After winning the turf war with the markets regulator SEBI over control over ULIPS, the insurance watchog IRDA tightened the norms for these schemes by rising the lock-in period and raising the insurance cover on them. In a guidance note, released on Monday, IRDA said that the lock-in period for all unit-linked products (Ulips)has been increased from three years to five years, including the top-up premiums, thereby making them long-term financial instruments which basically provide risk protection .