Irda relaxes eligibility requirements for agents

Taking into account the difficulties faced by insurers in recruiting agents, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has decided to reduce the pass percentage bench mark to 35% in Agents Pre-recruitment Examination. Till now, the pass percentage was 50%. In a circular to the chief executives of all insurance companies, Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, Member (Life) of Irda said that the Authority has been receiving representations from various stakeholders expressing the practical difficulties involved in Recruitment of Insurance Agents. He added that the concerns raised have been examined keeping in view the present market scenario.  http://www.myallagents.com/Irda-relaxes-eligibility-requirements-for-agents/details.html

Don't depend on health cover by your employer

Most salaried are quite happy and content with their employers' health insurance schemes. Most feel they do not need any more insurance. But in the past three years, most Indian companies have been reducing the cover or insisting on co-payment for employees' parents. In such circumstances, employer's cover may not be enough. So, it is important the cover keeps pace with rising costs.  http://www.myallagents.com/Dont-depend-on-health-cover-by-your-employer/details.html

How four women mutual fund managers are defying odds & breaking through

There are 52 mutual funds, and another 51 life and non-life insurance companies, registered in India. Both sets generate dozens of investment products for the Indian market and manage thousands of crores. Men manage most of these products.  .http://www.myallagents.com/How-four-women-mutual-fund-managers-are-defying-odds-and-breaking-through/details.html

Even top guns fall victim to dubious insurance policies

If you thought you are among the few financially ill-informed, who is being sold insurance policies or mutual funds with dubious sales pitches, you can take heart from the fact that even some of the top guns at the finance ministry have also fallen victim to such practices, at least before they walked into the North Block.  
http://www.myallagents.com/Even-top-guns-fall-victim-to-dubious-insurance-policies/details.html

Complaints Against Insurance Companies On A Rise

The Central system of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority that keeps the data of complaints of policy holders against all the insurance companies, for the year ending March 2013, posted a figure of 3.41 lakhs complaints against the life insurance companies. Majority of these complaints were against insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India, Birla Sunlife and Bajaj Allianz and were related to issue like unfair business practice, alleged mis-selling by insurance companies etc.   Further the complaint cell stated that most of the complaints (more than 30%) pertained to unfair business practice. Of the total 3.41 lakhs complaints, 168,482 complaints were of unfair trade practices  http://www.myallagents.com/Complaints-Against-Insurance-Companies-On-A-Rise/details.html

SKDRDP tops in small ticket LIC policy numbers

MANGALORE: Dharmasthala-based Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), the brainchild of D Veerendra Heggade, has become the leader in implementing Jeevan Madhur LIC scheme by insuring 9.1 lakh poor persons since 2008. As a corporate agent of LIC, SKDRDP stands first in the country with respect to number of policies and the first premium paid in this small ticket policy. Y Vishwanath Gowd, senior divisional manager, LIC OF India, divisional office, Udupi, said SKDRDP with this mission has covered insurance of 9.1 lakh policies with more than Rs100 crore first premium.  http://www.myallagents.com/SKDRDP-tops-in-small-ticket-LIC-policy-numbers/details.html

Q2 advance tax payout of top 100 companies sees muted growth

UMBAI: In line with macro environment, the advance tax collections from the top-100 corporates from the financial capital showed a muted growth for the September quarter, with the outgoes increasing by only up to 8 per cent, a senior official said today.
"For the top-100 companies, the advance tax payments have increased by 7-8 per cent," the official said.
Cumulatively for the first two quarters till now, the advance tax collections from the Mumbai zone, which contributes over a third of the income tax collections nationally, have grown 11 per cent, the official said. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Q2-advance-tax-payout-of-top-100-companies-sees-muted-growth/details.html

How to evaluate a Pension Plan

There are many options available to an individual intending to plan for his retirement. Be it PPF, ULIP, NSC’s etc. Most retirement options fall into two categories,-those which promise a fixed assured return and those, like pension plans, which offer non-assured returns. There are very few retirement planning options available in mutual funds. At present, two funds, UTI Retirement Benefit Plan and Kothari Pioneer Pension plan fill the retirement mutual fund void. Both these schemes come equipped with Section 88 benefits and are therefore, on this count, at par with other retirement planning options like PPF, PF etc. Both the UTI Retirement Benefit Plan (RBP) and Kothari Pioneer Pension Plan (KPPP) allow the investor to plan for retirement, making it possible for him to receive regular income after retirement. Before an investor goes in for a retirement plan he needs to evaluate its various basic parameters: 
 http://www.myallagents.com/How-to-evaluate-a-Pension-Plan/details.html 

Invested in the securities markets to earn market risk premiums

The securities markets pay risk premiums. You have to have your money invested and at risk to be paid a risk premium. 

Attempting to avoid risk or losses by jumping in and out to "time the markets" does not work. Scientific finance studies demonstrate the both amateurs and professionals are lousy at market timing. 

http://www.myallagents.com/Invested-in-the-securities-markets-to-earn-market-risk-premiums/details.html  

Car Insurance Strategies

  * Beginning with the most basic advice, search extensively. Seek quotes from as many vendors as possible and compare them on account of all apparent and covert charges. Check all particulars carefully and based only upon detailed analysis, finalize. Just because your neighbour has his car insured from a particular insurance company, doesn’t means that you too have follow the suit. Take up advanced learning with courses like Pass Plus, post which car insurance companies acknowledge the enhanced expertise and thus extend cheaper car insurance packages. These learning programs entail fixed monetary costs, but considering the insurance price advantage, deal can certainly be termed economical. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Car-Insurance-Strategies/details.html 

Millions of investors have come to rely on mutual funds as their primary investments. The growth of funds has been explosive, with individuals, retirement plans and others putting well over $1 trillion in the funds in the 90's. If you are thinking of investing in a mutual fund, you should remember that they are only one of the many types of investments and that, as with any investment, you should know and understand the nature and risks of mutual funds and options available to you before you invest any of your money. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Tips-on-Mutual-Fund-Investing/details.html  

Business Insurance Agents

Online insurance quotes and buying insurance online is no longer a novelty. Many business insurers are online and, while buying insurance for a business on the internet is not as prevalent as buying personal auto insurance online, growing numbers of small business owners are going to online sources for their insurance. If one follows some guidelines when using online quote sites to purchase insurance, business internet insurance sites can offer premium savings

What is missing is the insurance agent or broker. Insurance professionals will tell you that they offer significant value to the insured. They will contend that the absence of an insurance professional will cost a business in the long run. Contrary to that argument is the claim that online sites offer insurance for less and can offer more quotes from more sources. Let's look at the website versus the insurance professional. 

http://www.myallagents.com/Business-Insurance-Agents/details.html