Life Insurance
Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the individual (policy owner) and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a some amount of money upon the occurrence of the insured individual's or individuals' death or other event. In return, the individual agrees to pay a stipulated amount called a premium at regular intervals. In India, which is one of the most populated in the world, the prominence of insurance is not as widely understood. The contract is valid for payment of the insured amount during:
- The date of maturity, or
- Specified dates at periodic intervals, or
- Unfortunate death, if it occurs earlier.
Life insurance is universally acknowledged to be an institution, which eliminates 'risk', substituting certainty for uncertainty and comes to the timely aid of the family in the unfortunate event of death of the breadwinner.
The value for the policyholder is derived, not from an actual claim event, rather it is the value derived from the 'peace of mind' experienced by the policyholder, due to the negating of adverse financial consequences caused by the death of the Life Assured.
Savings through life insurance guarantee full protection against risk of death of the saver. Also, in case of demise, life insurance assures payment of the entire amount assured (with bonuses wherever applicable) whereas in other savings schemes, only the amount saved (with interest) is payable.
Tax Relief: Life Insurance is the best way to enjoy tax deductions on income tax and wealth tax. This is available for amounts paid by way of premium for life insurance subject to income tax rates in force.
P> Life Insurance NewsUK banks on FDI in retail and insurance
India and UK have identified three key issues - business, global security and climate - which will form the pillars of a deeper and wider relationship with India. These issues were discussed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh s delegation-level meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron. A cultural agreement, the first of its kind with the UK, was also signed on Thursday. The leaders discussed ways to strengthen political, security and cultural links between the two nations. Six Cabinet members and more than 30 senior executives are accompanying the British PM on his initial India visit. Cameron also met several politicians ...
Aban Offshore's reinsurer agrees to settle claim
Aban Offshore Ltd, which has been floating in debt, has got a much needed breather as reinsurers agreed to settle the insurance claim relating to the sinking of its semi-submersible rig Aban Pearl at the assessed insurable value of $ 235 million. Aban, which suffered a major financial blow after its semi submersible sank in the Venezuela in May this year, already has a debt of $3,279 million (around Rs 16,600 crore) on its books. The company had firmed up plans in March to repay the debt of $1,226 million within a span of 10 years. Regarding the insurance claim ...
CCI to post-mortem cashless mediclaim issue soon
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) may take up the cause for consumers who have been hit hard due to the new arrangement entered into by leading insurance companies. In the new arrangement, the insurance companies will stop making direct payments to hospitals on behalf of their policy holders a pre-requisite as per the cashless mediclaim policy they offer. According to CCI sources, though the commission is yet to take a final call, however, it may soon start a thorough review of the matter to see if there have been any breach of the Competition Act, 2002. Earlier this month, ...
Osborne calls for easing of foreign banking guidelines
George Osborne, chancellor of exchequer, UK, has asked India to liberalise licensing norms for the UK banks through the implementation of the reforms set out in the Reseve Bank India s 2005 road map. The dynamism of India s capital and equity markets demonstrate the potential for other parts of the financial sector like banking, he said while addressing the captains of trade and industry in Mumbai. He also suggested reforms in insurance sector by following through on India s welcome commitment to raise the cap on foreign investment from 26% to 49%. Offer British banks licences in the medium-sized towns and smaller ...
DLF in talks to cut stake in insurance JV - paper
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - DLF Ltd, the top listed real estate firm, is in talks to sell a part of its stake in an insurance joint venture with Prudential, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday.
Govt moves bill to let insurers sell ULIPs without SEBI nod
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government on Tuesday introduced a bill in parliament to allow insurers to sell unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs), without seeking the capital markets regulator's approval.
The Shopper's Show
Levi s, Whirlpool, LG, Samsung, Reebok... the list goes on. These are among the 500-odd brands that are available on the country s first 24-hour home shopping TV channel, HomeShop18. The channel has also started selling insurance and could soon be retailing real estate the last thing one would have ever imagined a home shopping channel selling in India. In existence for over a decade, teleshopping programmes on various television channels had earned the rather dubious distinction of selling products like slim sauna belts and amulets with magical properties. The fact that the companies behind these programmes, which includes the likes of ...
Reliance Life Insurance ties up with NetAmbit
Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Life Insurance has tied up with a financial services distribution company NetAmbit. With this tie-up, all products of Reliance Life Insurance can now be purchased through the offices and outlets of NetAmbit, spread across 140 locations in the country. It is part of our strategy to enhance our distribution reach and offer our range of innovative product to a larger section of people across smaller towns and villages, said Reliance Life President Malay Ghosh in a statement. With this tie-up, we are now well on our way to offer more options to our customers through ...
103 US banks collapse in under 7 months
The count of bank failures in the US has crossed the century-mark in 2010 and as many as 17 entities have folded up so far this month. Mostly small and medium banks are bearing the brunt of the collapse, as they continue to wobble under the prolonged sluggishness in financial conditions. On an average, nearly 15 banks have bit the dust every month so far this year. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits at over 8,000 banks, as many as 103 entities have gone out of business so far this year. In 2009, a staggering ...
Kill bill, said the insurance firms
Lalaji, ek policy dena!
Unorthodox is the word for Max Vijay. One, it is unlike any orthodox insurance product. Two, its distribution network runs solely on word of mouth and trust. The brand name comes much later. Consider 50-something Govind Ram Kamani from Agra. For the past 23 years, he has sold tea from a makeshift cart. He doesn t know what Max New York Life is, but he bought an Rs 1,000 Max Vijay Life policy eight months back from a fellow shopkeeper, Sanjeev Arora. More than the fact that the policy gives him a life cover of Rs 5,000 and an accidental cover ...
Need to revisit strategy: IRDA chief
Micro-insurance penetration in India is not satisfactory. Moreover, it has not been able to reach the right people. We are talking about people with small, irregular incomes. I will definitely do something about it. Currently, we have imposed rural and social sector obligations wherein targets in terms of number of policies to be written in the rural sector in accordance with the years of their operations and also certain quantified target for coverage of lives in the social sector are specified. According to regulations, all micro-insurance products may be accepted for the purpose of fulfillment of the social obligation and ...
We're strengthening our health insurance biz
Reliance Life Insurance has sold more than 6 million insurance policies in less than five years. The company is looking at more than tripling its premium collections, to Rs 20,000 crore, by 2011-2012 and hire nearly 30,000 people as agents. Malay Ghosh, president & executive director of the company, spoke to FE s Tanu Pandey about the company s future growth plans. Excerpts: What are the future plans of Reliance Life Insurance? The company has moved to a different growth orbit by selling 6 million policies in such a short span of time. Of the policies, 2.3 million were sold in the ...
AIA IPO adds Goldman to list of top handlers - sources
HONG KONG (Reuters) - American International Group Inc is set to elevate Goldman Sachs Group Inc to the top role for handling the initial public offering of its Asian life insurance unit, sources said on Wednesday, a deal that could raise around $15 billion.
AIA seeks to cut ties with AIG in Hong Kong listing - FT
LONDON (Reuters) - AIA, the Asian life insurance unit of American International Group, is seeking backing from potential investors to cut ties with its U.S. parent by listing more than half its equity in the Hong Kong market, the Financial Times said on Tuesday.
Chola MS launches online travel insurance service
To capitalise on the growing demand of online travel insurance services, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company, a joint venture between Murugappa group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance group of Japan, has launched Click Easy travel insurance on their website to enable customers do paperless transactions to purchase their leisure, business and student travel insurance policies online. The market size of overall travel insurance in India is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore and is growing fast. The online travel insurance mode is getting encouraging responses and expect to contribute substantially to overall travel insurance industry going forward, said Chola MD ...
L&T Insurance all set to kick off operations
Private sector non-life insurer L&T General Insurance has received R3 approval from the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (Irda). The company will start its operation after it gets necessary approval for more than 20 products, for which it has applied for. YM Deosthalee, wholetime director & chief financial officer, L&T, said that entry into the general insurance is a part of the overall vision to build a wholesome financial services business in India. Talking to media in Mumbai on Monday, Joydeep Roy, chief executive of L&T Insurance, said the capital base of the company will be Rs 175 ...
L&T General Insurance says gets license to start biz
MUMBAI (Reuters) - L&T General Insurance Company Ltd, an arm of engineering and construction firm Laresn & Toubro Ltd , has receieved a license to commence its business from insurance sector regulator, it said on Monday.
AIG says ex-Pru CEO Mark Tucker to head AIA
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc (AIG) has named former Prudential Plc chief executive Mark Tucker as head of its Asian life insurance business, American International Assurance (AIA), replacing existing head Mark Wilson.
Mis-selling: 'Agent's may lose licence'
With many life insurers not able to retain customers due to mis-selling, the regulator IRDA has proposed that licence of an agent be cancelled if 50 per cent of the policies sold by him/her are not renewed annually. Where average annual persistency ratio is less than 50 per cent, the agency licence would not be renewed, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said in a draft. Mis-selling refers to sale of a financial instrument without fully disclosing the pros and cons of it to an investor. In its proposal on persistency of life policies, IRDA says the minimum first-year premium ...