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Monthly Archives: May 2010

Life Insurance Tips

When you are buying a life insurance policy, you are not doing it for yourself but for those who are close to you and who would be directly affected by your death. It is not that having a life insurance would in any way mitigate the grief your family would go through in the event of your demise. But it would be some sort of financial security which we are sure you would want your family to enjoy even after your death.

Death – one of the most obvious events of life and yet an event which is never easily accepted. But you cannot avoid death. So it is better to be prepared and find life insurance tips. Once you have bought life insurance you can focus on other kinds of savings. You have some sort of a platform to work from. Following are a few life insurance tips.

Judge the Need

Every individual and family has separate needs. And the life insurance companies have understood this fact. So they have different solutions for different individuals. Be clear as to how much money would be good enough for your family in the event of your death. If your spouse has a job, you would need less insurance. Again if you have a large family with kids yet to finish school, you would require a larger insurance. Make sure you know exactly what you want from your insurance. You might not be getting all of them in one single policy. However, see to it that most of your important needs are covered.

Make Budget

When you buy life insurance you obviously got to figure out how much you can spend. And it is not just a one-time up-front payment. You will have to keep paying the premiums throughout your life. So you must consider that aspect as well. It helps if you are young. The more your age is the higher becomes the premium.

Examine the Policy

You are buying an insurance policy remember. So the one thing you definitely need to check on is the policy. Read the contract thoroughly, and if you need help ask an insurance agent or you can send your queries to us. Never sign before you fully understand all the clauses and are satisfied with the same.

You can’t avoid death, but with great life insurance advice you will be prepared. For more tips keep reading PolicyMantra blog.

IRDA to standardize terms of ULIP and cap surrender charges

In order to give better understanding of the terms & conditions of the linked products (ULIPs) to the policyholders and to provide them an opportunity to make a more informed decision, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) felt the need of uniformity in the approach on various key parameters of the ULIPs and thus proposed to standardize definitions of lapsing, reviving and surrendering of these policies.

The proposals, if implemented, will curb charges and terms levied on policyholders by life insurers if they default on premium payments.

In the draft guidelines, the regulator suggested the surrender charge during the first year of the policy be fixed at 12.5% of the premium paid in case the policy term is less than 10 years. For longer duration policies, surrender charges are proposed to be capped at 15%. At present, insurers levy up to 100% surrender charge in the first year, which drops to 30% in the second year.

The regulator has also proposed that the grace period for payment of premium to be fixed at 15 days for policies having monthly premium payment mode and 30 days in all other cases. The policy will be termed as lapsed if the policyholder does not pay the premium within the said time.

However, a policyholder will still be entitled to revive the policy or continue with the policy only to the extent of risk cover. The policyholder can also choose to either continue with the policy with risk cover and as part of the fund, or to withdraw completely without any risk cover.

Under the proposed norms, policyholders will be given five years to revive a lapsed policy. However, the insurer will have the right to decline revival of the policy based on the grounds of moral hazard and/or medical conditions.

The regulator has sought comments on the draft regulations from Insurers, Insurance Intermediaries, Policyholders and other stakeholders before 27 May 2010.

India Health Insurance Industry – New Player, New Product

Max India Ltd has announced the launch of its health insurance joint venture with the UK-based Bupa. Max Bupa is the third private sector company to enter the health insurance market.

The new company, Max Bupa Health Insurance, in which the Indian partner has a 74% stake, will have an initial paid-up capital of Rs 151 crore.

In its first stage, Max Bupa will start operations in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune within the week and by the end of the year, it will expand to three more cities — Ludhiana, Surat and Jaipur. Its advertisement also started appearing on telemedia.

Max Bupa said earlier that it will not involve any third party administrator (TPA) in its business process and promised for fair and speedy claims settlement.

In another event, Apollo Munich Health Insurance (AMHI) told its plan to launch 2-in-1 health-cum-travel policy. This policy will be designed to serve the need of frequent fliers to abroad and for those who have to go abroad on short notice. This policy will be of annual nature and save you from buying travel insurance every time you apply for a visa or go on a holiday.

With new entrants to the market, policyholder may see some more innovative products coming into the market.

SC notice to Centre, IRDA on SEBI plea

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre, the insurance regulator and insurance companies seeking their response on allegations that some insurers mis-represented features of the popular unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) while selling them.

The apex court’s action follows market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India’s plea seeking transfer of all public interest litigations on ULIPs in various courts across the country to the Supreme Court.

A three-judge bench of the court headed by current Chief Justice SH Kapadia also sought responses from litigants who filed public interest litigations in the Bombay and Allahabad high courts. The court would hear the matter on July 8.

This case does not deal with the dispute between SEBI and the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) on who among them has the jurisdiction to regulate ULIPs.