract. This insurance contract does not include a beneficiary clause, which means that after the policyholder’s death, the OP Savings Agreement is transferred to the death estate. OP Savings Agreement is valid for up to 30 years and ends at the latest when the policyholder turns 100.

Saving is always worthwhile, and there is no time like the present to get started. If you save by investing directly in funds, you are liable to pay capital gains tax on the accumulated returns if you switch between funds. When you save through OP Unit-linked Insurance, you can switch investment products even daily without paying any additional costs. You can also simply leave the investment products to develop on their own. 

Despite its name, OP Unit-linked insurance is not a traditional insurance policy which provides compensation for accidents, for example. OP Unit-linked Insurance is an endowment insurance designed for long-term saving and investing purposes. What makes this savings agreement an insurance policy is that taking out the policy insures you. When you take out OP Unit-linked insurance, you choose a beneficiary who will receive the funds you saved in the insurance policy once the saving period is over or in the event of your death.

You should select your investment product depending on when you want to withdraw your accumulated returns. Funds invest assets in the fixed-income and stock markets. They diversify investments efficiently and provide an opportunity for a better long-term return.  

Mutual fund: Mutual funds invest in equities, commodities and fixed income, for example. A fund consists of the financial instruments held by the fund. Our funds are managed by our professional portfolio managers.  

Investment baskets: As an investment, the investment basket is comparable to a mutual fund, but it can only be invested in through an insurance contract. An investment basket is a unit-linked investment portfolio managed by OP Life Assurance Company Ltd, which means that it includes several investments and an insurance policy. The product’s return is based on the value change of the investments in the basket. The basket’s risk level depends on its investment strategy.

 

As our owner-customer, saving and investing is especially worthwhile thanks to the excellent benefits you receive.

Your benefits when investing in funds or through insurance:

  • Buy and sell almost all OP mutual funds with no fees.*
  • You earn 0.25% OP bonuses a year from mutual fund and insurance assets.** In 2023, you also earn 30% more OP bonuses. 
  • Begin saving through insurance free of charge. 
  • Switch between investments, invest additional funds and change your payment and investment plan for OP Unit-linked Insurance and OP Savings Agreement free of charge in our digital services.  

Your benefits in equity and ETF investing:

  • Open an equity savings account or book-entry account free of charge.
  • You get a discount on equity trading and a 1% fee ceiling when trading in Finnish listed companies through a book-entry account The discounts apply in digital services.
  • Get access to free stock picks and analysis.
  • Get a discount on the service packages for savers and investors:
    Equity savings account: 
    Saver: €0/month (normally €2.99/month)
    Investor: €9.99/month (normally €14.99/month)
    Book-entry account: 
    Saver: €0/month (normally €2.99/month)
    Investor: €2.40/month (normally €5.39/month)

Other benefits:

  • Only owner-customers can invest in Profit Shares.

Remember to make use of all benefits:

*Standard fees are charged for the following special common funds: OP-Public Services Real Estate, OP-Forest Owner, OP-Rental Yield, OP-Alternative Portfolio and OP-Private Equity.

**OP bonuses are automatically used to pay the bank’s service charges and insurance premiums. No OP bonuses are accrued from the R2 Crystal special common fund or institutional classes of funds. The following investment products linked to insurance assets do not accrue OP bonuses: JPM Russia A, JPM Emerging Europe Equity Fund, and BlackRock GF Emerging Europe Fund A. OP bonuses are accrued from unit-linked insurance policies, excluding Individual Unit-linked Insurance and Individual Capital Redemption Contracts.  

The costs of OP Unit-linked Insurance consist of annual service fees, investment product expenses and any potential drawdown fees or surrender charges. Switching investment products online is free. When you want to withdraw your savings, you are also liable to pay the necessary taxes. The returns you withdraw are subject to capital gains tax.

Saving through insurance is a form of saving and insurance just like investing in mutual funds and equities. Saving through insurance means that the insurance forms a framework for different investment products. The term insurance wrapper is often used when talking about saving through insurance. OP Unit-linked Insurance is a policy for saving through insurance in which insurance savers can use a single insurance agreement to diversify their savings into many different investment products.

The insurance policy is issued by OP Life Assurance Company Ltd. Cooperative banks act as agents for OP Life Assurance Company Ltd.