Things to know about reviving a lapsed insurance policy

A life insurance policy lapses when the due premium has not been paid even within the grace period. A lapsed policy means that the benefit of insurance will not be available to protect the financial interest of the dependants in the event of the death of the insured. A lapsed cover can be revived by the policyholder during the period allowed by insurer before its maturity. The procedure for revival depends on the type of policy and the duration of its lapse.   http://www.myallagents.com/Things-to-know-about-reviving-a-lapsed-insurance-policy/details.html

LIC buys Rs 4,300-crore debt from bond auctions of seven states

MUMBAI: State-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has bought debt worth about Rs 4,300 crore in state bond auctions conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), starting the fiscal with its first big-ticket investment after clocking nearly 10 per cent growth in premium collection last year.

The country's biggest insurer bought about four-fifths of the total notified amount in the auction conducted on Wednesday. State development loans (SDL) are the bonds issued by different state governments and sold through a process of RBI auction. 

.http://www.myallagents.com/LIC-buys-Rs-4300crore-debt-from-bond-auctions-of-seven-states/details.html 

Markets hoping for a strong & stable government

ET Now: IMF growth projections for India seem fairly upbeaten. Perhaps some would say that is what fueled the rally yesterday in the equity markets. 5.4% for FY14, 6.4% for FY15. What is your stance on these projections?Killol Pandya: I will not really be able to see so far into the future, especially in the context of elections. Our best hope is that we get a strong central government. From that perspective it does not really matter which party comes into power. Of course the markets appeared to be strongly siding with one of the two factions, but from the political sense a strong government at the centre will do us well. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Markets-hoping-for-a-strong-and-stable-government-Killol-Pandya-LIC-Nomura-Mutual-Fund/details.html

Readers' Corner: Bhargav Dasgupta

You can port the policy from floater to individual plan for each of your family members, though a family floater has advantages such as being cost-effective, cover for entire family and so on. If you do wish to port to individual plans, you need to check with the specific insurance company regarding the sum insured for each member and other policy terms. Specifically, you need to know the minimum entry age allowed for your children to avail individual policies. If one/both of your children do not meet the minimum entry age criteria, you will need to continue with your existing family floater plan covering the child(ren), with at least one adult being the primary policy member. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Readers-Corner-Bhargav-Dasgupta/details.html 

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance launches new traditional plan

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance has launched a non-participating, non-linked life insurance plan which offers a combination of savings and protection, called Edelweiss Tokio Life - Wealth Builder. The plan guarantees all the benefits right at the beginning of the policy.

The minimum entry age for the plan is 91 days and the maximum maturity age is 70 years. The policy term ranges between 10 and 30 years with the option of paying premiums in monthly, semi annually or annual installments. In addition, the plan offers tax benefits under section 80 C and section 10(10D) of Income Tax Act, 1961. 

http://www.myallagents.com/Edelweiss-Tokio-Life-Insurance-launches-new-traditional-plan/details.html 

Is it time to upgrade your life cover? Know what's best for you

Thanks to the growing awareness about the importance of life insurance cover, many individuals, especially the young executive types, buy a term life insurance as soon as they start their career. However, the trouble is: typically these covers would be very small, mostly Rs 10 lakh or below , say insurance advisors. This would inevitably lead to some complications in future. When the person gets married, have kids or takes a huge loan, he or she would need a larger cover. However, buying a cover at that time may not be an easy task.  
http://www.myallagents.com/Is-it-time-to-upgrade-your-life-cover-Know-whats-best-for-you/details.html

AXA Assistance, iJet foray into Indian risk management market

NEW DELHI: Risk management solutions provider AXA Assistance and iJet International have announced their foray into India and are aiming to provide solutions to about 10 domestic firms this year in sectors such as IT.  The two global companies are targeting Indian corporate houses which send employees abroad and hire expats.  "Our aim this year is to tie up with at least 10 such companies," AXA Assistance Director Pradeep Bery told a new agency.  Both the firms have partnered to deliver combined security and medical response solutions in India.  "We have come together to provide comprehensive, integrated security and medial response solutions to corporates, expatriates and even students going abroad for education," Bery said.  However, he did not disclose the revenue sharing mechanism between the firms.   http://www.myallagents.com/AXA-Assistance-iJet-foray-into-Indian-risk-management- market/details.html

All insurers may offer digitised policies from July

All life insurance companies may be required to offer insurance policies in a digitised format from July onwards. In a recent meeting with the insurance industry, sources said that Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) had asked companies to tie-up with all insurance repositories. At present, several insurers like Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC ) do not offer the facility of electronic policy since they have not tied-up with any repository. 
http://www.myallagents.com/All-insurers-may-offer-digitised-policies-from-July/details.html 

Liberty Videocon hopes to meet business target by March

MUMBAI: Private sector general insurer Liberty Videocon is confident of achieving its initial target of Rs 120 crore in the first year of operations on the back of growth in motor and commercial verticals, a top company official said here today.  "Our target for this fiscal, which is the first year of our operations, is Rs 120 crore. We have already collected a premium of around Rs 65 crore as of now, which is in line with our initial target," Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Videocon General Insurance, Roopam Asthana, told PTI in an interaction here.  The new entrant to the general insurance industry said around 70 per cent of premium was collected from its retail business, while rest 30 per cent is from commercial segments.   http://www.myallagents.com/Liberty-Videocon-hopes-to-meet-business-target-by-March/details.html

 

Bundled insurance products find takers

Customers favour bundled insurance products, which involve selling of two or more products with a life insurance policy, say insurance companies. While insurance companies had not been pushing for such products, officials said customer demand had not come down. "Though there have been some instances of products being mis-sold, customers still come to us to get information about these. The industry is not completely shutting out these products," said a senior private life insurance executive.  http://www.myallagents.com/Bundled-insurance-products-find-takers/details.html

Air India and LIC triumph in All India public sector carrom

MUMBAI: Former World Champion RM Shankara of Air India & unseeded Kajal Kumari of Indian Oil won the men and women singles titles in the All India public sector carrom tournament organised by Air India Sports Club under the auspices of All India Public Sector Sports Promotion Board at badminton hall on Saturday .http://www.myallagents.com/Air-India-and-LIC-triumph-in-All-India-public-sector- 
carrom/details.html 

Pre-declaring medical rates beneficial for customers

Wouldn't it help if you knew how much your hospitalisationbill would come to before getting admitted? You will know at once whether you can afford treatment in that particular hospital or not. You will also know how much of the treatment cost will be covered under your insurance policy. This can be a reality if insurance companies implement the Bombay High Court’s suggestion that they declare package rates for different ailments and make hospitals fall in line with their rates. The court said this in a hearing earlier this month, in response to a public interest suit which said package rates should be treated as entitlement and need not be dependent on hospital gradation. That is, the court wants insurance companies to offer the same rates for all treatments across hospitals, irrespective of the kind of hospital. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Predeclaring-medical-rates-beneficial-for-customers/details.html 

Get your high-end smartphone insured

Smartphones have become a necessity these days, and many of us are buying the high-end ones on equated monthly instalments (EMIs) which allows one to pay for these phones over time. But what if your phone is stolen or damaged ? You will still have to pay the EMIs on your phone. Here’s where an insurance cover on your phone can come to your rescue. Increasing instances of theft and break downs means  you could easily lose expensive items. “It always makes sense to buy an insurance cover when you buy an expensive item,” says Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, chief executive officer (CEO) of Bharti AXA General Insurance.  http://www.myallagents.com/Get-your-highend-smartphone-insured/details.html

One-for-all insurance policy offers no risk cover

How about ordering Bajaj AutoBSE 0.79 % dealers to sell motorcycles manufactured by TVS Motor and Hero MotoCorp so that consumers have a wider choice and more motorcycles are sold in the country? Sounds far-fetched? Something similar is cooking in financial services. http://www.myallagents.com/Oneforall-insurance-policy-offers-no-risk-cover/details.html

Loyalty rewards on life insurance too

You know you get a no-claims bonus on your car insurance and accrue continuity benefits on your health plan. But did you know you get loyalty rewards on life insurance plans as well? Insurance policies are long-term products and insurers see many pre-mature policy terminations. Though, most often, it is the policyholder who loses the when the plan is surrendered, it is not the desired option for the insurer either. Insurance companies, therefore give loyalty additions, an extra benefit to the insured for keeping the policy in force throughout the full term of the contract.   http://www.myallagents.com/Loyalty-rewards-on-life-insurance-too/details.html

Chola MS launches Android app for health insurance customers

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company has announced launch of a mobile application for its health insurance customers, to offer health benefits and access to the network of hospitals offering cashless treatment facility to the customers.
The application, Chola MS Wellness, is made available on Android supported smart phones and it would offer policy details like coverage, sum insured and renewal reminder and details of the hospital network with geo tagging on Google Maps. The application would also offer health tracking features like Pedometer, BMI Calculator and Blood Sugar Tracker. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Chola-MS-launches-Android-app-for-health-insurance-customers/details.html  

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance eyes GWP of Rs 1,900 crore in FY14

CHENNAI: Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company is eyeing gross written premium of Rs 1,900 crore by the end of this fiscal with a focus on retail health and motor insurance, a top official said here today.  The city-based company is a joint venture between Rs 225 billion Murugappa Group and Japan-based Mitsui Sumitomo Group.  "Last year (2012-13) we finished (gross written) premium of Rs 1,621 crore. This year we are expecting to complete by Rs 1,850 or Rs 1,900 crore (GWP)," Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Managing Director S S Gopalarathnam told reporters.   http://www.myallagents.com/Cholamandalam-MS-General-Insurance-eyes-GWP-of-Rs-1900-crore-in-FY14/details.html

Primer: All you wanted to know about e-insurance accounts

IRDA wants all its customers to move to a paperless world. The introduction of insurance repository system (IRS) is one such part of this initiative. An account called e-insuranceaccount will be available for all customers who hold insurance policies. This is similar to demat account which was introduced for eliminating physical storage of stocks or mutual funds.   http://www.myallagents.com/Primer-All-you-wanted-to-know-about-einsurance-accounts/details.html

Kotak Life Insurance launches immediate annuity plan

Kotak Life Insurance has launched Kotak e-Lifetime income plan, an immediate annuity product. The plan offers the purchaser of the annuity the option to choose an annuitant or beneficiary other than self. This will ensure regular income to any close blood relative or spouse, other than self. The plan is also available online, said a press release issued by Kotak Life Insurance. The one time premium paid by the proposer is paid out to the annuitant or beneficiary at the interval chosen – monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly at the predefined annuity rate promised at the time of purchase. Annuity rates will depend upon the age of the annuitant, the amount invested and the annuity option chosen.  http://www.myallagents.com/Kotak-Life-Insurance-launches-immediate-annuity-plan/details.html

New India Assurance offer 50% discount for girl child

MUMBAI: New India Assurance has reduced health insurance premium for girl child by 50% for in its new health insurance policy targeted at families with girl children.  On the occasion of Women's Day the company launched Asha Kiran, a policy for families that have only girl children. The policy will also provide personal accident cover for parents. The sum insured could range from a minimum of Rs 2 lakhs to a maximum of Rs 8 lakhs.

 http://www.myallagents.com/New-India-Assurance-offer-50-discount-for-girl-child/details.html