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

MetLife India Fined For Misselling Of Insurance Policies

The Chandighar district consumer disputed redressal forum passed an order against MetLife India holding it guilty of unfair trade practice and deficiency in services. The company was held guilty for mis - selling eight insurance policies to an underage boy. The minimum age prescribed for a person to avail insurance policy is 20 years, however the company sold the above 8 insurance policies to a boy aged 19 years only.  http://www.myallagents.com/MetLife-India-Fined-For-Misselling-Of-Insurance-Policies/details.html

HNI To Be Benefitted With Additional Services From Insurance Companies

Alike banks, who gives priority banking to its preferred customers, insurance companies have also come out with the plan to provide specialized services to its High Net Worth Individual (HNI) customers. This plan comes under two categories viz: gold and silver. Under this, in addition to giving of personal advices and services to its customers, insurance companies will also give specialized products to these individuals. However this facility is available if a customer’s renews the policy without any break. 
http://www.myallagents.com/HNI-To-Be-Benefitted-With-Additional-Services-From-Insurance-Companies/details

With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s steps to arrest the slide of the rupee leading to tight liquidity conditions, the retail investor is once again being drawn to short-term bank fixed deposits (tenures of less than a year). In the past few weeks, lenders such as HDFC Bank and YES Bank have raised interest rates on select maturities and it is expected others would follow in the near future.

With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s steps to arrest the slide of the rupee leading to tight liquidity conditions, the retail investor is once again being drawn to short-term bank fixed deposits (tenures of less than a year). In the past few weeks, lenders such as HDFC Bank and YES Bank have raised interest rates on select maturities and it is expected others would follow in the near future.    http://www.myallagents.com/Liquidity-squeeze-Shortterm-fixed-deposits-draw-investors/details.htm

Max Life posts 11% growth in new business premium in H1

Private sector Max Life Insurance today posted 11% growth in new business premium at Rs 904 crore for the first half ended September, 2013-14. 

The gross written premium of the company grew 4% to Rs 3,005 crore during the period. At the same time, the company's market share increased to 10.4% and maintained its rank as fourth largest private life insurer.

The profit before the tax grew marginally by 2% to Rs 248 crore.

In view of a strong all round performance during the first half of 2013-14 fiscal, it declared a net interim shareholder Dividend of Rs 128 crore, 29% upward revision from interim dividend announced in the previous year, Max Life Insurance managing director Rajesh Sud said. 

http://www.myallagents.com/Max-Life-posts-11-growth-in-new-business-premium-in-H1/details.htm 

Earning members require critical illness plans

Sanjay Datta, chief, underwriting and claims, ICICI Lombard, says people should have a comprehensive insurance plan and a critical illness policy. Since the latter offers a fixed sum once the illness is diagnosed, the person can use the money for medication and hospitalisation. "The health cover takes care of the hospital bills. The pay-outs can be used to fund your travel, food, pre- and post-treatment expenses and so on, which a comprehensive plan won't."  http://www.myallagents.com/Earning-members-require-critical-illness-plans/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

LIC seen selling banks, IT shares: Dealers

Life Insurance Corp was spotted selling IT and bank shares after a recent rally, said four dealers at brokerages that handle trades on behalf of India's largest state-run insurer. 

"LIC has been a consistent seller of Indian shares during this rally, and the pace would increase only till elections," one of the dealers said. 

LIC officials were not immediately reachable for comments. 

NSE's banking sub-index gains 0.5 per cent while IT sub-index falls 0.7 per cent at 0828 GMT. 

Source: The Economic Times 

http://www.myallagents.com/LIC-seen-selling-banks-IT-shares-Dealers/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 

Do not delay filing an insurance claim

Getting insurance companies to pay claims is the hard part at times. Though the claims ratio of most insurance companies is 94-98 per cent, claimants often have to run pillar to post to get these. There are various reasons due to which claims can be rejected. Among these is a delay on the part of theclaimant. Under the Limitation Act, a claimant has to tell the company about the death in three years. The company can refuse to pay the claim if told beyond this period. But, in case of genuine reasons, the company has to pay.  http://www.myallagents.com/Do-not-delay-filing-an-insurance-claim/details.html

I-Life Secure Online Plan Launched By Aviva India

Mr. Rishi Piparaiya, Director – Marketing and Banassurance at Aviva India announced the launch of on-line life insurance plan i-life secure. This plan provides for guaranteed income for 15 years post death of the life insured. Adding to the above, he said that this plan ensures that the family of the deceased and their needs are protected, whether it is the child’s school fees, EMI for housing loan or protection of the family by way of regular income.   http://www.myallagents.com/ILife-Secure-Online-Plan-Launched-By-Aviva-India/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

 

CHRISTMAS IS FOR LOVE

Christmas is for love. It is for joy, for giving and sharing, for laughter, for reuniting with family and friends, for tinsel and brightly decorated packages. But mostly, Christmas is for love. I had not believed this until a small elf-like student with wide-eyed innocent eyes and soft rosy cheeks gave me a wondrous gift one Christmas. 

http://www.myallagents.com/CHRISTMAS-IS-FOR-LOVE/details.html  

Energy Health Plan For The Diabetic From Apollo Munich

Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company launches a New Plan today called Energy which has been especially designed for people suffering from Type II Diabetes Mellitus. It is a plan of its kind for the diabetic people so as to help them combat the expenses for medical exigencies! This plan is a similar one to Star Health Diabetic Safe Plan. 
http://www.myallagents.com/Energy-Health-Plan-For-The-Diabetic-From-Apollo-Munich/details.html

With critical insurance policy, live a worry-free life

Life expectancy of Indians is increasing. A study published in the British Medical Journal 'The Lancet' revealed that the Life Expectancy (LE) at birth of an average Indian male increased by 15 years between 1970 and 2010 and the same for a woman increased by 18 years. The report pegged the life span of an average Indian male to be 63 years while that of a woman is 67.5 years.  While all this is nice to hear, what does it really mean for the average Indian? Simply this, that we now live a longer, fuller life. If you read between the lines, a longer life also means higher chances and incidence of ailments and diseases, given old age; which in turn translates to higher medical costs and expenses   http://www.myallagents.com/With-critical-insurance-policy-live-a-worryfree-life/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 

Bancassurance norms and products to give insurance industry a new direction

MUMBAI: After two sluggish years, the insurance industry is hoping that 2014 holds out better prospects amid expectations of stronger economic growth in the second half of the current fiscal. New product guidelines and bancassurance norms will also shape how the life insurance industry fares in 2014.  Life insurers will begin the year by launching 500 products aligned to comprehensive new norms aimed at making policies more customer-friendly. For instance, there will be a guaranteed surrender value after five years. There are new rules on the minimum death benefit as well.   http://www.myallagents.com/Bancassurance-norms-and-products-to-give-insurance-industry-a-new-direction/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

Insurers struggle to get micro-insurance agents

Micro-insurance or micro agent was a channel in theinsurance industry that was developed for deeper penetration of insurance into India. However, with smaller ticket size coupled with low commissions, this channel has seen low participation from distributors. Micro-insurance products, which offer coverage to low income households is a mechanism to penetrate rural areas. It is a general or life insurance policy with a sum assured of Rs 50,000 or less, however the average ticket size ranges from Rs 2000-4000 per policy.  http://www.myallagents.com/Insurers-struggle-to-get-microinsurance-agents/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