This is the syndication feed for insuringindia.com. <p> Local sales at passenger vehicle makers grew at a slow pace or even fell in September, weighed by rising fuel cost, higher insurance premiums and recent price hikes by automobile companies.</p> <p> Commercial vehicle sales continued to expand, thanks to a low base to compare with, but industry executives said rising fuel price is the matter of concern in this segment as well. In two-wheelers, growth has slowed down, primarily because of the increased insurance cost.</p> <p> Maruti Suzuki, which makes more than half the cars sold in the country, posted a tepid 0.7% increase in September local sales compared with a year earlier, while at No.2 Hyundai Motor, India volume fell 4.5%. Tata Motors posted a 7% increase, but at homegrown rival Mahindra & Mahindra, sales fell 16%.</p> <p> In the past six months, the price of petrol has increased 14% and that of diesel 17%, according to the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. While this has increased the running cost of vehicles, a Supreme Court order mandating long-term insurance cover has increased the ownership cost. Both factors, said industry executives, led to the subdued demand.</p> <p> "There is an impact of an additional Rs 8,000-9,000 on a two-wheeler insurance premium for entry-level motorcycles,” said Nikunj Sanghi, director of international affairs at the Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations. “Moreover, this amount cannot be financed and adds up to the down payment of the two-wheelers,” he said. “This festival is going to be a challenge. Inventory levels have been pushed to a level which cannot be imagined in September.”</p> <p> AIn tIn the PV segment, too, higher inventory levels seem to be a concern ahead of the festival season. Sales had fallen in the previous two months as well in the segment.</p> <p> Maruti, to push the inventory stock at dealers, is giving discounts and benefits of Rs 10,000-15,000 on its top-selling models like the Baleno, Swift and Dzire.</p> <p> Tata Motors posted higher sales for the third straight month in its PV business, but the pace has slowed down for the company as well.h</p> <p> "The growth for the overall PV industry is stressed with degrowth in all three months of the quarter. Early indications have been that the Industry has declined in September this year,” Mayank Pareek, president of the passenger vehicles business unit at Tata Motors said, while noting that demand of its new-generation vehicles had helped it buck the trend. “We expect sales to pick up this festive season and to boost our customer morale, we are bringing four new products to market," he said.</p> <p> Auto sales move to slow lane on high fuel prices, insurance premium</p> <p> In two-wheelers, the need to pay for longer insurance cover damped demand, though widespread rainfall and rising rural demand have helped the segment grow marginally.</p> <p> At market leader Hero MotoCorp, sales rose 6.75%. At Bajaj Auto, sales in the past month were the highest ever at 502,009 units.</p> <p> In the commercial vehicle space, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra posted sales growth of between 19% and 26% in August.vehicles had helped it buck the trend. “We expect sales to pick up this festive season and to boost our customer morale, we October2.) cheapest-is-not-the-best-how-to-choose-the-best-life-insurance-plan</p> <p> Cheapest is not the best: How to choose the best life insurance</p> <p> As Indians we are naturally very cost conscious and this holds true even for the financial products we buy. Premium, the actual amount of money charged by insurance companies for active coverage, is often measured as the cost of an insurance product.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1190InsuringIndia News Tue, 30 Oct 2018 14:39:48 GMT <p> Along with the rest of the country, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, Dimapur Branch celebrated its 62nd Insurance Week, at its office.</p> <p> Speaking at the programme as chief guest, Nibu Nagi congratulated LIC for successfully completing 62 years and lauded the service of LIC as “excellent.” Nagi also appealed the citizens of the state to have an insurance policy for their own benefit.  </p> <p> Earlier, welcome address was delivered by LIC Dimapur branch manager Gautam Naha where he said that LIC of India has been a nation builder since its formation in 1956, starting with an initial capital of Rs. 5 crore and an asset base of Rs. 352.20 crore. Today LIC has assets of over Rs. 28.45 lakh crore with life fund to the tune of Rs 25,84,484.92 crore.</p> <p> Initially, LIC started with 168 offices and today LIC has over 4862 offices with 1.11 lakh employees, 11.48 lakhs agents and 29 crore plus policies in force, he added. </p> <p> The total funds invested for the benefit of the community at large are Rs. 27, 36, 762 crore as on March 31, 2018.</p> <p> Highlights of the programme include lightning of lamp, cake cutting ceremony by the chief guest and cultural programme.</p> <p> High net worth individual, retired employees, senior most agent, first customer, second customer and first agent for BOC deposit were also felicitated during the programme.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1188InsuringIndia News Fri, 21 Sep 2018 14:36:10 GMT <p> As per the SC order, two¬-wheelers should get insurance for five years, cars for three years.</p> <p> The dealers of two-wheelers and cars in Pune are gearing up for the first day of implementation of the Supreme Court’s direction that makes third party insurance mandatory for a minimum period of three years.</p> <p> Two-wheelers should get the third party insurance for five years and cars should have the third party insurance for 3 years. This comes after the Supreme Court order dated July 20, 2018 that directed third party insurance cover for cars and two-wheelers for a period of three and five years respectively.</p> <p> A letter from the ministry of road transport and highways of India in this regard states “This may be taken and treated as a separate product”. The letter is signed by Abhay Damble, joint secretary and has been issued on August 29, three days before the order comes into effect.</p> <p> When asked about the ramification of non-compliance to do so, Vinod Sagre, assistant regional transport officer, said, “If customers do not get it done, we will not issue registration.”</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1189InsuringIndia News Mon, 03 Sep 2018 16:36:45 GMT <p> Insurance companies may soon require you to buy a fitness tracker to capture your health status in an accurate manner. A committee set up by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has recommended that insurance companies make use of activity data monitored by fitness trackers in pricing their products.</p> <p> Although it is currently not clear if the cost of these trackers will be borne by the customer or the insurance company, if the recommendations are taken on board, it will mean lower premiums for people adhering to a fitter lifestyle.</p> <p> The working group to examine innovations in insurance involving wearable/portable devices that was set up in January 2018 has submitted its report. In its report, the working group said wearable device-linked products should be first tested on a pilot basis before being launched in the market.</p> <p> “The consent of the customer to share data is a must for participation in such products,” said the report. The insurance product, when being filed with IRDAI for approval, will have to mention that data from fitness bands will be measured.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1187InsuringIndia News Sun, 12 Aug 2018 21:35:38 GMT <p> The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)-led crop insurance portfolio, that constitutes about 35 percent of the general insurance industry’s business, has turned profitable in the first quarter of FY19 after bleeding for two years. Better pricing coupled with low claims have led to underwriting profits in crop insurance.</p> <p> Launched in 2016, PMFBY has a uniform premium of two percent to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5 percent for all Rabi crops. For commercial and horticultural crops, the farmers’ premium is five percent. The rest of the premium will be paid by the government.</p> <p> Insurers’ crop portfolio bleeds</p> <p> When PMFBY was launched by the government two years ago, both public sector as well as private sector insurers were part of the scheme. Being the first year, insurance companies were hit by losses and added to it were cyclones like Ockhi that hit India and surrounding areas.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1186InsuringIndia News Sat, 04 Aug 2018 11:35:08 GMT <p> Too many bureaucratic regulations have affected the growth prospects of the insurance sector in India, said R Thyagarajan, promoter, Shriram Group of Companies.</p> <p> Speaking on ‘Protecting Business — Delivering Value’ at an event organised by the Madras Management Association (MMA) and Bharat Reinsurance Brokers, Thyagrajan said insurance companies are unable to come up with new products or make modifications to existing policies due to the rigorous approval process involved.</p> <p> Joint fight</p> <p> Urging the business community not to circumvent the regulations, the Shriram group chief said it should instead jointly oppose regulations that are harmful to the community.</p> <p> Highlighting the lack of awareness about insurance benefits among the people, Thyagarajan said: “Insurance coverage in case of both individuals and corporates are woefully inadequate in India.”</p> <p> He added that businesses are facing three kinds of problems when it comes to insurance – no insurance, insuring inadequately or choosing an improper cover.</p> <p> On losses arising out of business interruption, Thyagarajan said companies are not aware of insurance polices to cover ‘business interruption losses’, which can be more lethal than losses arising out of property damage.</p> <p> Corporate frauds</p> <p> With the increasing number of corporate frauds, many companies are now recognising corporate frauds and commercial crimes as risks and opting for insurance coverage, said TL Arunachalam, Director- Global Strategy & Special Projects, Bharat Reinsurance Brokers.</p> <p> He said that besides property, marine and other usual risks, ‘cyber risk’ is an emerging major risk, which needs to be recognised and adequately covered.</p> <p> “We are at a nascent stage of learning what cyber risk is and we are at the very basic stage in insuring those risks,” Arunachalam added.</p> <p> Stressing the need for covering cyber risks, he cited the case of Code Spaces, a US-based source code repository service provider, which was forced to shut down in 2014 after losing all its customer data to hackers.</p> <p> Cautioning that cyber risk can be very severe, Arunachalam said it is very difficult to measure or model such risks and even more difficult to price such risks.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1185InsuringIndia News Thu, 26 Jul 2018 20:34:33 GMT <p> Bhubaneswar:  The Odisha government launched a health insurance scheme for working journalists in the state on Friday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the scheme, called "Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana".</p> <p> In the first phase, as many as 3,233 working journalists will get health insurance coverage up to Rs 2 lakh a year. At least five members of the journalists family will be covered under the scheme, said an official statement.</p> <p> The scribes will get their health insurance card from the District Information and Public Relations Officer (DIPRO) in their respective.</p> <p> A delegation of Bhubaneswar-based journalists met Patnaik at the state secretariat and thanked him for the scheme. They also drew the attention of the chief minister to the problems faced by scribes while performing their duties in the state.</p> <p> "We have also urged the chief minister to introduce a pension scheme for journalists," said Pradumnya Mohanty, a member of the delegation that met Patnaik.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1179InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Jun 2018 19:19:32 GMT <p> Kolkata: Universal Sompo General Insurance Company has floated rights issue of shares to raise Rs 100 crore as it expects higher premium growth next year backed by an improved economic climate.</p> <p> The issue is priced at Rs 55 per shares, including face value of Rs 10, chairman ON Singh told ET. The board of the company which is not listed yet has approved the plan last month.</p> <p> “We have decided to raise capital as we expect good growth in terms of premium. This is the first time in four years we are raising capital from shareholders,” said Singh.</p> <p> However, promoters such as Allahabad Bank and Indian Overseas BankNSE -0.38 % which are stressed with sticky loans may not participate in the fund raising exercise, which would allow the overseas partner Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc an opportunity to raise its shareholding from 26%.</p> <p> “We are awaiting the applications from shareholders,” said Singh. The last date of application is January 24 and a clearer picture on who are participating in the issue will emerge after that.</p> <p> Allahabad Bank, which holds 30% in it, may sell its stake in another couple of years in line with the government’s prescription to exit all non-core business. Indian Overseas Bank, which is under the Reserve Bank of India’s corrective action plan, is unlikely participate in the rights issue.</p> <p> “We are awaiting the applications from shareholders,” said Singh. The last date of application is January 24 and a clearer picture on who are participating in the issue will emerge after that.</p> <p> Indian Overseas Bank holds 19% in the general insurance company, while Karnataka Bank holds 15%, and non-bank promoter DaburNSE 0.77 % has 10%.</p> <p> “Even if these banks do not participate, Sompo’s shareholding will increase marginally,” said Singh.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1177InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Jun 2018 10:16:53 GMT <p> The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has asked all insurance companies to develop a third-party insurance policies for two-wheelers that has a cover period of five years.</p> <p> It has also asked them to develop policies for four-wheelers with a cover period of four years. Currently, third-party insurances are being renewed annually. Unfortunately, this has led to around 50 per cent vehicles plying on the road without any insurance policies. To bring this number down, the agency wants to introduce long-term third party policies. Currently, there’s a provision to buy multiple year policies but only limited to comprehensive ones.</p> <p> The introduction of long-term third-party insurance policies will reduce the hassle of renewing policy each year. The insurance companies also try to give some discounts if an owner opts for a long-term policy. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1184InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Jun 2018 22:33:36 GMT <p> If you contract a disease few years after buying the policy, it is not mandatory to disclose it. But, if you want to increase the sum assured, then premiums could go up sharply</p> <p> Incorrect disclosure is the chief reason for repudiation of health insurance claims. A complete disclosure of pre-existing diseases and your family’s history of ailments is essential at the time of buying a policy as it enables the insurer to understand the nature of risk it is undertaking, and hence arrive at the correct premium.</p> <p> If knowingly or unknowingly, you don't make correct disclosures, you could be denied a claim in your hour of need.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1178InsuringIndia News Sat, 26 May 2018 16:16:12 GMT <p> Bengaluru based e-pharmacy major Medlife announced on Thursday its partnership with Aditya Birla Health Insurance to offer cashless medicine delivery to its eligible customers.</p> <p> Medlife has deployed its digital solution to enable the insurer to offer these services under OPD benefit of its health insurance offering.</p> <p> Backing up on Medlife's distribution network, which currently serves orders to 1,000 cities across India, for medicine delivery, ABHIC has integrated its OPD claim systems for faster and better claim experience for its customers.</p> <p> This one-of-its kind integration offers ABHIC's eligible customers to order doctor prescribed medicines online and receive them at their doorstep, making the entire customer experience as hassle free and cashless.</p> <p> The eligible outpatient (OPD) customers can submit their doctor's prescription to ABHIC and post verification receive medicines at home by Medlife. The claim is settled through system integration between Medlife and ABHIC and all the records are duly maintained as per regulator's requirement. This entire process is backed by Medlife's technology.</p> <p> "Medlife's vision is to make healthcare simple, affordable and accessible, and this tie-up is another step towards the same. This tie-up will help customers of ABHIC get a paperless and cashless Medicine delivery experience at their home. This is an important step in our efforts to build a connected healthcare platform. We are delighted to partner with ABHIC to help their customers to have a better and convenient experience," said CEO, Medlife, Tushar Kumar.</p> <p> "In our constant endeavour to empower and motivate families to prioritise their health and lead fulfilling lives, we are building a simplified digitally enabled one-stop healthcare solution platform for our customers. Considering the increasing demand for OPD coverage in Insurance and ABHIC's objective to simplify the process for customer 's OPD needs, the cashless OPD model is set to grow manifold in coming days," said CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance, Mayank Bathwal.</p> <p> "We found Medlife to be an apt partner in helping us achieve our objectives considering its strong spread across country, technology enabled systems and capabilities in the pharmacy business. This partnership will help ABHIC in strengthening its provider network and reach its multi-geographical customers faster," Bathwal added.</p> <p> Founded by Tushar Kumar and Prashant Singh in 2014, Medlife has emerged as one of the frontrunners in enabling better access to healthcare by offering an array of app-based online consultation, pharmaceutical and related services across India.</p> <p> It recently reached a milestone of one million customer base making it one of the fastest growing online pharma company in India.</p> <p> By bringing doctors, patients, laboratories and pharma companies under one roof, the company aims to provide a comprehensive healthcare ecosystem for timely diagnosis and effective treatment.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1182InsuringIndia News Mon, 19 Mar 2018 12:08:03 GMT <p> Private life insurer SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as the managing director and chief executive officer of the company for two years. The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.</p> <p> Nautiyal took over the post from Arijit Basu and was the chief general manager of State Bank of India (SBI)'s Ahmedabad circle until now. He had started his career as a probationary officer in SBI in 1985.</p> <p> Basu had taken over the post in August 2014 and was a banker at SBI prior to this.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1183InsuringIndia News Sat, 17 Mar 2018 10:31:41 GMT <p> National Insurance Company, United India Insurance Company and Oriental Insurance Company to form single insurance entity</p> <p> The government’s plan to merge the three unlisted public sector general insurance companies (PSGICs) – National Insurance Company, United India Insurance Company and Oriental Insurance Company – will create a giant much bigger than New India Assurance Company, India’s largest general insurer, going by the insurance regulator’s data for FY2017.</p> <p> The three PSGICs, which along with New India Assurance received Cabinet approval in January 2017 to get listed on the stock exchanges, had initiated the process of tapping the capital markets.</p> <p> Listing process</p> <p> Following the announcement in the Budget that the three PSGICs will be merged and be subsequently listed, they will have now to halt the listing process. New India Assurance, which is also the largest PSGIC, got listed in November 2017. Going by the 2016-17 annual report of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, New India Insurance Company was the country’s biggest general insurer, with gross direct premium (GDP) collection of ?21,598 crore in FY2017. It accounted for 16.50 per cent of the GDP of general and health insurers in FY2017. The GDP of the unlisted three PSGICs put together amounted to ?41,462 crore in FY2017.Collectively, they accounted for 32 per cent of the GDP of general and health insurers in FY2017.</p> <p> K Sanath Kumar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Kolkata-headquartered National Insurance Company, said that as a single entity, the merged company would emerge stronger and its valuations improve. United India Insurance Company and Oriental Insurance Company are headquartered in Chennai and Delhi, respectively. The four PSGICs collectively accounted for 48 per cent of the GDP of general and health insurers in FY2017.</p> <p> Private sector general insurers (17) accounted for 41 per cent of the GDP of general and health insurers in FY2017. The balance was accounted for by specialised insurers and standalone health insurers.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1180InsuringIndia News Thu, 22 Feb 2018 14:20:48 GMT <p> Budget 2018: The insurance industry has welcomed the Budget saying the proposals for a national safety net for the poor in particular and the health insurance sector, in particular, will act as a catalyst to increase health insurance penetration.</p> <p> Budget 2018: The insurance industry has welcomed the Budget saying the proposals for a national safety net for the poor in particular and the health insurance sector in particular will act as a catalyst to increase health insurance penetration. Extending the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJY) and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) is a positive move to bring more people into the insurance ambit, they said. “The announcement to provide micro insurance and pension schemes to Jan Dhan Yojana accounts is very positive,” New India Assurance chairman G Srinivasan said. In the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said government will launch a flagship National Health Protection Scheme to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families of around 50 crore people providing coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per family a year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. He also reiterated that the proposed National Health Protection Scheme is a great move to bring health insurance to almost 40 per cent of the population and is move towards universal health insurance.</p> <p> “The scheme is significant as it provides Rs 5 lakh cover to the family for secondary and tertiary treatments,” Srinivasan added. ICICI Lombard General Insurance MD Bhargav Dasgupta also lapped up the move to provide Rs 5 lakh cover per annum to per family as a significant step forward from the mass healthcare schemes launched in the past. “It will provide a reasonably adequate cover to nearly 40 per cent of the population. While we await the details, we believe this step will act as a catalyst in increasing health insurance penetration,” he added. Cigna TTK Health managing director Sandeep Patel said the focus on health and wellness indicates that government is driving a robust health and well-being ecosystem.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1181InsuringIndia News Sun, 11 Feb 2018 14:11:31 GMT <p> The insurance regulator has directed insurance companies to ensure easy availability of motor third party liability only policy. It has asked insurers to co-operate with the police authorities to facilitate issue and renewal of third party liability policy to owners of the vehicles without third party cover.</p> <p> The order comes after several states reported that insurers have a cumbersome process that involves inspection of the vehicle concerned and that vehicle owners have complained that it is not an easy process to obtain insurance. Motor own damage policy covers losses to the vehicle arising out of accidents.</p> <p> Motor third party cover is mandatory for all public, private vehicles and commercial vehicles. It covers liability arising out of third party claims due to accidents.A Supreme Court committee on road safety had directed the States and Union Territories to periodically carry out checks to see whether the vehicle owners have third party insurance cover. If not, their vehicle can be detained till such time the valid third party insurance certificate is produced by the vehicle owner.</p> <p> This is the only segment which is under the tariff regime. Insurance regulator raises premium annually. This financial year, Irda had raised premium by 28% for cars in 1000-1500 cc and above.</p> <p> The regulator has asked insurers to co-operate with the police authorities to facilitate issue and renewal of third party liability policy to owners of the vehicles who are not having third party cover.</p> <p> Also, insurers are asked to ensure the easy availability of Motor TP Insurance and in no case can a request for a TP cover be denied.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1176InsuringIndia News Fri, 19 Jan 2018 18:06:11 GMT <p> The Indian insurance sector has witnessed significant developments over the past couple of years. By way of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act 2015, establishment up of branch offices of foreign reinsurers was permitted. In this regard, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) subsequently issued the IRDAI (Registration and Operations of Branch Offices of Foreign Reinsurers other than Lloyd's) Regulations 2015 (Branch Office Regulations) and the IRDAI (Lloyd's India) Regulations 2016 (Lloyd's India Regulations), prescribing the procedure for setting up and operation of foreign reinsurers' branches (FRBs) and Lloyd's in India.</p> <p> Through the Branch Office Regulations (and subsequent amendments to the same), the IRDAI prescribed the order for preference for cessions to prescribe the hierarchy between various entities with which an Indian Insurer reinsures the business written. However, it was clarified that the provision stipulating the order of preference for cessions would be re-evaluated by the IRDAI after a period of one year.</p> <p> By way of an Order of 5th May 2017 (Order), the IRDAI set up a reinsurance expert committee (Committee) to make recommendations, inter alia, for the efficient implementation and operation of the order of preference for cessions specified under the Branch Office Regulations. The Committee released its report on 14th November 2017 (Report), providing its analysis and recommendations on the terms of reference prescribed under the Order.</p> <p> Significant Recommendations of the Committee</p> <p> The extant provision prescribing the order of preference stipulated under the Branch Office Regulations requires Indian Insurers to obtain the best terms for their facultative and treaty surpluses from Indian Reinsurers having the minimum prescribed credit rating for the previous three years and at least three FRBs registered under Category I prescribed under the Branch Office Regulations. Subsequently, the Indian Insurer is required to offer the best terms for participation to the qualifying Indian reinsurers, and thereafter to Category I FRBs, followed by other Indian Reinsurers or Category II FRBs, then to FRBs set up in special economic zones and the balance, if any, to Indian Insurers and overseas reinsurers/ cross border reinsurers.</p> <p> The Committee has, by way of its Report, now recommended that Indian Insurers be permitted to obtain best terms simultaneously from Indian Reinsurers, at least three FRBs, Lloyd's India and from any cross border reinsurer satisfying the eligibility criteria prescribed (minimum security rating of A minus). It has been recommended that Indian Insurers and their offices in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) not be permitted to offer competitive terms for domestic reinsurance risks/treaties/contracts.</p> <p> After obtaining best terms, the Committee has recommended that reinsurers be classified into two categories for offer of participation in the following order of preference:</p> <p> a.)General Insurance Corporation of India and then simultaneously to other Indian Reinsurers, Cross-Border Reinsurers if any, who provided lead terms with a meaningful capacity, FRBs registered under Category I, Lloyd's India and Indian Insurers;</p> <p> b.)Reinsurers in SEZs, Joint Venture Partners of the Indian Insurers, Reinsurers and other CBRs satisfying the eligibility criteria (including overseas reinsurance entities of FRBs' parent group).</p> <p> The Committee has, therefore, recommended a mechanism for cross border reinsurers to, effectively, be brought at par with FRBs in India. However, the Committee has also recommended that a limit be prescribed vis-à-vis the total cessions made to all cross border reinsurers by any Indian Insurer, and appropriate safeguards (including collaterals) be put in place by Indian Insurers with respect to reinsurance placements with cross border reinsurers.</p> <p> The Committee has further recommended that stipulations of order of preference for reinsurance cessions be waived for life insurance, aviation, marine hull, large infrastructure projects, petrochemical and refinery plants, large power plants, oil and energy, specialised/emerging/volatile risks with high loss potential, retrocessions, and any other line of business as prescribed by the IRDAI.</p> <p> With respect to life insurance, the Committee has also recommended that life reinsurance business be placed only with reinsurers (incorporated, FRBs and Lloyd's India) registered in India.</p> <p> Other Key Changes</p> <p> The Committee has recommended the following:</p> <p> a.)Cession limits to be prescribed to check single reinsurer risk concentration. However, the cap on cessions shall not be applicable to Indian Reinsurers/FRBs/ Lloyd's India.</p> <p> b.)Application of cession limits to be waived for FRBs, Lloyd's India and SEZ reinsurers, provided the retrocession premium being paid only to the parent entity and not to any other entity.</p> <p> c.)Structured reinsurance proposals to be permitted in certain instances, where risk transfer tests are satisfied. The Committee has also recommended for financial reinsurance to be permitted for Life Insurers on a case by case basis.</p> <p> d.)Simplified reporting requirements for all reinsurers and the formats for filing such reports/returns;</p> <p> e.)Waiver of applicability of IRDAI (Maintenance of Insurance Records) Regulations 2015; IRDA (Insurance Advertisements and Disclosure) Regulations 2000 and IRDAI (Protection of Policyholders Interest) Regulations 2017 for reinsurers;</p> <p> f.) Domestic insurance or reinsurance pools be administered by an Indian Reinsurer or any other Insurer or an FRB or Lloyd's India as per directions of the IRDAI;</p> <p> g.) Indian Insurers not be permitted to accept domestic reinsurance treaties from other Indian Insurers and retrocession of facultative risks, to avoid market spirals from domestic risks.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1174InsuringIndia News Sat, 23 Dec 2017 20:28:09 GMT <p> A 35-year-old young male once went with a sudden onset of excruciating chest pain to the casualty ward of a nearby tertiary care private hospital. His ECG and blood tests suggested a massive MI (myocardial infarction, or heart attack), and a young cardiologist who attended to him explained to the patient and his attendant about the urgent need to be wheeled in to the cath lab (catheterisation laboratory) for an emergency angiography.</p> <p> The patient's younger brother immediately called his friend, who was doing a paramedical course, for a second opinion. His friend confidently told him that heart attacks do not happen at such a young age. Maybe the hospital was just making a fuss out of a simple gas trouble, and slyly remarked that private hospitals do such things to make money.</p> <p> "Just get discharged from the hospital and go to Dr X, one of the general practitioners I know, who is very 'ethical' and experienced." All the negative propaganda that he had heard about private hospitals, and the youthful demeanour of the cardiologist made him work according to his friend's advice without much dilemma.</p> <p>  </p> <p> He reached his next destination in one hour, and by the time the experienced GP could examine the patient, he was already in cardiogenic shock. After some desperate measures of resuscitation, he was referred back to the same private hospital. Unfortunately for the young man, by the time he was brought back to the private hospital, it was too late.</p> <p> Another incident: The patient, a 66-year-old businessman was admitted with severe headache and unconsciousness of over one hour. He had suffered bleeding in the free spaces of the brain due to the rupture of a weak point in the brain's blood vessels (subarachnoid haemorrhage).</p> <p> A brain angiography was immediately done and a large aneurysm (an "outpouching" of the brain vessel, the rupture of which had led to his medical condition) was detected. He was advised by the neurosurgeon that the patient's aneurysm needed to be fixed urgently by "coiling", and every moment passing by was like a ticking bomb that could explode any moment.</p> <p> As the patient had gained full consciousness without any deficits by that time, and his headache had also receded, and the cost of the procedure was "exorbitant", they sought a second opinion from a relative who stayed in the USA. The guy took one week to get back with his opinion, which was again from a general physician in the US, as the consultation fees charged by a neurosurgeon with a private practice in the US was staggering. The opinion, as expected was very diplomatic with legal equipoise, and of no conclusive nature.</p> <p> Finally, they decided to defer the intervention and wait, as more and more well-wishers pitched in with expert opinions and adverse feedback of that particular hospital. Just as they were planning to take him to another hospital, the aneurysm ruptured and he again suffered a massive brain haemorrhage.</p> <p> Things took an ugly turn, when relatives turned hostile towards the hospital, and blamed the doctors for negligence and wrong treatment "that killed their hale and hearty father, who was just a while ago talking so nicely to them".</p> <p> These are true incidents that happened around me, and I can come up with many more such episodes, where the deficit of trust in the hospital and the doctor led to wrong decisions taken by patients, only to their own peril.</p> <p> Trust deficit, self-medication</p> <p> Also, finding a connection between a newly diagnosed ailment and some possibly distant treatment given by some doctor for something entirely unrelated, is a ubiquitous, all-pervading phenomenon, and as doctors, we face it all the time. My grandmother was convinced that she had developed diabetes a few months after taking some eye drops for her cataract surgery. One of my uncles told me that he had developed kidney stones because of the medicines he took post his gall bladder surgery. One of my patients, who is a habitual alcoholic with chronic liver disease, thinks that he has developed haemorrhoids just because of the antacids, multivitamins and abstinence advised by his doctor.</p> <p> As long as such people were fewer in number compared to the ones who appreciated our efforts, we doctors were never perturbed by such innocuous accusations. But, times have changed.</p> <p> Low opinion of the doctor</p> <p> In the good olden days, doctors were a revered and respected cohort. I really envy the uncomplicated and hassle-free life they enjoyed. The stethoscope and the prototype brown briefcase - that carried all the elixirs to myriad ailments - were the two quintessential items that were enough for diagnosis and treatment for all.</p> <p> Most patients positively "responded" to their treatment (they say half of the ailment is gone if the patients accept the treatment with some faith); some had to be referred to government hospitals or small cosy nursing homes.</p> <p> The charges didn't burn their pockets and their hearts, of course.</p> <p> Any untoward incident, or death of a patient, was considered divine will, and a doctor was seldom looked upon with suspicion or/and blamed for it. (It doesn't mean that diseases didn't exist and mortalities didn't happen then; it is just that ignorance was bliss for all and faith in god and doctors was supreme.)</p> <p> An old aphorism from those days - "The doctor is next to God" - is still used for doctors sometimes, but more as a tool to browbeat his supposed lack of morality. With time, like in any other sphere, healthcare and patient management standards advanced in leaps and bounds, with technical innovations, better medicines and diagnostic tools and specialisation at our disposal.</p> <p> The meek family physician of yore grew out of his small frame and became more flamboyant, specialised, proactive and tech-savvy with multiple options available to offer to the patient, and as a result, the treatment costs also skyrocketed.</p> <p> Neglecting healthcare sector</p> <p> Most of the developed countries came to terms with the huge strides in technological development in medicine, and since healthcare was always their top priority, by default they protected their citizens by providing universal health insurance, or declared free healthcare as a state policy. (Though we accept that they had the money, and had to cater to a smaller population who mostly paid taxes.) In addition, they made uniform rules and strict regulations to govern the medical practice. However, even in the developed countries, private hospitals and clinics are opted for only by the most affluent of the population.</p> <p> Meanwhile, in India, there have been more "pressing issues like religion, caste, creed and petty politics that took precedence over all others. Naturally, healthcare was an orphan that was owned by none but abused by everybody.</p> <p> Therefore, the burden of providing healthcare shifted to private players in an unorganised manner, and government conveniently abdicated itself from all its responsibility. The government hospitals crumbled by the sheer load of patients and became dark holes of corruption where money was pumped in without any tangible return.</p> <p> The vacuum created by the gap was quickly filled in by untrained quacks, unscrupulous men who pose as doctors, Ayurveda practitioners, homeopaths and surgeons without any actual degree or proper training, and they flourished because of their cheap means of healthcare delivery. All this was given a blind eye by successive governments that spent a dismal 2 per cent of the GDP or less on health (as against WHO recommendation that state spending on healthcare should be at least 15 per cent).</p> <p> Overtime, government medical colleges became towers of apathy and neglect, while private medical colleges, mostly owned by businessmen working as fronts for netas and corrupt babus (who park their ill-gotten money in these organisations) mushroomed all over the country. They charge capitation fees running into lakhs and crores, mostly paid by cash by black money hoarders, and now, they dominate the landscape of medical education.</p> <p> Corporate hospitals as lifestyle service</p> <p> The corporate hospitals have ushered in a revolution in Indian healthcare, bringing it cutting edge technology and world standard patient care. But the flip side has been the commensurately rising costs of healthcare.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1175InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 Dec 2017 16:30:36 GMT <p> Bharti AXA Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises, today appointed Vikas Seth as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).</p> <p> Prior to joining Bharti AXA, Seth was with the Aditya Birla Group for nearly 10 years, the company said in a statement.</p> <p> The appointment is subject to requisite approval by insurance regulator Irda, it said.</p> <p> Seth succeeds Sandeep Ghosh as the CEO of the joint venture company between Bharti Enterprises and AXA of France.</p> <p> Seth will be responsible for managing the overall business, driving new partnership tie-ups as well as the growth roadmap of the organisation, the company said.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1172InsuringIndia News Mon, 06 Nov 2017 14:24:14 GMT <p> The two democratic nations have some similar problems in healthcare and U.S politicians might be able to learn a few things from the system in India.</p> <p> Two years ago, Kabita Kanhar delivered a baby girl but couldn’t pay her medical bill.</p> <p> The hospital in Choudwar, India, quickly discharged her.</p> <p> Without her baby.</p> <p> They told her she’d get her child after she paid.</p> <p> When she returned the next day with the money, hospital officials at first said they couldn’t find her child, according to news reports.</p> <p> Local authorities proceeded to launch an investigation.</p> <p> The story is an example of a well-known problem in India.</p> <p> Childbearing expenses push nearly half of all mothers there into poverty. Families routinely take loans or sell assets to cover these costs.</p> <p> This isn’t the only story of money and healthcare in India.</p> <p> This summer, more than 60 children died within five days at a large public hospital serving the poor in Gorakhpur, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.</p> <p> Most of the babies died because Uttar Pradesh officials failed to pay a company supplying the hospital with oxygen for its intensive care ward.</p> <p> Uttar Pradesh, which has about the same population as Brazil, suffers from one of India’s highest infant mortality rates.</p> <p> India’s economy is booming, but the benefits are going heavily to the rich.</p> <p> According to French research published in September, the share of national income held by people in the top 1 percent of earnings is now 22 percent, slightly higher than it was when the British first established an income tax in 1922.</p> <p> “Third world problems,” Americans might think.</p> <p> Yet the figure is the same in the United States, using similar calculations.</p> <p> The United States and India have something else in common: a complex mix of public and private healthcare and insurance.</p> <p> And both score low on standard measures of health, compared to similar countries.</p> <p> A pivotal moment</p> <p> Healthcare is at a crossroads both here and in India.</p> <p> India is moving toward making healthcare more available.</p> <p> In March, it approved a new national policy that aims to cut out-of-pocket spending and bring everyone free essential drugs, tests, and emergency services in public hospitals.</p> <p> The government already caps costs for certain drugs.</p> <p> India also proposed to increase public spending on health.</p> <p> In the United States, Congress spent the year stalemated over a series of health insurance proposals.</p> <p> The 20-year-old Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) awaits reauthorization.</p> <p> Various Republican healthcare plans include sharp cuts to Medicaid and proposals to give states more options on how to spend federal money.</p> <p> “The biggest challenge for both India and the United States is their shared view [from government to practitioners to patients] that health care is an ‘industry’ rather than an ‘entitlement,’” Vikram Patel, a psychiatrist and professor of public health at Harvard Medical School, told Healthline. “This is what sets them apart from their peers: The United Kingdom or Canada for the United States, and China and Brazil for India.”</p> <p> Healthcare as big business</p> <p> In these two large democracies, well-paid doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and drug companies lobby politicians for policies that serve them.</p> <p> In both countries, you can get world-class treatment.</p> <p> But in India as well as the United States, patients too often get unnecessary surgeries, tests, and other treatments that benefit private providers, said Sakthivel Selvaraj, an expert on health financing at the Public Health Foundation of India.</p> <p> Take cesarean deliveries (C-sections), the most common major surgery in the United States.</p> <p> Almost half are unnecessary and undesirable, observers said. They complicate future pregnancies and can lead to infection.</p> <p> Also, most women don’t want them. Yet, 32 percent of U.S. babies are delivered surgically.</p> <p> What factor has the most impact on whether you get a cesarean delivery for a low-risk delivery? According to Consumer Reports, it’s the hospital you choose.</p> <p> Hospitals make all the difference in India, too.</p> <p> Some 15 to 19 percent of deliveries do require cesarean delivery, experts have said. But in India’s private hospitals, cesarean delivery rates are higher than 20 percent in nearly 85 percent of the nation’s districts.</p> <p> The rates are lower and vary more in public hospitals. In some poorer areas, they’re less than 5 percent.</p> <p> Who pays for healthcare?</p> <p> Around the world, people in the poorest nations pay out of pocket or go without care.</p> <p> In India, 65 percent of the country’s healthcare spending in the years from 1995 through 2014 came out of personal budgets, according to a study published in April.</p> <p> Most of that money went to drugs.</p> <p> In China, by contrast, out-of-pocket expenses ran less than 35 percent.</p> <p> In richer countries, more costs are covered by the government or insurance.</p> <p> Out-of-pocket costs over that period were around 11 percent in the United States and 6.5 percent in France.</p> <p> Without outside help, any significant illness can ruin a family.</p> <p> Medical costs pushed 50 million Indians back into poverty in the 10 years from 2004 to 2014, reported IndiaSpend, a nonprofit data-driven publication.</p> <p> In the state of Haryana, for example, about 30 percent of households run into catastrophic health expenditures. In the poorest fifth, it’s 38 percent.</p> <p> Haryana is one of India’s richest states, although it contains pockets of poverty.</p> <p> Insurance hasn’t filled that gap.</p> <p> Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), India’s version of Medicaid, was launched as an “experiment” in 2008. It covers only hospital care.</p> <p> But non-hospital costs account for most of the medical expenses borne by the poor.</p> <p> “Outpatient care and pharmaceutical costs are the primary reason for healthcare-related impoverishment,” Patel told Healthline.</p> <p> Even when it comes to hospital care, RSBY has been inadequate.</p> <p> It pays only up to a cap, which remained the same while hospital costs rose.</p> <p> One study found that in 2010 to 2011 in the Patan district of Gujarat, 44 percent of patients presenting their insurance card still had to pay out-of-pocket costs to the hospital.</p> <p> The program has also had implementation problems, including misbehavior by providers. Participating hospitals may be turning these patients away or asking them to pay for drugs and tests while in the hospital — even though those services should have been covered.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1173InsuringIndia News Sun, 05 Nov 2017 10:25:23 GMT <p> The Manipal Group bought out TTK's stakes in CignaTTK Health Insurance. Sandeep Patel, CEO & MD, CignaTTK Health Insurance elaborates on what it means on change in partner, rising stake in the JV and the future plan for the company.</p> <p> On Friday, the Manipal Group bought out TTK's stakes in CignaTTK Health Insurance. On the occasion Business Today's Mahesh Nayak spoke to Sandeep Patel, CEO & MD of CignaTTK Health Insurance on what it means on change in partner, rising stake in the JV and the future plan for the health insurance company. "The partnership with Manipal group means from a product partner we will be providing healthcare and complete well-being solutions to our customers," says Patel.</p> <p> Enjoying the valuation of Rs 500 crore, following the rising stake in the company from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, Patel expect the revenues of the Indian entity to grow by at least 50 per cent this financial year. Last year, the Indian entity which recorded a revenue of Rs 221 crore ($95-100 million), - compared to $2.5 billion combined revenues of entities in South Korea and China - plans to break even its India operation by 2020.</p> <p> Edited Excerpt:</p> <p> BT: Today you have announced of getting a new partner Manipal Group. Why this change?</p> <p> Patel: TTK wanted to focus on its core business - fast moving consumer business, while Manipal group were scouting an entry into the healthcare insurance space. It has worked for both and the move has been positive for us, as the partnership with Manipal group means from a product partner we will be providing healthcare and complete well-being solutions to our customers, following Manipal Group's presence in hospital.</p> <p> Cigna TTK has filed an application with India's insurance regulator, the IRDAI, for a change in partnership from the TTK Group to the Manipal Group. This is subject to regulatory approval. This proposed partner change, together with the recent filing for an increased investment from Cigna Corporation, is a significant step for us and marks Cigna's long-term commitment to the Indian health insurance sector. The Manipal Group is a leader in the field of healthcare delivery and higher education, and is one of the most established companies in this sector in India. The partnership will help us to provide our customers with a more comprehensive suite of healthcare solutions and enable us to further integrate within the healthcare delivery ecosystem.</p> <p> BT: Why Cigna increased its stake in the JV?</p> <p> Patel: This increase of Cigna's stake in Cigna TTK is a significant step for us. This strengthens our commitment to the Indian health insurance market. We look forward to our journey in India by working on our mission of improving the health, well-being and sense of security of the people we serve.</p> <p> The increase in stake will help us deepen our focus on:</p> <p> Expanding our distribution network: We will continue to seek new partnerships through bancassurance tie ups, agents and brokers & look at penetrating deeper in rural markets including micro markets.</p> <p> Enhancing our digital capabilities: We have been going digital with 50 per cent of our policies are now paperless and we plan to increase this to 80 per cent.</p> <p> Innovation in our products and services: We want to focus on products and services that can truly meet the needs of our customers. Innovation to us comes from being closer to the needs of the customers and bridging the gaps in the realm of healthcare. We have recently launched the first of its kind product called ProHealth Select with unique features i.e. 'reassurance benefit' and 'inflation shield'</p> <p> BT: Why is TTK willing to dilute its stake? How much money are you infusing in the JV and what valuation does the company enjoys and how was it when you had initially formed the JV?</p> <p> Patel: The hike in Cigna's stake in the joint venture is essentially transfer of funds from one shareholder to the other. The amount infused is Rs 114 crore.  As per the agreement, the capital will be invested in the company.  Cigna's stake is now at 49 per cent in the JV.</p> <p> BT: How different are you compared to your peers? In terms of products and policy and claim policy?</p> <p> Patel: We have done extensive research to understand the market needs and our products and services are very much in line with this, but we will also leverage our global experience to develop products that we are confident will be suitable for India. The value of Cigna's services will be beneficial to customers at their various life stages, as Cigna has extensive breadth and depth of resources and expertise to bring to India.  Our strong model of product innovation and channel distribution will well serve the needs of the Indian market. </p> <p> We have created a niche in the health and wellness space, we truly believe in partnering our customers in illness and in wellness. Our ProActiv living program helps our customers to live a healthy and holistic life. Here we offer a slew of exclusive programs such as weight management diabetes, hypertensive and much more. Moreover, our claim settlement ratio is amongst the highest in the health insurance space.</p> <p> BT: When do you plan to break even? Are you on track?</p> <p> Patel: Yes we are on track and we plan to break even in our 6th year (by 2020).</p> <p> BT: What is the company's vision for 2020?</p> <p> Patel: With the rapid growth of the middle class and rise in lifestyle diseases, healthcare is one of India's fastest-growing sectors.  Our increased investment and proposed new partner will enable us to go deeper in India by growing our distribution network; go local by enriching customer experience through product and service enhancements; and go beyond by enhancing our digital capabilities to meet the needs of people in India.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1168InsuringIndia News Mon, 23 Oct 2017 14:21:03 GMT <p> The Chhattisgarh government has increased the insurance cover under health smart cards from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 from today, officials said.</p> <p> As per the announcement made by chief minister Raman Singh, the limit of the free treatment through health smart card has been increased from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 per annum from October 1, an official told PTI here.</p> <p> As many as 55.66 lakh families of the state will be benefited with this, he added.</p> <p> The families (up to five members) having smart cards issued under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and Mukhyamantri Swasthaya Bima Yojana will be entitled to cashless treatment worth Rs 50,000 per year at state-recognized hospitals, the official said.</p> <p> The beneficiaries can lodge their complaints or grievances related to treatment done through smart cards, with district chief medical and health officers or they can call on toll-free number 104, he added.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1170InsuringIndia News Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:22:53 GMT <p> With a seven-to-eight per cent rise in claims related to heart ailments on a year-on-year basis, insurers are looking to push critical illness or specific heart insurance as an add-on cover to a base health insurance policy.</p> <p> According to industry experts, hospitalisation claims due to heart ailments, which were close to five per cent in 2015-16, doubled to nearly 10 per cent in FY 17. The rise is primarily attributed to increasing prevalence of lifestyle conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.</p> <p>  “Earlier heart-related ailments were prevalent in the age group of 50 and above; now we are increasingly seeing claims coming in from people in the bracket of 35 and above,” Puneet Sahni, Head – Product Development, SBI General Insurance, told BusinessLine.</p> <p> The insurer is in the process of designing a comprehensive critical illness product to cater to the growing demand for such cover.</p> <p> Max Bupa saw claims for heart ailments grow to 5.31 per cent in 2017, up from 4.03 per cent in 2013. “Men are more prone to heart ailments with 70 per cent of the claims received from males, while women have contributed to 30 per cent,” said Ashish Mehrotra, MD and CEO, Max Bupa.</p> <p> The insurer’s indemnity plan, Heartbeat, covers heart ailments such as heart attack, coronary artery bypass graft and major organ transplant, among other conditions. The insurer also has a critical illness cover, CritiCare, which covers various heart ailments along with other critical illnesses.</p> <p> Bajaj Allianz General Insurance does not have a specific cover for heart ailment, but it has come out with its new policy, Extra Care Plus. It takes care of the extra cost of hospitalisation when the existing policy is exhausted due to lower sum insured at an economical price, said Sasikumar Adidamu, Chief Technical Officer – Non Motor, Bajaj Allianz.</p> <p> Standalone cover</p> <p> While Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd’s Star Cardiac Care provides cover even to those who have undergone treatment for cardiac-related ailments or surgery in the past, Cigna TTK offers Lifestyle Protection – Critical Care, a plan with lumpsum benefits for the listed 15 or 30 critical illnesses, including first heart attack of specific severity.</p> <p> Star Cardiac Care, which was introduced three years ago, has seen a good traction despite being a niche product, according to Anand Roy, Executive Director & Chief Marketing Officer, Star Health.</p> <p> “In FY 17 we sold close to 15,000 policies under this plan, this year we hope to sell 20,000 policies as we are witnessing growing awareness and acceptance for such products,” said Roy. The product has a waiting period of 90 days and claims ratio of 65 per cent.</p> <p> Critical illness plan</p> <p> Cigna TTK’s critical illness plan pays a lumpsum amount, which can be used towards medical expenses, living expenses or alternative treatment not covered under health insurance. “The plan serves the dual purpose of covering the cost of treatment and income replacement,” said Sandeep Patel, MD and CEO, Cigna TTK.</p> <p> The life insurer PNB MetLife has launched Mera Heart and Cancer Care, a non-linked and non-participating health insurance plan. It is a tailor-made product that provides comprehensive cover against all stages of cancer and heart diseases.</p> <p> The plan offers additional benefits to women at special premium rates. The customisation in coverage comprises payouts at different stages of the disease ranging from mild, moderate and severe; no survival period clause; life cover; and terminal illness cover to protect one’s family.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1171InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Oct 2017 04:23:30 GMT <p> An NRI can remit premium to the insurance companies in any of the following manner:</p> <p> 1. By direct remittance from abroad through Banking Channels in approved manner (preferably by Indian Rupee drafts drawn in favour of insurer) or by remittances through Money Order</p> <p> 2. By payment out of funds held in Non-Resident (External) Account or Foreign Currency (Non- Resident) Account with a Bank in India</p> <p> 3. By Cheques drawn by Non-resident policy holder on Bank Accounts held in India in his own name (either solely or jointly with another member of the family) whether or not the account has been designated as non-resident</p> <p> 4. By cheque drawn on account maintained by resident parent or spouse of policy holder in their own name or joint names with other close relatives</p> <p> 5. By the absolute Assignee in India wherever such policies have been absolutely assigned to a resident in India</p> <p> 6. By the employers in respect of policies issued to their employees who have been deputed abroad by them</p> <p> 7. Premiums can be paid in cash by a resident parent or spouse of the non-resident policyholder subject to their submitting a letter stating the relationship with the policyholder.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1169InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Sep 2017 19:21:44 GMT <p> KOLKATA: Private life insurer SBI Life Insurance is eyeing treatment of cancer to expand its offerings in the health sector.</p> <p> The company, launching a new term product to meet cancer treatment, said in the next few years, India would the the second biggest country of patients diagnosed with cancer.</p> <p> "The first cancer treatment specific product from SBI Life will be available for persons in the age group between six and 65 years", Anand Pejawar, president ( operations and internat .. )</p> <p> He said that the minimum sum assured was Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000, he said.</p> <p> Regarding international business, he said that the company had applied to the regulator in Bahrain to start a branch there.</p> <p> One of the reasons for selecting that country was that SBI has a good presence there with two branches.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1167InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:19:52 GMT <p> The Indian life insurance industry is expected to log a growth of 15 to 18 per cent this fiscal on an annual premium equivalent (APE), said a senior official at credit rating agency ICRA.</p> <p> Presenting the performance of the life insurance sector at a webinar on Tuesday, Karthik Srinivasan, Senior Vice-President, ICRA, said that, on APE basis, the industry's new business growth stood at 19 per cent last fiscal over the previous fiscal.</p> <p> APE is the total premium after normalising the policy premiums into equivalent of regular annual premium. life insurers also sell single premium policy and normally 10 per cent of that is taken to compute the APE.</p> <p> Srinivasan said the industry is expected to log an APE growth of 15-18 per cent this fiscal.</p> <p> Queried about the negative APE growth percentage, Srinivasan told IANS: "The 19 per cent APE growth last fiscal was sort of an aberration. In FY16, the APE growth was only 11 per cent. Hence on a conservative side, I have put the APE growth between 15-18 per cent."</p> <p> The paper analysed the performance of 11 life insurers (comprising lIC and ten companies from the private sector) collectively representing around 95 per cent of the industry-wide new business premium in FY2017.</p> <p> He said despite the adoption of technology for various parts of policy issuance and servicing, the cost structure of life insurers has increased during the nine month period of last fiscal.</p> <p> "This increase in expenses is partly on account of higher administration and employee related expenses, as the industry looks to build for a scale-up," Srinivasan said.</p> <p> He said the solvency levels for the life insurance companies look adequate with the median solvency levels for the ten private layers analysed at 2.3 times as on December 2016 as against a regulatory minimum of 1.5 times.</p> <p> Srinivasan said the solvency levels would decline over a period of time as life insurers scale up the mix of traditional products.</p> <p> He said the companies can grow their business without raising external equity capital over the near to medium term.</p> <p> "They also have the flexibility to raise Tier II bonds to bolster the regulatory solvency levels. However, higher capital raise at the industry levels would help the industry raise more risk capital and aid in greater insurance penetration," he said.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1166InsuringIndia News Sat, 19 Aug 2017 14:19:14 GMT <p> With the country ushering in a new tax regime with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), consumers will now have to pay more for banking services, insurance premium payments and credit card bills beginning Saturday. Most of the financial services will attract a higher tax of 18 per cent as against the previous 15 per cent under the new indirect tax regime.</p> <p> Almost all the banks and insurance companies have sent messages and mails to their respective customers about the new tax rates which will be charged. “Dear policyholder, revision of service tax on account of GST will come to effect from July 1, 2017,” said a Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) message.</p> <p> Punjab National Bank (PNB) informed its customers that “with effect from July 1, 2017, the existing service tax of 15 per cent levied on all the banking services will be replaced by a GST of 18 per cent.” Meanwhile, HDFC said, “GST is being implemented from 1 July 17. In accordance, Service Tax of 15% will change to 18%. Provide GSTIN for your a/c @ customercare@hdfcsec.com.”</p> <p> Among the banking services that will attract higher service tax include debit card, fund transfer, ATM withdrawal beyond the number of free services, home loan processing fee, locker rentals, issuance of cheque books/drafts/duplicate passbooks, collection of bills, collection of outstation cheques, cash handling charges and SMS alerts. In addition, life and non-life premiums will see an increase from 15 per cent to 18 per cent.</p> <p> Reflecting on the implementation of GST, Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said, “The Goods & Services Tax is a transformational structural reform which will have multiple benefits – the creation of a national market; enhanced ease of doing business; greater productivity & efficiency; and improved tax compliance. All stakeholders are working together for a seamless transition to this new paradigm. This reform will result in benefits for all participants in the Indian economy, including both businesses & consumers.”</p> <p> At the stroke of June 30 midnight, India witnessed the introduction of GST at a special midnight ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the GST as a “Good and Simple Tax” that will be “not only a tax reform but an economic and social reform as well” that will unify the nation, “check corruption and end harassment at hands of officers”.</p> <p> Among the host of dignitaries who were present during the grand event included President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, ministers, MPs and other special invitees.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1165InsuringIndia News Mon, 17 Jul 2017 17:18:36 GMT <p> Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, on Saturday, announced the appointment of Tarun Chugh as its MD and CEO. Chugh was MD and CEO of PNB MetLife Life Insurance. He is replacing Anuj Agarwal, who has moved overseas within the Allianz group, said a press release issued by the company.</p> <p> Chugh has over 22 years’ experience in financial services, including over 12 years life insurance sector. He has also worked with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance where he handled various responsibilities in sales, distribution, branch operations and marketing before joining PNB MetLife as MD and CEO, the release added.</p> <p> Meanwhile, Tapan Singhel, was re-appointed as MD and CEO for Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for a further period of five years, with effect from April 1, 2017. He has been heading the company for the last five years. During his tenure, the company has expanded its reach to over 800 Tier II and III towns in the last two years. It is among the top two private general insurance companies in terms of gross written premium, said the press release issued by the company.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1160InsuringIndia News Fri, 02 Jun 2017 14:12:51 GMT <p> You can change your car insurer and port the no-claim bonus from the old insurer to the new. But did you know you can port your health insurance policy too? You can change your insurer at the time of renewing your policy and port credits on waiting period and no-claim bonus.</p> <p> “You should port a health insurance policy if it is very expensive or is laced with caveats such as caps on room rent,” said Abhishek Bondia, principal officer and managing director, SecureNow Insurance Broker Pvt. Ltd. Use the Mint SecureNow Mediclaim Ratings to analyse your policy (bit.ly/2b2GyQW) and read this to understand the basic features of a good health insurance policy (bit.ly/2aHY9yI).</p> <p> And if you wish to port your policy, read on to know the process.</p> <p> What can be ported?</p> <p> You can port similar health insurance policy from one insurer to another. “All health insurance policies, including floater policies issued by general and health insurers, allow portability. However, only similar health policies can be ported,” said Rajiv Kumar, managing director and chief executive officer, Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd. “Those covered under group health insurance can migrate from their group policy to an individual policy with the same insurer first and subsequently to another insurer,” he added. You can port credits on time-bound exclusions and no-claim bonuses. “A customer has the right to port his existing policy from the existing insurer to a similar policy with any other insurer of his choice with continuity of benefits in terms of waiting period and no claim bonus,”said Upendra Namburi, chief innovation and marketing officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd.</p> <p> There are three kinds of waiting periods in a health policy. The first is typically a 30-day waiting period and it applies immediately after purchase. During this period, other than hospitalization due to an accident, insurers typically don’t accept claims on account of an ailment. Second is the waiting period on pre-existing ailments, which can extend up to 4 years. And third is the waiting period on specified ailments. For instance, if hernia is excluded for the first 2 years, then even if a policyholder develops it after buying the policy, it will not be covered for 2 years.</p> <p> Such time-bound exclusions can be ported. For example, if you bought a health insurance policy and decide to port it after 3 years, and the new policy has a waiting period of 2 years on pre-existing ailments, since you have already covered 3 years in the previous policy, the 3-year credit gets ported to the new policy, and the new policy will have no waiting period.</p> <p> You can also port the no-claim bonus. “Suppose you have a sum insured of Rs3 lakh and a no-claim bonus in 4 years bumps up the sum insured to Rs3.2 lakh. Portability will be applicable on the entire sum insured of Rs3.2 lakh,”explained Reshma Goregaonkar, senior manager, product development-health, SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. However, the new insurer will charge you for a sum insured of Rs3.2 lakh and not Rs3 lakh. Also, you can port only to the extent of the sum insured (including any no-claim bonus) with the previous insurer. So, if the sum insured is Rs3 lakh, then you can port the benefits only for Rs3 lakh, and if you buy a cover of Rs5 lakh, then on the remaining Rs2 lakh no portability benefits will apply.</p> <p> What if the new policy has extra bells and whistles? “If there are additional features and the insurer accepts portability, the extra features will be available from day one. However, if there is a waiting period (such as for maternity), then it will apply,”added Goregaonkar.</p> <p> Process of portability</p> <p> Portability applies at the time of renewal. The policyholder needs to apply for it at least 45 days before expiry of the existing policy (but not before 60 days of its expiry).</p> <p> The policyholder needs to fill the portability form, which asks for details of the existing policy along with others. “We get the details of the customer from the portability form and feed it into Irdai’s (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) portal. Through the portal the existing insurer provides the coverage and claims related details of the customers,” said Goregaonkar. “The insurer needs to get back to us in 7 days with this information and we need to decide within 15 days,” she added. If an insurer fails to meet this deadline, it will have to compulsorily accept your application.</p> <p> Problems in portability</p> <p> Portability is good news if you are stuck in a bad policy but it is not availed by many. “At an industry level, less than 5% of the policyholders port their policies. Customers normally realize the need to port after a claim is made. As most claims are made due to lifestyle ailments, a new insurer may refuse portability as its underwriting criteria may kick in,” said M. Ravichandran, president, insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd. “Besides agents not getting remuneration for portability cases is also another reason,” Ravichandran added.  </p> <p> Given that insurers have full discretion to accept or reject a portability request, portability faces many challenges. “Typically, if customers have made a claim, the new insurer will not accept porting. It may give a counter-offer excluding the ailment on which the claim was made, in which case porting the policy doesn’t make sense,” added Bondia.</p> <p> In practice too, such portability requests are seldom accepted. This is why, you need to proactively port a policy while you are healthy. After a claim is made, or if you are diagnosed with an illness, portability become difficult.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1164InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 May 2017 14:17:54 GMT <p> New Delhi: Hundred million poor and vulnerable families will get insurance cover of as much as Rs5 lakh each under a National Health Protection Scheme unveiled by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech on Thursday.</p> <p> The insurance scheme, billed as the world’s largest government-funded healthcare programme and seen as a precursor to universal health coverage, can be used to pay for hospitalisation and treatment in secondary and tertiary care facilities.</p> <p> “This will help in extending healthcare to at least 50 crore people in the country,” Jaitley said.</p> <p> Insurance company stocks rose after the announcement. At noon, shares of SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd, New India Assurance Co. Ltd, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd and General Insurance Corp. of India were up 5.9%, 5%, 3.37%, 2 .46% 1.03% and 0.94%, respectively, on the BSE.</p> <p> Jaitley announced another programme—Ayushman Bharat initiative—to provide comprehensive healthcare with a focus on maternal and child health services. Two dozen new government medical colleges and hospitals will be established and existing district hospitals will be upgraded under the programme.</p> <p> Over 150,000 health and wellness centres will be set up with an allocation of Rs1,200 crore, Jaitley said. Considering the growing burden of tuberculosis and most patients’ inability to pay for their food requirements, the finance minister allocated Rs600 crore to provide nutritional support for each tuberculosis patient. Under the provision, Rs500 a month will be paid through the treatment period to each patient.</p> <p> The finance minister urged the private sector to support the government’s healthcare initiatives through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and philanthropic activities.</p> <p> The healthcare industry welcomed the government’s announcements.</p> <p> “Such ambitious, out-of-the-box thinking was a burning need of the hour and the government has not disappointed. The initiative to cover 10 crore families with Rs5 lakh per family/per year insurance cover will be a game changer,” said Prathap Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd.</p> <p> Besides reinforcing access healthcare, the health insurance cover will lead to the creation of jobs in the sector as new facilities come up in districts and villages, said Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance. “This move will go a long way in empowering India’s poor and underprivileged,” he added.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1163InsuringIndia News Sat, 06 May 2017 16:16:52 GMT <p> Considering health insurance as a social necessity rather than a business proposition, Anand Roy, joint executive director, Star Health and Allied Insurance, details the increased need to provide “purposeful and need-based insurance” while catering to varied requirements in diverse geographies across the country”. Edited excerpts of an interview:</p> <p> How would you evaluate the past financial year for the health insurance industry?</p> <p> The Financial year 2016-2017 has been a great year for the health insurance industry in general. With the industry showing high growth rate of 30% plus and with Gross Written Premium of more than ?30,000 crore, the benefits and need for health insurance are now reaching all segments of the Indian society.</p> <p> Profitable growth in health insurance has become a buzzword in the industry and this augurs well for all the stake holders.</p> <p> What are the recent developments in the space? Are there any challenges you foresee in FY18?</p> <p> Recent guidelines introduced by the regulator have brought about many positive changes specifically towards product innovation and improving distribution channels. Also, there is now a major thrust towards digital business.</p> <p> Escalating medical costs and high medical inflation remain the biggest challenges to the health insurance industry.</p> <p> I expect that we will have to face these challenges in this financial year as well. Every insurance company is taking various steps to mitigate these challenges.</p> <p> In a country where there are more than 30 private and public insurance companies that provide health insurance, what is your differentiator?</p> <p> The trust we have gained from millions of our customers has helped us achieve the position [of the largest private health insurance firm]. Our superior product design and service delivery are key to our accomplishment.</p> <p> We believe that health insurance is a social necessity rather than a business proposition. Hence, we endeavour to provide purposeful and need-based insurance. Our motto of ‘personal & caring’ has been our key differentiator.</p> <p> So we created in-house claims processing through our proprietary network of more than 8,000 hospitals which became industry benchmarks. Our disruptive products like Family Health Optima, Senior Citizens Red Carpet Health Insurance, Diabetes Safe Policy, Cardiac Care and the like have been well accepted in the market.</p> <p> Also, I would like to add that we have built a strong distribution network through our 350(+) branch offices and 600(+) satellite offices across the country. Our large agency force and sales managers help us reach almost all parts of the country including Tier I, II, III, IV, V towns and in major cities to service the customers.</p> <p> What part of this success can be attributed to successfully understanding consumer needs and market dynamics?</p> <p> In a servicing industry, customer’s needs form the main part of market dynamics. Understanding our customer’s needs and working towards this is our mantra. Hence I believe that a major part of our success can be attributed to properly understanding consumer needs i.e. the market dynamics. The existing market situation pointed us toward the large uninsured middle class of Indian society and this became our primary target segment. We hence introduced and focused on affordable health insurance products.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1161InsuringIndia News Sun, 23 Apr 2017 14:14:51 GMT <p> By investing in a life insurance policy, the insured has to pay a certain amount of money, every month known as a premium, to the company. In the future, if something does happen to him, then the company will then pay this cover to his family and loved ones. This will ensure that they are financially protected, even after the passing of the insured.</p> <p> It would be very unfortunate, for them to suffer economically, especially at a time when they are emotionally going through so much. Therefore, the life insurance plans in today’s day and age is a necessity and not a luxury, and will ensure that you live a peaceful and tension free life without having to worry about the financial status of your family after your death.</p> <p> However, there are a plethora of life insurance companies to choose from, and they offer a number of insurance plans. You must select a company you can rely on and trust, as you are investing a decent amount of money from your salary every month in the form of premiums that you pay. It is the organization’s duty to hand over that cover to your family in case something unfortunate does happen to you. What is the point of paying monthly premiums if your loved ones aren’t even financially secure after your passing? This isn’t limited to life insurance alone, but to all kinds of insurance policies like travel, property, car, health, among others. There are life insurance policies - which are limited to life insurance alone, whereas general insurance policies will deal with health as well as automobiles.</p> <p> In order to help you pick the right insurance company, we have enlisted below the best life insurance companies of 2018 in India after taking into account the services, number and types of policies they offer, premium to claim ratio and client satisfaction, among things. The following companies are known to offer the best policies to their customers in all 3 classes, namely – general, life as well as health insurance policies.</p> <p> <strong>1.The LIC</strong></p> <p> The Life Insurance Corporation of India, better known by the public as the LIC, its abbreviation is one of the oldest as well as the most reliable out of all the life insurance companies that are found in India. It is owned by the State and was established in the year 1956. It is known to offer a plethora of life insurance plans to its customers such as term plans, pension plans, endowment plans, among others. Every Indian is well aware of the company and about a million of them have turned to the company for the purpose of selecting a policy that’s best suited to them. It is known for having the best claim to settlement ratio, which is above 98%</p> <p> <strong>2.SBI Life Insurance</strong></p> <p> The State Bank of India, the biggest banking organization in India as well as the BNP Paribas, a banking organization that is based in France came together to start this endeavor. It is known to offer a wide range of life insurance commodities to its customers. It has a claim to settlement ratio of 95% and above, which is super remarkable. It is the third most popular among the insurance companies in the country. The most popular out of all their policies are namely the SBI Life Saral Pension as well as the SBI Life Shubh Nivesh.</p> <p> <strong>3.ICICI Prudential Life Insurance</strong></p> <p> It is one of the most popular life insurance companies in India that is privately owned. It is said to offer a plethora of insurance policies to its customers. Besides, it has a claim to settlement ratio of above 96%. In the year 2017, their Prudential wealth builder – II was the most loved insurance produce among their clients.</p> <p> <strong>4.Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance</strong></p> <p> The Bajaj brand has made a name for itself in India, and is known to be very reliable, it has existed since a very long period. This company offers a wide range of insurance policies to its customers that can be tailor made to suit each person’s needs and requirements. They have a plan to suit each person, no matter his age or the economic strata he belongs to. They are known to have happy customers as the organization works hard to resolve the issues faced by its clients, and they have been known to resolve 91% claims.</p> <p> <strong>5.TATA AIA Life Insurance</strong></p> <p> The Tatas have been leaders in various fields, so how could they not make a name for themselves when it comes to the insurance industry? The Tatas and the AIA group, the latter being the largest life insurance company in the world in the pan-Asia region, have come together to start this joint venture. It boasts of happy customers as it is known to solve all or 100% of their client’s complaints. By doing so, they have definitely earned a spot for themselves on the list of the best insurance companies of the country.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1162InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Apr 2017 15:15:51 GMT <p> Reliance General Insurance (RGI), a part of Reliance Capital, has entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Catholic Syrian Bank.</p> <p> With this tie-up, RGI will offer its general insurance products to Catholic Syrian Bank's 1.5 million customer base spread across its 430 branches in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.</p> <p> Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General Insurance, said: “We are delighted to partner with Catholic Syrian Bank. This tie-up will enable RGI to leverage Catholic Syrian Bank’s retail and SME customer base, robust distribution network, strong technology platform and brand name and offer them innovative and a comprehensive range of insurance products from RGI.”.</p> <p> CVR Rajendran, MD & CEO, Catholic Syrian Bank, said: "The strategic partnership with Reliance General Insurance will make it extremely easy for our customers to access a comprehensive selection of customised general insurance solutions at affordable rates. The corporate alliance will enable Catholic Syrian Bank serve our customers banking and insurance needs under one roof."</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1158InsuringIndia News Sat, 04 Mar 2017 14:10:28 GMT <p> MUMBAI: Dena BankNSE -0.68 % today announced the launch of corporate agency arrangement with India’s leading health insurance provider, Apollo Munich Health Insurance, for distribution of the latter’s health insurance products.</p> <p> Under the agreement, Apollo Munich Health Insurance will offer a wide range of health insurance products to Dena Bank customers through the bank’s extensive nationwide branch network. Apollo Munich Health Insurance offers wide range of health.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1159InsuringIndia News Fri, 03 Mar 2017 14:11:50 GMT <p> The Economic Survey of the Government of India, submitted to the Parliament yesterday, reminds Indians that as a nation the achievement in health outcomes has been a mixed bag. On a global comparison matrix, the country had done ‘reasonably well’ in life expectancy at birth while ‘exceptionally well’ in fertility decline. Whereas, when compared with core indicators of health outcomes, such as, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), India has a lot to catch up. A weak delivery system is seen as the primary reason for poor health outcomes. While this may be partly true in most states, what the survey glosses over is the persistent underfunding by the government.</p> <p> Public funding of health sector remains at 1.2 percent of GDP, with Central government spending constituting a third of overall government funds. The Union Government’s allocation to health schemes, in the last five years have witnessed steady decline, in real terms. The health sector suffered the brunt of underallocation and few other policy changes that were effected on account of implementation of Fourteenth Finance Commission recommendations. As the centre’s tax devolution to states was sought to be accelerated from 32% to 42%, a sharp and significant deceleration in Central govt. allocation to states through health schemes was also effected since 2014. Moreover, as the society route was practically closed, the central government is currently routing funds through treasury channels. This change has caused enormous amount of difficulty for frontline health facilities to obtain adequate funds in time and to deliver services.</p> <p> Against this backdrop, and amidst all round criticism and concern raised by the Health Ministry in recent days, the Union Budget 2017-18 has sought to reverse this trend by stepping up allocation from Rs. 39,888 crores (revised estimate during 2016-17) to Rs. 48,880 crores, with a nominal rise of 23%. Nearly half of additional funding to Health Ministry is allocated to the Ministry’s flagship program - National Health Mission - from Rs. 22,598 crores during 2016-17 to about Rs. 27,131 crores in 2017-18.</p> <p> The Union Budget outlined an ambitious action plan to eliminate Kala-Azar and Filariasis by 2017, Leprosy by 2018, Measles by 2020 and even more ambitious target to eliminate Tuberculosis by 2025. How realistic is the action plan given the challenges the country faces from such infectious diseases? Are allocation of public funds matched realistically to meet the target and follow action plans? And how would the government deal with patients accessing care from private sector for TB cure? Such desirable action plan in the past, whether National Urban Mission or Non-communicable diseases, are yet to see light of the day for its implementation in any significant way. Unless substantial public resources are set aside to match disease profile and strengthen health system, targets will tend to be elusive. And such targets need to be aligned with other health related goals. The Union Budget 2017-18 is equally silent about the National Health Policy which is languishing for the past couple of years, which is expected to outline health goals, targets and strategies.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1156InsuringIndia News Mon, 06 Feb 2017 14:07:42 GMT <p> New Delhi: In the Union budget presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday, the health sector was singled out for attention with a slew of measures being announced ranging from ensuring availability of drugs at reasonable prices to availability of specialist doctors to strengthen secondary and tertiary levels of health care to improving India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR).</p> <p> Jaitley while talking about the health sector said that it is the poor who suffer the maximum from various chronic diseases and as such, “government has prepared an action plan to eliminate kala-azar and filariasis by 2017, leprosy by 2018 and measles by 2020. Elimination of tuberculosis by 2025 is also targeted,” he said. Interestingly in 2014 India, Bangladesh, Nepal, under the initiative of the WHO had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to eliminate Kala-Azar by 2018. “I am very happy to see the focus of the government on reducing chronic diseases. India is perhaps the only country in the world that simultaneously battles chronic as well as lifestyle diseases and this self-imposed time limit speaks well for the less privileged sections of society,” said Anjan Bose, secretary general NATHEALTH.</p> <p> As many as 5000 new postgraduate seats in medicine were also announced in order to ensure availability of specialist doctors in smaller towns as well as the transformation of 150,000 health sub-centres into Health and Wellness Centre. “In addition, steps will be taken to roll out DNB courses in big District Hospitals; strengthen PG teaching in select ESI and Municipal Corporation Hospitals; and encourage reputed Private Hospitals to start DNB courses,” Jaitley said in his budget speech.</p> <p> “Expectations were much higher and though there has been an increase in the allocation of the budget (from Rs. 33,831.60 crore to Rs. 38,206.35 crore) there are issues like shortage of staff etc that we were hoping would be looked at,” said Happy Pant, advocacy coordinator of Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability.</p> <p> The budget also included the announcement for the formulation of new rules for regulating medical devices. These rules, according to Jaitley, will be internationally harmonized and will help attract investment into this sector.</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1157InsuringIndia News Sun, 05 Feb 2017 14:09:10 GMT <p> Health insurance companies have done a flip-flop on covering bariatric surgery in the past few years. Some insurers have started granting cover, but on a case-to-case basis, to patients with life-threatening risks. But a recent district consumer court’s decision says that an insurance company cannot be held liable for deficient service.</p> <p> Health Insurance: Keep Emergency Funds for Hospitalisation</p> <p> Health insurance companies have done a flip-flop on covering bariatric surgery in the past few years. Some insurers have started granting cover, but on a case-to-case basis, to patients with life-threatening risks. But a recent district consumer court’s decision says that an insurance company cannot be held liable for deficient service when its policy agreement clearly excludes certain...</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1154InsuringIndia News Sun, 08 Jan 2017 14:02:46 GMT <p> With Central and State governments rolling out health insurance schemes to cover those below poverty line and unorganised sector workers, Mumbai-based Health India TPA Services Pvt Ltd, a third party administrator for many non-life insurance companies, said it expects to clock 15-20 per cent growth every year over the next few years.</p> <p> Mitul Vora, Promoter, Health India TPA Services, said: “Today less than 4 per cent of the public has private health insurance cover. If you include government schemes, then this goes up to 25-30 per cent. Given the under-penetration in the health insurance segment, the scope for growth is tremendous.”</p> <p> The company, which was set up in 2002 to provide cashless hospitalisation and reimbursement of medi-claim settlement to the insured on behalf of non-life insurance companies, settled 1.40 lakh claims amounting to about ?400 crore in FY16.</p> <p> Kamal Jeet Gupta, Joint Managing Director, said: “This year we are expecting to settle about two lakh claims amounting to around ?500 crore.”</p> <p> Health India TPA’s turnover went up to ?93 crore in FY16 from ?30 crore three years back, Vora said, adding that his company is eyeing a turnover of ?100 crore by March-end 2017. Typically, profit in this line of business is 8-10 per cent of the turnover.</p> <p> Vora said: “As our insurance market becomes a little more advanced, we are hoping that the insurance regulator will see the TPA as a segment that has matured. This will enable the segment to follow the practices of the West.</p> <p> “For example, in the US, the TPA business is a multi-billion dollar industry. There the TPAs are allowed to handle insurance premiums.”</p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1155InsuringIndia News Sat, 07 Jan 2017 14:03:49 GMT <div> Recognizing that precious lives can be saved within the first 45 minutes of an accident, the Bill seeking amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act has made provisions for cashless treatment during the "golden hour" of the accident. </div> <div>  </div> <div> In the existing scenario, many hospitals and nursing homes waste time on formalities like documentation and procuring insurance forms. This can be potentially life threatening to anyone who is involved in a serious road accident. Though this norm is prevalent in India, abroad there is no such red tape to cut through. </div> <div>  </div> <div> Often, road accident victims don't get timely aid because the accident site is more than a 45 minute ride from the nearest government hospital. Then there is the added problem that private hospitals are mostly reluctant to take in accident victims as they feel that they might not get back the money the hospital shelled out for the treatment of the accident victim. But now insurance experts feel that with insurance backing the hospitals, a lot of lives can be saved with introduction of this cashless facility.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Besides this measure, the Bill has also moved for increasing the compensation from the existing Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh. It also provides compensation up to Rs 10 lakh for road fatalities. Currently insurers pay an amount equivalent to 0.1% of the third party premium underwritten to the pool of funds (Solatium Fund) being managed by the government to take care of compensation for hit and run cases. </div> <div>  </div> <div> <strong>The Motor Vehicle Accident</strong> Fund will also provide<strong> compulsory insurance cover</strong> to all road users in India, says the Act. The other development which will be a huge boost for accident victims is that recently the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signed two MOU with IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co & ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co to provide cashless treatment to road accident victims up to Rs 30,000 for treatment in the first 48 hours of the accident.</div> <div>     <a href="http://www.insuringindia.com" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(36, 110, 191); border-radius: 10px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 7px; margin: 1em 0px; display: inline !important; background-color: rgb(45, 137, 239);" target="_blank"><span style="padding: 7px 20px; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; border-color: rgb(108, 172, 244); border-radius: 10px; text-shadow: none;">Get Free Comparison and Quotes </span></a></div> <div>                </div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1152InsuringIndia News Mon, 22 Aug 2016 08:20:43 GMT <div> <strong>New Delhi</strong></div> <div>  </div> <div> Now anytime a four year old child goes pillion riding on a scooter or motorcycle, it is mandatory that he wears a helmet. This proposal is a part of the government’s ambitious plan to curb road accidents and ensuring safety of people, via a slew of amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act. These were presented before the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.</div> <div>  </div> <div> While Sikhs wearing turbans will be exempt from the helmet rule, the government is also looking to put a lid on cases of car accidents. It has proposed that it should be mandatory for car passengers aged below 14 years to wear a safety belt or restraint system. If this is not done then as per the new rules the violator will be asked to cough up a fine of Rs 1,000.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Most of the amendments to the Act aim at improving road safety by imposing severe penalties on traffic rule violators. It also aims to curb the number of repeat offenders with higher penalties and longer jail terms. However, the amendments also propose to remove the clause for a minimum educational qualification for commercial drivers. The new bill says that applicants holding a certificate from a driver training school need not meet a minimum educational qualification. </div> <div>  </div> <div> According to the Union Road Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, 400 lives are lost every day in road accidents. In spite of arguments that the bill was very voluminous, by evening the bill was referred to the standing committee.</div> <div>  </div> <div> The proposed amendments seek to empower traffic police to confiscate driving licenses if someone is caught jumping traffic lights, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, talking on a mobile phone while driving, or driving in the wrong lane. Besides a fine, the offences would lead to the suspension of licenses for a period three months. Police may also permanently revoke the license of repeat offenders. A repeat drunk driving offender would be fined Rs 15,000, and a serial 'dangerous driver' Rs 10,000 or one year in jail or both.</div> <div> <a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/general-insurance/twoWheeler/online-twowheeler-insurance-home.aspx?utm_source=News_New%20rules%20to%20ramp%20up%20Motor%20Vehicles%20Act&utm_medium=News&utm_term=News&utm_campaign=News" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(36, 110, 191); border-radius: 10px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 7px; margin: 1em 0px; display: block !important; background-color: rgb(45, 137, 239);" target="_blank"><span style="padding: 7px 20px; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; border-color: rgb(108, 172, 244); border-radius: 10px; text-shadow: none;">Get Free Comparison and Quotes of Two-Wheelar Insurance</span></a></div> <div>  </div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1151InsuringIndia News Tue, 16 Aug 2016 10:40:38 GMT <div> In a major boost to healthcare in Jharkhand, the state government has decided to unveil medical insurance for critical diseases. The new scheme will provide relief to the BPL population which has little or no means to combat critical illnesses like cancer, stroke, heart ailments and other related diseases. This scheme was announced last week by the Jharkhand chief minister, Raghubar Das.</div> <div>  </div> <div> "In a few months, we will be starting medical insurances up to Rs 2.5 lakh for gambhirbimaari (critical diseases). Besides critical diseases, medical insurances for non-critical illnesses of up to Rs 50,000 will also be started," Das said at the health directorate in Namkum after inaugurating several health schemes.</div> <div>  </div> <div> This is being viewed as a positive step for the state as it’s estimated that approximately 80% of the total population will be brought under cover of the twin insurances. These are expected to be launched in the following months, the CM said. The main focus of this project is two categories of people: those living below poverty line and those with annual household incomes less than Rs 72,000. The CM further added that these health insurance schemes will bring people from all economic backgrounds under its fold.</div> <div>  </div> <div> The CM also announced the state government’s ambitious plans of developing a medical workforce of women who would be an asset to the nursing profession. In this line, he announced the setting up of seven new nursing colleges within the next financial year and hinted at <strong><a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/life-insurance/TermLife/online-term-insurance-home.aspx">long term plans </a></strong>of developing Jharkhand into a premier supplier of nursing force in India along the lines of Kerala. "Educated women from tribal communities have interest in the profession. We want to give them quality training," he said.</div> <div>  </div> <div> In fact, sources in the state health directorate have revealed that the process of setting up nine new nursing colleges is already underway. There are also three new colleges for general nurse midwifery (GNM) which are expected to take off soon. </div> <div>  </div> <div> "The CM has recently instructed the department to identify districts and their blocks where there is interest in pursuing career in nursing. Such blocks, which have a hospital with around 50 to 60 beds, will see new nursing schools," a senior health department official said. </div> <div> <a href="http://www.insuringindia.com" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(36, 110, 191); border-radius: 10px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 7px; margin: 1em 0px; display: block !important; background-color: rgb(45, 137, 239);" target="_blank"><span style="padding: 7px 20px; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; border-color: rgb(108, 172, 244); border-radius: 10px; text-shadow: none;">Get Free Comparison and Quotes </span></a></div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1150InsuringIndia News Mon, 13 Jun 2016 10:43:48 GMT <div> Large metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Delhi NCR (national capital region) have seen the highest number of health insurance claims related to diabetes, where diabetes is said to have affected over 10 crore people. This data was recently published in a survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), unveiled on the occasion of World Health Day on 7th April.</div> <div>  </div> <div> The last census pegged India’s population at about 131 crores. The WHO survey revealed that 7.8% of the Indian population is diabetic, and that this silent killer has claimed more than 2 lakh lives sofar. </div> <div>  </div> <div> According to Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of WHO South-East Asia, by 2030 diabetes will become the seventh largest killer in the world. She said that diabetes is not a disease which tends to make headlines, but unless all stake holders like the government, special interest groups, communities and individual people put in their focused and intense efforts, this disease will grow unchecked  </div> <div>  </div> <div> The popular belief about diabetes is that it is a lifestyle disease, which only affects the age group above 60 years and also is confined to the urban affluent. Diabetes is a condition where there is excessive sugar in the body which it is unable to break down. This happens when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, the chemical which breaks down sugar, or when the body is not able to effectively use the insulin. This condition can happen to anyone anywhere.</div> <div>  </div> <div> In addition to the data reported by the WHO in its survey, there is considerable data collated from health insurance companies that show a marked increase in claims related to diabetes. Another surprising and worrying point that has come up is that a significant percentage of these claims have been made by people in the age group of 25 years and below.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Some of the serious fallouts of diabetes are conditions like hyperglycemia, where patients need to have expensive surgeries like retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic nephropathy and diabetic foot treatment.</div> <div>  </div> <div> This data was further supported by a separate report from ICICI Lombard. Here too, the alarming fact of more and more people in the under 25 age group claiming health cover on diabetes related ailments was in sharp focus. Between the period of 2011-2015 ICICI Lombard received 7,915 claims across age groups. Year on year data for claims processed by the insurance company states that 4,140 senior citizens have made diabetes related claims since 2011 while claims from the under 25 group remained at 235. The same numbers for people in the age group of 26-45 and 46-60 stood at 1,564 and 3,433, respectively, it said.</div> <div>  </div> <div>  </div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1149InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:22:37 GMT <p> The Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) has announced an increase of up to 40% in third party motor insurance. The new rule will come into effect from 1 April and will take all motor vehicles, including two wheelers and e-rickshaws into its ambit.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Coming in the wake of a steep price rise in cars across categories, this move has drawn only discontent from all stakeholders. Car prices have increased because world steel prices have become more expensive.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In India, taking third party motor insurance is mandatory for all people owning vehicles of any kind. Therefore consumers can expect to shell out significantly higher premiums. The cost of insurance in the small car category (up to 1,000 cc) will go up by 39.9%, moving from Rs. 1,468 to Rs. 2,055. Mid-range cars (1,000 – 1,500 cc) will see a hike of about 40% and big cars and SUV’s (above 1,500 cc) will attract an increase of 25%.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The premium rates for two wheelers, i.e. bikes and scooters of up to 75 cc will now be Rs. 569 from Rs. 519. For bikes which are 75 cc – 150 cc, a 15% increase is expected. 150 cc – 350 cc will see an increase of 25%.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The combined effect of overall price rise in cars coupled with this increase in insurance premiums is expected to have an adverse impact on the automobile industry, at least in the short run. According to a senior official from an Indian car manufacturer, though the increase is not much, it will definitely cause car sales to dip especially coming after two sets of price rise in cars. The good news is that industry experts do not expect this to have an impact on the industry in the long run.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Insurance companies, though, have not taken this news well. The feeling is that higher premiums will not help to reduce their losses in the motor insurance category. Motor insurance has a very high claim ratio – 77.14%, where there has been a growth of more than 20% in rewards for third party incidents.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Though motor insurance is the fastest growing insurance segment, with a reported growth of 10.52% in 2014-15, claim related losses remain high. The insurance companies say that this increase of third party premium will not have any impact on this very high loss rate.</p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1148InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 Apr 2016 16:41:09 GMT <div> An unnatural death of a family member brings with it a sense of loss, grief and immense heartache. At the same time, it also carries with it the responsibility of sorting out financial matters pertaining to investments and insurance policies which cannot be ignored. If the deceased had insured himself before taking an extreme step like a suicide, does it mean that the family will have to file a claim to receive monetary benefits from the insurance company? Can the claim be considered void? What are the specific clauses or reasons under which an insurance claim can be rejected? The following facts explore all the ground realities:</div> <div>  </div> <div> What is a Life Insurance Policy</div> <div>  </div> <div> This policy is essentially a contractual agreement between an insurance policy holder and the insurance company where the holder pays fixed amounts to the insurer in the form of premiums. This is done on the agreement that the insurance company will pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money in return for a premium, upon the death of the insured person (often the policy holder). In case of a Term Insurance Policy, upon the policy holder's death, his beneficiaries or kin get the money. </div> <div>  </div> <div> What can happen to a claim in a suicide case? </div> <div>  </div> <div> While the insurer may have taken a term insurance cover, fact is if he dies due to a suicide then there are high chances that the claim filed by his kin may be rejected. In fact, insurance companies have a suicide clause as an ‘exclusion’ where the legal heirs or the next of kin of the policy holder who’s committed suicide may be denied claim, under certain circumstances.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Usually, most life insurance policies have a clause where they do not pay the policy holder's kin 'in case the suicide of the policy holder whether sane/ insane' has occurred with a year of buying an insurance cover. However, there are a number of other factors too that can cause a rejection of claim. </div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Any incomplete section or data pertaining to job, health etc can result in a rejection of claim and cause further trauma to the deceased’s kin who may be dependent on him for financial support.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If a lapsed policy is renewed, & the suicide of the policy holder occurs within 12 months from the date of issue of the policy or the date of any reinstatement of the policy. </div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If the policy holder has withheld any information regarding his health then even if the suicide has occurred after a 12 month period of buying the policy, the insurance company has the right to reject a claim.</div> <div>  </div> <div> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-color: rgb(108, 172, 244); border-radius: 10px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 7px; margin: 1em 0px; display: block !important; padding: 7px 20px; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-shadow: none; background-color: rgb(45, 137, 239);">                                <a href="https://www.insuringindia.com/life-insurance/TermLife/online-term-insurance-home.aspx"> Get Free Comparison and Quotes of the Best Term Plan in India</a>.  </span></div> <div>  </div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1147InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Mar 2016 11:45:53 GMT <p>  If the government’s current rail budget is anything to go by, then this could be the year of a major positive change for the insurance sector. While travel insurance has largely been restricted to air travel, it has managed to only secure 5 percent of space in the insurance sector, leaving the remaining 95 percent untapped and unexplored. The Union Government’s proposal of an optional travel policy that provides personal accident and theft covers could change the way India travels on land. It is also expected to be a huge shot in the arm for the insurance sector.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “There is a continuous effort on our part to ensure safe travel, yet untoward incidents do occur. To minimize the financial loss to passengers from such events, we are working with insurance companies to offer optional travel insurance," said Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister.</p> <p>  </p> <p> When an air ticket is booked, the corresponding travel insurance policy usually covers accidental death, missed departures, loss of tickets, emergency medical evacuation, accommodation charges due to delays, apart from some additional options like loss of baggage.</p> <p>  </p> <p> For a country whose lifeline consists of largely, travel by land via railways, this new move could potentially be a boon both for rail passengers and also the insurance sector. Besides covering the common maladies associated with travel, travel policy by rail could also include delay and cancellation of trains. This would not only speed up efficiency of the railways, bolster insurance but also give passengers a security cover which has long been in abeyance.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Though no premium or cover size has been revealed by the railway ministry as yet, it is expected that initially there could be a basic cover of Rs 2-3 lakh with a premium of less than Rs 500. Even smaller covers for short-distance travelers could be made available, at some point. </p> <p>  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1146InsuringIndia News Tue, 08 Mar 2016 10:25:17 GMT <p> A new insurance scheme called the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was unveiled by the Central Government recently. The main objective of this insurance scheme would be to indemnify farmers in the event of crop failures due to unseasonal rain, monsoon failure, storms, floods, pests and diseases.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The Agriculture Census Report 2010-11 presented a finding that there are approximately 118.6 million cultivators in India as of today, and currently less than 25% have a crop insurance cover. The main objective of the scheme would be to add more farmers into the ambit of this scheme and take the number up to 50%.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The PMFBY will be a collaboration between the farmers, the central government and the state governments. The premium paid by the farmer will be a flat 2% of the total value for Kharif crops, 1.5% for all Rabi crops and 5% for commercial crops like cocoa, coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco, sunflower and other horticultural crops. The central government plans on putting in about Rs. 8,800 crore to this scheme, and the state governments have committed to contribute an equal amount.<br />  </p> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1145InsuringIndia News Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:01:10 GMT <div> An<a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/"> insurance policy</a> is a form of financial security in case of any untoward incident in future. Most of us take it for granted that once we have purchased the policy, the insurance company would settle our claim easily and quickly when we need it. That’s why most of us don’t even read the proposal form properly and simply ask the insurance agent to fill the form on our behalf.  But what if the insurance company rejects your claim?</div> <div>  </div> <div> There can be several reasons for the rejection of an insurance claim such as:</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Non- payment of premium</strong>- If you fail to pay your premium on time, then the claims thereafter will get automatically rejected.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>On technical grounds </strong>like slight delays in intimation of claims.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Non disclosure of facts</strong>- One of the foundation principles of insurance is Uberima Fides, or Utmost Good Faith. This means that both the policy holder and the insurer are legally bound to disclose all facts pertaining to that insurance policy. Any failure to do so, will lead to a breach of contract and will render the insurance policy null and void. Therefore, in a case where the policy holder has not disclosed or suppressed important information regarding the policy, the insurance company will not be obligated to settle the claim. E.g. non disclosure of pre-existing ailments such as high blood pressure and diabetes which can be hidden during medicals through medications but are found out by the insurer later during investigations from your previous medical records can lead to the claim being rejected. Wrong disclosure of important facts such as age, income, nature of occupation etc. can all lead to the rejection of the claim. The information that you fill in the proposal form should also not have any ambiguity. </div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Non disclosure of the nature of the profession</strong>- It is necessary to describe the scale and nature of your job and business accurately in the proposal form to avoid getting your claim rejected.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Lack of knowledge on the part of the policy holder</strong>- Most people have very little knowledge of insurance. Due to this ignorance, and because they don’t read the policy document carefully,   people are not aware of the exclusions under the policy which are actually written in the terms and conditions of the policy at the time of sale. The agent doesn’t inform the client of these limitations because he/she is too eager to sell the policy.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Superfluous expenditures</strong>- Many hospitals, just to generate revenue  perform medical procedures on  patients which are not really necessary and so the insurance company rejects the claim. Similarly in the case of motor repairs, some people get unnecessary repairs done and produce inflated bills which are rejected by the insurance company as the irregularities come to light during investigations by the insurance company.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<strong><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Being careless</strong>- A number of <a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/general-insurance/motor/online-motor-insurance-home.aspx"> motor insurance claims get rejected </a>because of negligence on the part of the client. For instance,  if the client leaves his car keys in the car and the car gets  stolen, his claim will most likely get rejected. The same will happen in cases where  the client was driving with an expired license at the time of an accident or was drinking and driving etc. Claims will also get rejected  in cases where  a personal car insurance policy has been taken for a vehicle in commercial use. </div> <div>  </div> <div> Similarly home insurance claims can also get rejected on grounds of negligence. For example, if there is a theft in a house while the house was unlocked, the claim will be rejected.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Not updating  nominee information</strong>- You should regularly  update the nominee information in your policy. If initially as an unmarried person you had nominated your parents as nominees then as a married person now it would be wise to nominate your spouse as the nominee.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Avoiding  medical tests</strong>- For a higher assured sum by the insurance company it is mandatory to undergo some special medical tests specified by the insurance company. If you don’t undergo these specified tests then on a later date the chances of your claim getting rejected are higher.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Non disclosure of old insurance policies</strong>- It is absolutely necessary to disclose your existing insurance policies to the new company, failing which your claims can get rejected.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Hence for your own good you should be honest and transparent while filling up the proposal form for  your insurance policies. Hiding any material facts might put all your efforts and hard earned money to  waste. Also read all the terms and conditions of the policy carefully before signing  to avoid any surprises later on at the time of the claim. You should focus on the product features instead of the price and also buy the policy from a company which has a proven record of settling their client’s claims promptly. These days most  reputed companies on the direction of the IRDAI give you an option of a re-look at your policy for a period of approximately two months. During this period if you feel that you are not satisfied with the policy, you are eligible to return the policy with minor deduction (on account of processing cost of the policy) and refund of your premium.</div> <div>  </div> <div>  </div> <div>  </div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1144InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 Jan 2016 12:44:53 GMT <div> Health Insurance is a type of insurance that we all need to<a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/general-insurance/health/health-home.aspx"> <strong>cover our medical and surgical expenses</strong></a><strong> </strong>at the time of need. It is a policy which you buy from an insurance company and the company reimburses the medical expenses of the policy holder as per the agreement. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in a bid to promote good health amongst  citizens, has recently proposed some major changes to health insurance by stating in its draft norm that the various health insurers all over the country could provide their customers with discounts on their renewal premiums based on the customer’s fitness and wellness criteria. So the fitter the policy holder, the better discount he might get from his insurance company. This will indirectly motivate the customers to pay more attention to their health and will also benefit the insurance companies in the long run as the number of claims will reduce over time.</div> <div> IRDAI would like to see health insurance companies become the active medium to promote wellness and fitness in the country. They should  encourage healthy behavior among  policy holders by offering them health specific services and incentives such as health check-ups, outpatient consultations, treatments, spa and gym membership discounts, pharmaceuticals,  and  discounts at specified network providers. All these services can be offered to the clients based on the cost of the policy where the costs of the services would  be adjusted in the pricing of the health insurance policy. The IRDAI has said that the <a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/general-insurance/health/health-home.aspx">premiums charged from senior citizens by the health insurance company </a>should be absolutely transparent and fair and duly disclosed upfront. The client needs to be informed in writing and his/her consent taken for any underwriting loading charged as filed and cleared over and above the premium before issuing the policy to him/her. For the easy redressal of  senior citizens health related claims and grievances, the IRDAI has called for establishing a separate channel for them.</div> <div> Combination products which are a combination of a life insurance policy and a health insurance policy have also been issued detailed norms by the IRDAI on their functioning. The IRDAI has asked them to make clear disclosures on the products being offered by the two of them and has told them that one of them would be the ‘lead’ insurer in these products.</div> <div> The previous norms did not allow the pricing of the health insurance policy to be based on the fitness levels of the policy holder. But now with the latest norms issued by the IRDAI,  health insurance companies will be able to reward customers who maintain their health and have better fitness levels with better insurance rates. So all in all it is a very good move by the regulator which all  customers will welcome.</div> <div>  </div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1143InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Jan 2016 10:14:37 GMT <div> We all need a financial plan in life to make our life secure and tension free. So the first step in this direction would be to buy a term insurance. A term insurance is your gift to your family for their safe future and your own mental peace. It is a way of ensuring that your family does not have to face any hardships and continue to maintain the same lifestyle in case of any eventuality.</div> <div>  </div> <div> It is a<strong> type of a life insurance policy </strong>which provides <strong>coverage </strong>for a specific number of years and incase the insured person dies during the time period specified in the policy, then the death benefit is paid to the family in the form of an assured sum. The<strong> benefits in a term insurance policy</strong> can be availed only in the<strong> event of the death </strong>of the insured within the specified coverage period.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Most of us build a financial plan purely on the basis of our savings for our needs. What we actually need to do is to build a financial plan on the basis of our savings for needs as well as our protection against life’s contingencies.</div> <div>  An example of savings for our needs would be- You need Rs. 10 lakhs for your daughter’s marriage after 10 years. If you assume that your investments will earn 8% per year, you will have to set aside Rs.64, 000 (approx) each year, for the next 10 years. So this need can be achieved through regular savings from your income.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Now for the example of financial plan for protection- Imagine that you are the only earning member of your family. In case of any eventuality your family would need Rs.1crore to maintain the existing lifestyle but you were unable to save that much money through your savings while you were alive with your sole income. So in this situation where will your family get this kind of money from? This can be achieved easily and in no time with the collective effort of say 1000 people contributing Rs. 10,000 each. This kind of safety net, technically called the <strong>term insurance</strong> is created by a group for the financial security of that unfortunate person who dies before being able to save enough for the sustenance of his family. </div> <div>  </div> <div> <strong>What’s the need to buy term insurance?</strong></div> <div>  </div> <div> It is essential to buy a term insurance so as to enable your family to lead a life of dignity in your absence. It could come to their rescue in several situations such as</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Home loan- In case you have taken a home loan to purchase a property and something happens to you before you can repay it. In that case the entire burden of repaying the outstanding loan will fall on the family. If you have a term insurance, then the company pays a fixed amount to your family which the family can use to repay the home loan and live in the house without any fear.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>An <strong>assured income for your family </strong>when you are no longer there to look after them- Your family will get a fixed assured amount in case of any eventuality and they can invest that amount in various savings schemes, which will give them a regular source of income even in your absence, making life easier for them. Up to the age of 40years one needs insurance that is 20-30 times the <strong>individual’s annual income</strong>. In 40s the insurance can be 10-20 times and in 50s it can be 5-10 times the<strong> annual income</strong>.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The money from the term <a href="http://www.insuringindia.com">insurance policy</a> can take care of the post death liabilities of the individual, which in his absence will have to be taken care of by the family members.</div> <div>  </div> <div> <strong>Points to remember while buying term insurance</strong></div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Who should buy it?</strong> - Anybody and everybody who loves and cares for his family should<strong><a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/life-insurance/TermLife/online-term-insurance-home.aspx"> buy a term insurance policy</a></strong>.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>How to decide the amount of the life cover</strong>- You need to cover yourself till your retirement to repay your loans and to ensure a secure future for your family in case of any loss of future income.</div> <div>  </div> <div> So for buying a term plan you need to keep in mind two points i.e. your income and your outstanding loans. For example if you are 30 years old with a monthly income of Rs.25000 and an outstanding loan of Rs.800000, then you need a life cover for the next 30 years. The total amount then for your life cover would be: (Rs.25000 x 12months x 30years) + Rs800000 = Rs 98,00,000.</div> <div>  </div> <div> <strong>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Where to buy the term insurance from? </strong>-  There are a lot of companies in the market offering term insurance therefore you should carefully select a company which has had a long standing reputation for timely and consistent high claims settlement records.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Is it wise to switch to a new policy if it is cheaper than the existing one? – No, you should continue with the existing policy, as the insurance becomes more expensive as age progresses.</div> <div>  </div> <div> <strong>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Your responsibilities while buying term insurance-</strong></div> <div>  </div> <div> 1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Provide correct information in the application form, failing which the company can decline your claim on a later date in case of any eventuality.</div> <div>  </div> <div> 2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ensure that the contact details are updated for the company to send reminders and settle benefits in a timely manner.</div> <div>  </div> <div> •<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><strong>Medical Checkup </strong>- To ensure your health condition before issuing you your term insurance policy, the company will want you to undergo certain compulsory medical tests. Your term insurance premium will be based on your medical condition. If the medical tests show up any prognosis, then you need the cover even more in the light of a greater risk to life, even at the cost of paying an additional premium.</div> <div>  </div> <div> The<a href="http://www.insuringindia.com/life-insurance/TermLife/online-term-insurance-home.aspx"><strong> term insurance policy</strong></a> does not give any interim benefits to the policy holder, is the simplest and the most cost effective insurance policy. This policy has set time duration and on its expiration the policy holder can decide whether he wants to renew the policy or let the coverage end.</div> <div>  </div> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1142InsuringIndia News Mon, 18 Jan 2016 12:12:50 GMT Asking insurers to get the best and cost-effective services for health insurance claimants, regulator IRDAI has directed them to pass on discounts, if any given by hospitals, to policyholders.<br/><br/>In a circular to insurers and Third Party Administrators (TPAs), IRDAI said they may be obtaining discounts from various network providers and other hospitals outside the network during settlement of claims under health insurance policies.<br/><br/>"While every insurer and TPA shall endeavour to get the best and cost effective services to the policyholders or the claimants of health insurance policies, it shall be ensured that the discounts obtained from the hospitals, if any, are passed on to the policyholders or the claimants of the underlying health insurance policy," it said.<br/><br/>Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said that insurers and TPAs should pass on the benefit of the discount to the concerned policyholder or the claimant.<br/><br/>It also asked them to put in place procedures including mandating the hospitals to reflect such agreed discounts in the final hospitalisation bill of each claim, whereby the policyholder or the claimant can also be aware of the actual bill raised by the hospital.<br/><br/>Also, in cases where the admissible claim amount comes more than the sum insured, the agreed discount shall be on the gross amount raised in bill, before letting the policyholder or claimant bear the costs over and above the eligible claim amounts.<br/><br/>Further, it said if health insurance policies have co-payment or deductible conditions, co-payment or deductible should be effected only after netting of the discounts offered by hospital, if any.<br/><br/>IRDAI said the discount should be in absolute monetary terms and every insurer shall make these procedures as part of their detailed guidelines on claim settlement.<br/><br/>The regulator said the guidelines would come to force with immediate effect for both cashless services and reimbursements of all claims on health insurance policies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1128InsuringIndia News Fri, 26 Jun 2015 13:20:05 GMT Investing in company fixed deposits is no more boring and rigid where you just get a cheque at the specified time, or just lose money if the company defaults.<br/><br/>For the first time, Indian savers in company deposits can use their investment to meet emergency health expenditure without breaking deposits. Triple-A rated Dewan Housing Finance, or DHFL has introduced a scheme christened as "Wealth2Health", which allows up to 75% withdrawal during healthcare emergencies with an option to reinvest the same money.<br/><br/>"We are trying to tap higher share of retail money from the borrowing side," said Harshil Mehta, CEO, DHFL. "So far retail corporate fixed deposits form 8%, which has doubled past four years. We will be promoting this through our 400 branches and distributors."<br/><br/>"A retail presence both in lending and borrowing sides should help us venturing out new areas in future," he said.<br/><br/>The minimum deposit amount is Rs 25,000.It offers interest rate in the range of 9-9.50% with 12-60 month maturities.<br/><br/>Unlike bank deposits, if you investment in corporate deposits, you cannot break it easily as penalties are much higher. In some cases, you will not receive any interest income if schemes are redeemed well before the scheduled maturity.<br/><br/>The Wealth2Health deposit scheme comes with a deposit card, which is linked to the underlying fixed deposits. A customer can use the same for cashless access to a set of hospital networks. The card would also fetch some discounts be it hospitalisation or medical tests. An accidental death insurance of Rs 1 lakh is also attached to the first deposit holder.<br/><br/>For example, if you have deposited Rs 1 lakh, you can pay hospitalisation fees up to Rs 75,000. You can bring back the money after a sometime and run the deposit scheme as usual. The only cost: you will not earn interest on the specific withdrawal till you bring back the money.<br/><br/>But, the scheme is likely to gain popularity more in smaller towns and cities, said some distributors. This may not be popular in mega cities where people have higher cash balances in savings accounts.<br/><br/>"The medical contingence requirement, if any, can be set up now using this DHFL deposit scheme," said Suresh Sadagopan, the founder of Ladder 7 Financial Advisories. "It serves both the purpose of contingency fund while earning a good interest rate if that does not arise."<br/><br/>It functions like a normal deposit when the customer is well when the customer is ill, it works like a health fund and pays for expenses, said a company official.<br/><br/>The company's retail fixed deposits were at Rs 3,728 crore as of March 31. DHFL's total loans including securitised assets expanded 27% year-on-year to Rs 57,000 crore in 2014-15. Its average loan ticket size is at Rs 11.6 lakhs among over four lakh customers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1127InsuringIndia News Thu, 25 Jun 2015 10:43:04 GMT Even as mutual funds attract inflows, many investors are accessing equity through Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) policies. A large part of premiums of most private insurance companies in the past one year has come from ULIP policies.<br/><br/>ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, the largest private life insurance company, has had 85% of its new premiums coming from ULIP schemes in FY15 — up from 66% in FY14. Similarly, HDFC Life's premium share from ULIP policies touched 62% in FY15 against 49% in FY14 while ULIP contributed 45% of SBI Life's premium in FY15 against 34% in FY14.<br/><br/>Higher inflows into ULIPs can be attributed to three factors. "Regulatory changes have made life insurance products more customerfriendly both in terms of product features and charges," said Arijit Basu, CEO & MD of SBI Life which manages equity portfolio of Rs 23,000 crore, of which 90% comes from ULIPs. Irda has now capped the percentage limit an insurance company can charge on a ULIP policy. For a 20-year policy, the maximum charge an insurance company can levy is 2.25% on the notional return of 10% — better known as reduction in yield (RIY), which is a measure of the gap between what the customer's funds earn and what the customer gets after deduction of charges. Similarly, for a threeyear and four-year policy, the maximum charge can be 3% and 5%, respectively. Thanks to fierce competition, insurance companies are charging as low as 1-1.5%.<br/><br/>Secondly, the lock-in period of ULIP has increased to five years from three. Lastly, surrender charges have also been capped. For the first year, the surrender charge is Rs 6,000 and it is nil from the fourth year.<br/><br/>Besides, the average ticket size of ULIP is usually 3-4 times the conventional policy. This means that the premium collected by private insurance companies on ULIP is also higher than conventional policies. This is why the weighted received premium (WRP) growth of private life companies in 2014-15 has been more than that of Life Insurance Corporation.<br/><br/>"ULIPs have regained their popularity and this can be attributed to the government pushing a growth agenda. Customers are allocating more funds towards financial assets and instruments, including life insurance," said Sandeep Batra, ED at ICICI Prudential Life insurance, which manages Rs 1 lakh crore of funds of which 50% is invested in equities. ULIP, being an urban market product, has benefited insurers using Bancassurnace channel — selling insurance through parent or other banks.<br/><br/>The top three private insurance companies derive nearly half of their new premiums from their Bancassurance channel support. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1126InsuringIndia News Tue, 16 Jun 2015 11:21:18 GMT State-run Life Insurance Corporation of India is upgrading its technology to compete better with the private sector. The country's largest insurer has issued tenders for upgrade of its system to handle documents and speed up policy writing, creation of acall centre than can handle queries in multiple languages, and purchase of iPads for mobility solutions.<br/><br/>"The idea is to improve services. Our technology needed to scale up at the same level as our growth and we needed a faster turnaround time," said an executive with LIC's information technology department. "This is not just a consumer-facing revamp but even internal IT is being upgraded."<br/><br/>The executive, who did not wish to be named, said that LIC is working with consultancy firm EY to spearhead its technology change, and that all upgrades and the cost of buying new technology and running the systems would be a few hundred crore rupees. Telephone calls to LIC seeking comment went unanswered. EY declined to comment.<br/><br/>But the plan for the insurance gi ant's technology transformation is clearly charted in the tenders that it has been issuing. In August, LIC put out a tender to buy 590 iPads. In December, it came out with another to create a new email archival system that could support 200,000 email accounts and another tender to virtualise about 125,000 desktops and laptops.<br/><br/>In February this year, LIC put out a tender for two-factor authentication on desktops, including fingerprint scanners. The insurer said it planned to buy about 100,000 fingerprint scanners in a phased manner. Other tenders issued this year include one to modernise enterprise document management system— used to process policies — and creation of a call centre.<br/><br/>LIC's tender documents show a whole range of companies in the technology sector— from Tech Mahindra and TCS to Microsoft and Oracle—have taken part in the pre-bid discussion meetings. The investments will help the domestic technology market, which suffered in the last few years as companies held back on investment. "LIC's scope of technology upgrade is huge. They started with infrastructure - with desktop virtualization— and are now moving to applications. The idea is that they also have to be attractive to the high-net worth individuals who are more profitable customers," Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief executive and analyst at Greyhound Research, said. He added that private insurers already use tabletbased software to improve.<br/><br/>LIC is not the only state-owned enterprise loosening its pursestrings. Air India is also beginning to make investments in IT and is exploring tablet-based software offering for its pilots and crew, ET had reported earlier this week. "I would expect more such contracts being issued by public sector companies," said Gogia. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1125InsuringIndia News Fri, 12 Jun 2015 10:32:47 GMT Insurance companies are getting higher number of inquiries for product recall insurance sold to corporates following the Maggi noodles controversy.<br/><br/>The 'product recall' cover is an add-on to product liability. Insurance companies recommend this cover to manufacturers because, besides covering the cost of recall, it is seen as a feature that limits product liability. Until now, food companies in India were not so much bothered about product liability because of the low value of items.<br/><br/>"Product recall insurance was initially popular among the automobile industry. Then there was demand from the pharmaceutical industry. We are now seeing interest from the food industry," said Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. "Indian companies are now being conscious about product liability," said Singhel.<br/><br/>Praveen Vashishta, chairman, Howden Insurance Brokers, a UK based insurance company, said, "I am sure that there will be more enquiries in coming days but not sure how much of them will actually translate into purchases."<br/><br/>According to Vashishta, it is rare for a food & beverages company that is catering 100% to the Indian market to take out a product recall cover. "Those who export to the US or to Europe invariably take this cover as the regulators are very strict. Besides, the insurance company also provides crisis management advisory services, including appointment of a public relations agency," he said.<br/><br/><br/>According to Ketan Kale of JKT Independent Insurance Brokers, high-profile events usually increase awareness. "We have seen it during the Satyam case. The incident increased awareness of the directors and officers policy and today the cover is a commodity with almost every company going for it," said Kale.<br/><br/>This specialized cover being sold to corporates is designed by international broking firms based on such covers sold internationally. In India, the most significant instance of product liability in the food industry took place in 2003 when chocolate-maker Cadbury faced charges that it was distributing chocolates with infestation. The FDA had ordered seizure of all Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolates. The incident caused huge losses to Cadbury and compelled the company to redesign its packaging. However, even after the incident, sales of product liability cover did not pick up significantly.<br/><br/>It is not just the presence of toxic substances which trigger a recall. In the US, one of the top causes of recall are undeclared allergens in the food with milk being one of the largest unreported allergen. The other causes of recall are the presence of salmonella and other bacterial infections. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1124InsuringIndia News Wed, 10 Jun 2015 10:48:41 GMT Insurance repositories are ready to offer general insurance policies in electronic form. By the end of 2015, health and motor insurance policies will be available in electronic.<br/><br/>"The data exchange policy has been agreed upon between the General Insurance Counsel and insurance repositories. And the data structure for health and motor insurance has been defined. So we are ready to launch e-insurance in these two segments," said SV Ramanan, CEO of CAMS Insurance Repository.<br/><br/>Last week, the insurance regulator came out with revised guidelines for insurance repositories and electronic insurance policies, which said that all insurance policies --- life, general or health --- can be held in the digital format. "This means, general insurance companies can now tie-up with repositories. Launching health, motor policies in demat format by this year-end is achievable now," said Ramanan.<br/><br/>Home insurance will take some more time to be available in the electronic. This segment is also comparatively small.<br/><br/>"The immediate priority will be converting health and motor policies with annual premiums of Rs 10,000 or more," he added. In case of life insurance, at present, policies with annual premium of Rs 50,000 or more is to be issued in electronic form.<br/><br/>Ramnan said around 11-12 crore new general insurance policies are issued every year. So, that is the number of electronic policies the repository is targeting.<br/><br/>Insurance Repository System was formally launched in September 2013. And till date, CAMS Repository has a total of 150,000 accounts of which 60,000 hold demat policies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1123InsuringIndia News Thu, 04 Jun 2015 11:13:23 GMT You might soon be able to buy long-term health savings schemes from health insurance companies.<br/><br/>Similarly, you could also get access to comprehensive health policies with in-built outpatient department covers.<br/><br/>These recommendations are part of the report submitted by the committee set up by the insurance regulator under M Ramprasad, member, non-life, IRDAI, to review the existing health insurance framework. The report suggests sweeping changes in offerings, product approval process and definitions of various terms and services.<br/><br/>"It is recommended that the regulations enable all health insurers to offer health savings products which allow customers to build up a fund to pay for long term health expenses. Tax incentives should be extended to encourage insured to buy such savings linked health products to provide for health care costs for long term," the report said. However, the committee has strongly cautioned against permitting unit-linked health savings products to ensure that policyholders are "not exposed to market volatilities."<br/><br/>The committee has recommended a structure to increase premium in line with medical inflation every year. "The pricing aspects in the regulations may be revisited to include an inflation benchmark (CPI+3%) that allows an automatic increase in premium to take care of medical inflation year on year," the report stated. While the insurers can hike the premium to this extent, they would require IRDAI's approval for any hike beyond this point.<br/><br/>Other suggestions include allowing insurers to offer discounts on premiums to encourage customers to opt for wellness and preventive care programmes. "...not only does it lead to people being healthy but also reduces the claim cost in the long run for health insurers," the committee noted.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1122InsuringIndia News Tue, 02 Jun 2015 10:16:02 GMT Public sector general insurer New India Assurance has seen over 1 crore enrollments under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), part of the Modi government's social security bouquet, the company's chairman and managing director (CMD) G Srinivasan said on Friday. PMSBY offers accidental death and disability cover of Rs 2 lakh to the subscribers for an annual premium of Rs 12.<br/><br/>Speaking at the launch of New India's new home insurance policy Griha Suvidha, Srinivasan said the company had tied up with over 170 banks, including six public sector and eight private sector banks, to offer PMSBY.<br/><br/>Explaining the need for another home insurance product in the company's portfolio, Srinivasan said the demand for home insurance plans was low despite natural calamities and fire-related incidents having taken place recently, as they are perceived as complex and cumbersome.<br/><br/>According to New India, Grih Suvidha is a simpler product designed to address these concerns. The product will not seek original purchase bills for electronic equipment, television sets or other home appliances that are insured under the policy. The policy offers four variants which come with five built in-sections and pre-defined sums insured for covering contents in the house on a first loss basis.<br/><br/>For instance, under the first option, for a fixed annual premium of Rs 1125, an individual will get a cover of Rs 1 lakh for damage to contents due to fire and allied perils and Rs 1 lakh for loss due to burglary and theft. Jewellery and valuables will be covered to the extent of Rs 50,000. The individual can choose to insure the premises, too, but it will be covered on a full sum insured basis - the premium and sum insured will depend on the value (cost of reconstruction)of the property. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1121InsuringIndia News Sat, 30 May 2015 11:06:52 GMT The insurance regulator is planning to relax the proposed corporate agency norms that mandate banks to sell a specified percentage of insurance policies of other companies.<br/><br/>Earlier, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) had said that banks must sell 50% of policies of other insurance companies over the next four years. Irda had proposed a mandatory open architecture, where one bank will have to sell the products of three life, three general and three health insurance companies.<br/><br/>As per the draft norms, banks were required to sell products of three companies, with one not exceeding 50% of the promoter company over the next four years.<br/><br/>"The regulator is planning to do away with the percentage limits that were prescribed in the draft," said an executive of a life insurance company. "They will open up the infrastructure to multiple insurers as was proposed in the draft." Irda has extended the deadline for giving feedback on the draft guidelines by a fortnight to April 24.<br/><br/>According to the draft proposal, banks should cover 90% of the premium with any one insurer in the first year and the limit should gradually come down to 75% and 60% during the second and third years, respectively while the limit will not be more than 50% from the fourth year onwards. This could give some respite to bank-promoted companies which were staring at a dip in valuation due to the sharing of infrastructure with multiple insurers.<br/><br/>"No corporate agent shall place more than 90% of the premium solicited and procured either in life insurance or general insurance or health insurance with any one insurer of the same class in their first year of operation," Irda had said in the draft norms.<br/><br/>"The limit prescribed above shall gradually come down in a phased manner." This was seen as giving a boost to companies without a bank partnership such as Reliance Life, Bajaj Allianz and Birla Sun Life. There are nine bank-promoted life insurance companies and four in the general insurance sector. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1120InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 May 2015 10:21:36 GMT It takes a medical crisis to make most of us realise that our health insurance cover is too small.Insurers are aware of this and therefore, almost all comprehensive medical plans from standalone health insurance companies now come with a built-in sum insured restoration or refill benefit.<br/><br/>Under these plans, the basic cover automatically gets reinstated in case you exhaust it during a policy year. Take for instance, you have a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh. During the policy year you fall ill and run up a claim of Rs 2 lakh which the companies settles. In a few months, another claim of Rs 4 lakh arises. In regular policies you would have got only the outstanding Rs 3 lakh out of the total Rs 5 lakh cover and would have had to pay the remaining Rs 1 lakh from your pocket. However, in a policy that comes with the restoration benefit, you will get the full Rs 4 lakh.<br/><br/>Health insurers reinstate up to 100% of the sum insured in a year. In effect, you are actually covered for double the amount of your basic cover size. For a Rs 5 lakh cover, you can claim up to Rs 10 lakh with the restoration benefit. Not surprisingly, this benefit costs slightly more than a standard health plan. For instance, a regular Rs 5 lakh indemnity plan would cost a 35-year-old a little more than Rs 6,000 annually , while the plan with restoration benefit would cost more than Rs 7,000.<br/><br/>Also, there is no loading on your next year's premium for using the refill benefit. "According to the new health insurance regulation, a health insurance company is not allowed to charge a higher premium from the customer post a claim. The rule applies to restoration plans as well and the cost for this benefit is built-in from day one," says V Jagannathan, CMD, Star Health and Allied Insurance. Sounds too good a deal to be true? The catch is that the restored sum insured can be only used for any other illness or diseases unrelated to the ones for which claims have been made during the year. So, if your previous medical claim was related to your heart ailment or diabetes, any hospitalisation that remotely relates to the illness won't be claimable.<br/><br/>In a family floater plan the treatment is slightly different. "Under floater plans, the illnesses are individual specific and each ailment is treated as fresh case for different members," says Jagannathan.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, this clause beats the whole purpose of having a bigger cover as the chances of you falling ill with an existing condition or a relapse is always higher than developing a new ailment.<br/><br/>It is, therefore, better to opt for a basic health plan and a top-up combo. Though buying two products may cost slightly more, the benefits are bigger. One, the top-up plan does not come with the Rs claims different ailments only' clause. It simply kicks in once you cross the basic thresholddeductible limit and pays for all ailments irrespective of where a similar claim has been made during the year.<br/><br/><br/>Two, you have the flexibility to choose a higher cover. This means even if you have a base cover of Rs 5 lakh, you can always opt for a Rs 10 lakh top-up. In a restoration plan, the maximum you get is double the sum insured.<br/><br/>However, make sure you pick a Rs super topup' and not any regular top-up plan.<br/><br/>The difference is that in the case you choose a regular top-up policy , for you to get the claim, the expenses for a single treatment should be over the threshold. Whereas, in a super top-up your total expenses in a year have be above the threshold level for the policy to kick in. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1119InsuringIndia News Tue, 26 May 2015 10:44:40 GMT If you get hit by a two-wheeler, there is little chance of getting compensation. That's because nearly 75per centof two-wheelers in India run without insurance, putting vulnerable road-users like pedestrians and cyclists at risk.<br/><br/>The revelation, made by Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), has prompted a Supreme Court-appointed committee on road safety to ask the agency and the transport ministry to work out a protocol for identifying such vehicles within three months and submit a report.<br/><br/>"IRDA representatives told us early this month that most two wheelers either have no insurance or their insurance has lapsed. Most of the owners don't renew them since there is little enforcement," said committee chairman Justice (retd) K S Radhakrishnan.<br/><br/>According to rough estimates, two-wheelers have a formidable presence on roads, constituting 70per centof all vehicles in the country.<br/><br/>Around 82per centof vehicles in India are privately owned and a majority of these are two-wheelers. In recent years, the number of two-wheelers has grown exponentially in rural areas where insurance papers are seldom checked by the enforcement agencies.<br/><br/>"Running an uninsured vehicle should be treated as a criminal act and there should be harshest of punishment since such people cannot play with the lives of others. The vehicle owner has the liability to pay the compensation for any accident. But in case he doesn't have the capacity to pay compensation, the victim becomes helpless," said S P Singh of IFTRT, a Delhi-based transport think tank.<br/><br/>A road transport ministry official said they had flagged this issue to IRDA about two years back and had asked it to integrate data of vehicles without third party insurance.<br/><br/>"A couple of months back, we asked National Informatics Centre (NIC) to populate the state-wise data of such vehicles. Once it's prepared, we will send them to states so that their law enforcement agencies can take action against such offenders," he said.<br/><br/>Moreover, to put check on such offenders, the Road Safety and Transport Bill proposes very high penalty- impounding of uninsured vehicle and imprisonment of its owner.<br/><br/>Giving details of directions that the SC-appointed panel has issued to state governments, Justice Radhakrishnan said they have been asked to ban sale of alcohol along the national and state highways.<br/><br/>"There should not even be a signage on the highway indicating location of such shops. We have asked them to take concrete action on dozens of issues by June-end. If they fail to comply, we will submit the details to SC," he said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1118InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 May 2015 13:40:00 GMT The New India Assurance Company Ltd has launched health insurance products catering to individuals and families in Dubai and Northern Emirates.<br/><br/>Euromed Silver Plus, Gold Plus and Diamond Plus are new variants compliant with Dubai Health Authority (DHA) that cover maternity, pre-existing disease cover and dental treatments with a focus on treatment in the UAE.<br/><br/>"New India Assurance will have inclusive participation in all countries of operation and this launch comes at a time when DHA has made health insurance compulsory for all in phased manner," said K Sanathkumar, Director and General Manager. An additional feature is optional travel cost reimbursement to home country to avail in-patient treatment.<br/><br/>"The price is an attractive feature for all prospects, he said. Middle East, particularly GCC, is a significant market for us and our focus will now be to increase our presence in this market and to grow our business by offering our products to a multinational clientele in the region," he said.<br/><br/>"In 2014, the New India Assurance business in Dubai alone in terms of gross premium was to the tune of Dirham 203 million and in the UAE it was Dirham 285 Million.<br/><br/>"The New India Assurance declared 150 per cent dividend to its shareholders last year and is confident that with the strong economic trends and boom in sectors like property, construction etc..., we are bound to grow further," he further added.<br/><br/>The New India Assurance operates in 27 countries through their branches and agencies and has three subsidiary companies and four associate companies.<br/><br/>Across the GCC, The New India Assurance has five branches - two in the UAE, one office each in Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.<br/><br/>GCC countries include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1115InsuringIndia News Sat, 23 May 2015 10:23:41 GMT When Mumbai resident M.K. Shedha travelled to Geneva two years ago on an official trip, he bought a travel insurance policy from a private general insurer. His ordeal began when his baggage was stolen at the airport. The insurer rejected his baggage loss claim on the ground that it was not included in the coverage plan. Shedha's contention that the company had mailed him only the soft copy of the policy document, which did not contain the terms, fell on deaf ears.<br/><br/>After following the grievance redressal mechanism at the company level, Shedha approached the insurance ombdusman, which awarded him a nominal compensation of Rs 3,000. Unhappy with the verdict, he moved the consumer court and won Rs 80,000 in compensation, which included 6% interest on the original estimated loss.<br/><br/>Businessman Vishal Shah tells a similar harrowing tale. His grandfather bought a single premium life insurance policy by paying Rs 1 lakh in 2001 to fund the future education of his nephew. The policy was to make monthly payouts, with the installment value going up every five years. In 2011, the insurer refused to pay the increased installment (Rs 2,000 against Rs 1,000), citing a change in terms and conditions in 2006.<br/><br/>"We were never intimated of this change and the insurer failed to prove their claim that a letter was sent to us," says Shah. The modification in the terms would have resulted in a loss of Rs 30,000-40,000 for the family. The Shahs decided to approach the consumer court, which directed the insurer to adhere to the commitment.<br/><br/>"We won in 2013 and the insurer has been releasing the amount originally agreed upon since then," says Shah. The two cases highlight the importance of taking your insurer to task, instead of meekly accepting technical arguments for rejecting claims or other service deficiencies.<br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is also cracking down on insurers not handling customer grievances as per procedure, bringing the redressal framework into focus. You the policyholder need to understand how it works as well as the recourse available if it fails to satisfy you. Rules on handling grievances The entire process is governed by the IRDA Protection of Policyholders' Interests (PPHI) Regulations 2002. The regulator issued detailed guidelines specifying turnaround time in July 2010.<br/><br/>The insurer is required to send a written acknowledgement to the complainant within three working days, mentioning the name and designation of the officer in charge of resolving the grievance, in addition to details of the redressal process. The maximum turnaround time for resolving complaints is two weeks. If the complaint is rejected within two weeks, the insurer has to give reasons for the same and guide the policyholder on recourse options.<br/><br/>"In case the policyholder receives no response from the company, he or she can approach IRDAI's call centre (toll-free 155255)," says consumer rights activist Gaurang Damani, who filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking guidelines on health insurance, following which they were framed by IRDA. You can also register your complaints through the regulator's Integrated Grievance Management System portal (igms.irda.gov.in).<br/><br/>The next level If you are unhappy with the company's response, you can approach the insurance ombudsman's office in your city 30 days after complaining to the insurer. It is a quasi-judicial body which deals with cases involving up to Rs 20 lakh and has the power to award compensation to policyholders. For simpler complaints, IGMS is the answer (see chart). Some consumer activists feel the ombudsman framework has not turned out to be as helpful as expected. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1114InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 May 2015 10:11:51 GMT If PM Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech unveiled Jan Dhan that was to bring banking facilities to the unbanked, finance minister Arun Jaitley's second Budget speech was about providing social security to millions of Indians.<br/><br/>Like Jan Dhan, Modi's ministers fanned out across the country to ensure effective rollout of the social security road map. The PM flew to Kolkata and announced ambitious schemes to provide life insurance, pension and accident cover at nominal rates.<br/><br/>And, the scheme has been a success, at least that's what things look like in the initial days. By June 11, within two days of launch, 6.3 crore people opted for it. In less than a week, the number was touching 7 crore, over 5 crore going for accident cover and more than 1 crore for life insurance.<br/><br/>The offer is compelling: A Rs 2 lakh life cover at less than Re 1 a day and accident insurance for the same amount at Re 1 a month and fixed monthly pension of Rs 1,000-Rs 5,000 a month. It isn't that only the less affluent are opting for the schemes, even the middle class is buying these covers.<br/><br/>In the Budget, Jaitley offered incentives for the middle class to save for old age in the form of a tax deductions of up to Rs 50,000 a year for funds parked in the National Pension Scheme that's not taken off for years.<br/><br/>As financial advisors tell you, unlike other products, pensions must be sold, not bought. Probably, that's why the Atal Pension Yojana, also launched on May 9, has been a tad slow off the blocks. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1113InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 May 2015 10:14:11 GMT The private sector, which didn't quite warm up to the call to open Jan-Dhan Yojana bank accounts to increase access to financial services, is cozying up to the government's efforts to provide universal insurance.<br/><br/>With premiums close to market rates, companies including ICICI Lombard General Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance are finding the government's new schemes attractive.<br/><br/>The government last week launched the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to provide life cover of Rs 2 lakh at an annual premium of Rs 330 and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for accidental death and disability at Rs 12 a year for a cover of Rs 2 lakh. The life insurance policy can be bought by people up to the age of 50 and the accident cover by anyone between 18 and 70 years old.<br/><br/>"The government is talking about insuring crores of underinsured and uninsured people," said Girish Kulkarni, MD and CEO of Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance. "Risk estimates will emerge as we go forward."<br/><br/>From the Rs 330 premium, Rs 44 goes to distributors and intermediaries. Stamp duty of Rs 40 is also deducted from the premium, leaving insurance companies with Rs 246 for a policy of Rs 2 lakh.<br/><br/>"At a certain volume, it makes sense to be selling Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana," said Sanjay Datta, head of underwriting at ICICI Lombard. "We believe that the scheme will be viable if we rope in 40 lakh policyholders."<br/><br/>To make the scheme workable, insurance companies have asked the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority and the government to waive the stamp duty and allow reinsurance on the portfolio.<br/><br/>As per Irda rules, life insurance companies need to retain risks for policies of up to Rs 10 lakh. Since the sum assured with these policies is Rs 2 lakh, they cannot be reinsured. Insurance companies that have been in operation for a few years don't have the capacity and the experience to take on such risks, making it challenging for them to offer government's new policies.<br/><br/>"It is difficult for us to offer a policy at Rs 12," said Bhaskar Sarma, managing director and CEO at SBI General Insurance, a venture with Insurance Australia Group that started in 2010. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1112InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 May 2015 10:44:27 GMT Top-up plans complement one's primary health policy and shield the buyer from additional expenses. Here are 5 tips on making the most of health policy top-up plans.<br/><br/><b>Work out the cost</b><br/>You can buy top-up policies to complement the group health cover offered by your employer. "Companies allow employees to buy top-up covers between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. The annual premium for employerfacilitated covers is around Rs 1,000 per Rs 1 lakh," says Arvind Laddha of Vantage Insurance Brokers. If your employer does not allow you to buy a top-up cover, you can always buy a top-up plan independent of the base plan.<br/><br/>Top-ups are cheaper than family floaters. According to data from MyInsuranceClub. com, a Rs 5 lakh family floater covering self, spouse and one child will cost anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 17,000 annually. A Rs 5 lakh individual health plan will cost a 35-year-old Rs 4,000-7,000 a year.<br/><br/><b>Choose carefully</b><br/><br/><br/>If your hospitalisation bill is Rs 5 lakh, a policy with a Rs 3 lakh deductible will cover the difference of Rs 2 lakh. But, if you are hospitalised twice in a year, and the two bills amount to Rs 2 lakh each, then your normal top-up plan will not kick in. A basic top-up policy will apply the threshold deductible to every claim, that is, every hospitalisation. Even as the total bill overshoots the Rs 3-lakh limit, each instance of hospitalisation is well within the deductible limit. However, a super topup policy puts together all hospitalisation claims to calculate the deductible limit. So, in the above example, since the total hospitalisation expense, Rs 4 lakh, crosses the deductible limit of Rs 3 lakh, the top-up plan will pay Rs 1 lakh. Therefore, it's best to buy a super top-up plan.<br/><br/><b>Understand the deductible</b><br/><br/>If one opts for a Rs 5-lakh plan with a deductible of Rs 2 lakh, it implies that the insurer providing the top-up plan pays Rs 3 lakh as the maximum claim amount. In order to pay the deductible amount, the insured can either use the sum insured from an existing health plan or contribute from his/her own pocket, says Subramanyam B, Senior VP, Bharti AXA General Insurance.<br/><br/>If your employer provides a cover of Rs 2 lakh and you want a cover of Rs 10 lakh, you should opt for a high-deductible top-up plan with a cover of Rs 10 lakh and deductible of Rs 2 lakh. If the deductible is more than Rs 2 lakh, you will have to pay for it. So, ensure that the deductible of the top-up policy is close to the sum insured in your primary health plan— individual or employer's group plan.<br/><br/><b>Stick with one insurer</b><br/><br/>The biggest advantage of buying a top-up linked to employer-provided policy is that the waiting period for pre-existing diseases (PED) is waived off, says Laddha of Vantage Insurance. If an individual top-up is bought from the same company as an existing health cover or the employer-provided cover, then also some insurers offer continuity in PED waiting period. "The number of years the individual is covered in the base policy will be deducted from the waiting period," says Suresh Sugathan, Head, Health Insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. But not all products offer waiting period continuity. Hiren Dhakan of Bonanza Portfolio cautions that waiting period continuity may not be provided when both the base and the top-up plans are bought together.<br/><br/><b>Claim I-T deduction</b><br/><br/>The premiums paid on top-up or super top-up plans are eligible for income tax deductions under Section 80D. If the premium is being paid for a plan that covers self, spouse and children, a maximum of Rs 25,000, under Section 80D can be claimed as deduction. Deduction of another Rs 25,000 is available for premium contribution towards a plan that covers parents, and if the parents are aged 60 years or more, then deduction of up to Rs 30,000 can be claimed. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1109InsuringIndia News Mon, 18 May 2015 10:23:57 GMT General insurers are witnessing a spurt in interest for senior citizens' health insurance policies, as shrinkage in parental coverage offered by corporate employers and rising healthcare inflation prompt senior citizens to seek health cover.<br/><br/>According to insurers like Star Health and Bajaj Allianz, which offer products meant for senior citizens, the category has registered a growth of 20-25% in 2014-15. "We have seen a growth of 21% in our senior citizens' policy sales this financial year," said V Jagannathan, CEO of standalone health insurer Star Health. Bajaj Allianz has seen an average increase of 25% - higher than the 20% growth in its overall retail portfolio - in the number of polices bought by senior citizens in the last three years. Premium growth for the segment across insurers is in the range of 10-20%. As per industry estimates, the size of this segment is close to Rs 400 crore.<br/><br/>Senior citizens' products typically come with co-pay ratios, where the insured has to pay say 10-25% of the claim amount, loading on premium for covering certain conditions like hypertension and diabetes and so on. The advantage here is that unlike regular health policies, where those over 65 are not extended coverage, these policies are designed specifically for senior citizens between 60 and 80 years of age.<br/><br/>Industry estimates peg annual healthcare inflation at 12-18%. Since 2010, many corporates have either partially or fully withdrawn parental coverage, introduced restrictions like co-pay or passed on the premium burden to employees who wish to cover their parents under the group policy. "The trend continues this year too. Many corporates have transferred the responsibility of funding parental cover premiums to the employees," said a senior executive of a large general insurer. As per a group health insurance survey released by Marsh India in February, 35% of organisations polled offered parental cover on a voluntary basis, where the employee had to pay the premium.<br/><br/>"There are multiple reasons for this (spike in interest for these policies), apart from shrinkage of corporate parental cover. The most common one is the increased awareness of high value claims being lodged by this segment and children opting for health cover for their parents as a part of their financial security measures," said Suresh Sugathan, head, health insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. Insurers say the average ticket size of health insurance cover bought by those over 60, too, has been going up steadily, from Rs 2-3 lakh a couple of years ago to Rs 4-5 lakh now. "The awareness about rising healthcare costs is growing. Often, it's the sons and daughters who take the lead to enhance their parents' health cover. Tax breaks on health insurance have also contributed to this trend," said a senior official of a private general insurance company.<br/><br/>"We receive maximum enquiries from the older age-groups as they are most vulnerable to diseases. However, the state of health of this group calls for a higher premium which is often beyond their budget," said a senior official of a general insurance company. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has stipulated a minimum entry age of 65 years and barred insurers from rejecting renewal requests throughout the insured's lifetime, except on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation. The insurance regulator has also directed insurers to form grievance redressal cells dedicated to handling complaints from senior citizens. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1108InsuringIndia News Sat, 16 May 2015 09:52:53 GMT The internet will help drive insurance sales of up to Rs 4 lakh crore annually in about five years as customers in non-metro cities and youngsters buy more policies online than anticipated, a survey shows.<br/><br/>"Our studies indicate that the internet will influence Rs 3 lakh crore-4 lakh crore worth of insurance sales in India by 2020," said Vikas Agnihotri, industry director at Google India, which conducted a joint survey with private non-life insurer ICICI Lombard.<br/><br/>"The findings from this report clearly outline that consumers are shifting to the internet at a more rapid pace than perceived earlier." The survey did not indicate the proportion of sales from the internet. Life and general insurance companies did new business worth Rs 2 lakh crore in 2014-15, according to data collated by the industry. While life insurance earns income from the renewal of policies, general insurance is usually a one-year contract. Customers of non-life companies can move to other companies if they are unhappy with the present provider. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1107InsuringIndia News Wed, 13 May 2015 14:21:52 GMT Insurance sector regulator IRDAI has sought public comments on proposed amendments to its existing norms pursuant to the introduction of Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015.<br/><br/>The regulator in a notice today said that the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act 2015 has a bearing on registration regulations for insurance companies which has necessitated amendments in existing norms.<br/><br/>The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015, provides for enhancement of foreign investment cap in an Indian insurance company from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, among others.<br/><br/>The regulator has proposed amendments such as modification in the manner of computation of Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI) in Indian insurance companies, the notice said.<br/><br/>IRDAI has also suggested deletion of redundant definitions, modification of few definitions and introduction of definition of applicant, foreign investors, Indian investors and preliminary expenses.<br/><br/>The regulation also covers registration of health and reinsurance companies.<br/><br/>Also, IRDAI said that company needs to be compliant with the provision of 'Indian owned and Controlled' norms. And existing companies to also comply with "Indian & Owned and controlled" within a maximum period of one year.<br/><br/>The regulator has invited comments by June 8, 2015, the notice said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1106InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 May 2015 11:02:35 GMT Ashish graduated a couple of years ago and was lucky to get placed in a top IT company. With a stable job, he is planning to soon get married. His health-insurance is covered under a corporate group health insurance policy and forms part of his CTC. An amount is deducted from his monthly salary. How should Ashish be assured that this is adequate?<br/><br/><br/>The benefits of this policy can be availed at the time of hospitalization of those covered in the plan typically the employee and dependents. An employer-sponsored health insurance is usually a master policy, which covers all the employees in the organization and is mandatory for all employees. Such policies are usually cheaper than individual policies and may seem attractive to the employees. But do they provide enough coverage? Employees such as Ashish must make sure they know the benefits offered, the sublimits and the sum assured at the time of joining. It may not be enough to cover two claims in one year or sum assured may be insufficient to cover the actual expenses.<br/><br/>Ashish cannot accurately foresee his actual medical expenses to evaluate whether the cover is adequate. He should however make an estimate, in high risk cases such as his elderly parents. If he is able to estimate the costs of say 10 days of hospitalization in a year, he will be able to evaluate whether his insurance covers such an eventuality. It is prudent to have another health insurance policy that adequately covers his parents, as a top up.<br/><br/>An independent health policy may also come in handy when he is in between jobs. What if his next employer did not provide the same level of health cover? Some companies have insurance policies that require a co-pay arrangement, exclusion of family members or reduce sum assured and other limits in order to cut costs. Ashish must make sure he buys atleast one standalone health insurance plan which he can control, in addition to the group coverage. He must get a family floater when young at better premiums covering more illnesses. He could consider bundling it with a critical illness plan and/or personal accident cover.<br/><br/>The content on this page is courtesy Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL). Contributions by Girija Gadre, Arti Bhargava and Labdhi Mehta. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1105InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 May 2015 10:56:43 GMT Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched three ambitious social security schemes, relating to the insurance and pension sector and intended at widening the process of financial inclusion.<br/><br/>On his first visit to West Bengal after taking over as Prime Minister, he kickstarted the "Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana" (accident insurance), "Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana" (life insurance) and "Atal Pension Yojana" at a programme in Nazrul Manch here.<br/><br/>West Bengal governor KN Tripathi, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and Union ministers Jayant Sinha and Babul Supriyo attended the function where Modi inaugurated a plaque by pressing a remote button to launch the schemes.<br/><br/>An audio visual film was then shown highlighting salient features of the three schemes. The Prime Minister then handed out certificates to the first three subscribers — including two women. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1100InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 May 2015 10:39:42 GMT Insurance is the art of factoring in the probability of an event and then taking a call on it.<br/><br/>And, when it comes to actor Salman Khan — he was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment in a 2002 hitand-run case on Wednesday — the industry seems to have stayed ahead of Bollywood.<br/><br/>The judiciary may have taken 13 long years to come up with its verdict on Khan, but insurers had factored in his possible arrest while insuring his movies. In fact, insurance companies had denied non-appearance cover for the actor in case he didn't turn up for his shoots.<br/><br/>Analysts reckon that Rs 200 crore is riding on his unfinished films, Dabangg 3 and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. Insurers also said that they would not honour third-party claims since Salman was driving without a licence and was under the influence of alcohol when his car rammed into a Bandra bakery, killing one and injuring four.<br/><br/>Insurance policies do not pay third-party motor claims when the person who is driving is under the influence of alcohol. "Salman Khan was driving without a licence and insurance policies do not kick in such a case," said a senior executive of a general insurance company.<br/><br/>Two of his films which are nearing completion — Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Suraj Barjatya's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo — would be the worst affected, but would not raise any claims.<br/><br/>"Insurance companies would not insure actors accused in criminal acts," said Sanjay Datta, head of insurance ICICI Lombard.<br/><br/>Insurance companies charge a premium of up to 3-5% of the sum assured, which depends on the Budget of the film.<br/><br/>Production houses, which are trying to bring in professionalism into the film industry, have started buying insurance cover for their ventures. So, in case of a cancellation or postponement, an insurance company reimburses the losses.<br/><br/>"Other than traditional event cancellation cover, insurance companies insure losses arising out of trouble in movie release in certain cities," said the executive.<br/><br/>"This cover was introduced in Fanaa, which could not be released in Gujarat," said the executive. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1099InsuringIndia News Sat, 09 May 2015 10:16:14 GMT Non-metro cities in India are either at par with, or ahead of, their metropolitan counterparts when it comes to buying on renewing health and motor policies online, a survey conducted by Google India and private non-life insurer ICICI Lombard has found.<br/><br/>While 85% of metro respondents said they had taken the online route for research, evaluation or purchase of health and motor policies, this figure was 82% for non-metro cities.<br/><br/>In terms of actual purchase using the Internet, 22% of non-metro respondents said they had purchased motor insurance policies online. In case of health insurance, this figure stood at 15%. In metro cities, 25% and 8% of respondents had bought motor and health policies respectively through the online channel.<br/><br/>However, non-metros have clearly outpaced metro cities as far as growth in online insurance purchase is concerned. These cities clocked a growth of 48% in health insurance and 43% in motor insurance. These growth numbers were lower at 43% and 32% respectively for metro cities.<br/><br/>The study further states that acceptance of online insurance purchase is growing across all age-groups, with 26% of respondents in the age bracket of 46-55 years saying that they had bought motor insurance online. This figure is comparable to age brackets of 25-35 years (25%) and 36-45 years (20%). The survey polled 3007 respondents in the age-group of 25-55 years, living in five metro and 15 non-metro cities. Close to 70% of the respondents belonged to metro cities. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1098InsuringIndia News Fri, 08 May 2015 11:11:43 GMT South-based private sector lender Federal BankBSE 0.19 % today entered into a pact with state-run general insurer New India Assurance (NIA) for providing cheaper accident cover to its savings bank account holders.<br/><br/>It signed a memorandum of understanding with NIA at Kochi for implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), which focuses on accident cover.<br/><br/>Through the tie-up, Federal Bank saving account holders between the ages of 18 and 70 will be able to get a cover of up to Rs 2 lakh by paying Rs 12 as annual premium, the bank said in a statement.<br/><br/>Under the PMSBY, beneficiaries will get Rs 2 lakh for death due to an accident or for loss of sight and limbs.<br/><br/>Loss of sight in one eye or loss of one of the limbs will entail a cover of Rs 1 lakh.<br/><br/>The PMSBY, announced first in the Budget by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in February, will be formally launched this weekend by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1096InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 May 2015 10:28:15 GMT Old buildings are obviously more vulnerable so insurers don't like to cover structures more than 30-40 years old. "This is one section which we do not actively seek to insure," admits Sanjay Dutta, Chief of Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance.<br/><br/>If your house is more than 30 years old, chances are that it may be denied home insurance cover. Even if some company agrees to insure it, the premium will be quite high. Old buildings are obviously more vulnerable so insurers don't like to cover structures more than 30-40 years old.<br/><br/>"This is one section which we do not actively seek to insure," admits Sanjay Dutta, Chief of Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance. If your house is more than 30 years old, chances are that it may be denied home insurance cover. Even if some company agrees to insure it, the premium will be quite high usually followed when insuring new constructions.<br/><br/>The reinstatement method replaces the loss by paying the cost of reconstruction. The indemnity method pays the cost of the house after subtracting the depreciation. The depreciation is calculated at 2.5% per annum. Though the indemnity cover may come at a very low cost, it is not a good idea because it will not fully fund the reconstruction. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1095InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 May 2015 12:13:00 GMT With the powerful quake wreaking havoc in Nepal, killing thousands and causing damage to the properties running into crores, insurances firms are gearing up to disburse claims to the affected people, including with the help of India's state-run General Insurance Company.<br/><br/>The insurance companies are in the process of assessing the total disbursal of the claim amount as not many people have approached them yet, but they expect the figure will run into several crores.<br/><br/>Although the death toll is high, the situation for the companies won't be alarming. Only five per cent of people in a population of about 28 million in Nepal have life insurance.<br/><br/>The official death toll now stands more than 7,000, but the insurance companies are expecting it to be over 10,000.<br/><br/>"We are prepared to disburse the claims. On an average, over 100 people insured, only 2.5 have died every year. We have earned a lot of profit over the past. And even if it turns out to be a loss making exercise, we are ready to incur the loss," said Ashwini Kumar Thakur, CEO of the Rashtriya Bima Sanstha, a government undertaking formed in 1962.<br/><br/>The company has around 40 per cent market share in the life insurance sector in Nepal.<br/><br/>"Our scheme does cover damage to the structures in an event of an earthquake. Although the disaster is large, we are prepared for such exigencies. We have got the insurance reinsured by the General Insurance Company (of India)," said Ramesh Raj Bhattarai, CEO of the Rashtriya Beema Company Ltd, another government undertaking which deals in non-life insurance like property, health and motor.<br/><br/>In case of health insurance, the company only insures up to Rs 4 lakh, so the disbursal amount won't be much, he said.<br/><br/>The companies have relaxed norms owing to the natural disaster, after the orders from the Nepal Insurance Regulatory Authority so that the claim amount can be disbursed at the earliest.<br/><br/>"In case of life insurance, we have waived off the autopsy report and many such documents required for passing a claim. Also, if the person who is insured and his nominee has also died, then we will take help of the district administration and identify the next kin so that the claim money could be handed over," said Thakur. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1094InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 May 2015 11:01:33 GMT Country's largest lender State Bank of India today entered into a tie-up with National Insurance Company ( NICL) to offer non-life cover to its savings account holders under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).<br/><br/>The bank will offer personal accidental death and disability cover of Rs 2 lakh under the scheme, it said in a release.<br/><br/>The customer will have to pay an annual premium of only Rs 12. All the savings account holders in the age group 18 to 70 years will be eligible for the cover. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1091InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 May 2015 15:10:54 GMT Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the flagship social security schemes, including Rs 2 lakh accident cover at a premium of just Re 1 per month, in Kolkata on May 9.<br/><br/>These schemes, to be launched by Narendra Modi, are aimed at providing affordable universal access to essential social security protection in a convenient manner linked to auto-debit facility from the bank account of a subscriber, a Finance Ministry statement said.<br/><br/>These schemes were announced in the Budget by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 28. The two insurance schemes, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), would provide insurance cover in the unfortunate event of death by any cause, death or disability due to an accident, whereas the pension scheme, Atal Pension Yojana (APY), would address old age income security needs, it said.<br/><br/>The convenient delivery mechanism of the schemes is expected to address the situation of very low coverage of life or accident insurance and old age income security products in the country.<br/><br/>PMSBY will offer a renewable one year accidental death cum disability cover of Rs 2 lakh for partial permanent disability to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-70 years for a premium of Rs 12 per annum per subscriber, it said.<br/><br/>The scheme would be administered through Public Sector General Insurance Companies or other General Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms on the choice of the bank concerned, it added.<br/><br/>PMJJBY on the other hand will offer a renewable one year life cover of Rs 2 lakh to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-50 years, covering death due to any reason, for a premium of Rs 330 per annum per subscriber.<br/><br/>The scheme would be offered or administered through LIC or other Life Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms on the choice of the bank concerned.<br/><br/>The pension scheme named Atal Pension Yojana will focus on the unorganised sector and provide subscribers a fixed minimum pension of Rs 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 or Rs 5000 per month starting at the age of 60 years, depending on the contribution option exercised on entering at an age between 18 and 40 years.<br/><br/>Thus, it said, the period of contribution by any subscriber under APY would be 20 years or more. The fixed minimum pension would be guaranteed by the government.<br/><br/>"While the scheme is open to bank account holders in the prescribed age group, the Central Government would also co-contribute 50 per cent of the total contribution or Rs 1000 per annum, whichever is lower, for a period of 5 years for those joining the scheme before December 31, 2015 and are not members of any statutory social security scheme and are not income tax payers," it said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1089InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 May 2015 10:36:04 GMT The country designated national reinsurer- General Insurance Corporation of India is expects claims worth $50 million (around Rs 320 crore) from the Nepal earthquake.<br/><br/>GIC Re is the largest reinsurance partner of the Nepalese insurance industry. The company's gross exposure in the Nepalese insurance market is around $140 million. The company had sent a team of 10 surveyors to assess the loss. However, it is yet to arrive at any estimate of losses due to the recent earthquake there.<br/><br/>"So far we have not received any cash-calls from any of our cedents. Much will depend on the damages suffered by the insured properties," said GIC Re in a release today. "We reiterate our commitment to accord top priority to all claims arising out of this tragic event,"<br/><br/>A massive earthquake measured at 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked Nepal on April 25Saturday, followed by another one measuring 6.7 on the following day, impacting some parts of India as well. The worst earthquake to hit the region in 80 years brought down several buildings and centuries old temples. The claims are arising out of damage to commercial and industrial properties.<br/><br/>"Our past experience with such calamities in this part of the globe indicates insured losses to be a very small part of the economic losses. It will take some time for an actual picture to emerge. However, we expect the claims to remain with in USD 50 million in worst case scenario," said GIC. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1086InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 May 2015 10:06:48 GMT Reliance Life Insurance today launched a new comprehensive health insurance plan 'Health Total' that can be renewed till the age of 99.<br/><br/>This is a non-linked, non-participating and non-variable health insurance plan that provides a complete health cover including a fixed benefit cover for hospitalisation, critical illnesses and surgeries, along with reimbursement for other health related expenses, the company said in a statement.<br/><br/>The new health insurance offering is a regular-pay five-year-plan and can be renewed till the age of 99 years, it said.<br/><br/>The health plan offers two options - a customer can choose a higher Medical Reimbursement Benefit under his policy or a higher sum insured, it said.<br/><br/>The plan covers against expenses for hospitalisation, 10 critical illnesses, ICU treatment and surgeries as a fixed benefit amount, over and above other medical insurance plans, irrespective of the actual billing.<br/><br/>The customer can also settle cashless claims across an extensive network of over 4000 hospitals, it said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1085InsuringIndia News Thu, 30 Apr 2015 10:36:07 GMT Phones are ringing off the hook at insurance companies and page views have surged at websites offering policies to cover homes and their contents. The earthquake that tore through Nepal on April 25, killing thousands and reducing scores of buildings to rubble has led to a surge in enquiries about home insurance policies in India.<br/><br/>Such policies are of two types —one covers the structure and construction costs in the event of damage to the property due to natural calamities while the other insures belongings and household contents.<br/><br/>"There is a spike in demand and this will stay for a short time," said Tapan Singhel, managing director and CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. "We have seen a similar spurt in the past — during the Jammu & Kashmir floods, the Uttarakhand floods and the Sikkim earthquake." As with all forms of insurance in India, home cover is also sparse. The number of insured homes is estimated at 20 lakh with annual premiums adding up to Rs 2,500 crore.<br/><br/>At the time of the 2011 census, India had 33 crore homes, of which only half are of 'pukka' construction, or permanent in nature.<br/><br/>There is huge potential in the segment, with average premiums seen going up to as much as Rs 3 lakh, according to industry estimates. "Suddenly there is a spike in enquires, but conversion into a sale is hampered due to lack of widespread distribution," said Sanjay Datta, head of underwriting at ICICI Lombard General Insurance.<br/><br/>Due to lack of awareness, companies are unable to capture demand. That may change following the devastation in Nepal.<br/><br/>Industry executives said that those residing in seismic zones need to buy home insurance to protect themselves.<br/><br/>Policies pay for damage to property and contents due to natural or man-made calamities, including earthquakes. Rates vary from 70 paise to Rs 1 per cover of Rs 1,000, depending on the area and the frequency. Many banks and housing finance companies insulate themselves from such possible risks by making home insurance mandatory for mortgage customers.<br/><br/>A standard clause in most home loan contracts is that the mortgaged house should be insured against natural calamities, including earthquakes. If borrowers fail to insure their property, the bank debits the premium to the loan account of the borrower and pays for the premium.<br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1084InsuringIndia News Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:55:58 GMT A house destroyed by an earthquake can be rebuilt by setting aside about Rs 6-12 a day. That's the cost of buying home insurance, which most people consider an unnecessary expense - a priority that needs to be reconsidered in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake.<br/><br/>"The premium for a standard fire and perils cover, which includes natural and man-made calamities, is as low as Rs 60 per Rs 1 lakh. However, less than 1% of the people who can afford it have home insurance," says Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO of Bajaj Allianz.<br/><br/>Home insurance covers rebuilding the structure, not the value of the property. Reconstruction costs range from Rs 1,800 per square foot for a no-frills structure to Rs 3,500 per square foot for a finer construction. A 2,000 square foot house can be insured for Rs 35-70 lakh, for which the premium will be roughly Rs 2,100-4,200 a year.<br/><br/>The cost can be lowered if the policy is purchased for a longer term, say, 10 years, because of discounts offered by insurance companies. However, the cost of construction could go up during this time. Taking an insurance policy for the contents of a house costs less than home insurance.<br/><br/>"We, as Indians, feel that nothing will happen to us. Even if we buy, it is sold to us by banks while giving home loans and is for a very short tenure. So there is a greater need to buy it," says KK Mishra, MD & CEO of Tata-AIG General Insurance.<br/><br/>Asia suffered losses of $52 billion last year due to natural catastrophes and man-made disasters and only 10% of this was covered by insurance, according to a recent report by Swiss Re. Floods in India in September 2014 destroyed houses and caused a loss of $4.4 billion.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1083InsuringIndia News Tue, 28 Apr 2015 11:07:01 GMT State-owned New India Assurance is planning to launch four products - two each in the motor and health segments - during the current fiscal.<br/><br/>"We have filed for two products under motor segment and two others for health segments before the regulator IRDAI and we are waiting for approvals," New India Assurance Chairman and Managing Director G Srinivasan told here today.<br/><br/>Srinivasan was here to sign an agreement with Bank of India for participating in the new welfare schemes offered in the Budget for the poorer sections of the society.<br/><br/>Asked about the profitability and claims outgo for his company during the year gone-by, he said, "Though our results for 2014-15 are yet to be announced, we feel that we have done better on both fronts."<br/><br/>Srinivasan said the focus of his company will continue to be on retail, which comprises 65 per cent of its business now, during the current fiscal.<br/><br/>Replying to a query relating to the industry growth, he said "we are hopeful of achieving 15-16 per cent growth during this year (2015-16). If the trend continues, then maybe by 2016-17, we should clip at 18-20 per cent."<br/> <br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1082InsuringIndia News Mon, 27 Apr 2015 11:25:01 GMT Star Health and Allied Insurance has been ranked number one among all private stand alone health insurers in health insurance premium, as per data compiled by industry body General Insurance Council for the year ending March 31.<br/><br/>This also makes Star Health Insurance, number one among all stand-alone health insurers, procuring a premium of Rs 1,439.27 crore in the health insurance segment.<br/><br/>"This achievement shows the confidence which people have on us and the dedicated service done by our people," Star Health and Allied Insurance Executive Director S Prakash said in a statement issued here today.<br/><br/>"We have our presence all across India at 900 outlets, with 7,000 employees. We have vast range of products to meet the requirements of all sections," he said.<br/><br/>Among other stand alone health insurers, Religare Health Insurance reported a gross written premium of Rs 275.8 crore during the year gone by, as per General Insurance Council data.<br/><br/>"We have reported a gross written premium of Rs 275.8 crore for the year 2014-15. We continue to invest in building a very strong service foundation for offering best-in-class services to our customers and distribution partners," Religare Health Insurance Managing Director and Chief Executive Anuj Gulati said.<br/><br/>The stand alone health insurance sector, dominated by half a dozen players, is likely to have grown at 30 per cent to Rs 2,946 crore in FY 2015, according to General Insurance Council data.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1081InsuringIndia News Fri, 24 Apr 2015 14:07:18 GMT Some joint venture insurance companies stare at the prospect of splitting, with the contours of profitability set to change if the regulator presses ahead with its diktat on bancassurance. Insurers such as MetLife and Dai-Ichi, which paid through the nose for partnerships with banks for their distribution, stand to lose if they alone do not benefit from the infrastructure.<br/><br/>Several banks had signed up joint venture partnerships on the basis that they will have an exclusive distribution arrangement. However, the regulator has proposed a cap on the amount that can be distributed through one insurance company. "It's obvious that nobody likes to see a change in set rules after you start the game, and promoters of such joint ventures will be no different," said Girish Kulkarni, managing director and CEO of Star Union Dai-Ichi Life Insurance. "In addition to commercial challenges, it destabilises softer aspects of partnership ecosystem, too. What will happen between them depends a lot on the balance sheet strength and operating scale achieved by JVs. Some may still stay together due to established comfort but it won't be the same for sure."<br/><br/>According to the draft proposal, banks should do about 90 per cent of the premium with any one insurer in the first year and the limit should gradually come down to 75 per cent and 60 per cent during the second and third years, respectively while the limit will be not more than 50 per cent from the fourth year onwards.<br/><br/>"Many of these partnerships will find it difficult to accept caps which go down to 50 per cent," said Amitabh Chaudhry, managing director and CEO of HDFC Life. "There might be some players who are pure bancassurance companies where the foreign partner has entered on the premise of the bank's infrastructure being available and may have paid premiums to the Indian partner."<br/><br/>Many companies such as HSBC Canara OBC Life Insurance operate mainly through bancassurance channel. If suddenly this infrastructure becomes unavailable, the partners will need to have a relook at their business model, and then re-evaluate their entire future plans for the business. There are nine bank-promoted life insurance companies and four in the general insurance sector.<br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is working on mandating banks to adopt an open architecture under which they will have to sell products of multiple insurance companies.<br/><br/>The share of banks in the total individual new business went down to 15.62 per cent in 2013-14 from 16.18 per cent in 2012-13, according to Irda's latest annual report.<br/><br/>Irda has extended the deadline for giving feedback on the draft guidelines by a fortnight to April 24. This will help insurance companies without a bank partner such as Reliance Life and Bajaj Allianz find distribution partners with a wide network.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1080InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Apr 2015 09:45:24 GMT India's largest non-life insurer New India Assurance has set the bar high as it aims to cross the Rs 18,000-crore mark in global premium.<br/><br/>This includes Rs 15,000 crore as domestic premium by the end of the current fiscal, a top company official said here today.<br/><br/>The company closed the fiscal year 2014-15 by notching up a global premium of around Rs 16,000 crore.<br/><br/>"We've achieved a global premium of more than Rs 16,000 crore, including domestic premium of Rs 13,250 crore and international premium of Rs 2,810 crore in 2014-15, showing a growth of 12 per cent against the previous year's premium income of Rs 14,300 crore," New India Assurance Chairman and Managing Director G Srinivasan said here.<br/><br/>New India achieved a premium income of Rs 5,363 crore from motor premium alone during the year gone by, and 10 per cent of it came from the two-wheeler premium category, he said on the sidelines of launch of long-term two-wheeler policy.<br/><br/>According to the CMD, his company is looking at launching more products under health and motor segments this fiscal.<br/><br/>"We have already filed for the new products under the health and motor segments before IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India)," he said.<br/><br/>He added that retail, which comprises 65 per cent of New India's business at the moment, will continue to be the focus.<br/><br/>To a specific query, he said, "Though the industry has slowed... it's likely to grow 15 per cent during the current fiscal, and things have already started improving for the last 2-3 months."<br/><br/>Asked about the new long-term two-wheeler policy, Srinivasan said: "The customer will get an assured discount of 30 per cent for 3-year and 20 per cent for 2-year policies. There can be up to 50 per cent of savings on own damage premiums in case one goes for a 3-year long-term policy."<br/><br/>He hinted that his company is looking at the launch of a similar product under the four-wheeler segment too in future.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1079InsuringIndia News Wed, 22 Apr 2015 09:36:15 GMT Soon, you will have to get used to electronic insurance policies, if the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ( Irdai) has its way. "Irdai has circulated a draft amongst stakeholders, which mandates issuance of policies in an electronic form above a certain threshold limit, besides enhancing the process and system interaction between an insurance company and an insurance repository," said a senior executive of an insurance repository. <br/><br/>The insurance regulator has proposed to make it mandatory for insurers to issue all new life insurance policies with annual premium of over Rs 50, 000 in electronic form. Insurers will have to seek policyholders' consent while issuing the electronic policy. <br/><br/>"Policyholders will retain the right to ask for a physical policy, but at the time of issuing every policy, insurers will have to specifically enquire whether they would like to exercise the option of receiving it in the dematerialised form," said SV Ramanan, CEO, CAMS Insurance Repository. <br/><br/>Moreover, even if the policyholder insists on a physical policy, the insurer will have to issue it in the electronic form as well. This move will ensure that all new high-value life insurance policies will be available in the electronic form, too, irrespective of whether the policyholder chooses the option or not.\ <br/><br/>The new rule will also apply to new motor and health insurance policies entailing a premium of more than Rs 10, 000. Likewise, group life and health insurance policies provided by organisations employing over 50 employees will have to be issued in an electronic form.<br/><br/>The insurance regulator has authorised five entities — NSDL, Central Insurance Repository, CAMS Insurance Repository, Stock holding Corporation of India (SCHIL) and Karvy Insurance Repository — to dematerialise physical policies. At present, the facility is available only for life insurance policies. <br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1078InsuringIndia News Tue, 21 Apr 2015 15:56:01 GMT The Insurance Ordinance which makes third-party auto insurance mandatory has put general insurance companies in a dilemma; as it would increase their losses, prompting them to seek a tidy hike in the premium.<br/><br/>For general insurance companies, the third-party auto insurance business is a loss-making segment. The industry, in this portfolio, is burdened with loss of Rs 7,000-8,000 crores every year.<br/><br/>Following the ordinance, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked all general insurers to ensure that third-party insurance cover is made available to the insured in the proportion of its market share. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1077InsuringIndia News Mon, 09 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT The Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley will present the Insurance Amendment Bill for consideration and passing in Rajya Sabha today. This Bill aims to hike the foreign direct investment from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. The Congress has already given its nod to the Bill paving the way for a long pending economic reform. However, the passing of the bill will not be a smooth sailing for the NDA government as regional parties like Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal United, Samajwadi Party have already expressed their dissent to it. The NDA government also does not have the required number in the Upper House. With the US President, Barack Obama, visiting India in January, the government would like to showcase this as a key reform bill that will eventually boost the investor sentiment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1076InsuringIndia News Wed, 17 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMT AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) today announced the launch of an online critical illness rider - AEGON Religare iCI Rider. This rider can be attached to its online term insurance plan iTerm. The iCI rider allows customers to get cover against critical illnesses at a very nominal cost. The iCI rider is available for both new as well as existing customers.<br/><br/>In keeping with AEGON Religare's product philosophy of offering simple products with an easy to understand benefit, the AEGON Religare iCI Rider covers the following four critical illnesses; Cancer, First Heart Attack, Open Chest CABG and Stroke. The rider pays out the sum assured upon diagnosis of any of these critical illnesses. Upon payment of the rider benefit for any of the diseases covered the rider stands terminated. The rider can be attached while purchasing a new policy at https://buynow.aegonreligare.com or to an existing iTerm policy.<br/><br/>On the launch of AEGON Religare iCI Rider, Mr. Yateesh Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer of ARLI said, "Critical illnesses while being physically and emotionally taxing also have a debilitating effect on the financial status of the family. A critical illness has multiple impact and the cost of coping is very large, right from temporary or permanent loss of income to medical costs. The iCI rider is aimed at providing protection against such an eventuality at a very nominal cost. The launch of this rider is a step towards expanding our online protection portfolio to provide superior protection solutions to people." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1075InsuringIndia News Wed, 08 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT The national carrier Air India has managed to get insurance cover renewed with 15 per cent rise in premium. Following some major airlines tragedies this year, it has become tough for airlines to get insured.<br/><br/> Before the airlines sought for the renewal, the demand from the insurers was about 25 per cent hike over the existing premium but finally insurers came down to 15 per cent. The airline will be paying $26.75 million to a consortium of public sector insurers led by New India Assurance as premium amount to cover its 132-aircraft fleet. <br/><br/> While the insurance cover will be provided by a New India Assurance-led consortium of public sector insurers, the re-insurance cover is being renewed by a couple of Lloyd's syndicate. <br/><br/> As per the source, the insurance policy which is expiring on September 30, will be renewed soon, and it can keep flying from October 1. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1073InsuringIndia News Sun, 28 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT United India Insurance, a public sector general insurance company, has said that it is looking to re-enter the overseas markets. The company will soon carry out a feasibility study to assess the business potential, it said.<br/><br/> The insurer was present in Hong Kong, but had shut it down in year 2002. <br/><br/> According to Mr. Milind Kharat, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, United India Insurance, the company is exploring business potential in overseas markets. Also, the company is studying the regulatory frameworks in some of the target markets in this regard. <br/><br/> The company may look at markets of the Middle East and Sri Lanka to begin with, as these markets offer good business potential, Mr. Kharat said. <br/><br/> "Many business houses from Tamil Nadu have commercial and business interest in Sri Lanka. So it is a natural extension for us. In the Middle East, there is considerable expansion in infrastructure, oil and energy and other sectors which again offers huge potential for us”, he added. <br/><br/> Further, he said that there is a great growth potential in Gulf countries, as they have announced large projects like airports, smart cities etc. <br/><br/> New India Assurance, the largest general insurance company of India, is present in 22 countries. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1074InsuringIndia News Sun, 28 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Inspired by the success of government-run social security scheme RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana), health insurers have started looking at smaller markets for business expansion.<br/><br/> Star Health, a private sector health insurance firm has piloted a small-sized health insurance product across a few districts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The sum insured is Rs 1 lac with meagre premium of Rs 1,000 per annum. <br/><br/> According to Mr. V. Jagannathan, CMD, Star Health and Allied Insurance, the increased penetration of healthcare facilities has resulted in lesser movement of patients to metros at least for routine procedures. If a person having small-sized policy gets a procedure done in a metro, the entire sum insured is wiped out very soon. But, the same policy can be better utilised if the policyholder gets treated at his/her home town. <br/><br/> As per experts, a differentiated product offering may help insurers get volumes initially. The growing population and demand for quality health care is pushing insurers to look at such markets. With banks allowed to tie up with one standalone health insurer, penetration is expected to rise. <br/><br/> Today, customers from smaller towns and cities want an open product with minimal exclusions with many not minding to pay additional premium for the same, a senior official at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1072InsuringIndia News Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT With a view to provide quick relief to worst-ever flood afflicted people of Jammu and Kashmir, life insurance companies are fast-tracking claim settlement process.<br/><br/> Leading private sector life insurers Aviva Life and HDFC Life have relaxed their claim settlement process exclusively for victims of Jammu and Kashmir. The insurers have relaxed documentation in terms of minimising the need for relevant papers to facilitate prompt intimation and settlement of death, survival and maturity claims. <br/><br/> According a senior official at Aviva Life Insurance, the insurer has waived off late-fee and revival-fee for lapsed policies for one year (until September 30, 2015.) <br/><br/> This waiver will be valid not only for the local residents but also for those who had been travelling to the affected areas and got stranded due to the floods, the official added. <br/><br/> Other insurer HDFC Life said that the company doesn't insist on death certificate for submitting claims from its policyholders in case the person's name was already registered in Government record as victims. Also, the insurer doesn't ask for policy documents in such cases. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1071InsuringIndia News Wed, 24 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT The race for getting national carrier Air India's insurance renewal deal has begun between public and private sector general insurers. A New India Assurance-led consortium of public sector insurers has emerged as the frontrunner, while the private sector has rallied behind a group led by ICICI Lombard General Insurance.<br/><br/> The insurance contract for Air India's 105-strong fleet comes up for renewal on October 1 at an estimated premium of about $25 million. <br/><br/> The New India Assurance-led consortium has United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance and National Insurance as co-insurers. While, ICICI Lombard General Insurance-led group has HDFC Ergo and Reliance General as co-insurers. <br/><br/> Following recent rise in aviation mishaps such as a series of Malaysian Airlines tragedy, premiums have increased, pushing up the bill for insurers. <br/><br/> Air India's current insurance policy, issued by New India Assurance, includes a $9.5-billion hull cover and a combined single liability of $1.5 billion. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1070InsuringIndia News Mon, 22 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT The most awaited Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill-2008, is now being opposed by members of the Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors (IIISLA).<br/><br/>Opposing the proposed amendments to Section 64UM of the Insurance Act and the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill- 2008, leader of the surveyors, Mr. Bharat Dharmashi told reporters that this will promote unhealthy practices in the industry.<br/><br/>Mr. Dharmashi explained that if an insured property suffers losses of more than Rs 20,000, it needs to be surveyed by an independent surveyor licenced by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).<br/><br/>But, private insurers without bothering regulator’s regulations, hire unqualified agents, he added.<br/><br/>Furthermore, he argued that an unqualified agent prepares survey reports in favour of such companies and do injustice to property owners. "The proposed insurance bill will allow 49% of foreign direct investment (FDI) and injustices to people will mount."<br/><br/>Another surveyor, Mr. M.N. Hegde, said if the proposed insurance bill is passed, it would affect about 80,000 qualified surveyors across the country. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1066InsuringIndia News Fri, 19 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Country's largest investor the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India is quite optimistic of Narendra Modi-led pro-business government.<br/><br/>Speaking during an interview inside his office in Mumbai, LIC Chairman Mr. S. K. Roy said he saw few red flags ahead, betting on a long-term rally for the country's stock market under a new pro-business government. <br/><br/>India's equity market has outperformed emerging market rivals this year, thanks to overseas fund interest fuelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power in May with a pledge to boost growth and revive investment. After months of caution, domestic investors are now also growing more confident. <br/><br/>Mr. Roy was ‘very bullish’ about the banking, pharmaceutical, metals and IT outsourcing sectors because of expectations of a cyclical recovery and a stabilising rupee currency. <br/><br/>“I see few warning signs for markets, thanks to the government's commitment to contain the fiscal deficit and receding concerns about lower rainfalls in the monsoon period”, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1067InsuringIndia News Thu, 18 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Competition Commission of India (CCI), the fair trade watchdog in India has rejected that insurance regulator’s rules, which grant of corporate agency licence to banks to sell insurance products, are anti-competitive.<br/><br/> A complaint had filed with the Competition Commission of India alleging that banks in insurance retailing sector were imposing unfair and discriminatory conditions on financed clients to purchase insurance product from them, indulging in predatory pricing, restricting and denying market access to independent insurance agents, among others. <br/><br/> In its order, the commission said, “The issue of abuse of dominance by the insurance regulator does not arise and no case of contravention of the provisions of the (Competition) Act is made out against IRDA and the information is ordered to be closed forthwith.” <br/><br/> The complainant had asked the commission to pass directions to insurance regulator to repeal the regulation. <br/><br/> The commission observed that in the case that IRDA was discharging its regulatory and statutory mandate and did not fall within the purview of Competition norms. <br/><br/> "Regulatory actions are not as such amenable to the jurisdiction of the Commission," the CCI said in the order. <br/><br/> Under the IRDA norm, banks have been granted corporate agency license to operate in insurance retailing. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1068InsuringIndia News Wed, 17 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Private sector insurance player Exide Life Insurance Company has launched a traditional with insurance-cum-investment profits plan, named -Assured Gain Plus, aims at to provide guaranteed returns on investment with life cover.<br/><br/> In a release, Exide Life Insurance Chief Financial Officer Mr. Uco Vegter said, “This is a momentous occasion for us as this our maiden product after we rechristened ourselves with a new identity. We have designed this product based on an inherent need where people are looking at a superior quality of life and securing their future at the same time.” <br/><br/> In May this year, the ING Vysya Life Insurance changed its name to Exide Life insurance after being totally owned by the Raheja Group through leading battery maker Exide Industries. <br/><br/> Exide Life Assured Gain Plus is a perfect investment solution for people looking for attractive tax-free returns with capital guarantee and life cover to ensure the best lives for their families. <br/><br/> Under the plan, the policyholder needs to pay for 5 years only, while the benefits continue for the full policy term. The policy term can be opted from 10, 12 or 15 years. <br/><br/> This plan guarantees a life cover of at least 10-folds the annual premium of the full policy term. <br/><br/> People between the age group of 3 years to 60 years, can have the benefits of this plan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1069InsuringIndia News Tue, 16 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT With a view to solve the liability issue plaguing nuclear reactors, the Government of India has asked General Insurance Companies (GIC) to work on a model that could be applied to insure such facilities in the country.<br/><br/> “This is preliminary work. We have asked GIC to prepare a product that can be used for the nuclear industry,” said a senior government official.<br/><br/> As per the sources, this decision was taken at a meeting between the ministry of finance and the department of atomic energy earlier this month.<br/><br/>The proposed insurance plan would have to look into the capacity of a reactor and the liability and then work out the premium for insuring it.<br/><br/>Mr. Ratan Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy said, “The work is in progress. We are interacting with the Indian industry as well as Indian insurance companies. I am sure there will be a good solution available.”<br/><br/>Under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, the operator, which is the Nuclear Power Cor. of India Ltd (NPCIL), has to pay Rs.1,500 crore to affected parties in case of an accident. However, it can invoke the ‘right to recourse´, which has been objected to by several international players and domestic suppliers.<br/><br/>Under this, NPCIL can seek damages from the suppliers. “This means liability can be fixed on the suppliers. But a nuclear reactor may have several components from different suppliers. In case of an accident in one part, the supplier of another component cannot be held responsible.This has been one of the major grouses of suppliers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1065InsuringIndia News Mon, 15 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Health Insurance TPA (third-party administrator) of India which has been set up to settle health insurance claims of state-owned general insurance companies has got necessary license from insurance regulator in India the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).<br/><br/> A licence is valid for 3 years from the date of issue. Further, it can be renewed for next 3 years, subject to regulatory satisfaction.<br/><br/> The Health Insurance TPA of India would start operations by April 2015. However, external TPAs will continue serving public sector general insurers and that about 50-55 per cent business would be there would remain with them, an official said.<br/><br/> This common TPA will serve claim settlements of National Insurance Company, New India Assurance Company, United Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company and General Insurance Corporation of India as stakeholders. The first four insurers have 23.75 per cent stake each and GIC has five per cent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1064InsuringIndia News Fri, 12 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT The insurance watchdog in India Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has rejected the appointment of Mr. Shah Rauf as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of insurance joint venture Tata AIA Life Insurance, citing his accounting and governance failures at Aviva in Romania as the head.<br/><br/> The regulator rejected the appointment after it came to know about his failure. The insurer did not mention it in its filing for approval. However, a Tata AIA Life spokesperson, said "All information pertaining to the appointment was completely disclosed to the regulator."<br/><br/> According to a person close to the development, said that Mr. Rouf 's candidature was rejected after the regulator learnt that the regulator in Romania had barred him from insurance industry on governance and accounting failures.<br/><br/>  It’s a big blow for the already struggling insurer. Despite, overall life insurance industry witnessed 11.56 per cent growth in new business premium for the fiscal year which ended on March 31, 2014, Tata AIA Life registered 22.7 per cent year-on-year drop.<br/><br/>Tata AIA Life brought Mr. Rauf as CEO designate, after Mr. M. Suresh quit the firm as Managing Director and CEO in March. Before this, Mr. Rauf was the Chief Executive Officer of AIA Sri Lanka.<br/><br/>Tata AIA Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Tata Sons and AIA International. Tata Sons holds 74 per cent stake in the JV, while AIA International holds the rest 26 per cent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1063InsuringIndia News Thu, 11 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Vehicle owners having habit of rash driving could end up paying higher insurance premium for their vehicles; this is one of the key reforms being incorporated in the new Motor Vehicle & Traffic Safety law.<br/><br/>At present, insurance premium for vehicle is determined on the basis of vehicles only; but now, if the new law is implemented, it will be linked both to vehicle and record of its drivers.<br/><br/>As per the law proposed, over the next 1-2 years, data relating to drivers (whether it’s driven by hired driver or the owner itself) and their offences would be recorded and available online through a centralised database. This will help vehicle owners verifying the credentials of a driver and get his driving record. In addition, it would also help insures determine premium at the time of renewal.<br/><br/> "So, at the time of paying annual premium, the vehicle owner has to pay higher premium for errant driving. It is the responsibility of the owner to employ a good driver," said an official.  The changes in the new Motor Vehicle & Traffic Safety law is mooted because in most of accidents, drivers are found to be responsible and there are numerous examples from different cities where the same driver is found guilty of repeat offences. The proposed law will provide for higher penalty and negative points for repeat offenders. This move could help curbing rash and negligent driving. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1062InsuringIndia News Wed, 10 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Non-life insurance players in India, despite the continuous slowdown, expecting a growth in gross premium collection in the current fiscal year ending on March 31, 2015. The estimated growth is 15 per cent, 3 per cent higher than the previous fiscal that ended on March 31, 2014.<br/><br/> The industry has witnessed gradual slowdown in previous years due to lower economic growth, reduced car sales, and lower hiring by companies which drive the corporate health insurance business. The non-life insurance sector registered 12 per cent growth in fiscal year 2013-14. In fiscal year 2011-12, it was 23 per cent, and 19 per cent in fiscal year 2012-13.<br/><br/>“The growth momentum is likely to pick up in the second half of this year since the economic slowdown has bottomed out last year,” ICICI Lombard General Insurance MD & CEO Mr Bhargav Dasgupta told reporters.<br/><br/>“I expect the growth of the non-life insurance sector to be around 15% in the current year driven by improvement in economic growth,” he added.<br/><br/>“The non-life sector would grow by 15% in 2014-15 driven purely by health and motor insurance businesses”, a senior official at Oriental Insurance company said.<br/><br/>Leading the non-life insurance sector, the motor insurance business for fiscal year 2013-14, accounted to 46 per cent of total gross premiums. While, the health insurance business contributed 26 per cent, to be the second largest in the non-life segment.<br/><br/> Private sector players saw business growing at a faster rate than for public sector insurers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1061InsuringIndia News Tue, 09 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Kumar Mangalam Birla-led diversified business conglomerate Aditya Birla Group and South Africa’s third largest insurer Momentum Group, a subsidiary of Momentum Holdings are in talks to form a standalone health insurance joint venture in India.<br/><br/>“We are in discussions with Momentum Group),” Chief Executive for financial services at the Aditya Birla Group, Ajay Srinivasan confirmed the development.<br/><br/>As per the sources, the AV Birla Group would have 74 per cent stake while Momentum will own the remaining 26 per cent, the maximum as per current FDI (foreign direct investment) ceiling.<br/><br/> AV Birla Group is present in the life insurance segment through Birla Sun Life Insurance,a joint venture with Canada's Sun Life. Birla Sun Life sells a range of life insurance products, including unit-linked and traditional products.<br/><br/>Health insurance sector in India is growing very fast. The health insurance business in India accounts to Rs 12,606-crore, about a quarter of the total non-life insurance business. Penetration of the insurance industry has grown at a steady pace since the market was opened for private players in year 2000. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1060InsuringIndia News Mon, 08 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Competition watchdog, Competition Commission of India (CCI) has initiated a probe against various public sector general insurers and their association, for alleged anti- competitive practices with regard to third-party administrators (TPAs) in health insurance. </br></br> CCI recently ordered an investigation by its Director General-Investigation, against public sector general insurance firms-New India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance, as well as their combine, the General Insurers’ (Public Sector) Association of India (GIPSA). </br></br> In its probe order, the CCI has alleged that the four state-run general insurance companies dealing in health insurance business were not allowing third-party administrators to function independently and have created in-house TPAs to settle claims. </br></br>The conduct in which insurers do not allow TPAs to work independently is against the prevailing worldwide practice to keep TPAs independent from insurance companies, CCI said in its latest newsletter, referring to the order. </br></br>The Competition Commission has also alleged that GIPSA, an ad-hoc and unregistered body, was providing a platform to the companies to share sensitive information with each other. This affects competition in the market and also provides space to them for exchanging information regarding claims ratios, marketing efforts and terms and condition of TPAs, among others. </br></br>According to an official, the in-house third-party administrator is yet to start its operations, which would take at least one-to-two years. Further, all TPA business will not be transferred to this new company and external TPAs will still be engaged. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1059InsuringIndia News Sat, 06 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT South Africa’s insurance giant, Sanlam Ltd considers investing up to 550 million South African Rand (about 52 million US Dollar), to increase its stake 49 per cent in the insurance arm of Shriram Group, one of the India’s largest financial services conglomerates.</br></br>Sanlam Chief Executive Johan van Zyl said, “The company, which has a 3.3 billion rand warchest for expansion in its Indian and African operations, is also scouring Ghana and Kenya for possible acquisitions.</br></br>"The key is to build our footprint in Africa. In India we have seen some movement toward lifting the foreign direct investment limit of 26 per cent to 49 per cent," he said.</br></br>The company has already spent another 1.5 billion rand on expansion since January. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1058InsuringIndia News Fri, 05 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT The much hyped Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), a financial inclusion scheme launched recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has some modalities to be worked out on the premium payment and claims payment. The state-run insurance firm Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, which will be offering Rs 30,000 protection cover to all those who open zero balance bank account under the financial inclusion scheme by January 26, 2015.<br/><br/>The insurer had a meeting with officials from the ministry of finance to get clarity on the collection of premiums and administration of the scheme. <br/><br/> As per the sources, there have been talks of having a minimal payment for this scheme by the individuals. The process of claim settlement could be done through the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY), a social security scheme administered by LIC. AABY members are between 18 years and 59 years. Here, the member should be the head of the family or one earning member of the below poverty line family or marginally above the poverty line under identified vocational group/rural landless household. <br/><br/>The premium to be charged initially under the scheme is Rs 200 a year per member for a cover of Rs 30,000, out of which 50 per cent is subsidised from the Social Security Fund . In case of Rural Landless Household, the remaining 50 per cent premium is borne by the state government or Union territory; in case of other occupational group, the remaining 50 per cent premium is borne by the nodal agency and / or member and / or state government / Union territory. <br/><br/>Along with protection cover of Rs 30,000, PMJDY will also provide personal accident cover of rupees one lac to all individual, for which the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed a three-year agreement with private general insurer HDFC Ergo. <br/><br/>Account holders under the scheme would get a RuPay debit card launched by NPCI. Cardholders would also get an overdraft facility of up to Rs 5,000. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1057InsuringIndia News Thu, 04 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Central Mumbai district consumer dispute redressal forum on Monday directed private sector insurance firm Future Generali India Insurance to pay insurance amount of Rs 1 lac each to the families of four farmers who were covered under government-run 'Shetkari Apghat Vima Yojana'.<br/><br/>According to the complainants, four farmers from Raigad - Balaram Rakhade's son, Anant Bait, Ramesh Nawle, and Nagesh Khaire had got enrolled under government-run social security scheme 'Shetkari Apghat Vima Yojana', which provided an insurance cover of Rs1 lac to a farmer's family in case of his death.<br/><br/>As per the complaint, all four farmers died between the period of 2009-2010. All four had accidental deaths, they fulfilled the criteria of the government scheme, and, hence, their families immediately approached their tehsildar's office for the insured amount. But the insurer Future Generali repudiated the claim on the ground that the families did not submit the required documents in the right time frame.<br/><br/>Then, the complainants moved to consumer forum, where the forum, after going through the evidence, said, “The complainant(s) has complied (with) all the formalities as required under agreement and Government Resolution. Thus, the claim is wrongly repudiated by the opponent."<br/><br/> The forum directed the insurer to pay insurance amount of Rs 1 lac each to family with interest at 12 per cent from the date of the death of each farmer. It also asked the insurer to pay an additional amount of Rs3,000 each for the mental agony caused to the complainants. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1056InsuringIndia News Wed, 03 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital has partnered with world’s 2nd largest private life insurer Nippon Life Insurance Group to start a commercial bank in India subject to the necessary approval. The duos, on Monday, also announced two funds for Japanese investors in the Indian equity and bond markets.<br/><br/>This announcement came during Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi's visit to Japan, which aims at strengthening bilateral economic ties between the countries.<br/><br/>The two funds - Short Term Indian Bond Fund and India Equity Selection Fund will enable Japanese retail investors to be part of the India’s growth story.<br/><br/>"Reliance Capital is planning to set up its own bank, which will cater to the individual customer and small-and-medium enterprises all over India”, Nippon Life President Mr. Yoshinobu Tsutsui said.<br/><br/>“With a view to improve the financial infrastructure of India, Nippon Life Insurance is participating in this bank project as part of strategic business alliance”, he added.<br/><br/>The Japanese financial services giant Nippon Life holds a 26 per cent, the maximum permissible stake in the Reliance Capital Asset Management Company (RCAM). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1055InsuringIndia News Tue, 02 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on Thursday launched ambitious financial inclusion scheme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), under which at least one bank account will be opened per Indian household.<br/><br/>Under the scheme, account holders would get a RuPay debit card launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and a personal accident cover of up to Rs 100,000. All those who open account by January 26, 2015, will also get life insurance cover of Rs 30,000.<br/><br/>Cardholders would also get an overdraft facility of up to Rs 5,000.<br/><br/>NPCI has signed a three-year agreement with private general insurer HDFC Ergo to provide personal accident cover to RuPay cardholders; while similar agreement would be signed with country’s largest insurer the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to offer a life cover.<br/><br/>LIC will provide unconditional cover; while HDFC Ergo will provide cover to the cardholders in case of death or permanent disability. As per the agreement between HDFC Ergo and NPCI, a claim will be disposed only if the card is active. <br/><br/>A card will be considered active if the cardholder has swiped it within 45 days of making a claim. However, the NPCI is in talks with HDFC Ergo to improvise the scheme so that the claim can be made if the card was swiped within the preceding 90 days.<br/><br/>PMJDY also aims at curbing corruption as it would facilitate routing of subsidies directly into the accounts of intended beneficiaries, Mr. Modi said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1053InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:58:15 GMT Committee member of the GSB Seva Mandal, Mr. Satish Nayak said, “This year, we have gone for a larger cover as we have taken it for a one kilometre radius from the pandal. This includes cover for all devotees and the deity’s ornaments against terror attacks, accidents, flooding or external damage.”<br/><br/>The Ganesh idol at GSB Seva Mandal Ganapati pandal is decked with at least 50 kg of gold.<br/><br/>The popular Ganesh pandal - Lalbaugcha Raja in Lalbaug, has insured for Rs 51 crore by New India Assurance, the cover includes Rs 3.5 crore for the pandal, Rs 10 crore for risks which include food poisoning from prasad, a Rs 7.5 crore cover to insure the idol's jewellery and Rs 30 crore cover that insures security officials, volunteers and local residents.<br/><br/> Ganeshotsav festival, especially in Mumbai, has always been a profitable season for insurance companies.<br/><br/>The 10-days long festival has started on August 29, 2014. It is expected that nearly one crore people from around globe will pour on to Mumbai’s roads for ‘Darshan’. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1054InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Long-pending economic reform bill Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill seeking to raise FDI (foreign direct investment) ceiling in insurance, may get parliamentary nod in the Winter session.<br/><br/>“We are totally in favour of FDI. It is our baby and it was the BJP which was opposed to the bill in 2008. We were given to understand that our bill is going to be passed in the House. But the NDA government has made some substantive amendments to the bill,” Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters.<br/><br/>“We have recommended that the substantive issues like the FDI, which have been diluted by the FII, along with other issues should be discussed, examined dispassionately and objectively by the Select Committee. The bill can be passed in the Winter session and we will ensure its passage,” he added.<br/><br/>The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill was first introduced by the UPA government in 2008, but it could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, because of opposition from then main opposition party the BJP.<br/><br/>Modi-led NDA government have made as many as 97 amendments in the original bill proposed by the UPA government. Due to the stiff resistance from as many as 9 parties including the Congress, the bill could not be passed in the Budget session. They were demanding it to refer to a Select Committee of Parliament.<br/><br/>The government agreed to the opposition demand and eventually referred to a Select Committee. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1052InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Private sector life insurance firm SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd, on August 27, bought 3,43,400 shares of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) of India @ Rs 830.<br/><br/>Financial Technologies India Limited sold 13,70,000 shares of MCX @ Rs 827.59 on the BSE and sold 11,79,919 shares @ Rs 834.76 on the NSE.<br/><br/>In the previous trading session, the share closed at Rs 856.85, up Rs 41.40, or 5.08 percent. The share touched its 52-week high Rs 895 on July 21, 2014 and 52-week low Rs 338.30 on August 28, 2013.<br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) and BNP Paribas Cardif, an insurance arm of French bank and financial services company BNP Paribas. SBI holds 74 per cent stakes in the JV and BNP Paribas Cardif, the remaining 26 percent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1051InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Insurance behemoth the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has tied-up with all five insurance repositories in order to comply with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) last week.<br/><br/>The insurance regulator had launched a two-month pilot project for Mumbai last month, making it mandatory for all life insurance firms to digitise traditional paper policies a minimum of 1,000 or 5 % of the total individual policies issued. Further, this facility may be extended across the country.<br/><br/>The sector regulator has recently provided insurance repository licence to five companies i.e. - Central Insurance Repository Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited, Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, CAMS Repository Services Limited and SHCIL Projects Limited.<br/><br/>To avail the facilities, policyholders will only need to open an e-insurance account with any of the five insurance repositories. It’s free of cost for the policyholders. However, insurance companies will be required to bear the cost with the repositories.This electronic format will enable policyholders to renew policies online. Also, there will be no risk to lose the physical documents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1050InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Accepting the request of International Finance Corporation (IFC), Indian insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Wednesday, allowed Indian insurers to invest in onshore rupee bonds issued by IFC and Asian Development Bank (ADB).<br/><br/>The International Finance Corporation , World Bank’s financing arm for the private sector, said that it would raise $2.50 billion (about Rs.15,000 crore) from rupee-denominated bonds to support infrastructure development in India.<br/><br/>IFC Executive Vice President and CEO Jin-Yong Cai said, “The IFC will use a combination of rupee-denominated bonds and swaps to raise local-currency financing of up to Rs.15,000 crore over the next five years.”<br/><br/>“It will also create a new momentum in the development of corporate bond market and long-term bond market. It will create a yield curve which can then be followed by others”, Economic Affairs Secretary Mr. Arvind Mayaram said at the time of launching the scheme.<br/><br/>The central government has allowed onshore rupee bonds issued by multilateral agencies like ADB and IFC to be classified as securities under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act.<br/><br/>Following this, the insurance watchdog too classified such bonds as approved investments for the Indian insurance cos.<br/><br/>According to the insurance regulator, the public issue onshore rupee bonds by ADB or IFC should be approved by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and be subject to the rating criteria as per its investment regulations.<br/><br/>However, if SEBI exempts rating of the bonds by the credit rating agencies registered with it owing to the rating received from international rating agencies then it will be considered as approved investments, the insurance regulator said.<br/><br/>The valuation of these bonds will be similar to other corporate bonds and debentures, IRDA said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1049InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Congress supported Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government, led by Mr. Hemant Soren plans to bring a free insurance scheme for the farmers of the state.<br/><br/>During his visit to Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Piparwar, the Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Mr. Yogendra Saosaid, “The government is prepare to tackle the situation of drought in the state while on the other hand it would also implement free insurance scheme for the farmers.”<br/><br/>By this insurance scheme farmers would be highly benefitted, he said adding, “The modalities of this free insurance scheme for the farmers, is being worked out.”<br/><br/>There would be at least one agricultural bank established in every block, he said.<br/><br/>Mr. Sao also held separate meetings with the CCL officials and the local Congress workers of the area. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1047InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Anil Ambani-led Reliance General Insurance Company has registered its profit more than double to Rs 24.3 cr in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014-15. During the period, the leading private general insurance firm sold more than 10 lac policies.<br/><br/>In the first quarter that ended on June 30, 2014, the insurer’s profit rose by 138% to Rs 24.3 crore from Rs 10.2 crore in the same period of previous year.<br/><br/>"While the industry is going through a phase of slow growth, we at Reliance General are trying to reach out to the under-insured population and businesses to sustain growth. We have one of the biggest agency strength which has helped us significantly," Reliance General Insurance Company Chief Executive Officer Mr. Rakesh Jain told reporters.<br/><br/>The insurer registered its first full-year net profit at Rs 64 crore for the last fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2014. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1048InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Country’s largest insurer the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, on Tuesday, unveiled its new endowment plan, Jeevan Rakshak. It offers a combination of protection and saving features.<br/><br/>After launching the new plan at its Raichur divisional office, Senior Divisional Manager Mr. S.V.K. Ranga Rao said, “Jeevan Rakshak plan has multiple benefis such as low premium and high insurance coverage.” It is a people-friendly plan, he added.<br/><br/>This regular premium paying Non-linked plan is available to standard lives only under non-medical scheme.<br/><br/>People between the age group of 8 yrs to 55 yrs can avail this policy. The maximum maturity age is 75 years. The minimum sum assured is Rs. 75,000 and the maximum is Rs. 2 lac.<br/><br/>The minimum policy tenure is 10 years and maximum is 20 years.<br/><br/>Policyholders can take loan on the policy after three premium payment years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1045InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Leading private insurance firm HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has joined hands with Manipal University to offer a post-graduation diploma course in insurance. The university has tailored a year-long course customised for HDFC Life Insurance. Earlier, this partnership had put a three-month certificate course for HDFC Life.<br/><br/>The university, through its latest programme, will provide graduates with domain knowledge, communication and team-handling skills relevant to the insurance sector. After the successfully completion of the programme, the candidates will be absorbed by HDFC Life.<br/><br/>According to the Executive President (Education Services), Manipal Global Education Mr. R. V. Sivaramakrishnan, HDFC Life is the only partner of Manipal University in the insurance sector.<br/><br/>“This course will surely help us to bring down the attrition rate at the same time, ensure the availability of good talent," said Mr. R Chandrasekhar, Executive Vice-president, Learning and in Development, HDFC Life Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1046InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Insurance Repository System (IRS) which facilitates customers to convert their traditional paper policies into electronic format, likely to introduce conversion of health and motor insurance policies by December this year.<br/><br/>IRDA's Insurance Repository System is the first of its kind in the world, which was launched in September 2013 by then Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram. IRDA has provided insurance repository licenses to five companies i.e. - Central Insurance Repository Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited, Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, CAMS Repository Services Limited and SHCIL Projects Limited.<br/><br/>Presently, the Insurance Repositories only convert life insurance into e-insurance.<br/><br/>"We are going to complete one year in September and with low awareness the growth is slower and mostly concentrated in the urban areas. However, we expect the growth pace to increase after the regulator makes e-insurance mandatory. We expect the decision in another one year”, Karvy Insurance Repository Executive Director Mr. Viiveck Verma said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1044InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitely has recently announced the re-launch of an insurance-cum-pension scheme for benefit of senior citizen of the country that will provide monthly pension ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000.<br/><br/>This revived scheme Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY ) will be administered by country’s largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. This scheme aims at to provide financial security to citizen aged 60 years and above by ensuring regular income during their advancing years.<br/><br/><b>Highlights of VPBY:</b><br/><br/>1) Minimum age to enter into the scheme: 60 years.<br/><br/>2) Minimum investment (purchase price) : Rs 66,665.<br/><br/>3) Maximum investment (purchase price) : Rs 6,66,665.<br/><br/>4) Single lump sum premium.<br/><br/>5) Minimum pension Rs 500/month<br/><br/>6) Maximum pension Rs 5,000/ month<br/><br/>7) Assumed return 9.38 percent annual<br/><br/> 8) Pension payment period: Monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly or Yearly.<br/><br/>9) On demise of the insured, nominee will receive the investment amount. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1043InsuringIndia News Mon, 18 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Tuesday, accepted the demand of general insurance companies to provide compulsory third-party insurance cover for two-wheelers for a period of three years in one go, as against the current practice of annual renewal. However, the own-damage cover can be renewed annually.<br/><br/>If everything goes fine, the same could be replicated for four-wheeler and commercial vehicles, the regulator said in the circular to all general insurance companies.<br/><br/>According to the industry experts, this move would help general insurers increase their premium collection and reduce policy issuance cost, which could also lead to lower premiums as insurers could share the cost savings. Besides, it would also be convenient for customers to get their vehicles insured for three years in one shot.<br/><br/>“In the two-wheeler segment, there are a large number of owners who forget to renew their policy after the first year and a long-term cover will help reduce the number of uninsured vehicles on the road," said New India Assurance Chairman Mr. G. Srinivasan.<br/><br/>As per the circular, the total premium for third-party insurance cover for three years would be 3-fold the annual premium, and no revision in premium can be made during the tenure of the policy.<br/><br/>Other terms and conditions will remain the same as against the one year policy. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1041InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Following the stiff opposition of 9-political parties, including the Congress, the BJP-led NDA government has finally sent the insurance bill to the select committee.<br/><br/>The government is keen to get this key economic reform bill passed. Therefore, the government bowed to the demand of the opposition party and constituted a Select Committee on insurance. The committee will be headed by senior BJP MP from Rajya Sabha Mr. Chandan Mitra.<br/><br/>“The committee would submit its final report on the last day of the first week of the next Parliament session”, Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley said.<br/><br/>The committee consists of representatives from BJP, Congress, BSP, JDU, TMC, CPIM, AIADMK, SAD, SP. Members are: Mukhtar Abbas Naqavi, J.P. Nadda, Anand Sharma, B.K. Hari Prasad, J.D. Seelam, S.C. Mishra, K.C. Tyagi, Derrek O'Brien, V. Maitrayan, Ram Gopal Yadav, P. Rajiv, Kalpataru Das and Naresh Gujral. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1042InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The much awaited economic reform bill Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill-2008, is likely to be sent to the Select Committee of Parliament.<br/><br/>Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling in insurance market to 49 per cent from 26 per cent, has been caught in a logjam due to the stiff opposition of 9 political parties, including the Congress. They are insisting the BJP-led NDA government to refer it to a Select Committee of the Parliament. And, according to the sources, the government has accepted the demand of the opposition on the condition that the panel finishes its scrutiny in a time-bound manner and, more important, speedily enough for the bill to be presented in the Rajya Sabha at the beginning of the winter session.<br/><br/>The government is confident of getting the bill passed in the Lok Sabha but is wary about the Upper House where the ruling NDA has not necessary numbers.<br/><br/>Interestingly, the bill was first introduced by the Congress-led UPA government in 2008, but could not get passed due the opposition of the BJP. Since the government has made some changes in the original bill, now the Congress wants it to be sent to a Parliamentary Select Committee for threadbare examination of the issue. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1039InsuringIndia News Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT With a view to keep momentum with business growth and to spread business network to remote areas, four public sector non-life insurance companies have decided to strengthen their workforce.<br/><br/>According to the sources, the four public sector non-life insurance companies - New India Assurance, United India Insurance, National Insurance and Oriental Insurance will recruit about 1,500 officials and 5,000 clerks during this fiscal year.<br/><br/>“As a whole, each of the four State-owned non-life insurance companies will recruit 1,000 officers and 10,000 agents on a yearly basis for the next five years from now on,” Chairperson of the General Insurance Public Sector Association (GIPSA) and New India Assurance CMD Mr. G. Srinivasan said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1040InsuringIndia News Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Private insurance firm Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited has recently announced the launch of three new health insurance plans - MediPlus, MediSenior and MediRaksha.<br/><br/>‘MediPlus’ is a smart and affordable top-up health insurance plan, while ‘MediSenior’ is a health insurance plan tailored for senior customers above 61 years of age and ‘MediRaksha’ is a basic medical insurance plan designed to cater the medical needs of residents in the semi-urban and rural locations and for the economically weaker sections of the society.<br/><br/>"With the ever-rising costs of healthcare services and rising inflation, senior citizens are grappling to keep up with basic medical expenses”, said MD & CEO of Tata AIG General Mr. K.K. Mishra.<br/><br/>“These new plans are a comprehensive offering with a unique set of features that distinguishes itself from the existing gamut of health insurance products currently available for all”, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1037InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT Country’s leading long-term life insurance solutions provider HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd. (formerly HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company) has recently launched ‘Click2Protect Plus’, an extension of its flagship plan Click2Protect, with some additional features.<br/><br/>Click2Protect Plus is a traditional, non-participating pure term insurance plan. While Click2Protect is an online term insurance policy, this new offering of HDFC Life can be bought through all sales channels.<br/><br/>“The success of Click2Protect can be attributed to its competitive pricing, simple process and convenience in buying, enabling customers to make more informed choice since the customer makes an independent decision and faster turnaround time”, Senior EVP (Marketing, Product, Digital and E-Commerce) Mr. Sanjay Tripathy said.<br/><br/>Its Click2Protect plan has insured over 1.6 lac lives during the period of about two years.<br/><br/>Click2Protect Plus comes with some unique features such as an option to increase sum insured at key milestones during the lifetime. It also provides the customer with an option to secure ones family’s expenses by way of monthly income under Income and Income Plus option along with lump sum payment at the time of the claim based on the needs. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1038InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Thane District Consumer Redressal Forum has ordered the Reliance General Insurance Company, a part of Anil Ambani’s-led Reliance Capital, to pay a compensation amount of Rs 1 lac, besides medical claim of Rs 3 lac to a Bhayander resident Arvind Chhaganlal Jain.<br/><br/>Arvind Chhaganlal Jain, in his complaint to the forum said that he had taken a medical insurance policy of sum insured Rs 3 lac from a private insurance firm Reliance General Insurance in March 2009. Soon after, Jain suffered a cardiac problem and was advised to undergo a bypass surgery. He then sought the insurance amount under the policy. The insurer rejected the claim alleging the policyholder of hiding the disease at the time of taking the policy.<br/><br/>Then, Jain moved to the forum and demanded Rs 3.69 lac with 18 % interest and Rs 50,000 towards compensation and Rs 15,000 as legal expenses.<br/><br/>In its order, the forum president Umesh Jhavalalikar and member N D Kadam directed the insurer Reliance General and the claim settler Medi Assist to pay claim amount of Rs 3 lac to the complainant, besides Rs 1 lac towards compensation. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1036InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The most awaited and discussed key economic reform bill Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill-2008 may not be presented in the current session of the Parliament due to the Stiff opposition of 9 political parties, including the Congress. <br/><br/>Both sides seek to negotiate a deal where the government will agree for the bill to be sent to the Select Committee in exchange of an assurance for its passage at the beginning of the winter session.<br/><br/>According to the sources, the BJP-led NDA government has accepted the demand of the opposition for sending the bill to the Select Committee on the condition that the panel finishes its scrutiny in a time-bound manner and, more important, speedily enough for the bill to be brought to the Upper House of the Parliament at the beginning of the winter session of the Parliament.<br/><br/>Interestingly, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to raise FDI (foreign direct investment) cap in insurance sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent, was first introduced by the Congress-led UPA government in 2008, due to the opposition of the BJP. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1035InsuringIndia News Fri, 08 Aug 2014 18:26:44 GMT Apollo Munich, a leading standalone private health insurance company, on Thursday, announced the launch of its two new plans under its Optima series - Optima Vital and Optima Super. Optima series products have been receiving tremendous response since its launch. <br/><br/>As per a company release, Optima Vital is a critical illness plan, which covers 37 critical illnesses against normal industry standards of providing cover for around 7 to 20 of these conditions. Under the plan, customers can seek e-opinion from Apollo Munich's panel doctors, as and when required by them.<br/><br/>Another plan, Optima Super, aims to cater to the need of having a low cost cover while one is employed. It comes with Switch benefit where the policyholders have an option to switch to a full-fledged nil deductible plan without any underwriting or consideration of your current health status at two occasions. It offers a lifelong renewal benefit and an option to avail a single cover for the entire family.<br/><br/>The minimum entry age for the plans is 18 years, and the maximum age at which one can have these plans is 65 years.<br/><br/>Apollo Munich Health Insurance Chief Executive Officer Mr. Antony Jacob said that due to the modern lifestyles and increased stress level Indians are encountering critical illnesses more than ever before. Hence, there is a deep-felt need in the market for a one stop shop plan that covers all the major critical illnesses to help reduce the financial trauma related to critical illnesses. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1034InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Aug 2014 18:26:05 GMT Private insurance firm SBI Life Insurance Company has announced the appointment of Mr. Arijit Basu as new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mr. Basu will succeed Mr. Atanu Sen who retired on July 31, 2014 as the CEO of the SBI Life Insurance Company. <br/><br/>SBI Life’s new MD & CEO has huge experience of over three decades in the banking sector. Mr. Basu started his career with State Bank of India in 1983 as a Probationary Officer (P.O).<br/><br/>Mr. Basu is a graduate in Economics and MA in History. He is also a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.<br/><br/>Before being appointed as MD & CEO of one of the largest private life insurance firm, Mr. Basu has held several key positions in various circles of State Bank of India (SBI), including the bank’s office at Tokyo. Prior to this appointment, his latest assignment was as Chief General Manager of the Delhi Circle.<br/><br/>Speaking about the company’s future course of action, the new MD & CEO said that there is huge potential in the market as millions of people are still uninsured, and the company’s main focus would be to reach them.<br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between the country’s largest public sector lender the State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Assurance, an international insurance firm. The lion’s stake of 74 per cent in the JV is owned by SBI and the remaining 26 per cent is held by BNP Paribas Assurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1033InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Aug 2014 18:24:37 GMT The BJP-led NDA government is mulling to bring affordable health insurance scheme with a view to provide basic minimum health insurance cover to all. In order to achieve the basic health care need, the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has been working on series of reforms. The government has also announced to open branches of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in different states and to improve health infrastructure. <br/><br/>The government’s aim is to cover a range of diseases like diabetes, cardiac and cancer with the nominal premium. The rate of the premium for middle class people could be determined on one’s income. But for the poor it would be very nominal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1032InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT All-party meeting on insurance bill today failed to iron out disagreements. The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill was supposed to be tabled in Rajya Sabha. However, they agreed to meet again in the next two days to arrive at a consensus on the possible formulation of the legislation.<br/><br/>The meeting was a part of the government initiative to take opposition leaders in Rajya Sabha on board on the key bill.<br/><br/>Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu attended the meeting which took place against the backdrop of nine opposition parties giving a notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Mr. Hamid Ansari for referring the bill to a Select Committee.<br/><br/>The BJP-led NDA government does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha and will have to seek the support of other parties to move its first major economic reforms bill for consideration.<br/><br/>In a major boost to the government, the NCP and the BJD have decided to support the bill in the form it was cleared by the Union Cabinet recently. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1031InsuringIndia News Mon, 04 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Biju Janta Dal on Saturday announced to support long awaited Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to hike FDI (foreign direct investment) limit to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.<br/><br/>Senior BJD leader Mr. Bhartruhari Mahtab said, "We will support Insurance (Amendment) Bill with the new amendments being moved by the Government.”<br/><br/>The party has seven members in the Rajya Sabha where the Bill will be taken up for discussion on Monday.<br/><br/>This announcement of the BJD has cracked the unity of Opposition parties as claimed by the Congress against the Bill.<br/><br/>The BJP floor managers have been reaching out to non-Congress non-Left parties on the Bill. Eleven Opposition parties have demanded that the Bill should be sent to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1030InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT The BJP-led NDA Government is receiving extreme criticism from some political parties, insurance employees unions over Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill since the Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitely hinted to hike FDI ceiling in insurance in his recent budget speech.<br/><br/>The All India Insurance Employee Association (AIIEA) and The Insurance Corporation Employees’ Union (ICEU) have come strongly against the bill. Alleging the government’s move, AIIEA General Secretary Mr. V. Ramesh said, “Increasing FDI limit in the insurance sector from 26 to 49 per cent is nothing but further liberalising the economy.”<br/><br/>“Interestingly, it was the BJP that kept opposing the bill every time it was tabled in the House. The party opposed the bill for six years in a row. As soon as it came to power, it is holding discussions for the bill’s passage,” he further said.<br/><br/>“Since the US secretary of state Kerry is on a visit to India, it looks like this is what our government is offering him as a gift,” he added.<br/><br/>According to ICEU, increasing FDI limit in insurance sector will hurt the interests of public. It is apprehended that foreign companies will be able to move domestic savings which are infused in the insurance sector by millions of people.<br/><br/>The long awaited Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to raise FDI (foreign direct investment) cap in insurance to 49 per cent from 26 per cent has been pending in Upper House of the parliament since 2008, due to the opposition of the BJP. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1029InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT In order to provide some relief to acid attack victims, the government of India is mulling to introduce an insurance scheme. An NGO (Non-Government Organisation) is pushing the government to design a comprehensive insurance policy that will cover the medical treatment expenses of the victims.<br/><br/>The NGO is also setting up a psycho-social-cum-burn rehabilitation centre for the victims.<br/><br/>In recent past, there have been several incidents of acid attacks in which a significant number of women have either lost their lives or have got their faces badly burnt. In Maharashtra about 35 cases of acid attacks have been registered in just past three years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1028InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Leading standalone health insurance provider Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited has launched revised ‘Heartbeat’, which comes with cashless treatment abroad for major critical illnesses.<br/><br/>The revised ‘Heartbeat’ comes with comprehensive health insurance coverages, like international cashless treatment for as many as 9 major critical illnesses including Cancer, Heart Attack, Organ Transplant, Stroke, Brain Surgery among others. It also provides worldwide emergency medical evacuation, the company said in a release.<br/><br/>It gives customers flexibility to choose wide range of sum insured ranging from Rs 2 lac to Rs 1 crore and reduced waiting period of 24 months on pre-existing diseases for sum insured of Rs 5 lac and above, it said.Max Bupa Chief Executive Officer Mr. Manasije Mishra said, “The new edition of Heartbeat has been designed to address the evolving health needs of our customers. It offers exclusive benefits to families like international treatment, reduced waiting periods and comprehensive coverage upto Rs 1 crore.”<br/><br/>Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between India’s Max India and UK- based Bupa Finance plc. Max India holds 76 % stake in the JV; while, Bupa Finance, the rest 26%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1027InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Leading private insurer Religare Health Insurance Company Limited (RHICL) has announced the launch of its three new offerings named -‘Explore’ for international travel insurance, ‘Secure’ for personal accident coverage and ‘Enhance’, a low cost health insurance plan.<br/><br/>“The three new products are aligned with our objective of providing comprehensive health insurance solutions that cater to the varied requirements of our customers”, said RHICL Managing Director-cum- Chief Executive Officer Mr. Anuj Gulati in a release.<br/><br/>We stay committed to introducing more innovative products and shall continue to deliver quality service through technology-enabled processes, he added.<br/><br/>As per the company release, Explore provides an insurance cover for hospitalisation, compensation for trip cancellation, baggage loss/delay, loss of passport etc.<br/><br/>It’s personal accident plan 'Secure' provides the sum insured to the nominee in case of accidental death of the insured.In case of permanent total or partial disablement and even in case of burns or fractures of the person insured, it pays a pre-defined percentage of the sum insured.<br/><br/>While, ‘Enhance' provides an extra safety net of coverage at a significantly lesser premium. The policy provides the amount over and above the personal contribution of the insured. It works on the principle of Policy Deductible, which is the pre-defined amount that the insured bears through his own finances or any other insurance, during a medical condition. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1026InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Thane District Consumer Redressal Forum (TDCRF) on Wednesday directed a private insurance firm, Future Generali India Insurance Company to pay the complainant the claim amount of Rs 1.5 lac and also Rs 25,000 towards legal expenses.<br/><br/>In its order, the Forum President Mr. Umesh Jhavalikar and Member ND Kadam stated that even if there is violation of the conditions in the insurance policy the insurance company cannot reject the claim taking shelter under 'technical reasons'.<br/><br/>The complainant, Ashok Kesav Pandit of Shahapur town of Thane district filed a complaint with the forum against the insurer of his car Future Generali India Insurance Company after the insurer rejected its claim on technical grounds.<br/><br/>On September 29, 2009, the driver of the car Rajendra Amrutlal Pal aka Pappu was on his way to Mumbai from Kankawli. He had offered lift to two persons and also charged them, but the car met an accident on the way. The passengers died and the car got damaged in the accident. According to the claimant, he informed the insurance company about the accident and lodged the claim for the damaged vehicle. But the insurer rejected the claim arguing, since it was a private car and the owner used as a passenger vehicle, which is a violation of insurance norms.<br/><br/>However, the forum, in its order, citing a Supreme Court ruling said the company is bound to give 75 per cent of the claim, as per the apex court's ruling. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1025InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), one of the standing committees of the cabinet constituted by the Government of India, on Thursday approved Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to raise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in insurance to 49 per cent from current 26 per cent.<br/><br/>In a meeting of the CCEA, headed by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, the cabinet approved 49 per cent foreign investment in Indian insurance market through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) route ensuring management control in the hands of Indian promoters.<br/><br/>Union Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, in his maiden budget speech had said that the insurance sector is investment starved and there is a need to increase the composite ceiling in the sector to 49 per cent. Now, as the cabinet has approved the bill, it will be tabled in the Parliament.<br/><br/>The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill was first introduced by the UPA government in 2008, but it could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, because of opposition from then main opposition party the BJP.<br/><br/>This time again, the Rajya Sabha could come on the way of insurance bill, as the ruling NDA has not necessary numbers there. It will totally depend on the Congress and other parties move. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1024InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Despite being mandated insurance cover for vehicles running in India, a large number of vehicles are plying without having insurance cover. With a view to curb and reduce uninsured vehicles in the country, the insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has started a pilot initiative in Cyberabad, Telangana, to strictly enforce the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.<br/><br/>“We have collaborated with the police and they will send challans to owners of vehicles without an insurance policy. What we have found (through the pilot) is that out of the 12 lac registered vehicles, almost 25 per cent do not have an insurance policy,” said Mr. M Ramprasad, Member, Non-life, IRDA.<br/><br/>If the results of this pilot initiative are encouraging then we will extend it to seven more states, he said, adding, “ We are planning to collaborate with the Ministry of Road Transport to use their data on the number of registered vehicles to corroborate data from insurers.<br/><br/>As per a report of ICICI Lombard General Insurance, about 40 per cent cars are uninsured; while, whopping 70 per cent two-wheelers are plying without insurance cover. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1023InsuringIndia News Wed, 23 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Private sector life insurance player Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Ltd Tuesday announced the launch of its new product ‘Care Plus’, a simple and affordable pure term insurance plan. <br/><br/>On the launch, Future Generali India Life MD & CEO Mr. Munish Sharda said, “This plan provides financial security at affordable rates, with no hidden costs, keeping in mind the customers’ requirements. The launch of this product is a step towards augmenting our next phase of growth.”<br/><br/>Since the Indian insurance sector was opened for private and foreign companies in year 2000, the industry has witnessed a significant growth and transformational changes; despite that, merely 4 per cent of the population has got insured cover as of now, which is, of course, a serious matter of concern.<br/><br/>This new offering of Future Generali is a simple pure protection plan, which provides financial security to family at extremely affordable rates. It comes with two options –First, Future Generali Care Plus Classic, which is for those seeking insurance cover up to Rs. 25 lac. Second, Future Generali Care Plus Premier, which offers protection cover of Rs. 25 lac and above.<br/><br/>Under the Future Generali Care Plus Premier option, non-smokers can avail discount on premium. Customers can avail tax deduction benefits on premiums paid under the Section 80C and Section 10(10D) of the Income-Tax Act. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1021InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Private insurer Kotak Mahindra old Mutual Life Insurance (Kotak Life Insurance) has launched Assured Income Accelerator, a plan which guarantees an increasing income every year during the payout phase, irrespective of economic changes. <br/><br/>In a release, Kotak Life Insurance Managing Director Mr. G Murlidhar said, “This product fulfils a long pending demand for a life insurance product which offsets the ever-increasing cost of living and meaningfully addressed an individual's lifecycle needs.”<br/><br/>Assured Income Accelerator addresses a wide variety of customer needs ranging from second income to planned lifecycle events such as child education and retirement, Mr. Murlidhar added.<br/><br/>Under the plan, the minimum annual premium is Rs 15,000. The annual payout of guaranteed income commences after premium payment term is over. At maturity, guaranteed maturity benefit is also payable along with the last instalment of the increasing guaranteed income.<br/><br/>In the case of unfortunate death of the person insured, the plan pays out a guaranteed death benefit, irrespective of the payouts already given.<br/><br/>This new offering of Kotak Life Insurance also provides optional riders such as Term Benefit, Accident Death Benefit, Permanent Disability Benefit, Life Guardian Benefit and Accidental Disability Guardian Benefit.<br/><br/>Kotak Mahindra old Mutual Life Insurance is a joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank and South Africa-based Old Mutual Public Limited Company, a global investment, savings, insurance and banking group. Kotak Mahindra Bank owns 74 per cent of the stake in the JV; while, Old Mutual holds the remaining 26 per cent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1022InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT The union budget presented recently by the Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitely has promised to table the long awaited Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to raise foreign direct investment cap to 49 per cent from current 26 per cent, in the current session of the Parliament. It is encouraging for the industry but has also created a state of confusion within the industry on some points.<br/><br/>The budget proposals have imposed a withholding tax of 2 per cent on payment made by insurance companies to their policy holders. The logic of imposing such tax has not been defined.<br/><br/>Further, Mr. Jaitely announced that the composite FDI ceiling in the Insurance sector is proposed to be increased up to 49 per cent from the current level of 26 percent, with full Indian management and control, through the FIPB route. In which, terms composite ceiling, full Indian management and control are not clearly defined.<br/><br/>The industry wants to know whether full Indian management and control would be achieved through differential voting rights, or through compelling the insurers to have their board majorly with Indians and the company to be headed only by an Indian.<br/><br/>Also, the industry is apprehensive about routing the FDI proposals through Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) instead of the current automatic route.<br/><br/>"In the banking sector FDI up to 49 percent is under automatic route. There are lots of checks and balances in the insurance sector. With stiff solvency norms policy holders will not lose their monies. There need not be any differential treatment between these two sectors," a senior industry official said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1020InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Bajaj Finserv Limited (BFL), a leading financial services company of the Bajaj Group, is considering selling part of its stakes in insurance joint ventures to its foreign partner Allianz once the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill is passed.<br/><br/>The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance to 49 per cent from current 26 per cent, is pending in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, since 2008.<br/><br/>Bajaj Finserv is present in insurance businesses through 74 per cent stake in Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.<br/><br/>Both the life insurance business and the non-life insurance business were generating funds to sustain themselves and no further capital infusion was required, said Bajaj Finserv Managing Director Mr. Sanjeev Bajaj. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1016InsuringIndia News Thu, 17 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Two private sector insurance players - Exide Life Insurance Co Ltd and Magma HDI General Insurance Co may not seek foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into their companies anytime soon even if the long pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes raising FDI ceiling to 49 per cent, is passed.<br/><br/>"We are well-capitalised and not looking at any investments through FDI route in our businesses in the short term. However, in the long term, Exide Industries intend to induct a new foreign shareholder," said Exide Life Insurance MD and CEO Mr. Kshitij Jain.<br/><br/>While Banglore-based Exide Life Insurance Company is fully Indian company with 100 per cent holding owned by Rahejas-controlled battery maker Exide Industries, Magma HDI General Insurance is 74 per cent stake owned by Magma Fincorp with remaining 26 per cent being held by Germany partner HDI-Gerling Industries Versicherung.<br/><br/>The Modi-led NDA government has said that it will table Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill in the current session of the parliament. The foreign investors are waiting for the bill to be passed. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1018InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Riding on the growth of internet reach in the country, private sector leading insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company is expecting to double its revenue from its online sales by 2016. It is seeing 10 per cent of its new insurance business coming from the online sales in just about two years.<br/><br/>"While the offline insurance premiums have a renewal rate of about 70 per cent, we are seeing over 95 per cent renewals for online insurance," said Executive Vice-President & Head (Strategy and Technology) for HDFC Life, Mr. Subrat Mohanty.<br/><br/>The insurer has grown 20 folds to Rs 300 crore since 2012, when it started online sales.<br/><br/>The online channel of insurance sales is more convenient as it does not require any agent’s involvement, and customers can themselves compare and choose best suited policies for themselves using different web aggregator present in the market. Also, online policies comes 20-25 per cent cheaper as there is no middleman involved in the transaction. Most of the websites selling online insurance do not charge brokerage but just a small commission for passing on the lead.<br/><br/>HDFC Life is facing resistance from agents for its offline business. The agents fear loss of business to the online channel. However, the insurer is trying to convince them to move online. The insurer is planning to launch a mobile app by October this year to enable customers to buy and get information about various product offerings from the company on the go.<br/><br/>HDFC Life Insurance is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Limited, one of India’s leading housing finance institution and Standard Life Plc, a renowned financial savings & investments services provider of United Kingdom. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1019InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT In order to bridge the gap between the total cost of healthcare incurred and the amount covered by health insurance companies, health insurance companies have come up with comprehensive plans by adding up some extra features to their existing plans that would cover more than just hospitalisation expenses.<br/><br/>These feature-rich policies would be able to compensate policyholders the total actual cost occurred in healthcare, including hospitalisation reimbursement, pre-hospitalisation expenses such as out-patient department (OPD) and wellness services.<br/><br/>In addition, these companies would also be providing Worldwide Emergency Cover, disease- specific covers, value-added services in the form of discounts, health maintenance benefits and consultation charges for second opinion.<br/><br/>Conventional health insurance plans, especially the hospitalisation reimbursement category that exists in the market today, have been restrictive in terms of coverage, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tapan Singhel said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1017InsuringIndia News Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley in his maiden budget speech on Thursday announced that the pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to raise the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) ceiling to 49 per cent from current 26 per cent, will immediately be brought for consideration before Parliament.<br/><br/>This move will help the sector in two ways - First, this help companies access capital more easily, which is huge positive, given that the insurance sector is capital intensive. And second, this could act as a trigger for listing of insurance players, which will provide a better yardstick to value these companies.<br/><br/>In his speech, Mr. Jaitly said benefits of insurance in India have not reached to a large section of the people as insurance penetration and density are very low. He assured that the government would work addressing this situation in multi-pronged manner with support of all stake holders concerned.<br/><br/>The voting rights of foreign stakeholders shall not exceed 26 per cent in the aggregate and the CEO of the said Indian insurance company, to be appointed by its Indian stakeholders, and the majority of the company’s directors shall be Indian nationals.<br/><br/>The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill was first mooted by the previous Congress-led UPA government, and has been pending in the Rajya Sabha since December 2008, as the BJP didn’t support it arguing that raising the FDI ceiling to 49% would expose the sector to global vulnerability. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1015InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT Seeking permission to issue compulsory third-party (CTP) motor cover with limited liability, general insurance companies have sent a proposal to the government. For the high-risk commercial vehicle segment, an option for additional liability limit covers is proposed, which will provide a sum over and above the basic motor policy.<br/><br/>According to a leading newspaper, the General Insurance Council and non-life insurance companies, led by the industry body, have sent a proposal to the Road Transport and Highways Ministry to consider third-party covers with fixed limits, similar to the pre-determined liability limits for air and train accidents.<br/><br/>The implementation of this model will need an amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act which currently does not stipulate any limit on the liability of vehicle owners. Non-life insurance companies say, due to this law, an increase in claim awards by courts is seen every year.<br/><br/>At present, combined ratios in the motor insurance segment stand at 140-150%, owing to losses in the third-party motor segment. According to an estimate, payouts by insurance companies to individuals for motor third-party related accidents have climbed 15-20%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1014InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT New entrant in the general insurance business in the country, Magma HDI General Insurance is all set to launch a prepaid health card to facilitate payments at OPD (outpatient departments) and day-care facilities of hospitals.<br/><br/>This electronic health card can be used like any other debit or credit card but only in hospitals, the company said.Mr. Swaraj Krishnan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Magma HDI (MHDI), said, “Pre-paid health card is a step forward from the cashless concept.”<br/><br/>“The ‘hospital cash facility’ or prepaid health card will be linked to the company’s upcoming health insurance products in the individual, family and group categories. The amount of cash equivalent in the card will be based on the policy value of the user”, Mr. Krishnan said.<br/><br/>The company has applied to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for necessary regulatory approval. It is expected that the product will be available for customers by September this year.<br/><br/>Magma HDI General Insurance is a joint venture between India’s Magma Fincorp and Germany’s HDI Gerling Industrie Verischerung AG. Magma Fincorp holds 74 per cent stake in the JV, while remaining 26 per cent by HDI Gerling Industrie Verischerung AG. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1013InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT State-run general insurance firm New India Assurance has paid a dividend of Rs 220 crore to the government for the fiscal year which ended on March 31, 2014.<br/><br/>As per an official, Chief Managing Director of New India Assurance Co. Ltd Mr. G. Srinivasan presented a dividend cheque of Rs 220 crore to the Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitly on Thursday.<br/><br/>The state-owned general insurance companies- New India Assurance, National Insurance Company, United India and Oriental Insurance Company Ltd have jointly registered a growth of 10 % in gross premium during the fiscal year 2013-14 and have projected a 100% increase in the next five years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1012InsuringIndia News Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:27:03 GMT Leading private sector insurer AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) Company has been conferred with the ‘E-Business Leader Award’ for the second consecutive year, under the category of Overall Insurance Industry Awards by the Indian Insurance Award in a function held in Mumbai on June 25, 2014.<br/><br/>The jury members were SB Mathur, Former Secretary General, Life Insurance Council; R Krishnamurthy, Senior Advisor, Towers Watson; Mr R Chandrasekaran, Secretary General, General Insurance Council.The E-Business Leader award is given to an insurance company that has deployed the online insurance channel effectively for sales, marketing and lead generation for the business. This also needs to commend an insurance company bringing special focus on this revolutionary distribution model.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Sri K.S. Gopalakrishnan, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at ARLI said, “AEGON Religare Life Insurance is extremely proud and happy to be honoured as the E-Business Leader Award for the second year in a row. As pioneers in the online business in life insurance in this country, it gives me immense pleasure to accept this well-deserved award. It further strengthens our leadership position.”<br/><br/>“Introducing India to a digital distribution channel for life insurance was a challenge and I believe ARLI overcame this hurdle by simplifying the buying process and introducing the customers to e-friendly products like ‘AEGON Religare iTerm Plan’ and ‘AEGON Religare iGuarantee Plan’. We wish to keep our focus on the E-Sales distribution channel and further strengthen our online presence”, he added.<br/><br/>AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) Company is a joint venture between AEGON (26%), an international life insurance, pension and investment company; Religare Enterprises Limited (44%), a global financial services group; and Bennett, Coleman & Company (30%), India’s largest media. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1011InsuringIndia News Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT India has decided to renew its approval for accepting oil tankers and bulk carriers covered by Iranian insurers for next 6-months, sources said. <br/><br/> The six-month extension given to Iranian ships in January this year expires this Friday and India’s decision assumes significance particularly in the context of the trouble in Iraq, the second largest source of crude supply to India now. <br/><br/>According to an Indian Shipping Ministry insider, the approval is applicable to Iran’s Kish and QITA (Qeshm International Trust Alliance) Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs. <br/><br/>As per rule, vessels without insurance cover from Intentional Group of P&I Clubs are not allowed to call at Indian ports. This is because in the event of any mishap, there is no guarantee that the claims will be settled by the ship’s owner. Now, this guarantees the Iranian vessels to cover any potential liability in the event of maritime accidents in Indian waters. <br/><br/>Although, the US has relaxed sanctions against Iran, the Europe-based Intentional group of P&I Clubs are yet to take a decision on granting cover to Iranian voyages. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1010InsuringIndia News Thu, 26 Jun 2014 16:56:20 GMT Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), a part of Anil Ambani’s led Reliance Capital, yesterday a customer centric service initiative ‘Claims Guarantee’, which promises to settle claims within 12 working days of receipt of claims with all required documents.<br/><br/>The private player has assured to pay interest to the claimant at the rate of 6.5 % per annum, if the company fails to pay the claim amount to the nominee within the time frame, provided full premium is paid for at least three policy years and the required death claim documents are submitted. <br/><br/>"With claims guarantee, we have further eased the claims settlement mechanism to support the deceased family and settle their claims payment in 12 working days," said Reliance Life Chief Executive Officer Mr. Anup Rau, adding, “We believe that our relationship extends beyond the policyholders to embrace their loved ones, when they need us the most.” <br/><br/>As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) guidelines, death claims must be settled within 30 days of receipt of complete claim documents. If there are any pending documents, then the insurer must inform the insured about it within 15 days. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1009InsuringIndia News Wed, 25 Jun 2014 16:56:20 GMT United India Insurance Company Limited, one of the state-run general insurance firms, has paid a dividend of Rs 106 crore to the government for the fiscal year 2013-14. <br/><br/>The dividend of Rs 106 crore declared amounts to 70.66% of paid-up capital. <br/><br/>As per a company statement, United India Chairman-cum-Managing Director Mr. Milind Kharat presented a cheque of Rs 106 crore to India’s new finance minister Mr. Arun Jaitly in New Delhi on Thursday. <br/><br/>United India’s Profit After Tax (PAT) in FY’ 2013-14 stood at Rs 527.6 crore as against Rs 527.33 in previous year, the company statement said. <br/><br/>Its premium income for the period was Rs 9,709 crore with an accretion of Rs 443 crore registered over the same period of previous year, the statement added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1008InsuringIndia News Mon, 23 Jun 2014 16:56:20 GMT In order to protect long term interest of life insurance policyholders, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has made it mandatory for agents to provide full details in a transparent manner before persuading policyholders to shift to another insurer.<br/><br/>The tightening of replacement norms would help retain the existing life insurance policy. It envisages full disclosure and transparent information to the policyholder to avoid a possible misrepresentation as to the factual position of financial consequences of replacing an existing life insurance policy. <br/><br/>As per the guidelines, no life insurance agent, insurance intermediary or an insurance company can replace a life insurance policy, except, if it is in the interest of the policyholder. It would require a written consent from the prospect for replacing existing policies. <br/><br/>The new norms discourage intermediaries from persuading lapsing, surrendering or making paid-up of an existing life insurance policy with the intent of canvassing or soliciting a new life insurance policy on the same life. The insurance watchdog, through tightened replacement norm, aims to encourage fair market conduct and fair business practices amongst life insurance players and intermediaries. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1006InsuringIndia News Sat, 21 Jun 2014 16:54:16 GMT The Gujarat High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the Government of India, Finance Secretary and 19 major insurance companies, including insurance behemoth the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, over a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Ahmedabad-based chartered accountant Kailash Maheshwari, that questions the legality of investment based products floated by the life insurance companies.<br/><br/>Calling the practices ‘corrupt’, the petitioner had objected to insurance plans such as Pure Endowment, Endowment, Unit linked Plans and Term plan with Return of Premium. <br/><br/>A division bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala posted the hearing to July 3, directing all the 22 respondents to file their replies. <br/><br/>The petitioner, Mr. Maheshwari has demanded action against insurance companies for duping customers and for criminal conspiracy and to book them under provisions of Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act as well as under anti-corruption laws. <br/><br/>The petition also demanded stay on collection of savings as well as investments by the life insurance companies and to declare endowment plans as illegal, and refund the premium. <br/><br/>"As per the law, life insurance business is only meant to be a business to compensate an amount to the beneficiaries in case of death of the policyholder. Payment on survival is not the business of the life insurance. Therefore, all the savings as well as investment plans are illegal as the insurance companies do not have licence to do business of collecting savings or investments," the petition reads. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1007InsuringIndia News Fri, 20 Jun 2014 16:56:20 GMT Insurance watchdog, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in its guidelines issued recently, has allowed insurance companies to hedge their interest risks by participating in interest rate derivatives of a longer tenure.<br/><br/>As per current norms, insurance firms are allowed to enter Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs), Interest Rate Swaps (IRS) and Exchange Traded Interest Rate Futures (IRF) with a maximum tenure of one year. <br/><br/>The fresh guidelines allows insurance firms to participate in interest rate derivatives over one year. However, there is no upper limit for maturities of such instruments. This move of the regulator would help insurers protecting their return due to fluctuation in the interest rates and protect financial health. <br/><br/>However, a participating insurer’s dealings in interest rate derivatives would not exceed an outstanding notional principal amount equivalent to 100 % of the book value of the fixed income investments of the insurer under the policyholders’ fund, the guidelines said. <br/><br/>This would exclude ULIP funds in case of life insurers and the shareholders funds taken together, it added. <br/><br/>Similarly, the mark-to market gain or loss arising out of the effective hedge would be borne by the respective fund only. Exposure limits pertaining to single issuer, group and industry will be applicable for the exposure through FRA and IRS contracts, it said. <br/><br/>No contracts shall be entered with promoter group entities either directly or indirectly, it added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1005InsuringIndia News Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Leading private sector insurer ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has tied-up with online bus booking portal redBus.in to offer travel insurance policy for bus commuters travelling within India. All travellers can secure their bus travel by purchasing online tickets from redBus.in. <br/><br/>hospitalisation expenses up to Rs 20,000, due to injury suffered during the travel, a personal accident cover of Rs 5 lac as well as daily allowance of Rs 500 (except for the first 24 hrs.) for hospitalisation for a maximum of 7-days. Apart from this, the insurer would also provide coverage to baggage loss up to Rs 2,000. <br/><br/>The premium to avail the benefits for one-way journey would be Rs 10 only irrespective of the ticket price or itinerary. To avail the insurance benefit, the customers would need to simply tick the ‘Buy Bus Travel Ticket’ option while booking ticket on redBus.in. <br/><br/>The online bus booking portal redBus.in is headquartered in Bangalore. It has more than 2000 private bus operators in India aggregating about 80,000 routes across India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1004InsuringIndia News Tue, 17 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Private sector general insurance firm Future Generali India Insurance on Monday said that it achieved break-even in fiscal year 2013-14, sixth year of its operations, with profit of Rs 39.62 crore. It had registered a loss of Rs 19.7 crore in FY 2012-13. <br/><br/>The gross written premium for FY’ 2013-14 increased by 13 %, to Rs 1,303 crore as against Rs 1,151 crore last year. The total direct premium of the company grew by 14% to Rs 1,263 crore as against Rs 1,105 crore in FY' 2012-13. <br/><br/>“This has been a difficult year considering the overall economic situation and decreasing auto sales. However, the prudent approach that we followed in building a healthy book helped the company to post profits”, Chief Executive Officer of the company Mr. K.G. Krishnamoorthy Rao said. <br/><br/>During the period, the company sold more than 9.5 lac policies, a growth of 11% from last fiscal and settled over 1.66 lac claims. <br/><br/>The investment funds under management as on March 31, 2014 stood at Rs 1, 494 crore. <br/><br/>Future Generali India Insurance is a joint venture between Kishore Biyani's led India’s leading retaile Future Group and Italy-based insurance giant Generali. Future Group holds 74% stake in the company, while the rest 26% is held by Generali. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1003InsuringIndia News Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Country’s largest insurance firm the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India is in constant communication with the insurance watchdog in India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for getting approval of some new products, according to LIC Managing Director Mr. S. B. Mainak. <br/><br/>At present, the 57-years old life insurance firm has about 10-12 products in its basket. <br/><br/>State-run insurer’s market share increased to 82% in last fiscal which ended on March 31, 2014 from 76% in the previous fiscal, Mr. Mainak said. <br/><br/>Talking to reporters after a meeting on the Indian insurance industry-the road ahead, organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Mainak said, “Products require time to get market acceptance.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1002InsuringIndia News Sat, 14 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Andhra Bank, a public sector lender, in association with state-run general insurer United India Insurance Company Ltd, has launched an improved health insurance scheme named 'AB Arogyadaan' to take care of health and wealth of the entire family of account holders, sources. <br/><br/>The new plan entails lesser premium rates for a maximum coverage of medical expenses up to Rs. 20 lac, said Andhra Bank Deputy General Manager Mr. D. Surendra Rao. <br/><br/>AB Arogyadaan is a Floater Health Insurance scheme with options of Plan I and Plan II. Under Plan I, family of four members, including spouse and two dependent children of prime Account Holder would be covered. Whereas, a family of six members would be covered under Plan II. <br/><br/> The minimum age to enter into the policy is 3 months, and the maximum is 65 years. The can be renewed lifelong. <br/><br/>Premium paid under this policy would be eligible for tax deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1001InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has decided to launch an Insurance Repository System on a pilot basis to move towards an electronic paperless environment. <br/><br/> According to the insurance watchdog, it will be mandatory for all the life Insurers and insurance repositories to participate in the pilot launch. The pilot project for digitisation of insurance policies would start from July 1 for duration of two months. <br/><br/>The regulator in a statement said, "During the pilot launch, each life insurer shall convert a minimum of 1000 or 5 percent of the existing individual policies (issued in hard form and currently in force) whichever is less for each of the Insurance Repositories (IRs) into electronic form.” <br/><br/>This shall be, however, subject to a minimum of 250 policies per IR, IRDA said. <br/><br/>As per the IRDA, during the pilot launch, no insurer can deny any request for electronic policy both for conversion of existing policies and for issuance of new policies from any of the policyholders. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1000InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, a leading private sector insurance player on Monday said it has launched-Health Care Supreme, an all inclusive health insurance plan that covers all types of treatments. <br/><br/>The insurer, in a statement, has said that this new offering of the company will provide comprehensive cover for maternity, OPD and dental treatments along with other hospitalisation expenses. <br/><br/>Health Care Supreme also covers all types of treatments including ayurveda and homoeopathy including a host of other benefits, the statement said. <br/><br/>The minimum sum insured under the policy is Rs 5 lac and the maximum can be opted up to Rs 50 lac. <br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited (formerly part of Bajaj Auto Ltd.) and Germany’s Allianz Group. In the joint venture, Allianz Group holds the maximum permissible limit of 26 % stake, and Bajaj Finserv, the remaining 74 %. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=999InsuringIndia News Wed, 11 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Allahabad high court, one of the first high courts to be established in India, has directed the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to scrutinise each and every policy sold by private sector SBI Life Insurance Company Limited. The court also asked the regulator to discontinue its policies and wind up its business if it detects any regulatory breaches. <br/><br/>The honourable high court pronounced this order hearing a petition filed by one 72-years old Virendra Pal Kapoor, who claimed he had invested Rs. 50,000 in year 2007 in SBI Life’s Unit Plus II-Single, a unit-linked plan (ULIP) with an option of limited term of 5-years, on the basic sum assured for life at Rs. 3,12,500 (approximately 6-times of the investment), with a choice of investment in a growth fund. But on maturity, the insurer paid merely Rs. 248 to Mr. Kapoor. <br/><br/>The policy was sold to Mr. Kapoor by an agent on behalf of SBI Life Insurance Company on the basis of certain terms that didn’t have necessary regulatory approval. <br/><br/>While the court found that the policy was sold to Kapoor in the premises of SBI Life, and was allegedly misled by an agent in breach of IRDA’s norms, the court held an alongside inspection of SBI’s directors (who are part of SBI Life’s board) necessary to find out if any unlawful gain had been made from sale of such policies. <br/><br/>“The central government will do well to ensure that the investors are not cheated in a manner, as in the present case, in which the entire investment of the senior citizen has been lost on the pretext of the policy being in tune with Irda guidelines”, the court said. <br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI), country’s leading public sector bank and BNP Paribas Cardif, the insurance arm of BNP Paribas of France. SBI holds 74% stake and BNP Paribas Cardif the remaining 26% in the JV. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=998InsuringIndia News Mon, 09 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said foreign investors, including Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), can invest up to 26 % in insurance sector and allied activities such as-insurance companies, insurance brokers, Third Party Administrators (TPAs), surveyors and loss assessors, through the automatic route. <br/><br/>“Effective from February 4, foreign investment by way of FDI, investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/ Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) up to 26 % under the automatic route shall be permitted in the insurance sector,” the bank regulator said in a circular released on Thursday. <br/><br/>In February this year, the government had allowed 26% foreign investment in activities related to insurance like broking, third party administrators and surveyors and allowed FIIs and NRIs to invest in insurers within the stipulated cap. <br/><br/>In case of insurance companies, the 26% ceiling will include FDI and investments from FIIs and NRIs, said a press note issued by Department Of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Earlier, only FDI under the automatic route was allowed in insurance companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=997InsuringIndia News Sat, 07 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Jammu & Kashmir (J & K) Bank is exploring possibilities to sell its entire 5 % stake in the life insurance joint venture PBN MetLife India Insurance Company, sources said.<br/><br/> PNB MetLife is a joint venture between state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB), US-based MetLife Inc., J & K Bank, M Pallonji and Company, and other private investors. PNB and MetLife Inc. are the majority shareholders in the JV, with 30% and 26% stake, respectively. <br/><br/>Although the pricing has not been finalised yet, the mid-sized bank is expecting to raise about Rs.700 crore from the deal. As per the sources, the bank will use the capital to strengthen its core business, banking. <br/><br/>Majority stakeholders will have the first ‘right to refusal’ in buying J&K Bank’s stake in the JV, said the sources, adding, “If they were not willing, the bank will search for a buyer outside the company.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=995InsuringIndia News Fri, 06 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Modi-led newly formed government is all set to raise the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in insurance sector to 49% from existing 26%, with two riders - all companies will have to provide health insurance cover, and voting rights of foreign firms' nominees on boards will be limited to 26%. <br/><br/>The Insurance Law (Amendment) Bill has been pending with the Upper House of the Parliament since year 2008, as the then opposition party BJP had been opposing this, arguing it would expose the sector to global vulnerability. <br/><br/>The government is working on a three-pronged strategy to make health care affordable."While allowing up to 49 % FDI in insurance, we will mandate insurers to offer health insurance cover. They are willing to do that. Second, we are considering a higher tax exemption on health insurance products. More products and players should be in the market. Third, there should be some regulation of charges levied by private hospitals," an official from the ministry said. <br/><br/> The government might follow a gradual approach to raising FDI ceiling in insurance, starting with non-life, health and then life insurance. The minimum paid-up capital for health insurance is Rs 50 crore, unlike Rs 100 crore for other insurance segments. <br/><br/>The government is also planning to bring a mechanism to ensure private hospitals don't overcharge patients. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=996InsuringIndia News Thu, 05 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT An increase in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) capping in insurance sector is inevitable if it has to grow, and this move will attract foreign investments about USD 1-1.5 billion (Rs. 6,000-9,000 crore) immediately, according to Former IRDA Chairman Mr. J Hari Narayan.<br/><br/>The Finance Ministry is considering raising FDI capping in insurance sector to 49 % from existing 26 % with some riders, such as restriction on voting rights.The reason behind a probable restriction of voting rights for foreign investors is to ensure that the control of the critical sector involving lifetime's savings of a large number of people does not pass into foreign hands.<br/><br/>In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Mr. Narayan dismissed the concern that a foreign partner will get a gigantic controlling stake even at 49%. Former IRDA boss believes that insurance regulations are very strong in India, and it is very unlikely for adverse investments in insurance sector.<br/><br/>According to Mr. Kshitij Jain, MD & CEO of Exide Life Insurance, many foreign investors are interested in Indian insurance industry which accredits strong fundamentals. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=994InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT According to a study conducted by Google India and Boston Consultancy Group (BCG), about 75% of total insurance policies will be sold through online route by year 2020.<br/><br/> The report titled “Digital@Insurance-20X By2020” was released recently in Mumbai claims that as many as three out of every four insurance policies will be sold online in next 6 years. <br/><br/>The report claims that the online insurance market in India will cross Rs 20,000 crore, about 20-folds its current value of Rs 700 crore by year 2020.<br/><br/> “The exploding popularity of smart phones and Internet has become a core part of life for many consumers across the globe and in India,” the report said.<br/><br/> “The influence of Digital is already 'big' and is getting 'bigger', exponentially in terms of user growth and time taken. The connected online population of over two billion users forms a brand new market that cuts across borders”, it added.<br/><br/> “As insurers seek new avenues to grow profitably, they have a unique opportunity to embrace and benefit from the digital wave, which also addresses many key issues that plague the offline world today,” it said.<br/><br/> The digital way could result in potential savings of 15%-20% of total cost in the case of life insurance, and 20%-30% in case of non-life, said Mr. Alpesh Shah, a BCG Senior Partner also the author of the report.<br/><br/> While online purchases represent a small component of insurance activity in India today, the overall influence of Internet on insurance product purchase in India is already 6-times and growing rapidly, said BFSI Travel Google India Industry Director Mr. Vikas Agnihotri. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=993InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Private sector insurance player Exide Life Insurance Company is planning to hire about 18,000 new agents in this fiscal, company’s Managing Director and CEO Mr. Kshitij Jain said.<br/><br/>Last month, the ING Vysya Life Insurance changed its name to Exide Life insurance after being totally owned by the Raheja Group through leading battery maker Exide Industries.<br/><br/>At present, there are 35,000 persons who account for nearly 60% of the business of the company. The company wants to hire at least 25 % of the total posts from North India, the region where the company wishes to expand its business.<br/><br/>“I have no option but to up my game in North India, as it is too big a market to be ignored in the stage I am in right now. I have a presence (in North) that I want to build. I can grow only from strength to strength in this market,” Mr. Jain said.<br/><br/>Exide Life Insurance has a bancassurance tie-up with ING Vysya Bank, which also has a branch network in North India. Nearly 22 % of its business comes from this bancassurance arrangement. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=992InsuringIndia News Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT Thanks to an increase in working population and life expectancy, the life insurance industry of India will soon witness robust growth, feels Amitabh Tapadar, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Ltd. (Tata AIA Life). <br/><br/>According to an industry estimate, by the year 2020 more than 100 million people will be added to India’s working force. The total size of working populations in India, which stood at 521 million in 2011, is estimated to grow to 627 million by 2020. Life expectancy, which stood at 67 years between the years 2006-10, will reach to 70 years in between 2016-20. <br/><br/> Mr. Tapadar said, “The increase in working population will also result in higher demand for saving and protection centric Life Insurance products. As research suggests, with a share of 23%, for the financial year 2011-12 Insurance products have been the second largest component of household savings, which represents the amount of disposable income that the households are left with that is not used for consumption expenditure.” <br/><br/>Mr. Shivdutt Das, Vice President, Product Development, Tata AIA Life, said, “The ongoing uncertainties in global economic scenario make income protection a key concern for today. In keeping with this, Tata AIA Life has launched a bouquet of solutions, which provide income protection and satisfy the varying needs of the customers. All these solutions allow customers to avail higher protection cover than earlier. These new offerings also provide other benefits such as guaranteed returns, liquidity, compounding of returns and flexibility of plan duration.” <br/><br/>To make life insurance buying simple and easy Tata AIA Life has introduced some new processes. The Company is one of the first insurance companies in India to fully switch over to a ‘Standard Proposal Form’ for all its products, thereby offering its customers the convenience of faster and easier completion of applications. It also launched ‘Express 50’ initiative, which enables customers buy higher protection cover faster by optimizing the requirements of documents through simpler underwriting norms. <br/><br/>According to a report by Indian Brand Equity Foundation, higher personal disposable incomes would result in higher household savings, which is expected to grow to $540 billion by 2015 from $ 89 billion in 2000. This means that India continues to remain a country of savers, however a large portion of this household savings is either lying idle or getting invested in traditional methods of savings and investment. Life Insurance is hence a potent financial weapon that helps provides financial protection and also helps achieve life’s cherished goals. <br/><br/>Armed with the right products and right processes, Tata AIA Life is hence poised to be an integral part of the potential growth story for Life Insurance in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=991InsuringIndia News Sat, 31 May 2014 18:08:40 GMT Leading private sector insurance player Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has been rated with ‘AAA’ for smooth claims settlement and financial strength by CARE (Credit Analysis and Research Limited), a credit rating agency promoted by Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Canara Bank, Unit Trust of India (UTI) and other financial and lending institutions.<br/><br/>“Bajaj Allianz has been working well from past few years. Despite of the glooming economy, Bajaj Allianz reported a net profit of Rs 1,025 crore for fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2014, as compared with Rs 1,286 crore in fiscal year 2012-13”, said CARE. <br/><br/>The company has better performance than the other insurance companies, it said adding, “The company reported a solvency ratio of 734 % as on March 31, 2014, whereas the minimum regulatory requirement was 150 %.”<br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance started its business in 2001. From past 4-5 consecutive years company has shown profit in its reports and is doing quite well. The company’s total assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 38,780 crore as on March 31, 2014. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=989InsuringIndia News Thu, 29 May 2014 14:24:40 GMT Country’s general insurance giant New India Assurance eyes Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as its new hub in Middle East. It is considered as a strategic move of the company to enhance its presence in the region.<br/><br/>Across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), the insurer has five branches - two in the UAE, one office each in Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. <br/><br/>Mr. G Srinivasan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the state-owned insurer, said, "Middle East, particularly GCC, is a significant market for us and our focus will now be to increase our presence in this market and to grow our business by offering our products to a multinational clientele in the region." <br/><br/>“Our immediate plan includes concentrated growth in retail segment on personal lines of business like health, personal accident and home protection,” he added. <br/><br/>New India Assurance’s business has grown manifold in the GCC during the company's over 50 years of presence in the market, he said adding, “Company’s business in GCC in terms of gross premium was to the tune of over AED 700 million and we are poised to grow more this year.” <br/><br/>The company declared 110 % dividend to its shareholders last year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=990InsuringIndia News Wed, 28 May 2014 12:38:40 GMT Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who took charge as Union health minister yesterday, has promised that the government would work to provide health insurance cover for all through the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a national health insurance scheme for below poverty line (BPL) families. <br/><br/>In order to seek suggestions to implement the scheme, Dr. Vardhan met senior officials in the ministry and briefed them about the priorities of the new dispensation. <br/><br/> “The RSBY scheme, run under the ministry of labour, is working fine in some states but its reach is limited to BPL families. I plan to rope in all economic groups and make the health ministry a sort of regulatory body for oversight on existing microhealth insurance programme in the villages and cities of India”, Dr. Vardhan added. <br/><br/>“I am not in favour of taxpayers' money being used to push a one-size fits all health policy. I have started contacting public health practitioners on the roadmap to ensure that available resources will be utilized more optimally”, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=988InsuringIndia News Tue, 27 May 2014 16:24:40 GMT The Karnataka state government is mooting bringing out a mass insurance scheme which will provide healthcare cover to all citizens in the state. <br/><br/>Speaking after the launch of the Nagara Yashasvini scheme for the members of Cooperative institutions in City and Urban areas, Chief Minister Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “It is the duty of the state government to provide healthcare facilities to poor and middle class people.” <br/><br/>The Yashasvini scheme has gained tremendous response in rural areas. Since it was first launched in 2003 for rural areas, it had so far helped over 6 lac members with treatment costing Rs. 543 crore. <br/><br/>To avail the benefits of the Yashasvini scheme for rural co-operative members have to pay an annual premium of Rs. 210. They can enrol all members of the family in the scheme from a newborn to members aged below 75. Under the scheme, they can get treatment for as many as 823 kinds of health problems at about 496 identified hospitals. <br/><br/>'We want to extend this scheme to those who are not members of the Cooperative institutions by introducing a mass insurance scheme,' Mr. Siddaramaiah added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=987InsuringIndia News Tue, 27 May 2014 12:04:40 GMT The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) has directed insurance companies that claims related to unexpected ailments should be treated as accidents and cannot be repudiated.<br/><br/>The Commission was hearing a case in which a fisherman from Poonthura, Mr. Hridayadasan suffered a heart attack off the coast of Poonthura. Hridayadasan was insured with the New India Assurance, a state-run insurance company but he was denied the insurance amount saying that heart stroke was not eligible for getting any insurance claim.<br/><br/>The Commission headed by Mr. J B Koshy asked New India Assurance to reexamine its decision to reject claim. “Denying compensation after receiving premium is a violation of human rights,” he said. Hridayadasan has been paying the premium for his health insurance policy for 7 years.<br/><br/>On June 2, 2013, the fisherman Mr. Hridayadasan had suffered heart attack and since then he been not able to move. The fisherman received a sum of Rs. 50,000 from the Kerala Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, but according to the Commission, it was not sufficient for his treatment expenses.<br/><br/>The Commission cited the decisions of the Karnataka and the Odisha High Courts in which it had been ruled that unexpected ailments should be considered as accidents and compensations had to be paid.<br/><br/>The Commission asked the New India Assurance Company to respond to the Commission before June 10, 2014. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=986InsuringIndia News Sat, 24 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited, a leading private sector insurer has announced the launch of ‘My Home Insurance All Risk Policy’, an ‘all-encompassing’ home insurance plan.<br/><br/>This new offering of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance will provide protection against perils other than those specifically excluded unlike the existing policies available in the market that cover only specified risks, according to the company.<br/><br/>On the launch, CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Mr. Tapan Singhel said, “Non-existence of essential benefits like covering precious household items, furniture, artworks or jewellery prompted us to bring in such an all-encompassing home insurance policy.”<br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited (formerly part of Bajaj Auto Ltd.) and Germany’s Allianz Group. In the JV, Allianz Group holds the maximum permissible 26 per cent stake and Bajaj Finserv the remaining 74 per cent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=985InsuringIndia News Fri, 23 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Haryana state government has launched a new insurance scheme named Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) for providing life insurance protection to people living below poverty line, marginally above poverty line and rural landless households.<br/><br/>Although the decision to launch AABY had been taken by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government at a cabinet meeting in May last year, but the implementation was in limbo as the finance department had maintained that the state already had Rajiv Gandhi Parivar Bima Yojna for the same purpose.<br/><br/>AABY would provide an insurance cover of Rs 30,000 to the head of the family or an earning member of the family for natural death; whereas in case of death and permanent total disability in an accident, Rs 75,000 would be given to the diseased family.<br/><br/>People between 18 to 59 years of age can enrol themselves to avail the benefits of this scheme. Premium amount for this scheme is Rs 200 per annum, of which 50% will be paid by the Centre government and remaining by the state government. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=984InsuringIndia News Wed, 21 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked insurance companies to tie-up with all repositories so that policyholders can keep their policies in electronic format.<br/><br/>n September 2013, then Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram had launched IRDA’s Insurance Repository System (IRS), the first of its kind in the world. The sector regulator has provided insurance repository licence to five companies i.e. - Central Insurance Repository Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited, Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, CAMS Repository Services Limited and SHCIL Projects Limited.<br/><br/>Like shares and bonds, which are being kept in a demat account with a depository, now with IRS, the policyholders can be able to keep their insurance policies in an electronic insurance account with an insurance repository. With e-insurance account, policyholders will not require to keep traditional paper documents.<br/><br/>As of now, it is not mandatory for insurers to tie-up with all repositories; as a result paperless insurance has not yet taken off in the country.<br/><br/>"IRDA set up a committee in March 2014 for the review of e-insurance guidelines. The Committee has gone ahead and submitted its recommendations. Based on the modified guidelines, the goal is given to insurers for compulsory conversion of policies into digital form. They have also been asked to tie-up with all repositories”, said Mr. S.V. Ramanan, CEO, CAMS Insurance Repository and Services. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=983InsuringIndia News Tue, 20 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT Country’s largest insurer the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has launched an online term insurance policy named, e-Term, that could prove to be a game changer in the segment.<br/><br/>Although, e-Term is slightly costlier than most online term plans offered from various private insurance companies, it is likely to become the preferred choice of most customers seeing the tremendous brand value of the insurance behemoth.<br/><br/>According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (IRDA’s) annual report for the fiscal year 2012-13, the claim settlement ratio of state-owned insurer was 97.73 per cent. While, among private sector insurers, only five insurers, including ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited , SBI Life Insurance Company Limited, Max Life Insurance and Kotak Life Insurance, reported a claim settlement ratio of over 90% in 2012-13.<br/><br/>The minimum sum insured for non-tobacco user is Rs 50 lac and Rs 25 lac for tobacco user. To enter into the plan, the minimum age required is 18 years and the maximum age should not be more than 60 years.<br/><br/>Under the policy the minimum policy term is 10 years and the maximum is 35 years. And the premium paying frequency is annual. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=982InsuringIndia News Mon, 19 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT Following the landslide victory of BJP-led NDA in the country’s general election for 16th Lok Sabha, the cost of insuring State Bank of India's debt, used as a proxy for Indian sovereign debt, fell to a 11-month low.<br/><br/>As per the data provided by Markit Limited, a London headquartered global financial information and services company, the SBI’s 5-year credit default swaps fell 13 bps (basis points) from Thursday's (a day before the result) close to 206 bps, the lowest since June 2013. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=981InsuringIndia News Sat, 17 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT The national carrier Air India on Wednesday invited bids from Indian insurance firms for renewal of insurance for its entire 105-aircarft fleet worth a whopping 9 billion US dollars, even as it is in the process of acquiring the remaining 13 of the 27 Dreamliners it has ordered.As per officials of Air India, the bids have been invited on standalone basis or as a consortium. And, it would have to be submitted by June 4, 2014.<br/><br/>The process has begun to firm up the companies, which would provide the insurance cover for the fleet, due for renewal from October 1,” the officials informed.The aircraft fleet insurance covered would include aviation risk, hull all risk and hull war risk among other areas, they added.<br/><br/>Two years ago, two consortia had bid for the insurance coverage of the airline's fleet. One was a grouping of New India Assurance (as the lead insurer), Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance, while the other one was the consortium of HDFC Ergo General Insurance, SBI General Insurance and ICICI Lombard.<br/><br/>The finance ministry has made it clear that there would be no purchase preference support given to PSU insurers in order to provide a level-playing field to their private counterparts who bid. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=979InsuringIndia News Thu, 15 May 2014 16:44:25 GMT Hearing a complaint jointly filed by 3-garment companies against New Delhi and Tripura branches of the Oriental Insurance Company and its Coimbatore-based Divisional Manager, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ordered the insurer to pay around Rs one crore claim to all three firms, which were insured with it, for their loss caused due to fire in their garments unit in Tripura in 1998.<br/><br/>The three firms had obtained six insurance policies against fire from the insurers for their garments units, which caught fire in 1998 due to an electric short circuit. The garments firms had claimed a loss of around Rs 3-crore.<br/><br/>The firms informed the insurer about the mishap, but after doing surveys over a period of a year, the insurer repudiated the claim blaming for the mishap on the complainants. The insurance company and its officials claimed the firms had failed to produce the documents as required by them and a delay was caused by the companies. It also alleged that the fire was not accidental.<br/><br/>The apex consumer commission nullified the insurer’s arguments and directed to pay a total of Rs 98,02,863 as claim to Tripura-based firms Sri Priyaluckshmi Garments, Sri Priyaluckshmi Exports and Sri Priyaluckshmi Apparels.<br/><br/>The bench, headed by Justice J M Malik, directed the insurer to pay the complainants a sum of Rs 74,69,331, Rs 14,25,073 and Rs 9,08,459 respectively along with interest from the date of the incident in 1998.<br/><br/>The bench also asked Oriental Insurance Company to pay Rs 5 lac to the complainants towards compensation amount. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=978InsuringIndia News Wed, 14 May 2014 16:36:30 GMT Insurance watchdog, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.77 crore on Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), a part of Anil Ambani’s led Reliance Capital, for violating norms.<br/><br/>The regulator has found that the private insurer had violated a number of norms by getting business from entities which were not licensed to do business in the life insurance sector. IRDA asked the insurer to pay the penalty within 15 days. By doing this, the regulator has given a strong message in the insurance sector that it will not tolerate any unfair businesses or violations that may impact a consumer directly or indirectly.<br/><br/>Recently, a major insurance scam had come into light, wherein an insurance broking company had duped more than 2,000 people by selling policies of Reliance Life Insurance Company on false promises. The agents had lured people by giving false offers, such as provision of interest-free personal loan accounting 10-times the amount of premium paid. The insurer terminated the broking firm; however, thousands of investors have lost their savings.<br/><br/>The regulator found Reliance Life guilty for violating about 47 norms set by the IRDA. The insurer violated norms including marketing, advertising and distribution. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=977InsuringIndia News Tue, 13 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT With a view to speedy settlement of the claims and to provide cashless facilities to the beneficiaries, the four public sector general insurers, United India Insurance Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Company Limited, National Insurance Company Limited and New India Assurance Company Limited have decided to join hands to form a Third Party Administrator (TPA).<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of United India Insurance, Mr. Milind Kharat said, “We will tie up with several hospitals in the country to increase the network of our services.”<br/><br/>To make the services more hassle-free, we have joined hands, Mr. Kharat said, adding, general insurance industry has clocked a business of Rs 78,000 crore in the last fiscal by registering a growth of 12 per cent.<br/><br/>It is observed that there are several cases where claims are not yet settled. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=980InsuringIndia News Mon, 12 May 2014 16:00:00 GMT Private sector insurer Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited will concentrate on increasing its corporate and health insurance business to get a gross written premium (GWP) of Rs.2,500 crore and an operating profit of Rs. 225 crore in fiscal year 2014-15, said a company official.<br/><br/>"We will now start looking at increasing our corporate or commercial lines of business (fire, transit, burglary and others) and also the health insurance. Currently only 10 % of our business is from commercial lines," said Chola MS Managing Director Mr. S.S. Gopalarathnam.<br/><br/>The insurer has registered a 15 % growth in its gross written premium at Rs. 1,855 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, against Rs. 1,620 crore in the previous year.<br/><br/>The profit before taxation has risen by 15 per cent to Rs. 101 crore. The net profit stood at Rs. 70 crore in 2013-14 against Rs. 60 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=975InsuringIndia News Fri, 09 May 2014 12:04:40 GMT Hearing a complaint jointly filed by 3-garment companies against New Delhi and Tripura branches of the Oriental Insurance Company and its Coimbatore-based Divisional Manager, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has ordered the insurer to pay around Rs one crore claim to all three firms, which were insured with it, for their loss caused due to fire in their garments unit in Tripura in 1998.<br/><br/>The three firms had obtained six insurance policies against fire from the insurers for their garments units, which caught fire in 1998 due to an electric short circuit. The garments firms had claimed a loss of around Rs 3-crore.<br/><br/>The firms informed the insurer about the mishap, but after doing surveys over a period of a year, the insurer repudiated the claim blaming for the mishap on the complainants. The insurance company and its officials claimed the firms had failed to produce the documents as required by them and a delay was caused by the companies. It also alleged that the fire was not accidental.<br/><br/>The apex consumer commission nullified the insurer’s arguments and directed to pay a total of Rs 98,02,863 as claim to Tripura-based firms Sri Priyaluckshmi Garments, Sri Priyaluckshmi Exports and Sri Priyaluckshmi Apparels.<br/><br/>The bench, headed by Justice J M Malik, directed the insurer to pay the complainants a sum of Rs 74,69,331, Rs 14,25,073 and Rs 9,08,459 respectively along with interest from the date of the incident in 1998.<br/><br/>The bench also asked Oriental Insurance Company to pay Rs 5 lac to the complainants towards compensation amount. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=976InsuringIndia News Fri, 09 May 2014 12:04:40 GMT In 2014, the Indian insurers are expected to spend Rs 117 billion on IT products and services, up 5% from last year, according to the Gartner.Gartner Inc, earlier known as Gartner Group, is an American information technology research and advisory agency providing technology related insight. <br/><br/> As per the report, the expected expenditures are including expenses on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications. <br/><br/>It is expected that the Indian insurance firms will spend about Rs 4.1 billion on mobile devices in 2014, up 35% from 2013. <br/><br/>"Gartner research shows that most Indian insurance CIOs view mobile enablement of applications and services as a very important component of their strategies to improve sales and channel effectiveness,"said Gartner Research Director Mr. Derry Finkeldey. <br/><br/>"This is especially important as insurers compete to reach agents and customers distributed across the country and outside of saturated urban markets," he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=974InsuringIndia News Thu, 08 May 2014 11:47:22 GMT Muffling its stance over public sector banks to act as insurance broker, the government is likely to cancel its order directing them to act as insurance brokers. The finance ministry is considering allowing banks to adopt either the broking model or going with the existing model of insurance / corporate agent of a single insurance firm. <br/><br/>According to the sources, the recommendations of the working group are being discussed and once they are finalised, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) may also consider amendments to the regulations. This issue has already been transferred to Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), and will be discussed upon during the next meeting.<br/><br/> The issue has already been transferred to Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), and will be taken up during the next meeting, another finance ministry official said.<br/><br/> FSDC has representation from all the sectoral regulators.<br/><br/>IRDA could relax the guidelines which state that while acting as brokers banks will have to cap business from their own group companies at 25% for both life and non-life business, an official from finance ministry said.Currently, banks are allowed to sell products of one company from life, non-life and health insurance businesses. If banks act as brokers, they can be able to sell products of multiple insurers.<br/><br/>In December last year, the finance ministry had asked state-run banks to become insurance brokers instead of remaining corporate agents of an insurer. This was in line with the Budget announcement that paved the way for banks to act as insurance brokers and offer products of more than one insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=973InsuringIndia News Wed, 07 May 2014 11:38:11 GMT ING Vysya Life Insurance Company has announced that it has changed its name to Exide Life Insurance Company Limited with immediate effect after the insurer received approval from the regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs.<br/><br/> “Exide Industries Limited has been our major shareholder for 8 years and acquired 100% ownership of the company over a year back”, said Exide Life Insurance Managing Director and CEO Mr. Kshitij Jain. <br/><br/>The company will continue to honour its commitments and obligations under the insurance policy(s) issued to customers in the name of ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited, Mr. Jain said. <br/><br/>The name and brand identity will have no impact on the operations of the company. Members of the board of directors and senior management remain the same. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=972InsuringIndia News Mon, 05 May 2014 17:31:16 GMT The insurance watchdog in India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) is all set to launch a crackdown on advertisements by insurance companies that show their standing in the industry, with respect to their rankings. <br/><br/>The regulator has sent notices to insurers such as state-run New India Assurance to ensure that they do not publish their ranking in any advertisements. <br/><br/>As per the Insurance Advertisements and Disclosures Regulations, 2000, no insurer can show advertisements based on ranking, which can be misleading customers or which make unfair comparisons between insurance companies and their products. The insurance companies have also been advised to follow the code of conduct prescribed by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). <br/><br/>The regulator, in its guidelines released earlier, had said, “No claim of ranking by an insurance company, as regards its position in the insurance market, based on any criteria (like premium income or number of policies or branches or claims settlements, etc.,) is permissible in any of the advertisements.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=971InsuringIndia News Fri, 02 May 2014 19:12:16 GMT Country’s only re-insurer General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) and the four public sector general insurers- New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance are considering for setting up country’s first nuclear insurance pool. <br/><br/>As per the sources, the PSU insurers recently discussed with GIC Re officials on matters related to contributions from them. Discussion on the possibilities of forming the pool, which will cover the liabilities in case of a nuclear disaster, had been stuck as no agreement was reached on plant inspections, but this issue is now being discussed. <br/><br/>The need of insurance cover for liabilities in case of a nuclear disaster has gained prominence internationally especially after the incident of Fukushima in Japan. The need of setting up a pool also arises because an individual insurer does not have the capacity to insure all the reactors in view of the high cost. Under the nuclear civil liability law, compensation of up to Rs. 1,500 cr will have to be paid in case of a mishap involving a nuclear plant. <br/><br/>Currently, nuclear reactors in India only have insurance cover for zones that are outside the area of radiation and reactors. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=970InsuringIndia News Thu, 01 May 2014 17:54:16 GMT Private sector insurer Religare Health Insurance Company Limited, which is a standalone health insurer, now plans to enter into travel insurance business. The insurer is working on tailoring travel insurance product and individual personal accident insurance policy in the current quarter.<br/><br/>"We have recently received approval for comprehensive travel insurance policy and plan to launch in this quarter”, said Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Religare Health Insurance Company Mr. Anuj Gulati. <br/><br/>The insurer also plans to launch ‘Secure’, a comprehensive individual personal accident insurance policy in the current quarter. It has also received approval for a top-up policy named ‘Enhance’ for customers who already have an existing policy of Rs 1-2 lac sum insured, and want to increase their sum insured. <br/><br/>Currently, Religare Health Insurance offers a comprehensive health insurance product, critical illness cover (with personal accident benefit), group health insurance cover, and group personal accident insurance policy. <br/><br/>Religare Health Insurance is a joint venture between Religare Enterprises, one of India's leading diversified financial services groups; and two state-owned banks, Union Bank of India and Corporation Bank. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=969InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 Apr 2014 16:23:16 GMT State-run general insurer United India Insurance (UII) Company Limited has set a target of Rs 11,000 crore premium collections during the current financial year 2014-15.<br/><br/>As per the company’s annual report, the insurer had collected Rs 9,709 crore in the previous fiscal ended on March 31, 2014, which was up Rs 443 crore from fiscal year 2012-13.<br/><br/>“We will keep the momentum with the industry growth. We are targeting a gross premium of around Rs 11,000 crore, and the company grew despite macroeconomic conditions”, said United India Insurance Chairman & MD Mr. Milind Kharat.<br/><br/>United India had reduced the claims ratio to 82.56 % for the fiscal year 2013-14 as against 84.61 % in FY 2012-13, owing to the underwriting practices and control measures. Insured losses due to the Uttarakhand floods were at an estimated Rs 1,500 crore.<br/><br/>“Of the reported 157 claims with an estimated loss of Rs 824 crore in Uttarakhand flood, 135 claims have been fully paid,” the company said.<br/><br/>United India Insurance has recently launched a new health and motor insurance policy. It is also planning to launch a redesigned family medicare policy soon and is working on new health products like low-cost health insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=968InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:34:16 GMT Private insurer PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited has decided to enter into pension market, in which the insurer foresees tremendous growth potential.<br/><br/>As per the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of PNB MetLife Mr. Tarun Chugh, the insure is keen to enter the pension space, and is working on tailoring it which is expected to be launched within next 6 months. <br/><br/>“Longevity as a risk is still not understood (in India). Being a young country, there is a huge potential for pension plans as one needs to invest early to build a corpus for retirement years”, Mr. Chugh said. <br/><br/>At present, about 8% of India's population is above 60 years of age already with no social security and 70% are below 30 years of age. <br/><br/>PNB MetLife is a joint venture where the US based MetLife Inc. and Punjab National Bank are the majority shareholders. Before Punjab National Bank bought 30% stake in the JV, the insurer was known as MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (MetLife India). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=967InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 Apr 2014 17:00:16 GMT Leading private sector general insurer, SBI General Insurance Company has opposed the idea of making it mandatory for banks to act as insurance aggregators, saying this move would not help curbing mis-selling of insurance products. <br/><br/>SBI General has written to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), stating that it disagrees with the proposal, said Mr. Mike Wilkins, MD & CEO of Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the foreign partner of the company. <br/><br/>However, the company said that it would take a fresh look at its marketing strategy if the regulator implements the insurance broking model. <br/><br/>SBI General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). SBI holds 74% stake and IAG the remaining 26% stake in the joint venture. <br/><br/>The finance ministry and the IRDA have clearly said that banks will soon have to adopt the broking model, which allows banks to sell products of all insurance companies and disallows the current practice of acting as 'corporate agents', wherein they sell products of a single company with whom they have an exclusive tie-up. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=966InsuringIndia News Sat, 26 Apr 2014 15:35:33 GMT Aimed at providing treatment-specific insurance cover, private insurance major, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company has launched a new health insurance policy named ‘Surgical Protection Plan’, which provides insurance cover only for surgical treatments.<br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz’s new offering assures a guaranteed benefit amount depending on surgical treatment that is graded based on the costs and covers around 600 surgeries. <br/><br/> “Since cost related to surgeries form a major part of medical expenses, a common man’s biggest requirement is to cover these expenses. Our new product covers surgeries at a very reasonable cost and we hope to get a sound response for this product,” said Mr. Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. <br/><br/>According to the company’s statement, Surgical Protection Plan offers 11 plans with sums insured ranging from Rs. 1 lac to Rs. 10 lac, which can also be opted for, in addition to the hospitalisation policy or any other health policy. <br/><br/>It also provides add-on covers such as hospital cash, critical illness and personal accident cover. <br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited (formerly part of Bajaj Auto Limited) and Allianz SE. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=965InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 Apr 2014 19:07:33 GMT With a view to create awareness for insurance needs and on different insurance products, the General Insurance Council (GIC) in association with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has launched an insurance awareness drive on television, newspaper and other media channels on April 19 on the occasion of Insurance Awareness Day. <br/><br/>IRDA had declared April 19 as the Insurance Awareness Day to intensify insurance penetration in the country. Since IRDA came into existence on 19th April, 2000, the regulator chose this date to celebrate as Insurance Day. <br/><br/>The total budget for the campaign is Rs. 16 crore, out of which 12 crore will be contributed by the insurance regulator and the remaining 4 crore will be funded by the general insurance companies. <br/><br/>“Lack of insurance awareness has proved to be one of the hurdles in penetration of insurance across the country. Therefore, in an attempt to enhance insurance awareness across the nation, IRDA is celebrating its formation day as Insurance Awareness Day on April 19 involving all stakeholders of the insurance sector,” said an IRDA statement. <br/><br/>Apart from efforts made from the IRDA, individual companies have also been asked to make additional initiatives to increase awareness about the need of insurance, the products and the industry. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=964InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 Apr 2014 17:47:33 GMT Kishore Biyani's led Future Group has announced that it has called off the deal with Larsen & Toubro (L & T) to sell 51% of its stake in general insurance joint venture Future Generali India Insurance Company.<br/><br/>In a filing to the BSE, the Future Group said, “It has been decided not to proceed with the said transaction due to excessive delay in finalising the transaction documents and obtaining approvals." <br/><br/>As per the agreement, on completion of the deal, L&T would have 51% of stake, while Generali Group would hold 26% of stake and the rest to be held by Future Group in the insurance joint venture. <br/><br/>The deal had valued Future Generali India Insurance Company at around Rs 1,100 crore. <br/><br/>Future Group holds 74% stake in the Future Generali India Insurance Company and rest 26% is held by the Italy based Generali Group. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=963InsuringIndia News Wed, 23 Apr 2014 17:45:15 GMT Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), a part of Anil Ambani’s led Reliance Capital on Monday announced the launch of ‘Online Term’, an online life insurance plan at an affordable premium. <br/><br/>In a company release issued in Mumbai, Reliance Life Chief Executive Officer Mr. Anup Rau said, “Online Term is a simple life protection product that is based on - adequate cover and people should be able to buy it with ease. Our new offering empowers customers to make an informed choice vis-a-vis their liabilities and protect their family’s financial future at a minimal cost.” <br/><br/>With the launch of this plan, we aim to provide the most affordable online term life insurance plan, he added. <br/><br/>A man of 25-years old (non-smoker) can buy this plan with sum insured of Rs 1 crore for just paying an annual premium of about Rs 5400 for the term of 15 years. However, Online Term plan comes with a minimum annual premium of Rs.3,500. <br/><br/>The minimum age to enter into this plan is 18 years and the maximum age is 55 years with a minimum policy term of 10 years and a maximum of 35 years. The maximum maturity age is 75 years. <br/><br/>Online Term begins with a minimum cover of Rs.25 lacs and provides relatively lower premium rates for women and non-tobacco users. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=962InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Apr 2014 18:45:15 GMT The Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Mr. Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta on Saturday suggested the insurance regulator in India Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to convince the government to bring in a legislation making it mandatory for all marriages to be insured.<br/><br/>Speaking as a chief guest at an insurance awareness programme in Hyderabad organized by the IRDA, Mr. Sengupta said, “This will protect women in the unfortunate event of the breakdown of the marriage.” <br/><br/>If a marriage is insured, then the wife need not suffer on account of a negligent husband who does not pay alimony to her, he added. <br/><br/>He also suggested that the premium or at least a portion of it must be borne by the state for those who cannot afford to pay it. <br/><br/>The IRDA Chairman Mr. T S Vijayan thanked the Chief Justice for his suggestions, and also assured him that the regulator will take up the matter with the government. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=961InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:34:15 GMT One of India’s fastest growing general insurance companies Bharti AXA General Insurance Company has announced that it has received the prestigious Excellence Award for the year by the Institute of Economic Studies (IES). <br/><br/>Along with the Excellence award for the company, the Institute of Economic Studies has also conferred the Udyog Rattan Award to Bharti AXA General Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Amarnath Ananthanarayanan at IES’s Current Economic Scenario seminar 2014 held in Bangalore on March 27, 2014. <br/><br/>After receiving the award, Dr. Ananthanarayanan said, "It is a great honour for us to receive the award and to be acknowledged for contributing to India's economic growth. We thank our partners, customers, colleagues and our promoters Bharti and AXA for their strong support, guidance and the confidence they have placed in us. We at Bharti AXA believe that insurance plays an important role in protecting organization and individual aspirations. Bharti AXA through our comprehensive and innovative insurance solutions,seek to redefine industry standards by offering unparalleled and empathetic service to every Indian." <br/><br/>Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, a leading Indian business group and AXA, a world leader in financial protection. Bharti Enterprises holds 74% stake in the joint venture while AXA Group holds the rest 26%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=958InsuringIndia News Sun, 13 Apr 2014 10:04:15 GMT The Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Cholamandalam M S General Insurance Company Limited to pay up the insurance amount to the family of a man who died on railway tracks at Chembur Railway Station while crossing. <br/><br/>The insurer had rejected the claim of the victim’s wife Shalini Gupta citing that the victim was trespassing the railway tracks and since it is an illegal act, the firm would not compensate. <br/><br/>Later, the complainant Shalini Gupta moved to the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission where the forum observed that the processing of the claim on the part of the insurer was heartless and mechanical. The officers processing such claims should be intelligent enough to read documents properly and refer matters to their lawyers when in doubt. <br/><br/>The forum found insurance firm guilty for not settling the claim and ordered to pay the complainant, Shalini Gupta, an insurance amount of Rs 10 lac. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=960InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 Apr 2014 16:21:15 GMT According to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the apex industry body, about 65 percent of people in India having health insurance policies, prefer to choose private sector health insurers. The public sector insurers have managed to win confident of just 35 percent of the insured people. <br/><br/> However, as per the study titled 'Health Insurance in India: A review,' in terms of premium, the public sector insurance companies account for maximum share of over 61percent. <br/><br/>Releasing the report, ASSOCHAM Secretary General Mr D S Rawat said, “Private voluntary health insurance will continue to grow in terms of covering the non-vulnerable, the middle class and higher income segments of the population that can afford to purchase private health insurance.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=959InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Apr 2014 15:14:15 GMT Private sector insurer Bharti AXA General Insurance Company has decided to focus on commercial lines, which has seen a formidable growth of 40% in the recent years. The insurer has witnessed growth in Marine and engineering segments along with various others despite the overall slump in general insurance. <br/><br/>The insurer will reduce its dependence on motor insurance segment step-by-step, and will focus on commercial lines and increase its share in the total business from the current 13% to up to 20 % next fiscal year. <br/><br/>“With the regulated pricing mechanism continuing in third party motor insurance, we will maintain our exposure in commercial vehicles to the minimum stipulated levels. In two years we expect commercial vehicles to account for 10% of the motor insurance revenue, with remaining 90% coming from private motor insurance,” said Bharti Axa Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director Mr. Amarnath Ananthanarayanan. <br/><br/>"Globally AXA is a strong player in commercial lines and we are getting aggressive in India as well”, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=957InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:06:46 GMT Private sector leading insurer SBI General Insurance Company has set a 60% target in premium growth in the fiscal year 2014-15 by maintaining its growth momentum of recent years. <br/><br/>SBI General Insurance is the joint venture between State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender and Australian insurer Insurance Australia Group. SBI holds the majority stake in the joint venture. <br/><br/>SBI General had a gross written premium of Rs. 770.85 crore in fiscal year 2012-13, and has registered about 55 % growth in premium of around Rs. 1,200 crore in fiscal year 2013-14. <br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, SBI General Managing Director & Chief Executive, Mr. Bhaskar J. Sarma said, “In this fiscal we expect to grow at around 60 per cent, which we feel is reasonable.” <br/><br/> “This fiscal, our focus will be on the motor, health and commercial lines among other things,” Mr. Sarma said, adding, “SBI General will also focus on increasing the marine insurance pie during this period.” <br/><br/>The insurer which draws around 60 % of its business from banking channel also said it would focus more on the other channels like brokers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=956InsuringIndia News Sun, 06 Apr 2014 17:55:58 GMT The much awaited Health Insurance Third Party Administrator (TPA) for state-run general insurance companies will start operations only by the end of the year, as against the scheduled April 2014. The TPA is waiting for the necessary regulatory license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). <br/><br/>The Health Insurance TPA of India is the in-house third party administrator to handle health insurance claims of the state-run insurers, and was incorporated in August 2013. Currently, these claims are handled by external TPAs. <br/><br/>The Health Insurance TPA of India Ltd is a joint venture of four state-owned insurers- National Insurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and New India Assurance. Each holds 23.75 % stake in the joint venture, while the state-owned reinsurer General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India holds the rest 5%.<br/><br/>Once the TPA starts its operation, the claim settlement from external agencies will gradually be transferred to the Health Insurance TPA of India. <br/><br/>As per the industry experts, the common in-house TPA will reduce the claims ratio of insurance companies. Also, it will reduce expenditure for the member insurance companies; as they pay about 6% of premiums to TPA for settling claims. Currently, most companies in the health insurance space dependent on TPA for claim processing, which leads to delay in claims settlement. <br/><br/>Chairman and Managing Director of New India Assurance, Sri G Srinivasan has been appointed as the chairman of the board of the TPA Company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=955InsuringIndia News Sat, 05 Apr 2014 18:34:58 GMT The insurance watchdog Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked Insurance Marketing Firms (IMFs) to submit their views on draft guidelines by April 15, 2014. The draft issued recently by the regulator, advocates setting up new distribution system allowing IMFs to market and service insurance, apart from marketing other financial products. These include products of mutual fund companies; pension products of PFRDA; and other financial products marketed by Investment advisors of Securities and Exchange Board of India through the financial service executives (FSE) engaged by an IMF. <br/><br/>The regulator had been considering over allowing distribution companies to have multiple tie-ups with insurers- a model akin to independent financial advisor, based on the recommendations of the Govardhan Committee on distribution. In this connection, meetings were held with representatives of life and non-life insurance companies and with a cross-section of marketing personnel in life and general insurance industry at Hyderabad. A working group was constituted having five CEOs each from life and non-life insurance companies to study the concept and recommend a suitable model. <br/><br/>Here, insurance sales person (ISP) will be an individual employed by IMF to undertake solicitation or marketing of insurance products who is granted a certificate issued by the authority. Further, FSE would be an individual employed by an IMF authorised to undertake financial service activities such as investment advice through an investment advisor who is granted licence by Sebi, mutual fund salespersons holding a certification under Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) and registered with an association of asset management companies of mutual funds. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=954InsuringIndia News Thu, 03 Apr 2014 17:51:58 GMT One of country’s largest private sector insurers ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited has launched iCare II, an improved online term insurance plan. Earlier, in 2011, the insurer had launched iCare, which was the first no-medical online term insurance plan.<br/><br/>ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, India’s biggest private sector bank, and Prudential plc, a UK-based leading international financial services group. <br/><br/>With this new offering, ICICI Pru has started price war. Its premiums are attractively lower and now competing within the top 5 low premium online term plans. Unlike iCare, which has a maximum limit of sum assured of Rs 1.5 crore, iCare-II has no maximum limit of sum assured. <br/><br/>In other significant changes, the insurer has reduced the maximum entry age to 60 (from 65 in iCare) and therefore, the maximum maturity age to 65 years (from 70 in iCare). <br/><br/>With growing number of internet users, the online term insurance market has witnessed a rapid growth. As of now, there are approximately 25,000 online term plans of more than 15 life insurance companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=953InsuringIndia News Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:51:58 GMT Citibank India has joined hands with Apollo Munich to offer healthcare cum insurance services to the emerging urban affluent and high net worth customers.<br/><br/>Citibank India is an Indian private sector bank, and is a subsidiary of Citigroup, a multinational financial services corporation headquartered in New York City, United States. <br/><br/>The services will target about 1.6 crore households. The services would combine financial protection and health & lifestyle management support for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cancers and tumours. <br/><br/>Director of Apollo Munich Health Insurance Shobana Kamineni said, “Our lifestyles have drastically changed over the last few years and the direct outcome is a significant increase in lifestyle diseases. India has been hit by a double whammy of high incidence of communicable diseases, along with a rising burden of chronic diseases. <br/><br/>“The higher out-of-pocket expenditure of around 61% incurred by consumers to address medical and health needs, coupled with around 38 % of emerging affluent without health insurance, demonstrates the potential to serve this segment,” Kartik Kaushik, Deputy Country Business Manager, Global Consumer Bank, Citibank India said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=952InsuringIndia News Mon, 31 Mar 2014 16:51:58 GMT In a recent verdict, the Madras High Court has ordered public sector insurer Oriental Insurance Company Limited to pay compensation to a helper injured on duty.<br/><br/> The helper D. Siyasankar got his hand injured badly while shifting a granite stone at his work in year 2005. He was administered 17 stitches at a private hospital and later shifted to a government hospital. Claiming he suffered a permanent disability of 15% and lost 17% of his earning capacity, he sought compensation. <br/><br/> The firm owner said the injuries to Siyasankar were trivial and he had not reported with documents proving loss in his employment opportunities. Further, he was covered by a group insurance policy of Oriental Insurance. Sivasankar filed an insurance claim, but the insurer Oriental Insurance Company rejected it. The Sivasankar filed a complaint before the commissioner for workmen's compensation seeking a compensation of 1.5 lac. The Deputy Commissioner of labour partially allowed the claim and ordered Oriental Insurance to pay Rs 53,394 to the claimant within a month. <br/><br/> Then the insurer moved the Madras High Court, saying, since it was a group personal accident policy, it did not cover a claim under the Workmen's Compensation Act. Unless the policy specifically covered a claim under the Workmen's Compensation act, no direction could be issued for making the payment, it said. Counsel for Sivasankar said as the insurance policy was valid at the time of injury, there was no illegality in the order. Justice R Mahadevan said an insurer could be directed to pay compensation even if it was not covered under the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act. As Sivasankar was injured during employment, he was correct in approaching the commissioner. <br/><br/> "The concept of insurance is to indemnify the insured against the claims," the court added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=951InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:23:58 GMT By the year 2020, the online insurance market in India will cross Rs 20,000, about 20-folds its current value of Rs 700 crore, according to a study conducted by Google India and Boston Consultancy Group (BCG). <br/><br/> The report titled “Digital@Insurance-20X By2020” was released recently in Mumbai claims that as many as 3 out of every 4 insurance policies will be sold online by 2020. <br/><br/>“The exploding popularity of smart phones and Internet has become a core part of life for many consumers across the globe and in India,” the report said. <br/><br/>“The influence of Digital is already 'big' and is getting 'bigger', exponentially in terms of user growth and time taken. The connected online population of over two billion users forms a brand new market that cuts across borders”, it added. <br/><br/>“As insurers seek new avenues to grow profitably, they have a unique opportunity to embrace and benefit from the digital wave, which also addresses many key issues that plague the offline world today,” it said. <br/><br/>The digital way could result in potential savings of 15%-20% of total cost in the case of life insurance, and 20%-30% in case of non-life, said Mr. Alpesh Shah, a BCG Senior Partner also the author of the report. <br/><br/>While online purchases represent a small component of insurance activity in India today, the overall influence of Internet on insurance product purchase in India is already 6-times and growing rapidly, said BFSI Travel Google India Industry Director Mr. Vikas Agnihotri. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=950InsuringIndia News Thu, 27 Mar 2014 18:11:50 GMT The latest entrant in the standalone health insurance segment Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company on Wednesday announced the alunch of a health insurance product-ProHealth, with an add-on Critical Illness option.<br/><br/> Cigna TTK is a joint venture between the Cigna Corporation, a US-based global health services provider and the TTK Group, an Indian business conglomerate, which is present across several segments of industry. It has recently got the necessary regulatory approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for a retail health insurance product. In the joint venture, the Cigna Corporation holds the maximum permissible share of 26%, while the TTK Group holds the lion share of 74%.<br/><br/>Under ProHealth, the policyholders will get immediate benefits of diagnostic tests cost, drugs and doctor’s fees prescribed by the physician for minor ailments through Cigna TTK Health Maintenance Benefits. It also offers a Healthy Reward Programme that allows policyholders to earn reward points on the premium paid and accrue additional points by opting for Cigna TTK’s ProLife, an online wellness programme. <br/><br/>The most important feature of this product is that it offers medical emergency cover across the globe. Besides, it has a Smart Restoration feature that restores the entire sum insured for the later claims within the same year, in case, it is exhausted. It also allows customers to opt for an add-on Critical Illness cover. <br/><br/> “ProHealth is a flexible product which can be customised according to the different needs of the customers”, CignaTTK Health CEO and Managing Director Mr. Sandeep Patel said. <br/><br/> It has four variants and multiple customisation options to cater to all consumer segments, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=949InsuringIndia News Thu, 27 Mar 2014 18:09:50 GMT The Credila Financial Services Limited, the education-loan arm of HDFC, will soon be selling life insurance products of leading private insurer HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited. The company will act as a distributor and broker.<br/><br/>With a view to generate additional revenue streams, Credila Financial Services will also offer foreign exchange services. <br/><br/>According to the sources, Credila Financial Services has recently received the necessary licence from bank regulator the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to act as a full-fledged money changer for international currencies. <br/><br/>The company also plans to tie up with more players in the insurance sector and also extend it to general and health insurance. Since students are its base customers, the company aims at to tap the market. Through this, the company can catch them early by selling insurance products. <br/><br/>The education loan market in India is estimated to be about Rs 43,000 crore. There are an estimated 1.4 crore students in India's higher education sector, and about two lacs students opt for studying abroad. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=948InsuringIndia News Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:48:50 GMT Leading private sector life insurer Max Life Insurance, on Monday, said that it has launched a unit-linked child plan- Shiksha Plus Super, aiming at children education and career.<br/><br/>“The launch of ‘Shiksha Plus Super’ completes our suite of products required for all life stage needs that are compliant with the new guidelines effective January 1, 2014”, said CEO & Managing Director of Max Life Insurance Mr. Rajesh Sud in a company statement. <br/><br/>The Max Life through its ‘Shiksha Plus Super’ offers customers the choice of investing premiums in five investment funds offered with an option of Dynamic Fund Allocation and Systematic Transfer Plan. <br/><br/>The Dynamic Fund Allocation option of the policy keeps policyholders tension free from selecting the investment funds manually. It automatically invests between equity and debt oriented funds in a pre-defined proportion that keeps changing as policy nears maturity. <br/><br/>"This investment strategy endeavours to safeguard their fund from any capital erosion by increasing the fund allocation in debt funds as policy progresses towards maturity," the statement said. <br/><br/>While, the Systematic Transfer Plan, the second option of the policy, replicates the rupee cost averaging method thereby allowing the policyholder to benefit from the market volatility, it statement further added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=947InsuringIndia News Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:15:04 GMT Private insurer Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI) has announced the launch of ‘MySolutions’, which provides customers tailor-made insurance solutions with combination plans for goal based savings. It is supported by a unique technology platform that aids sales force and advisor communities to gauge the customers’ requirements and offer customised solutions to help them achieve planned financial milestones in life. <br/><br/>“In line with the changing times Birla Sun Life Insurance’s MySolutions focuses on customer participation, personalization and the creation of a powerful buying experience. Our focus remains on building customer centricity and undertaking need analysis to help them attain the best benefits from life insurance. In line with our commitment to enhance customer experience, we will continue to build on various solutions within MySolutions to meet our customers changing needs and outcomes”, Birla Sun Life MD & CEO Mr. Pankaj Razdan said on the launch. <br/><br/>Within the MySolutions, the BSLI offers four solutions - BSLI Premier Retirement Solution, BSLI Aspire Future Solution, BSLI Wealth Forever Solution and BSLI Secure Income Solution. Each addresses a distinct need in the customers' life cycle that includes retirement, wealth creation and regular income. <br/><br/>Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group, an Indian multinational corporation, and Sun Life Financial Inc, a leading global insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=945InsuringIndia News Sun, 23 Mar 2014 18:23:37 GMT The Thane Consumer Forum has ordered Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, an insurance arm of Reliance Capital Ltd. of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, to pay a compensation of Rs 2.5 lac to a resident of Thane, for not paying the vehicle insurance amount on the basis of absolutely unreasonable reasons. <br/><br/>In addition to this, the forum has also directed the insurer to pay another rupees one lac towards penalty for the mental agony suffered by the complainant on account of the matter. <br/><br/>In year 2010, the complainant, Mr. Subash Waatkar, a resident of Thane (Maharashtra), approached the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, seeking the insurance amount for his vehicle that went missing on January 22, 2010 in front of his house. He had insured the vehicle on a cover of Rs 2.35 lac. <br/><br/>Though, Mr. Waatkar, after filing a complaint of theft with the police, approached the insurer very day when his vehicle went missing, but the insurer rejected the claim on the grounds that he did not inform the company about the loss of the vehicle within the stipulated time. The company, in its letter to the complainant, had maintained that there was a delay of 215 days in informing it about the loss and thus the claim was rejected.<br/><br/>Then the complainant moved to the Thane Consumer Forum. The forum checked with the evidence, it found the insurance firm responsible for rejecting the consumer's claims on false reasons, and asked the firm to compensate for the complainant's losses. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=946InsuringIndia News Sat, 22 Mar 2014 16:03:37 GMT E-rickshaw runs on battery and is considered an environment-friendly vehicle, is illegal and is not insured, and hence passengers taking ride on it, will not get any claims from insurance companies if the rickshaw meet an accident, according to an official from the Delhi State Transport Ministry. <br/><br/>Currently, more than one lac eco-friendly rickshaws run on Delhi roads are not ‘vehicles’ as per the provision of Central Motor Vehicle Act. <br/><br/>iCAT, a government testing agency, had earlier asked the Delhi State Transport Ministry that it was ready to carry out test on e-rickshaws, but the government didn’t show interest. <br/><br/>The official is sure that the tests would substantiate that these are motor vehicles and hence these have to be registered as per rules. <br/><br/>"Once this is established, the manufacturers will have to take type approval from the government approved testing agencies after the prototype meets all the required standards. While giving type approval, the agencies will have to ensure that the vehicle is safe for passengers," the official said. <br/><br/> Even in case the tests prove that these are not motor vehicles, the municipal bodies must regulate them as it is done even in the case of cycle rickshaws, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=944InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Mar 2014 17:12:37 GMT Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd, a standalone private health insurance company, on Thursday launched an improved health insurance policy- Star Diabetes Safe, for people suffering from diabetes.<br/><br/>On the launch, Mr. V Jagannathan, Chairman and Managing Director of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd said the policy will cover regular hospitalisation expenses irrespective of the number of years the person may have been living with the condition. <br/><br/>Pre-medical check-up is only optional here, Mr. Jagannathan added. <br/><br/>The company had already a policy for diabetics but that didn’t cover too much. This new improved ‘Star Diabetes Safe’ is a custom made policy based on the rising needs of the customers. It covers all the complications of Type I and Type II diabetes including heart-related problems. <br/><br/>People between the age group of 18 to 65 years, are eligible to enter into the policy, while the policy can be renewed life-long. <br/><br/>Under the policy, customers have flexibility to choose sum insured between Rs. 300,000- Rs. 10, 00,000. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=943InsuringIndia News Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:44:37 GMT With the rise of internet users on mobile handsets, insurance companies are coming up with mobile applications offering customers the comfort of buying and renewing policies on the go. By the end of this March, the number of users accessing internet on their mobile handsets in India are expected to touch the 15.5 crore mark.<br/><br/>Some players, like-New India Assurance, a public sector leading general insurer, and private sector firm Cholamandalam M S General Insurance Company have already launched their mobile application. <br/><br/>"We launched the applications two weeks ago on a pilot basis. The New India Customer app is for customers who can get new policies or they can renew their current policy. We have already launched lot of mobility solutions", New India Assurance, Deputy General Manager, Mr. K Ravi Shankar said. <br/><br/>There was good response to the initiative, Mr. Shankar said adding, about 20,000 downloads of the app had been made so far.<br/><br/>The company, in addition to this, is concentrating to create awareness of the need of insurance among rural people by launching a mobile van, which will help agents to reach the prospective customers in their place itself. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=942InsuringIndia News Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:34:37 GMT The Congress-led UPA government has asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the insurance regulator in India, to make ways for insurance companies to infuse more of their funds in banks and financial institutions. <br/><br/>As per the media, the government has asked the regulator to raise insurance companies' exposure limit to the banking sector to 30% from 25%. <br/><br/>The government allocated Rs 11,200 cr towards capital infusion in banks in FY 2014-15 against Rs 14,000 cr last fiscal. The Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram, last week, had said that the time has come to look for new or innovative ways to raise more capital for banks. <br/><br/>As per the bank regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), public sector banks will need about Rs 4.15 lac crore to meet the Basel-III norms, of which equity capital will be of the order of Rs 1.5 lac crore while non-equity capital will be about Rs 2.75 lakh crore. <br/><br/>Basel-III capital adequacy ratios will be fully phased in by March 31, 2018. <br/><br/>The government has committed to keep 51% stake in public sector banks and maintain their capital adequacy ratio (CAR) at 8%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=941InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Mar 2014 17:04:37 GMT With a view to provide insurance cover to car loan customers of Toyota Financial Services, Max Life Insurance, a leading private sector life insurance company has signed an agreement with Toyota Financial Services India (TFSIN) Limited. <br/><br/>Toyota Financial Services India Limited is a non-banking financial company which provides auto finance solely to Toyota customers in India. It is the subsidiary of Toyota Financial Services Corporation (TFSC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan-based Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). Toyota Financial Services Corporation is present in over 30 countries across the globe. <br/><br/>This alliance has been formed to provide insurance cover for car loan customers of Toyota Financial Services under a Max Life group product called ‘Max Life Group Credit Life Secure’, a joint statement of the companies said. <br/><br/>Max Life Insurance will issue a Group Credit Life Secure policy, where Toyota Financial Services India will be the master (group) policyholder, said the agreement. Hence, the customers of Toyota Financial Services can enroll themselves as members within the policy in order to cover their financial liability pertaining to their car loans. <br/><br/>This policy is a single premium insurance plan which will provide financial coverage to secure the car loan against eventuality of death of the customer. The sum insured for the customer at any point throughout the policy would be equivalent to the outstanding principle amount as per the loan schedule. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=940InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Mar 2014 17:03:26 GMT Private sector life insurer SBI Life Insurance has said it would appeal against the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (IRDA’s) order in which the regulator has asked the insurer to refund Rs.275.29 crore to the policyholders within six months as the amount was collected from them in violation of norms. <br/><br/> SBI Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between public sector leading lender State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif, the insurance arm of BNP Paribas. <br/><br/>The regulator issued this order following an enquiry which unveiled that the insurer was charging the second year premium along with the first year premium on its Dhanraksha Plus Limited Premium Paying Term (LPPT), a group insurance policy. It relates to policies issued between 2008-11. <br/><br/>The order had charged SBI Life Insurance Company of misrepresenting the nature of the policy, paying excess commission to agents and not providing buyers of an informed choice. <br/><br/> “Had the single premium version of product been offered to the policy holders, the actual commission payable would have been only 2 percent," the IRDA said in its order. <br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance had adopted business practices in violation of prescribed regulatory norms, it added.The regulator had approved both the products- the single-premium and two-year premium plans -- and appeared to suggest that the premium collected on the policies was far less than the Rs 625-crore amount that the regulator has mentioned in its order, Mr. Sen added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=939InsuringIndia News Thu, 13 Mar 2014 15:28:39 GMT Leading private sector players HDFC Life Insurance Company and Birla Sun Life Insurance Company are among the 6 firms including Samsung Life and Manulife, in race to buy Aviva Plc's Indian business Aviva Life Insurance, a joint venture with Indian conglomerate the Dabur Group.<br/><br/>The UK-based insurer has appointed JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank to sell its stake in the Indian joint venture. <br/><br/>As foreign insurers are losing their confidence in Indian insurance market, the Dabur Group will also sell its stake in the JV. <br/><br/> "We have received bids from six companies, both existing and new," said Aviva Life Chairman Mr. Mohit Burman, adding, "If the valuation is right, we may look at exiting from the business, too.” <br/><br/>The company has performed very poorly with its total premium income falling 11 per cent in the previous financial year to Rs 2,140 crore. As of March 2013, the company equity share capital of Rs 2,005 crore. It has an embedded value of Rs 1,800 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=938InsuringIndia News Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:28:04 GMT The New India Assurance Company Limited, a public sector general insurer, on Monday announced an exclusive health insurance plan, Asha Kiran, for families that have a girl child. There would be 50 per cent discount on the premium covering girl child, the company said.<br/><br/>Under Asha Kiran plan, parents of the girl child would have a personal accident benefit. On occurrence of any accident to parents, the sum insured under the policy would be parked as a fixed deposit in the name of the girl child. <br/><br/>Besides, this policy has daily cash benefit on hospitalisation, cashless hospitalization, critical care benefit of up to 10% of sum insured and emergency ambulance allowance. <br/><br/>Announcing the plan, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company Mr. G Srinivasan said, “We have launched the plan for families having girl children and kept premium at reasonable rates.” <br/><br/>The insurer had its tie up with Bhartiya Mahila Bank. It also announced health insurance policies for the women customers of the bank with added benefits. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=937InsuringIndia News Tue, 11 Mar 2014 17:46:04 GMT With a view to educate people about life insurance, HDFC Life Insurance Company, a leading private sector life insurance player has launched its first ever Corporate Blog titled ‘All about Life’. <br/><br/> Through this initiative the company aims to educate readers about the complex insurance industry, financial planning, the HDFC Life brand & much more in a simplified way. All that’s brewing fresh in the insurance industry, expert opinions, market movements, interesting articles on planning finances better will feature in the blog. <br/><br/> “I am pleased to announce the launch of our new blog which will simplify life insurance for our customers and people at large”, said Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive Vice President (Marketing, Products & Direct Channels), HDFC Life Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=936InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Mar 2014 18:24:04 GMT Considering Indian health insurance sector a good potential market to grow, the Kumarmangalam Birla-led AV Birla Group is planning to enter the market. It has appointed Boston Consulting Group to find a partner to enter in the sector, according to ET. <br/><br/> The Mumbai-headquartered AV Birla Group is already present in the Indian life insurance market through Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI), a joint venture with Canada-based international financial services company Sun Life Financial Inc. <br/><br/>According to the report, the group is in talks with a South African health insurance company. Some large international health insurance players such as South Africa -based Discovery and US-based Aetna have been scouting for a local partner to enter India's health insurance market. <br/><br/> The Rs 12,606 crore India health insurance sector which accounts for about a quarter of the total non-life insurance business in the country, is expected to grow by 25% in the next five years. <br/><br/> Since the group is searching for a foreign partner, it is expected that the Indian conglomerate will hold the 74 percent stake in the joint venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=935InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:26:18 GMT The Allahabad University has proposed an insurance policy to cover every student against injury caused in an accident or ailments that cannot be treated or controlled by the doctors of university's health centre. <br/><br/>The students can avail this benefit from the next session paying a modest premium of Rs 74 at the time of depositing fee. However, the decision on the premium amount and mode of payment is yet to be finalised in the next meeting of the Academic Council. <br/><br/>The university authorities had invited tenders from various insurance companies last year seeking the required premium amount for the policy. <br/><br/>This idea of insurance came after the realisation that the financial assistance provided by the Dean Student Welfare office in case a student meets an accident or requires assistance, often proves insufficient to cater the treatment needs. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=934InsuringIndia News Thu, 06 Mar 2014 18:56:18 GMT Ahead of general election, the Odisha state government on Tuesday announced to provide health insurance cover to journalists of the state.<br/><br/>The Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Patnaik approved a proposal in this regard which has provision of insurance cover of Rs one lac per annum for a five member journalist family. <br/><br/>Earlier, the working journalists of the state had submitted a 7-point charter of demands including health insurance policy for the journalists. <br/><br/>The Naveen Patnaik government had announced similar health insurance cover for farmers irrespective of their economic status under Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY) scheme. <br/><br/>It is believed that through these schemes, the government is trying to woo voters. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=931InsuringIndia News Wed, 05 Mar 2014 17:56:18 GMT Increasing fraudulent online transactions have forced Indian banks to seek insurance cover against fraudulent online transactions, including those involving credit cards. “Demand for insurance policy against phishing, skimming and Internet hacking has gone up in the last one year”, said Mr. TR Ramalingam, head of underwriting at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. <br/><br/>The policy will cover cyber extortion and breach of data privacy. And, the premium, which depends on several factors, will be between 1 – 2 per cent of the liability bank looking to insure. <br/><br/>As per the data of an insurance company, banks from small to large-sized are opting insurance policies with coverage ranging between Rs 250-500 crore. <br/><br/> Earlier, insurance companies in India did not offer such policies, but now as the cyber related frauds are increasing day-by-day and banks are keen to be protected against, insurers sees a great opportunity in the segment in coming days. <br/><br/>According to a data, in year 2012-13, domestic banks lost Rs. 17,284 crore on account of fraud. During the period, 62 banks filed a total of 26,598 cases related to online frauds. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=933InsuringIndia News Mon, 03 Mar 2014 17:56:18 GMT A step ahead to compete with the private sector insurers in offering policies with cashless Outpatient Department (OPD) treatment, the public sector general insurance companies are mulling over the possibility to provide cashless outpatient treatment and worldwide covers. In case of overseas cover, there will be no cashless facility; but the medical expenses incurred, will be reimbursed.<br/><br/>Most of the health insurance policies in India come without OPD featuring, which require to be hospitalised for a minimum of 24 hours to claim treatment expenses under the policy. <br/><br/>OPD coverage includes doctor consultation charges, diagnostic charges and even medicine costs. <br/><br/> As of now, public sector insurance companies in India do not cover OPD expenses. However, private sector companies have already offering OPD treatment expenses, and have received tremendous response from the customers. This initiative of public sector general insurers may give a boost to health insurance market. <br/><br/>Mr. G Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of New India Assurance said, “OPD consists of almost 60 % of overall medical spends in India, so we need to get into that space and offer reasonably priced products in a few months.” <br/><br/>The four public sector general insurance companies are - United India Insurance Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited and National Insurance Company Limited. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=932InsuringIndia News Mon, 03 Mar 2014 15:56:18 GMT The Congress led UPA Government on Thursday announced the extension of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a health insurance scheme for below poverty line (BPL) families to auto and taxi drivers. The government has decided to pay 50 percent of premium amount under the scheme.<br/><br/> The rest 50% of premium along with Rs 30 as registration fee will be borne by the policyholders. The Central and the State Government will share the premium 25% each. <br/><br/>Commenting on the scheme, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Oscar Fernandes said, “The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna will address the health concerns of auto rickshaw drivers and taxi drivers, who form an important and vulnerable segment of the un-organised workers in urban areas.” <br/><br/>RSBY is a social security scheme run under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Under the scheme, BPL families of maximum five members holding yellow ration card get cashless hospitalisation benefits of up to Rs 30,000 per family per annum in public and private hospitals as well. <br/><br/> The central government has asked state governments to identify such auto rickshaw and taxi drivers and prepare data for the purpose of implementation of the scheme. <br/><br/>Owner-driven rickshaw and auto drivers are also proposed to be covered under this scheme. <br/><br/>As per the official statement, the nodal officer from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the scheme has been nominated. <br/><br/> Nodal officers from States of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana with their name and contact details are also being notified for the purpose of implementation of the scheme, said the statement. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=930InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Feb 2014 18:42:35 GMT Private sector insurance player Future Generali India Life Insurance Company on Monday announced that it has received prestigious ISO 9001:2008 certiifcation for its Investment Processes. <br/><br/>Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Mr. Kishore Biyani’s the Future Group, which runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores, and Italy-based global insurance giant the Generali Group. <br/><br/>ISO 9001:2008 is the internationally recognised standard for Quality Management Systems (QMS). To qualify for the certification the insurer had to meet rigorous standards in its investment practices, investment documentation review, pre-audit, initial assessment and clearance of all non-conformities. The process which went on for about 3 months culminated in a comprehensive certification audit by BSI (British Standards Institution). <br/><br/>It certification approves Future Generali’s compliance with internationally established standards for Quality Management Systems in its investment department. <br/><br/>“This is a proud moment for us and we will continue to focus on quality management systems in the company. We are a customer centric organisation and are committed to continuously improve ourselves to adapt global standards and in providing best in class services to our customers. The Investment Department in an insurance company is of vital importance, this accreditation validates our respect for the trust and confidence our customers have instilled in us”, said Mr. Munish Sharda, Managing Director & CEO (Officiating) of Future Generali India Life. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=929InsuringIndia News Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:27:35 GMT The latest entrant in the standalone health insurance segment Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company on Tuesday began its operations in India.<br/><br/>The insurer has got the necessary regulatory approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for a retail health insurance product and plans to launch group health insurance products by next financial year. <br/><br/>Cigna TTK is a joint venture between the Cigna Corporation, a US-based global health services provider and the TTK Group, an Indian business conglomerate which is present across several segments of industry. The Cigna Corporation holds the maximum permissible share of 26% in the joint venture, while the TTK Group holds the lion share of 74%.<br/><br/>Initially, the joint venture has invested $22 million in the business. The insurer has planned to start operations with 6 branches in major cities, informed Mr. Sandeep Patel, CEO, Cigna TTK. <br/><br/>The product we are bringing to the market addresses multiple segments, said Mr. Patel adding, “Apart from the regular benefits of a health insurance policy, such as hospitalisation, the product will also provide health maintenance benefits and rewards as a feature for all its products.” <br/><br/>Since Cigna is present in 180 countries, the health insurance products will have worldwide cover through its propriety networks. <br/><br/>Cigna TTK is looking at a multi-channel distribution strategy and is in the process of launching an agency channel. It is also in discussion with banks and non-banking finance companies for a corporate agency tie-up for distribution. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=928InsuringIndia News Wed, 26 Feb 2014 16:13:35 GMT General insurance companies said that aviation insurance policies that were primarily used to cover the fleet of the airline companies is now in demand for the other covers provided by this policy. For quite some time, demand for covers for ground handling and aviation product liability insurance policies has been increasing, a renowned newspaper informed. <br/><br/>Mr. Manik Nehra, senior manager of aviation insurance at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd. Said, "With new routes and new cities being added by aviation companies, the demand for aviation insurance will only go up.” <br/><br/>"We are now looking at aviation products, general aviation and aerospace insurance covers. In the next few months, we will look at airline insurance as well," said Mr. M Ravichandran, president-insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance.insurance cover. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=927InsuringIndia News Tue, 25 Feb 2014 14:33:35 GMT Private sector global insurance group Future Generali India Insurance has recently launched the Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana (RSBY) programme in Amalapur, Bidar District of Karnataka to become the first insurer to start the enrolments in the state. It had secured the tender for one cluster consisting 6 districts in Karnataka for implementation of the RSBY programme. <br/><br/>RSBY is a unique scheme run by central government which provides cashless treatment benefits to below poverty line (BPL) families at all RSBY network hospitals across the country. Under this scheme, five members of a BPL family can get treatment for up to Rs. 30,000. In the Union Budget for 2012-13, the government made a total allocation of Rs about 1097 crore towards the scheme. <br/><br/>“Every citizen in this country should have access to health insurance coverage and the government is committed to this cause”, Future Generali India Insurance Head (Health Insurance) Mr. Shreeraj Deshpande said on the occasion. <br/><br/>“Enrolling people in rural areas is a difficult and complex activity and requires working closely with the government. It is our honour to be associated with this project and it will be our endeavour to cover as many people under this scheme”, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=926InsuringIndia News Mon, 24 Feb 2014 14:33:35 GMT The unclaimed amount with life insurance companies has grown 250% in the four-year period from 2009-10 to 2012-13, mainly because of lack of awareness, delay in claims settlement and change in address, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said in a circular on Tuesday.<br/><br/>The unclaimed amount jumped to Rs 4,866 crore in 2012-13 from Rs 1,373 crore in year 2009-10. <br/><br/>As per the circular, the unclaimed amount rises 60% in 2012-13 from Rs 3,037.46 crore in the previous year.<br/><br/>The regulator mentioned that the rise in unclaimed amount is largely because of dependents not being aware of existence of a life insurance policy among other reasons including delay in settlement of claim and change in address of the life insured.<br/><br/>Further, the regulator said that in another big reason for not settling claims is change in address, where the policyholders do not informed the insurance company, due to which cheques/demand draft issued by the insurance company towards maturity payment is not received by the policyholder.<br/><br/>In order to ensure timely payout to policy holders, IRDA has asked insurance companies to make various disclosures such as the amount which remained unclaimed for more than six months from the due date of settlement, nature of the unclaimed amount (death claim, maturity benefit, etc), details of action taken (for payment of the unclaimed money) by the insurer and the status of the unclaimed amount.<br/><br/>Initially, insurers have been told to upload this information on their website by 31 March 2014. Subsequently, they have been advised to put up this information every six month by 30 September and 31 March every year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=925InsuringIndia News Wed, 19 Feb 2014 18:48:35 GMT It’s been reported that insurance sector regulator in India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1,00,000 on private sector life insurance player, Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Ltd. for not complying with its anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines.<br/><br/>In its order, the regulator also directed the insurer to hire a chartered accounting firm(s) to carry out an investigation on the operational procedures present to complying with its AML guidelines. <br/><br/>Further, the order said that effective systems were not in place to report cash transactions and in various instances no review was carried out for reporting cash transactions. The regulator also observed that in certain instances, the insurer accepted multiple cash transactions exceeding Rs 50,000 on a single policy from same payer without PAN number, which violates its norms. <br/><br/>“The accounting firm(s) should complete the study and submit its report in 45 days. The Tata AIA Life Insurance should submit the accounting firm's report to IRDA within 15 days of its submission”, said the order. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=924InsuringIndia News Sun, 16 Feb 2014 14:33:35 GMT A national seminar on ‘General Insurance Industry: A Decade of Transition and Road Ahead’, was held on Saturday in connection with the 36th central general council meeting of the United India Insurance Officers’ Association. <br/><br/> The seminar was inaugurated by Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) of India Chairman and Managing Director Mr. P J Joseph. And, United India Insurance Company (UIIC) General Manager Mr. M V V Chalam presided over the seminar. UIIC Deputy General Manager Mr. V Sajan delivered the keynote address on marketing dynamics. <br/><br/>In his address, Mr. Joseph asked state-run insurers to accommodate with changing times by improving customer service. He also urged them to grow with professional approach, instead of wavering, while taking on competition from private insurance companies. <br/><br/>Prominent industry personnel presented papers on various topics related to the insurance industry. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=923InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Feb 2014 18:13:35 GMT New India Assurance Insurance Company, country’s largest non-life insurer is planning to launch a 3-in-1 product that will offer combined insurance cover for personal accident, household and health insurance. The state-owned player is hoping this product would increase retail penetration of personal accident and household insurance on the back of growing sales of health insurance. <br/><br/>Although the personal accident policies have been present in the market for a long time and are much cheaper than term insurance, but its sales are miserably low since the insurance agents do not find it lucrative to sell these policies. Same is the case with householder’s policy. <br/><br/>The insurer will soon file the policy with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) seeking its approval. “We will file the combined policy with the regulator shortly”, said New India Assurance CMD Mr. G Srinivasan. <br/><br/>New India Assurance will add 20,000 agents during the current 2013-14 financial year, Mr. Srinivasan said. He also informed that the company has recorded a net profit of Rs 701 cr in the first nine months, up by 36% over the corresponding period last year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=922InsuringIndia News Thu, 13 Feb 2014 15:13:35 GMT The Bihar State government, on Monday, announced Bihar State Journalists Insurance scheme-2014 to provide mediclaim and personal accidental coverage of Rs 10 lac to scribes in the state.<br/><br/>Under the scheme, about 3,000 journalists, print as well electronic media of the State headquarters as well districts of Bihar would get Rs 5 lac for personal accident cases and an equal amount of mediclaim policy including the journalist, spouse and two dependent children. <br/><br/>Public Relations Department secretary Mr. Pratya Amrit told reporters that the scheme would start on February 20, 2014. He asked journalist to fill the form and submit required documents by February 20 so that the scheme could start immediately. <br/><br/>Under the scheme, the state government would pay Rs.7,176, the majority share of 80% of the Rs.8,970 annual premium and the rest Rs.1,794 would be borne by the journalists seeking cover. <br/><br/>The government has signed an agreement with the National Insurance Company Limited, a public sector general insurer, to run the scheme for one year, Mr. Amrit said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=921InsuringIndia News Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:23:35 GMT Under Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY), overseas migrant workers having ECR (Emigration Check Required) passports will get an insurance cover in the event of natural, accidental death or permanent disability. <br/><br/>Social security scheme MGPSY was launched by the Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr. Vyalar Ravi in Dubai on 28 October 2013 aiming to provide blue-collar Indian workers in Gulf old-age pension and help them save regularly for resettlement on their return to India. <br/><br/>In a statement, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said, “The government co-contributes to encourage and support the migrant workers in subscribing to this scheme.” <br/><br/>"Any Indian national, who is between 18 to 50 years of age and has ECR passport, and valid work permit or employment contract in UAE, can join this scheme. The Indian worker is required to save between Rs 1,000 to Rs 12,000 per financial year for the pensionary benefits, and Rs 4,000 per annum towards return and resettlement. No contribution is required for life insurance," the statement said. <br/><br/>As per the statement, the government provides a co-contribution of Rs 1,000 per annum for the pensionary benefits and Rs 900 per annum for the return and resettlement. An additional co-contribution of Rs 1,000 per annum is provided by the government for overseas Indian women workers for the pensionary benefits. <br/><br/>Bank of Baroda is the main service provider appointed for overseas Indian workers in the UAE, it added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=920InsuringIndia News Mon, 10 Feb 2014 18:23:35 GMT Standalone health insurer Max Bupa has tied-up with Standard Chartered Bank to distribute its health insurance products to bank’s customers under bancassurance arrangement. At present Standard Chartered Bank has about 99 branches spread over 42 cities across the country. <br/><br/>“This relationship is an important milestone for us as bancassurance is an important part of our growth strategy,” Max Bupa CEO Mr. Manasije Mishra said in a release. <br/><br/>Max Bupa will work with Standard Chartered Bank to ensure sales training, product support and smooth operational processes in order to offer health insurance products to customers seeking a health cover. <br/><br/>“This arrangement will enable us to further augment the comprehensive range of third party products and services by offering Max Bupa health insurance solutions. We are confident that this will be a mutually beneficial relationship”, said Mr. Sanjeeb Chaudhuri, Regional Head (South Asia) and Chief Marketing Officer (Consumer Banking), Standard Chartered Bank. <br/><br/>Private sector insurance player Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between diversified business firm Max India and Bupa Finance plc, a UK-based international healthcare provider. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=919InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Feb 2014 18:23:35 GMT Private sector general insurance player ICICI Lombard General Insurance yesterday announced the launch of a first-of-its kind cashless outpatient department health insurance plan, ‘i-Health Cashless OPD’.<br/><br/>This new offering of ICICI Lombard will be initially available for group health insurance customers and later, will be extended to the entire retail customer base. The ‘i-Health Card’, provided by the insurer to its customers can be swiped at any of 75 plus OPD centres across the seven metros to avail cashless treatment. Customers can avail consultation without any charges multiple times in a year depending on the plan availed. <br/><br/>“The OPD segment, despite comprising 60% of healthcare expenses, faces a dearth of relevant insurance offerings. ICICI Lombard’s cashless OPD is best suited to meet customer needs towards payment of OPD expenses”, said Mr. Sanjay Datta, Chief-Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=918InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Feb 2014 18:21:08 GMT In compliance with the order of Jammu & Kashmir Governor and Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) Chairman Mr. N.N. Vohra, SASB Chairman Mr. Navin K Choudhary has announced that all pilgrims that hold valid permits for this year's Amarnath Yatra will be provided a free insurance cover of Rs 1,00,000 against accidental death within the state during the entire ‘Yatra’ period. <br/><br/>Under the scheme, which will be free for all pilgrims having valid permits, will provide coverage one week ahead of the commencement of the pilgrimage and will end one week after its conclusion. “It will cover any accidental death which takes place anywhere in the state while travelling to the ‘Yatra’ base camps or while heading for the shrine”, Mr. Choudhary said. <br/><br/>He has also appealed to all pilgrims that it is in their interest to obtain valid registration cards after securing a compulsory health certificate. It is in the interest of all pilgrims to undergo a proper medical check-up before registering themselves, for which elaborate arrangements have been made by the Shrine Board, he added. <br/><br/>This year's Amarnath Yatra will commence on 28th June and end on 10th August. The registration for the ‘Yatra’ will start on 11th March. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=917InsuringIndia News Thu, 06 Feb 2014 18:06:19 GMT The Congress led UPA government has cleared that the 26% cap on foreign investment in the insurance sector will also be applicable to intermediaries such as brokers, third party administrators and surveyors.<br/><br/>As per a press note, released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion on Wednesday, in case of insurance companies, the 26 % cap will include foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign institutional investments (FIIs) and investments from non-resident Indians (NRIs) as well. <br/><br/>The earlier policy allowed up to 26% FDI in the insurance sector through the automatic route without clarifying if this included other foreign investments such as FII and NRI as well. <br/><br/>India’s insurance regulator has set up a committee to study the option of allowing 100 percent FDI in insurance intermediaries, third-party administrators, surveyors and loss assessors. But action on this, too, would have to wait. <br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), has formed a committee to look into a possibility to allow 100% FDI in insurance intermediaries such as brokers, third-party administrators (TPAs), surveyors and loss assessors. <br/><br/>The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to raise FDI in the sector to 49 %, has already been approved by the Union Cabinet. But, it’s been pending in the Rajya Sabha since December 2008, as the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, didn’t support it. The Committee, in its report, had argued that raising the FDI ceiling to 49% would expose the sector to global vulnerability. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=916InsuringIndia News Thu, 06 Feb 2014 18:05:02 GMT With a view to help policyholders renew their lapsed life insurance policies; private sector player Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has unveiled a Special Revival Campaign. This campaign will assist policyholders get lapsed policies renewed easily.<br/><br/> The campaign which started on January 18 will continue till March 31, 2014. Under the campaign, lapsed policies that fall under the prescribed revival period can be renewed with special benefits, such as 50% waiver of interest on traditional policies. The company has simplified the DGH (Declaration of Good Health) form and waived off the medical examination for policyholders aged up to 55 years. <br/><br/>The Bajaj Allianz customers are being informed about this unique initiative via SMS, Calls and Letters etc. The details of the scheme are also available on the Company's official website. This scheme is applicable to all individual Traditional and Unit Linked policies. <br/><br/>“Life Insurance is one of the most important risk protection tools, especially during uncertain times. We launched this campaign to reiterate the importance of renewing one's life insurance cover and help our policyholders revive their lapsed policies. To facilitate the same, we have relaxed our underwriting norms and have extended special benefits”, said Ms. Jasleen Kohli, Head (Operations), Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. <br/><br/>“Revival of life insurance policy gives the policyholder crucial benefits such as continuance of life cover, tax advantages, and other policy benefits. It is, therefore, in the best interest of the customer to keep their policy in force”, Ms. Kohli added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=915InsuringIndia News Tue, 04 Feb 2014 17:59:24 GMT General insurance companies may not be able to pre-declare package rates in the mediclaim policy document, GIC's senior counsel Mr. Janak Dwarkadas informed the honourable Bombay High Court. Mr. Dwarkadas told Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha that it is impossible for insurers to provide standard rates for mediclaim policy. The High Court was hearing a PIL filed by activist Gaurang Damani on medical insurance problems.<br/><br/>There are too many variables involved in choice of hospitals and nursing homes and even reaction of patients to different treatment, Mr. Dwarkadas said. To prove his point, he also gave the instance of Ahmedabad, which is promoting medical tourism, saying hospitals actually advertise package rates to attract customers. <br/><br/>"In certain cases, they even tell the customer in advance what he is likely to be charged," said Dwarkadas.. <br/><br/>The court observed that patients are asked if they have mediclaim policy during admission and accordingly charged. An average of general treatment rates could be worked out, the court said. <br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has agreed for pre-declaration of package rates, the activist argued. But GIC's counsel said, "To find if one size fits all is difficult when variables are involved." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=914InsuringIndia News Mon, 03 Feb 2014 17:28:02 GMT The Bihar state government is planning to bring out an insurance cover scheme for the panchayat representatives of the state. This was stated by the Panchayati Raj and Rural Works Department Minister Mr. Bhim Singh on Wednesday.<br/><br/>The state government, so far, has spent over Rs 10,000 cr for strengthening the panchayati raj institutions in the state, the minister claimed. The state government will recruit about 10,000 assistants-cum-accountants, equipped with laptops, to be deputed in the villages across the state, he added. <br/><br/>When asked about the insufficient number of panchayat secretaries in the state, Mr. Singh said the department was in constant touch with the State Staff Selection Commission (SSSC) for large scale recruitment against the vacancies. <br/><br/>To ensure the development work do not hamper, the government has decided to recruit one junior engineer for every panchayat, one assistant engineer for every five blocks and one executive engineer at the district headquarters. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=913InsuringIndia News Fri, 31 Jan 2014 17:25:03 GMT Private sector insurer Reliance Life Insurance, an arm of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group's financial services firm Reliance Capital Limited has recently announced the launch of its new traditional non-participating product-Super Money Back. <br/><br/>This plan provides guaranteed money back benefits to policyholders after a block of every five years throughout the policy period in addition to an increasing monthly income that starts after the premium payment term. <br/><br/>Reliance Super Money Back policy also provides life insurance cover for the entire policy term by paying premiums for just half of the opted policy tenure. <br/><br/>Customers in the age group of 18 to 55 years can buy this product. The minimum sum assured under the policy is Rs. 1,00,000; and the policy term can be opted from 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=912InsuringIndia News Fri, 31 Jan 2014 11:21:15 GMT With a view to raise insurance penetration in rural area the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Thursday rolled out simplified, standard products tailored to be sold by life insurance companies through about one lac Common Services Centers (CSCs). Two types of products – a term plan and a saving plan will be sold through this distribution network. These low ticket size cost effective products are especially designed to suit the target population. <br/><br/>As per the IRDA notification, the products sold through this distribution model shall be prefixed with the word ‘CSC’, so that these products can be easily distinguished. "Every insurer shall file the products under the current file and use procedure for distribution under this channel,” the circular said. <br/><br/>CSC distribution model is not mandated by the regulator, it’s totally on voluntary basis. Besides the commission to be paid to CSC to procure the new business, there would be service charges for post sale services of the policy. The maximum commission under these policies would be 5% of the premiums paid in the first year. And, from second year onwards, there shall be no commission. The service charges would be fixed for every activity undertaken by the CSC. <br/><br/>For term insurance plan, the maximum sum insured would be rupees two lac. And for saving plans, the maximum premium would be Rs. 20,000, and the policy period would be between 5 to 15 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=911InsuringIndia News Thu, 30 Jan 2014 18:18:31 GMT In order to smooth processing of claim settlements, life insurance companies in India consider suicides at par with natural deaths and not as accidental deaths. <br/><br/>As per senior officials from the industry, for a smooth claim settlement it has to be proved that the life insured has committed suicide. It is because there is a conception that most suicides are not pre-meditated. <br/><br/>Although, during the settlement of claims where the insured dies because of suicide, the insurers look at how old the policy is. Because in suicidal case, the insurers have a waiting period of one year; and only after the period they settle claims. It means if an insured commits suicide within one year of buying a life insurance policy, and it is proved that the insured had indeed committed suicide, the nominee in the insurance policy will not be able to get any amount from the insurer. <br/><br/>Further, the officials said that some life insurance products come with double accident claim benefits. In case of a suicide, the nominee in the policy cannot claim the extra sum assured for accidental deaths. In cases where the death is not due to natural causes and also it is not proven to be suicide, it is accepted as an unnatural death and extra claims for accidental deaths usually paid. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=909InsuringIndia News Wed, 29 Jan 2014 16:06:25 GMT Following the FinMin’s circular mandating PSU banks to become insurance brokers, public and private sector banks are chewing over to set up a committee of experts to look into the possibility to become insurance brokers. Representatives of banks had met finance ministry and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority officials to discuss the matter.<br/><br/>As per the circular sent last month, banks were supposed to adopt the broking model by January 15, 2014. "You are requested to implement the spirit of the budget announcement within the framework of guidelines by Irda and RBI in this regard under intimation to this department (department of financial services) by January 15, 2014”, said the circular. <br/><br/>Mr. K R Kamath, CMD, Punjab National Bank and chief of Indian Banks’ Association said, “The priority is to see what is good for the customer. Banks should give options to customers. While each model has pros and cons, one particular model may not be the right way. There are contractual obligations of different banks that have joint ventures with insurance companies. We hope to come up with an acceptable solution, keeping the customer at the centre.” <br/><br/>“Banks would set up the group with representations from banks, insurance companies, IRDA and Reserve Bank of India to come out with an acceptable solution”, Mr. Kamath added. <br/><br/>Though some public sector banks have their licences as corporate agents coming in for renewal in February, they might renew the licence for now and wait for the final guidelines to come, he said. <br/><br/>Mr. T S Vijayan, Chairman, IRDA said, “We will not discriminate between public sector banks and private banks. They have to decide how to go about this process.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=910InsuringIndia News Wed, 29 Jan 2014 15:48:31 GMT In protest against levy of service tax on insurance premium with effect from January 1, 2014, LIC agents from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry gathered at Chennai on Friday. The rally led by Southern Zone President of Life Insurance Agents’ Federation of India (LIAFI) Mr. V. Ganeshan sought immediate withdrawal of the introduction of service tax of 3.09 % on insurance premium.<br/><br/>“At a time, when we are asking the management to extend more benefits to the policyholders and introduce user-friendly policies, the introduction of service tax of 3.09 % on traditional products is unnecessary. It will pinch their pockets as it is an extra burden. This will force most of them to discontinue the policies. There are over 11.4 lac LIC agents in the country and equal number of agents in the private sector. LIC has 30 crore policyholders and they should not be exploited in the name of new taxes”, said LIAFI president Mr. H.M. Jain at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of southern zonal council meet. <br/><br/>The service tax would affect LIC’s business as more than 20 crore policy holders are from lower and middle income groups, said Mr. Ganeshan adding, “In the coming days, it might delay settlement of death claims or maturity claims and even affect LIC reserves too.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=908InsuringIndia News Mon, 27 Jan 2014 16:03:28 GMT With a view to curb money-laundering through insurance, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has asked private player Birla Sun Life Insurance Company to adopt affective procedure to know source of funds by policyholders and not merely rely on documentation for premium payment of over rupees one lac per annum.<br/><br/> "Authority advises Birla Sun Life Insurance Company to lay adequate emphasis on effective procedures for strengthening the compliance norms of the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) master circular and all subsequent regulatory instructions issued on this matter from time to time," the regulator said in a recent order. <br/><br/>It is believed that the new IRDA order is an implication of a news last year that had accused 23 leading banks and insurance firms including Birla Sun Life Insurance Company of ‘running a nationwide money-laundering racket, blatantly violating laws of the land’. <br/><br/>According to the news published on a web-portal, the financial entities offered to open bank accounts and lockers without following Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, convert black money into white and obtain fictitious PAN cards. <br/><br/> The regulator, in a separate order, guided Future Generali India Life Insurance to put in place fair compliance system while submitting information to the Authority. <br/><br/>Further, the order said that the company during the hearing discovered the fact that there was a procedural lapse while exercising the due diligence when forwarding the referral application to the Authority. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=907InsuringIndia News Fri, 24 Jan 2014 16:47:27 GMT The Kerala state government today launched a comprehensive medical insurance scheme for the 56,000 police force. It is expected that the state government would incur an annual expenditure of Rs 20 cr on this scheme.<br/><br/>Making a statement under Rule 300 in the Assembly, the Home Minister Mr. Ramesh Chennithala said the cabinet meeting yesterday approved the scheme, which was worked out with United India Insurance Company, a state-run general insurance firm. <br/><br/>"When this scheme is introduced, it will help nearly 56,000 police personnel and their families," the minister said. <br/><br/>The key feature of this scheme is that the insured police personnel will not need to pay premium. The entire premium amount will be borne by the state government. Under the scheme, those police personnel who get injured in accidents, police action or any encounter with a violent mob, will get treatment expenses with a buffer limit of rupees one crore for the entire police force. In addition, they will also get the family floater amount of Rs 2,00,000. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=906InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:20:30 GMT Even though the Insurance (Laws) Amendment Bill, 2008, to allow foreign reinsurers to set up branch operations, is yet to get necessary Parliamentary nod, global reinsurance behemoth are looking to enter the Indian market, a leading newspaper said.<br/><br/>Most global reinsurers are now developing their insurance business offshore. As of now, public sector GIC Re is the only reinsurance company in India. <br/><br/>“India is an exciting market to be present in. We are encouraged to learn about the possibility of the Insurance Bill being cleared in the Parliament with regard to the opening of branches by foreign re-insurers,” said Mr. Victor Peignet, CEO of SCOR Global P&C. SCOR is the 6th largest global reinsurance firm. At present, it operates its business with its Indian clients offshore from Singapore. <br/><br/>According to a Munich Reinsurance official, more than $1.382 trillion in additional premiums will be generated in the Asian region by years 2020 with growth markets such as China and India contributing almost 70%.<br/><br/>“At the moment our reinsurance premiums from India are about $41.5 million, while we have roughly $1.382 billion in China. Regulation in India is still too spontaneous and some protectionist tendencies still exist,” the official said. <br/><br/>Michel M Lies, Group CEO, Swiss Re, the second largest global re-insurer said that in the long term India is an important market. <br/><br/> Swiss Re which is keen to set up a health insurance company is currently negotiating with L&T for a joint venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=905InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Jan 2014 16:16:56 GMT From next time you visit your doctor, you may not have to pay, even if you are just an outpatient. The health insurance providers are mulling to tailor products, having which you would not require to pay towards OPD expenses at any network hospital. As of now, patients need to be hospitalised not less than 24 hours to avail this cashless facility. <br/><br/>However, some insurers have already started providing OPD coverage but only through reimbursements. Which means a patient needs to pay at the time of treatment and later on, submits bills in order to get expenses back. <br/><br/>Apollo Munich's Maxima is now offering vouchers for various services such as consultation and pharmacy. <br/><br/> “We are charity vouchers for OPD diagnosis with underling limits,” said Apollo Munich Health Insurance MD and CEO Mr. Antony Jacob, adding, “This is accessible in designated outlets. We repay if a sanatorium is not in a network list.” <br/><br/>ICICI Lombard is also planning to offer similar product. "We are planning to bring OPD on cashless platform," said Mr. Sanjay Datta, Head of Health at ICICI Lombard, adding, "We will soon start a pilot. This should help ease life for the average insurance customer.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=904InsuringIndia News Wed, 22 Jan 2014 18:36:01 GMT Single insurance product covering all basic insurance needs, together with options for customisation, would help improving insurance penetration in India than having multiple products for a basic cover, said Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Chairman TS Vijayan.<br/><br/>Inaugurating the 7th Global Insurance Summit organised by ASSOCHAM in Hyderabad, Mr. Vijayan said, “Currently, a typical general insurance product covers specific risks such as fire, health, accident and loss of belongings under separate policies. This approach is very cumbersome and a major roadblock in increasing insurance penetration.” <br/><br/> “Specific circumstances of low-income groups like unstable income, migration for work and others should be considered while designing insurance products to best suit their needs,” he added. <br/><br/>Furthermore, he said that cost effective ways of distributing insurance covers would be key to success in increasing insurance coverage among low income groups. Absence of proper mechanisms to create awareness and effectively communicate about protection offered by an insurance product to a policyholder has led to low persistency and low claim ratios in the micro-insurance business. <br/><br/>“The policy servicing mechanisms, particularly for claims, adopted by insurers would be critical in delivering necessary protection,” he said, adding, “The claim payment procedure should be simple and transparent to ensure timely payment of all eligible claims.” <br/><br/>On IRDA’s latest initiatives in enhancing the use of technology, he said that issuance of e-policies through insurance repositories would reduce policy issuance costs significantly. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=903InsuringIndia News Tue, 21 Jan 2014 17:21:01 GMT UK-based insurer Aviva Life Insurance has hired Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan to sell its stake in the Indian insurance joint venture Aviva Life Insurance (ALI) Company. Its stake will be sold either to another global insurer or to the Burmans.<br/><br/>According to the sources close to the development, the company is valued at Rs 1,100 cr. The Indian insurance sector has been limping due to slow growth, IRDA’s restrictions and the capital-intensive nature of the sector. Aviva Life has performed poorly, and has slipped to 13th in the rankings table with its total premium income falling 11% in the last fiscal year to Rs 2,140 cr. <br/><br/>Out of 24 private life insurance companies in India, 7 are still loss making. In fiscal year 2012-13, Aviva Life registered a profit of Rs 32 crore. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has imposed product design, capping expenses and increasing policy tenor, which has reduced margins in life insurance business. Policy sales have slowed down over the past few years. <br/><br/>Since the sector was opened for private and foreign companies in year 2000, two international insurers ING and New York Life have exited life insurance joint ventures in India. <br/><br/>ALI is a joint venture between Dabur Group, one of India’s oldest business houses and Aviva Group. Aviva holds 26% stake, the maximum permissible limit; while the Dabur group holds the rest 74% stake in the joint venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=902InsuringIndia News Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:26:01 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has favoured the decision of Union Finance Ministry which permits all banks to sell products of multiple insurance companies. <br/><br/>At a meeting with life insurance companies in Hyderabad yesterday, the insurance watchdog supported FinMin’s decision to open the bank branches for this. The regulator also evoked private sector banks to join this initiative. <br/><br/>Earlier, the finance ministry had asked all public sector banks to act as insurance-broker from January 15. The ministry doesn’t want banks to work as corporate agents of particular insurance company. <br/><br/>“IRDA is clear that it would like banks to sell products of more insurance companies as it is in favour of customers," said a senior official of a life insurance company, adding, "The regulator is of the view that it will improve persistency and give options to customers." <br/><br/> As per current guidelines, a bank can sell only one product of life insurance, one of non-life insurance and one of standalone health insurance. <br/><br/>The finance ministry is concerned over the slow development rate of insurance market in India. Even after 13 years, when the Indian insurance market was opened up for private companies in 2000, insurance penetration, defined as the ratio of insurance premium to the gross domestic product, is hardly at 4%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=901InsuringIndia News Fri, 17 Jan 2014 16:54:16 GMT Private sector insurer Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI) has re-launched five life insurance products compliant with the new IRDA product guidelines applicable from this month. It includes three non-participating market-linked insurance plans, one participating whole life plan and one traditional participating endowment plan. The ULIPs include Wealth Max, Wealth Secure and Empower Pension plans while Vision LifeIncome is a whole life plan and Vision Endowment Plan is a traditional participating endowment plan. <br/><br/>"These products are designed to emphasise the fundamental propositions of life insurance - protection from uncertainty and long term savings. In 2014, we are well poised to build the product portfolio in a phased out manner with focused distribution," said Mr. Mayank Bathwal, Deputy CEO, Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI) in a company release. <br/><br/>In line with the revised product guidelines, these plans are focused on providing enhanced security to savings, higher life cover, better surrender values and improved disclosures. <br/><br/>BSLI is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group, an Indian diversified conglomerate, and Sun Life Financial Inc, a Canada-based leading global insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=900InsuringIndia News Thu, 16 Jan 2014 15:10:17 GMT With a view to provide social security to anganwadi workers in the state, the Uttarakhand state government has considered to launch group insurance scheme. Addressing anganwadi workers at a programme in Dehradun, the Chief Minister Mr. Vijay Bahuguna said the government will also issue an order to set up a Women's Welfare Fund.<br/><br/>The Diwali bonus given to the workers will continue and the state government would request the Centre to upgrade the anganwadi centres in the state, Mr. Bahuguna said, adding, “The welfare of the women residing in remote and hilly areas is the priority of his government.” <br/><br/>The state government has provided special assistance to women affected in the calamity last year, he added. <br/><br/>Everyone will have to work together for the development of the state, he evoked. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=899InsuringIndia News Thu, 16 Jan 2014 15:08:00 GMT Private sector insurer Tata AIA Life Insurance has announced the launch of 'Money Maxima', a long-term plan which is compliant with new IRDA guidelines applicable from this month.<br/><br/> Tata AIA's new offering 'Money Maxima' is a Regular Premium Paying Non-Linked Participating Endowment Assurance Plan. It offers policyholders a host of bonuses and guaranteed benefits, which maximises returns for every rupee invested. <br/><br/>In a company release Mr.Mukesh Dhawan, Deputy CEO and CDO, Tata AIA Life Insurance said, "Money Maxima is a long term plan that stretches to fit the dreams of our customers through flexibility of plan duration. The plan offers the dual benefits of both guaranteed and non-guaranteed returns and, hence, is good value for money." <br/><br/>Money Maxima also provide additional benefits such as guaranteed returns, liquidity and flexibility of plan duration. Among other benefits, this plan provides flexible policy terms to achieve specific time bound goals, guaranteed loyalty addition to further augment customers' savings, life coverage throughout the policy term, and maturity benefit of basic sum assured. <br/><br/>Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA Life) is a joint venture between Tata Sons and AIA Group Limited (AIA), the largest listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world. Tata Sons holds 74% stake in the company, while AIA holds the rest 26%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=898InsuringIndia News Wed, 15 Jan 2014 17:57:25 GMT Calling the government’s proposal to sell products of multiple insurance companies ‘not implementable’, the Bangalore-based public sector lender Canara Bank has decided to oppose it. According to Canara Bank officials, the bank has planned to pass a resolution rejecting the government's diktat. The bank has already circulated a note in this regard to its board members, the officials said. <br/><br/>Resolutions can be passed through board notes when directors are unable to meet within a given timeframe. <br/><br/>Aiming to improve the reach of insurance products, the finance ministry had recently asked all PSU banks to act as insurance brokers, adopting which they would be able to sell insurance policies of multiple companies. At present, most of them sell policies under the corporate agency arrangement which prevents them from selling products of more than one life insurer and one general insurer. <br/><br/>The ministry feels the wide network of state-run banks will help insurance to reach remote areas. This problem arises because most of the banks have floated insurance companies in partnership with foreign insurers with an understanding that they would sell products of only the company they have promoted. <br/><br/>For example- Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce, both government-run, have floated a joint life insurance company in partnership with HSBC. As per the agreement among the three, the partners are prevented from selling products of any other life insurance company. <br/><br/>Recently, the Indian Banks' Association had written to the finance ministry, saying that the management of each bank should be given the freedom to decide on whether they would be competent enough to sell products of more than one insurer. <br/><br/>Not all banks would be positioned to provide insurance broking service because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not in favour of banks with bad loans above 3 percent to get into insurance broking service, the Indian Banks' Association said. <br/><br/>As of now, State Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have bad loans of more than 3 percent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=897InsuringIndia News Mon, 13 Jan 2014 17:35:43 GMT With a view to look into a possibility to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling in insurance intermediaries and third party administrators (TPAs) up to 100 percent, the insurance regulator in India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has formed a ten-member committee, said an IRDA release.<br/><br/>Although, the Insurance Act, 1938 does not specify any FDI ceiling for insurance intermediaries, the regulator itself has limited it to 26 percent. <br/><br/>The committee will be headed by Sr. Joint Director of IRDA Mr. Suresh Mathur. Representatives from insurance companies (life & non-life), broking firms, IRDA officials and industry bodies are members of the committee. The committee has asked to submit its report in three months. <br/><br/>The regulator has received references from various stakeholders requesting them to consider FDI in insurance brokers to 100 percent from existing 26%.<br/><br/>Apart from looking into a possibility of increasing FDI limit for these entities, the committee will also look into the extent to which it is to be permitted, its significance on the industry and study international practices in this regard. <br/><br/>The regulator has recently released the Insurance Brokers Regulations, according to which the broker's licence would have to be renewed every three years. Not more than 50 percent of the premium should be from any one client in a financial year, it said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=892InsuringIndia News Sat, 11 Jan 2014 16:10:43 GMT According to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of India’s apex trade associations, as many as 67 % of salaried employees prefer public sector companies for buying an insurance product as they feel such insurers are more credible and secure. Among all salaried employees, only 25% prefer private sector insurance companies for their insurance needs. <br/><br/>Further, the study said, “Public sector insurance companies, led by insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, maintain the highest share in selling insurance policies and their penetration far outweighs private sector peers.” <br/><br/>However, the study said that when it comes to mutual funds, private sector insurers preferred among salaried employees, though the sector itself remains low key as the retail market investor does not yet find confidence. About 60% of salaried employees in all segments prefer private sector for mutual fund while only 20 per cent opt for public sector banks. <br/><br/>ASSOCHAM represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between industry, government and other relevant stakeholders on policy issues and initiatives. The goal of this organisation is to promote both domestic and international trade, and reduce trade barriers while bringing up conducive environment for the growth of trade and industry of India. It is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce through ICC, India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=893InsuringIndia News Fri, 10 Jan 2014 18:34:43 GMT Private sector insurance player Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Ltd has announced that it has appointed Mr. Munish Sharda as the new Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mr. Sharda succeeded Mr. K.G. Krishnamoorthy Rao. <br/><br/> On his appointment, Generali Asia Regional Officer Mr. Sergio Di Caro said, “Sharda's in-depth understanding of the financial services industry, coupled with his leadership qualities will strongly contribute to further extending Future Generali's success in India.” <br/><br/> Prior to this appointment, Mr. Sharda has worked for several organisations and has huge experience of about 20 years. Mr. Sharda has worked for Aviva Life Insurance Company as Director (Sales & Distribution) for past five years and Citibank India for 10 years in its consumer lending business. <br/><br/>Mr. Sharda holds a Masters in Business Administration (PGDM) from one of country’s premier institutions the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow and a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. <br/><br/> Future Generali Life is a joint venture between India's Future Group and Italy’s Generali Group. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=894InsuringIndia News Thu, 09 Jan 2014 19:24:43 GMT General insurers in India are considering raising premium charged on luxury vehicles as they think claims raised from this segment have exceeded the auto industry average and costs to repair these high-end vehicles are high. <br/><br/>The increasing number of claims has made the business of insuring luxury cars a loss-making. The ratio of claims to premium paid in this segment doubled from a year earlier to 80 % in the FY 2012- 2013, said an industry insider. <br/><br/>Mr. S.S. Gopalaratnam, MD & CEO of Cholamandalam MS General Insurance blames rising sales of luxury cars and the changing profile of buyers for rising claims. <br/><br/> “Earlier, these high-end vehicles were chauffeur-driven and now it is being driven by owners themselves. Chauffeurs are experienced people and they have a duty to perform”, said Mr. Vijay Kumar, Head (Motor Insurance), Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, adding, “Vehicles with owner-drivers are leading to a higher number of accidents. We have seen claims in high-end segment double in the last one year.” <br/><br/>There is a need for the premium to increase by 20-30 percent because of the high cost involved, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=895InsuringIndia News Thu, 09 Jan 2014 19:24:43 GMT Insurance behemoth the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has been directed by a district consumer forum to pay a sum of Rs 3.71 lac towards interest along with the insurance amount of Rs 5.30 lac to one Mr. Kiran Patel, a resident of Ghatkopar, after the insurer wrongly repudiated his deceased father's insurance claim on the ground that his death from a staircase fall was not an accident but was caused by pre-existing hypertension. <br/><br/>The forum observed that that by not granting the double accident benefit, LIC had indulged in deficiency of service. The forum took the note of a neighbor’s eyewitness account along with the medical papers to conclude, “We have no hesitation to conclude that the evidence brought on record by the complainant is sufficient to conclude that the deceased died due to the fall, which is sufficient to conclude due to accidental death and therefore the complainant fulfils the parameter for getting double accident benefit." <br/><br/>The forum also cited an order of the National Commission, which says that even the murder of a person and his/her death due to murder is an accidental death. <br/><br/> The complainant, Mr. Patel argued that his father fell while climbing the staircase at their residential building and sustained severe head injuries on July 6, 2005. He underwent surgery for a hematoma sustained in the accident. But his health deteriorated and he died after suffering a cardiac arrest on July 10, 2005. <br/><br/> Despite submitting all documents along with claim, the insurer only granted the basic amount to the complainant. The insurer repudiated the double accident benefit claim. Thereafter, aggrieved Patel moved to the Additional Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in February 2008. <br/><br/>The forum pointed out that from the examining of medical papers, it is seen that the deceased had subdural hematoma, which cannot be ruled out due to the fall. <br/><br/>"Secondly, the death certificate does not show anywhere the subdural hematoma sustained by Devji was not because of hypertension, nor does it show that the deceased Devji sustained a blood clot due to hypertension. On the contrary, the death certificate shows he died due to a cardiac arrest," the forum observed. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=896InsuringIndia News Wed, 08 Jan 2014 16:47:43 GMT The West Bengal state government is all set to introduce a health insurance scheme for television artists and technicians of the state.<br/><br/>Speaking at the first ever West Bengal Telly Samman awards on Friday, the West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee said, “Those who work in the television medium and are not in a stable financial situation to afford medical treatment, they will get free treatment under the mediclaim. The studio will be for TV channels.” <br/><br/>Along with the health insurance initiative, the state government has set aside a 6-acre plot of land at Baruipur in South 24-Parganas for a studio, exclusively for shooting television serials. <br/><br/>The state government had already set up medical insurance schemes for the regional film industry (Tollywood) artists and technicians. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=891InsuringIndia News Sun, 05 Jan 2014 18:28:43 GMT HDFC Life and Manulife Financial Corporation of Canada are among top bidders to place first-round bids for HSBC plc's Indian life insurance business. As per the sources, the stake value is around Rs. 10,906 crore. HDFC Life is a joint venture insurance company between India's top mortgage lender HDFC Limited and British insurer Standard Life.<br/><br/>Among bidders to submit first-round bids are ICICI Prudential Life, a joint venture between India's No. 2 lender ICICI Bank and Britain's No. 1 insurer Prudential; and Birla Sun Life, a venture between Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group and Canada's Sun Life. <br/><br/>Europe's biggest bank HSBC plc is selling its 26% stake in a life insurance joint venture with two Indian state-run banks, as it sheds noncore businesses across the world. <br/><br/>Just after the finalisation of the deal, the winner of the auction will get immediate access to more than 5,500 branches of the two PSU banks- Canara Bank Ltd and Oriental Bank of Commerce Ltd. Bancassurance, an arrangement in which a bank and an insurance firm tie up so that the insurer can sell its products to the bank's customers, is emerging as a key tool to sell insurance products across Asia as the life insurance industry matures in the region. <br/><br/>"The biggest attraction for any Indian or foreign bidder in this joint venture would be the vast distribution network, which is absolutely essential in a country like India," said an official close to the development, adding, "There are a very few good partnership opportunities available for foreign players in India, this venture is one of them." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=890InsuringIndia News Sat, 04 Jan 2014 12:04:43 GMT The Kerala state government is chewing over a Comprehensive Insurance Policy, for calamity-affected people in the state. It’s a first of its kind initiative in the country.<br/><br/>A detailed proposal for the scheme has been submitted by the Institute of Land and Disaster Management (ILDM). “At present there is no policy that considers all aspects and all types of disasters”, Head of ILDM, Mr. K.G. Thara said, adding, "Sea erosion and lightning are not considered disasters in the national government's list, whereas in Kerala, a large number of deaths occur due to these.” <br/><br/>As per the proposal submitted the ILDM, the policy will be index-based for crop loss and health impacts such as sunstroke in climate-related disasters. It will also be indemnity-based (on actual loss basis) for climate-related as well as disasters such as tsunami, air, water and land accidents and building collapse. Insurance cover will also be given to utensils, household goods and educational equipment damaged in disasters. Utensils of self-help groups will also be covered. <br/><br/>The government will fully pay the premium for below poverty line (BPL) families; while, for above poverty line (APL) families, ratio of ownership will have to be decided through consultative discussions. As per the proposal, there will four premium schemes with premium amounts of Rs.10, Rs.22, Rs. 25 and Rs.37 for the entire family. As per scheme 1, an amount of Rs.2 lac will be given for accident death or permanent total disablement of the breadwinner of a household, Rs. 1 lac in case of the spouse and Rs. 50,000 each for dependent children. In scheme 2, the amounts are Rs. 5 lac, Rs. 2.5 lac and Rs. 1 lac respectively. Scheme 3 and 4 has the extra provision of Rs.75,000 in case of damage to buildings and Rs.25,000 for damage to contents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=889InsuringIndia News Fri, 03 Jan 2014 19:23:43 GMT India’s largest insurer the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has outperformed its competitors in private sector in most parameters used for measuring consumer friendliness. The state-run insurer had fewer lapses, higher claim settlement ration and no penalties from the insurance watchdog.<br/><br/>The claim settlement ratio of the company in fiscal year 2013-14 is 97.73%, an up by 0.31% from 97.42% in previous fiscal. During the FY’ 13, the percentage of claim rejections was only 1.12% compared to 1.30% earlier. <br/><br/>Whereas, the private sector players witnessed a dip in claim settlement ratio to 88.65% in FY’ 13 from 89.34% in the previous fiscal. When compared to Life Insurance Corporation of India, the private sector insurers have repudiated more number of claims. The percentage of repudiations by private insurers was 7.85%, almost unchanged from previous fiscal 7.82%, the regulator said in the report. <br/><br/>Also, in terms of persistency, the state-run insurer scores better with a lapse ratio of only 5.6% as against private life insurance companies from 17% to 42%. The only exception is HDFC Life Insurance, which has a lapse ratio of 5.6%. <br/><br/>In terms of number of policies sold per agent, in FY’ 13, LIC agents sold an average of 29 policies, but agents of private insurers managed to sell only an average of 3 policies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=888InsuringIndia News Thu, 02 Jan 2014 17:45:43 GMT From January 1, 2014, insurance policy will get costlier as the government widens its service tax purview to include insurance policy premiums paid by policyholders.<br/><br/>The tax rate will be different for different products. On term products and unit-linked insurance policies, in which charges on mortality and administration only, it will be 12.36 %; while on traditional products it will be 3.09 %, as most of the premium goes into savings. <br/><br/>Confirming the separate collection of service tax, Mr. A.K. Sahoo, Executive Director, LIC and Chief of South Central Zone, told that final guidelines on the modalities of service charges to be levied on the risk premium (excluding savings component) would be out in about a week. <br/><br/> “With the complete switch-over to the new product norms from January 1, all the companies have to include this in the new design norms clearly spelling out the exact details of taxes”, Mr. Sahoo said. <br/><br/>According to experts, it would have an adverse impact on insurance, which is basically a social security instrument. <br/><br/>“When the penetration of insurance is still low, this may discourage people from buying life insurance,’’ said Mr. P. Nandagopal, CEO, India First Life Insurance Company. <br/><br/>There have been requests from the industry to waive service tax on life insurance after it was announced in this year’s Budget proposals. <br/><br/>Even the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has requested the union finance ministry for removal of service tax. Insurance should be more tax-payer friendly, it said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=887InsuringIndia News Wed, 01 Jan 2014 18:45:43 GMT The Indian insurance buyers will have more options to choose from different life insurance products of different insurers from 2014. Following the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority’s (IRDA’s) new product guidelines, which emphasises insurers to make products more customer-friendly and transparent, hundreds of new products are expected to hit the market by early next year. <br/><br/>The regulator’s new guidelines would be applicable from January 1, 2014. Earlier, the deadline to sell old products was October 1, 2013, but the regulator had extended the deadline, after the country’s largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had sought an extension of the deadline. <br/><br/>As of now, the IRDA has already approved 4oo products. Market experts are expecting this would heighten competition in the segment, which would benefit the customers most. <br/><br/>Along with several insurers, state-owned insurer the Life Insurance Corporation of India is all set to withdraw several of its products including Jeevan Anand, Jeevan Saral and Jeevan Madhur and launch new products in their place. Insurers such as HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential, Reliance Life Insurance, PNB MetLife and Max Life have already launched several new products which include term, savings, investment, retirement and health. <br/><br/>On the new product guidelines, the CEO and MD of Max Life Insurance, Mr. Rajesh Sud said, “The industry will start the new year with a bouquet of completely new products and with a state of readiness in terms of operation and training of distributors...the regulatory changes in product guidelines have not only resulted in change in product design and features but also require changes in systems and operations.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=886InsuringIndia News Sat, 28 Dec 2013 19:45:43 GMT Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, one of leading private life insurer has announced that it has received necessary regulatory approvals for its individual and group insurance plans under the new product guidelines. The two individual life insurance plans are-‘Save Assure’ and ‘Invest Assure’ with a guarantee element; and one whole life plan, ‘Life Long Assure’. <br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz, in its release issued yesterday, said, “These insurance plans will help the customers cover different needs that may arise at different stages in life. These plans offer the customers the flexibility to choose the policy term, policy payment term and come with an option to take the policy benefit in monthly instalments.” <br/><br/>“We will be launching a suite of online and channel specific insurance plans by the end of January 2014”, said the statement adding, “These plans are not only compliant with the new regulatory guidelines but are customer oriented and easy to understand.” <br/><br/>Save Assure is a traditional endowment plan that provides guaranteed returns of 115% of the sum assured with policy terms of 15 and 17 years, premium payment terms of 10 and 12 years and no premiums payable in the last five policy years. <br/><br/>Invest Assure is also a traditional endowment plan which provides protection to the consumer and his family by providing financial benefits. <br/><br/>While, Life Long Assure is a non-linked whole life plan with a cover up to age of 100 years, cash bonus starting from end of 6th year, guaranteed cash back starting from end of premium payment term and guaranteed benefit of up to 300 % of sum assured on maturity or death, whichever is earlier.The company will also launch 6 group insurance plans - Group Term Life, Group Term Care, Group Credit Protection Plus, Group Superannuation Secure, Group Employee Benefit and Group Term Care. <br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited (recently demerged from Bajaj Auto Limited) and Allianz SE, a leading insurance conglomerate globally and one of the largest asset managers in the world. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=885InsuringIndia News Fri, 27 Dec 2013 18:11:43 GMT In its bid to maintain a health insurance and information grid, the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB), along with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), plans to engage with hospitals, insurance companies and third-party administrators (TPAs). As per the insurers, this will enable them to plug the loopholes in the health insurance space.<br/><br/> In its first step towards the goal, the IIB has started process to bring out unique identity numbers for hospitals. This would enable insurance companies to engage only with those hospitals that have been registered. <br/><br/>There have been instances wherein there are two or more hospitals with the same name, said an official from a private general insurance company; adding, “In the long run, since data will be transparent, health insurance charges can also be capped.” <br/><br/>An industry official said, “This will help the health insurance industry to have a better managed system of insurance claims. In the long run, this will also bring transparency in healthcare costs and eliminate discrepancies. <br/><br/>The Insurance Information Bureau is an independent body that is involved in analytics and data collection/upgradation for the insurance sector. The bureau is involved in collecting health insurance data based on the different transactions with hospitals from insurers and TPAs. <br/><br/>As of now, there are several hospitals that charge a different rate to a patient having a health insurance policy. With the grid in place, this malpractices will come to the attention of the regulators and effective measures can be taken, leading to reduced cost for insurance companies, which could be passed on to customers, said an official. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=884InsuringIndia News Thu, 26 Dec 2013 17:28:51 GMT With a view to intensify insurance penetration and stop mis-selling of insurance products, the union finance ministry has urged all state-run banks to act as insurance brokers starting from January 15 next year by floating a subsidiary to increase their distribution networks. In a letter, the ministry has asked them to act as insurance broker so that the entire network of banks will be utilised to take insurance reach also to the faraway villages.<br/><br/>Following the FinMin diktat, public sector banks (PSBs) will soon be offering customers a choice of insurance products from different companies as against products from one company. Currently, banks are acting as corporate agents; and are allowed to sell products of one life, one non-life and one health insurance company. <br/><br/>One of the gainers of this move would be the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, the country’s largest insurer, since it has the highest brand recall and most banks are likely to include LIC policies in their suit of insurance plans.<br/><br/>“Although we are the promoters of First Life Insurance, we support the move allowing banks to become brokers as this will give customers choice,” said Andhra Bank Chairman Mr. C V R Rajendra.<br/><br/>Reacting on the finance ministry’s move, Mr. Sam Ghosh, CEO of Reliance Capital, the promoter of Reliance Life and Reliance General Insurance, said, “By becoming brokers, banks would now be directly responsible for mis-selling as against earlier when they were seen to be acting as agents of insurance companies.<br/><br/>The insurance industry was split over the issue of banks distributing products of multiple companies. The bank-promoted companies favoured banks being tied to one company, while the non-bank promoted insurers wanted an open architecture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=883InsuringIndia News Wed, 25 Dec 2013 18:27:51 GMT Private sector standalone health insurer Religare Health Insurance Company Limited has announced the launch of its new product - ‘ASSURE’, a Critical Illness and Personal Accident Plan for the retail market customers. <br/><br/>In the company’s statement, the President and COO of Religare Health Insurance, Mr. Nitin Jain said, “This is another step towards our core objective of encompassing the entire spectrum of health & allied needs of our evolving customer segment with firm focus on providing hassle-free and quality service.” <br/><br/>As per the statement, Assure offers a sum insured of up to Rs. 1 cr, which is the highest among currently available Critical Illness products. This plan also provides annual health check-up for the life insured at no extra cost. ‘Zero day survival period', a unique feature of the plan, assures full payout of the sum insured if the life insured succumbs to an ailment without any condition for defined duration of survival, post diagnosis. <br/><br/>The company operates out of 43 offices, servicing more than 8 lac people across more than 300 locations. Religare Health Insurance has been awarded the ‘Technology Innovation in Health Insurance Award’ at the prestigious ‘Indian Insurance Awards - 2013’ and the ‘Editor’s Choice Award’ by Finnoviti for ‘Innovation in Product- Care’. <br/><br/>Religare Health Insurance is a joint venture between Religare Enterprises, one of India's leading diversified financial services groups; and two state-owned banks, Union Bank of India and Corporation Bank. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=882InsuringIndia News Mon, 23 Dec 2013 15:44:51 GMT Insurance watchdog in India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Thursday, issued a warning to SBI Life Insurance Company Limited against violations to IRDA (Insurance Advertisements and Disclosure Regulations) 2000.<br/><br/>The regulator in the warning note to private insurer said, “Your company is also advised to adhere to the best practices and comply with the provisions of Advertisement Regulations, Guidelines and circulars issued while releasing insurance advertisements.” <br/><br/>Sales leaflets of the company were in violation of advertisement norms and were persistent in circulation for which it has issued a show cause notice earlier in August, IRDA said in the note, adding, “Your submissions that all the checks and balances in the form of Internal SQS Policies are in place and the stated approach aimed at curbing the wrong practices seem to be not effective at ground level.” <br/><br/>Furthermore, the regulator said the Authority, however, is taking into consideration company's assurance that it is serious about stopping circulation of such leaflets and undertaking that it shall take all possible measures to ensure compliance to the said regulations. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=881InsuringIndia News Fri, 20 Dec 2013 17:39:51 GMT Country’s largest real estate firm by market capitalisation, DLF Limited has completed the sale of its 74 percent stake sale in the insurance joint venture DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited to Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) and its group entities for about Rs 250-300 cr. <br/><br/>DLF had announced to sell its entire 74 percent stake in the JV in July this year. DLF in joint venture with US-based financial services company Prudential Financial Inc's subsidiary Prudential International Insurance Holdings Limited had started operation in September 2008. <br/><br/>Post transaction, the Mumbai-based DHFL, along with its promoters' entities, has acquired DLF's 74% stake in DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Ltd. In accordance with National Housing Bank requirements, DHFL has picked 50 percent, while, the two other promoters have acquired 12 percent each, DHFL said in a statement. <br/><br/>The newly formed joint venture company will be renamed to DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited, subject to regulatory approval. <br/><br/>DHFL and Prudential Financial Inc said that they have closed their earlier announced joint venture transaction, following regulatory approval, to provide life insurance products to customers in India. <br/><br/>DLF has been selling its non-core businesses and assets such as hotels, insurance venture, plots and wind mills to reduce debt and focus on its core real estate business. It has raised about Rs 10,000 cr in last three years through divestment of its non-core assets. <br/><br/>During last two fiscal years, the insurance joint venture had registered a combined loss of over Rs 250 cr. According to the sources, with the exit from insurance business, DLF would not incur an annual loss of about Rs 100 cr. <br/><br/>During fiscal year 2012-13, DLF Pramerica Life had garnered first premium income of Rs 138.64 cr, a 35 percent increase over Rs 102.83 cr in the fiscal year 2011-12. The company issued 1,02,418 insurance policies in FY 2012-13 as against 69,926 in last fiscal. Company’s share capital stood at Rs 320 cr at the end of FY 2012-13. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=880InsuringIndia News Thu, 19 Dec 2013 18:59:42 GMT Country’s leading retailer Future Retail Ltd (formerly Pantaloon Retail), has announced that it has sold 22.5 % stake in life insurance joint venture Future Generali India Life Insurance to Mumbai-based Industrial Investment Trust Ltd (IITL), a non-deposit taking, non-banking finance company in the insurance broking business. The company said it has got the necessary regulatory nod from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the deal.<br/><br/>According to the sources close to the development, the deal value is at around Rs 1,500 crore. And, Systematix Capital is the sole advisor to the deal. <br/><br/>The share purchase agreement (SPA) was announced on March 8, 2013. In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the company said it has received all necessary approvals from the regulatory and the governmental authorities. <br/><br/>Post completion of the deal, Future Group will hold 52% stake in Future Generali India, while the foreign partner, Participatie Maatschappij Graafschap Holland NV, a subsidiary of Assicurazioni Generali S.P.A., will continue to hold 25.5% stake in the insurance joint venture. <br/><br/>To ease its huge debt burden, the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group had recently sold 44.5% stake in Capital Foods for Rs 180 cr. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=878InsuringIndia News Wed, 18 Dec 2013 19:39:42 GMT Private sector life insurer SBI Life Insurance has recently launched Flexi Smart Plus, aiming at multiple customer segments with low risk appetite. Flexi Smart Plus is tailored to create wealth along with protection cover. <br/><br/>In a company release, SBI Life MD and CEO Mr. Atanu Sen said, “The Flexi Smart Plus plan strengthens our product offerings by catering to customers who are looking to create wealth, while protecting their loved ones. It also assures guaranteed returns.” <br/><br/>Flexi Smart Plus plan starts with a minimum annual premium of Rs 50,000. Policyholders have options to choose premium payment frequency from annual, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly. <br/><br/>The minimum term of the policy is 5 years and the maximum is 30 years. <br/><br/>The minimum term of the policy is 5 years and the maximum is 30 years. <br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between India’s largest state-run banking and financial services company State Bank of India, and BNP Paribas Assurance. SBI holds 74% stake in the joint venture, while the remaining 26% is held by BNP Paribas Assurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=879InsuringIndia News Tue, 17 Dec 2013 13:36:42 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has said that those suffering from HIV/AIDS or other pre-existing illness will have to pay higher premium for life insurance policy. <br/><br/> The IRDA circular necessitating insurers to provide insurance cover to people with HIV/AIDS, is likely to come into effect from April next year. The regulator had come out with the draft circular in October this year. <br/><br/>The circular also states that if an insured is HIV negative at the time of signing the policy, and later found to be HIV positive during the policy term, the insurance company can’t reject/deny any claim, on such grounds and in all such cases, the underwriting guidelines and claims settlement guidelines applicable at the time of commencement should be applicable. <br/><br/>Insurers would be required to put in place procedures for underwriting and claim settlement, and proposal form before that. Persons living with HIV/AIDS or other pre-existing illness will have to pay higher premium, based on commercial considerations for life insurance, said IRDA Chairman Mr. T.S. Vijayan. <br/><br/> A few insurers have already initiated proving insurance cover to people living with HIV/AIDS. I am sure more companies will bring policies, Mr. Vijayan added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=877InsuringIndia News Mon, 16 Dec 2013 17:44:42 GMT Life insurers have mooted for a proposal to make term insurance mandatory for all salaried employees in organisations in the country. As per the industry insiders, life insurers are keen to make term insurance, the purest form of insurance, to be made compulsory for all salaried employees, and have requested the government to include the proposal in the Union Budget for 2014-15.<br/><br/> “When third party auto insurance is mandatory in India, then why not term insurance," said a senior official at a life insurance company. Not just from an insurance perspective, but also from a customer perspective it would be beneficial, he added. <br/><br/>A pure term insurance policy is an insurance in which the insurer pays out the entire sum insured to the nominee/legal heir, if the policyholder dies within the policy tenure. And, if the policyholder survives beyond the tenure, the insurer doesn’t pay any money. While, some term insurance products come with money-back feature, in which insurers pay back at end of the tenure, even if the policyholders survive the tenure. <br/><br/> Life insurers have argued that unlike other countries, India does not have a social security scheme to deal with insurance needs of individuals. In such a condition, mandatory term insurance could be beneficial for the policyholder. <br/><br/>The existing options provided by companies look solely at wealth accumulation and savings and not on individual life risks, a senior executive at a large insurance company said. <br/><br/>Although, the mandatory term insurance proposal would definitely raise insurance penetration in the country; however, it would be a big challenge to implement. Since, companies already have provident fund and gratuity for employees; they may not be open for having another mandatory scheme for employees. The structure and mechanism of this mandatory term insurance proposal is still being discussed. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=876InsuringIndia News Sat, 14 Dec 2013 14:54:20 GMT Private insurer Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited has recently launched two new individual life insurance products - ‘Bima Gain’ and ‘Pension Guarantee’.<br/><br/>Future Generali India Life CEO and Whole Time Director Mr. Gorakhnath Agarwal said, “By making just one payment for adequate life protection and wealth creation, Bima Gain plan allows the customers flexibility to switch investment in funds, access money invested at any time by way of partial withdrawals after the completion of 5 years lock-in period.”<br/><br/>As per the company release, Bima Gain a ULIP plan that offers insurance cover up to 10 times the single premium to customers in the age group of 8 to 65 years.<br/><br/>Whereas, the Pension Guarantee plan that ensures a worry-free, comfortable retired life for a person and his spouse, offering a Maturity Sum Assured and an accrued compounded revisionary bonus. Any individual between the age group of 20 to 70 years can enter into the plan, and the vesting age is 40-80 years. With a minimum annualised premium of Rs 11,000, it offers its customers to choose premium payment frequency from monthly, half-yearly or yearly.<br/><br/>Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Future Group, one of India’s leading business houses with multiple businesses spanning across the consumption space; and Italy-based Generali Group, a leading player in the global insurance and financial markets. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=875InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Dec 2013 18:08:58 GMT Private sector insurer Max Life Insurance Company has announced the launch of its two new products- ‘Max Life Perfect Partner Super’ and ‘Max Life Whole Life Super’. As per the company release, both these products are compliant with the new guidelines of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), which would be in-forced from January 2014. <br/><br/>On the launch, the Director and Head (Product Solution Management) of Max Life Insurance Company Mr. V Viswanand said, “Our new offerings are compliant with new product regulations and have been specially designed as an attempt to re-emphasise the very basic purpose of life insurance-protection and long term savings.”<br/><br/>According to the release, Max Life Perfect Partner Super plan is tailored aiming at the customers looking a safe, systematic and self-completing retirement planning for themselves, with an option to secure the same for their spouses in their absence.<br/><br/>While, the Max Life Whole Life Super retains features of the company’s earlier product ‘Max Life Whole Life Plan’ including features essential to ensure flexibility and liquidity throughout the policy term.<br/><br/>Max Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Max India Ltd., an Indian conglomerate, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings, a Japanese insurance holding company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=874InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Dec 2013 18:08:20 GMT With a view to speed up Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is contemplating setting up a National Health Regulator under the Ministry of Health and Clinical Establishment Act. <br/><br/>A report of the CII working groups on health insurance, prepared after significant talks among the stakeholders in the healthcare and insurance sector like ICICI Lombard, IRDA, Johnson and Johnson, KPMG Advisory Services, Oriental Insurance, New India Assurance, IFFCO-TOKIO, Future Generali, Global Hospitals Group and Apollo Munich, was released at the CII Health Insurance Summit. The report underlines that there is need for setting up of a National Health Regulator to speed up Universal Health Coverage. The report also said that it is equally important to set up a Universal Health Care Agency, which will coordinate with all the relevant ministries, departments, health and insurance regulators etc.<br/><br/>Further, the report said that the UHC scheme should mandatorily consist of primary health cover, as secondary cover and a critical care and defines various parameters of each segment.<br/><br/>“The roadmap to UHC implementation is not without challenges - legislative, operational, IT architecture, monitoring mechanism etc. However, clear cut planning has to be done to overcome these issues through healthy dialogue among the stakeholders. The roll out of UHC in a unique Indian model of low cost has many economic benefits. The enormous cost of double burden of disease and dampening impact of an unhealthy population on economic growth is too high to be ignored”, the report said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=873InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Dec 2013 18:06:17 GMT Private life insurer AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company has unveiled a new online guaranteed return insurance plan- iGuarantee, targeting the customers willing a steady return over the medium-term while minimising risk. <br/><br/>On the launch, Mr. K.S. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director at AEGON Religare Life said, “We pioneered the online space in life insurance and we would like to maintain our leadership position by offering an expanded suite of products. iGuarantee offers guaranteed returns for a period of six years, after the policy term.” <br/><br/>“It is an ideal plan for a medium-term investor who needs the security of growth, without undue risk. It is a short premium paying term plan that allows customers to enhance savings,” he added. <br/><br/>“Online space has emerged as a significant channel of distribution in life insurance,” said Mr. Yateesh Srivastava, COO, ARLI adding, “The iGuarantee Insurance Plan is targeted to the ‘New Age’ customer who prefers a convenient, hassle-free and a non-intermediated process while buying any financial product.” <br/><br/>iGuarantee is exclusively an online product which offers maturity benefit in the form of a yearly guaranteed payout. The payout will be 135% of the annual premium, for a period of six years starting after the policy term. <br/><br/>Under the plan, the nominee receives the guaranteed payouts, as scheduled, during the payout period, if the life insured dies during the policy period. Also, the future premiums are waived off, and the nominee can opt to take the cash value of the death benefit at any point during the policy term. <br/><br/>The policy does not lapse if the premium is paid for at least one year. In this case, the policy is continued with the paid-up sum assured. <br/><br/>To enter into the plan, the minimum age should not be less than 12 years, while the maximum age is 50 years. iGurantee offers its customers an option to pay premium either monthly or annually. <br/><br/> Premiums paid under the plan are eligible for tax deduction under section 80C and 10(10D). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=872InsuringIndia News Wed, 11 Dec 2013 15:29:54 GMT The Union Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram, on Thursday, met the Opposition to get support for the Insurance Law (Amendment) Bill 2008, which seeks to raise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) ceiling in insurance to 49 percent from existing 26 percent.<br/><br/>According to sources, Mr. Chidambaram met the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj and the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Arun Jaitley to discuss insurance bill along with other key economic reform bills. <br/><br/>Mr. Chidambaram said the BJP has told him that they will consider the bill and will get back to him with a final view by Friday. <br/><br/>Although, the Union Cabinet has already approved the bill, it has been pending with the Upper House of the Parliament since year 2008. The Standing Committee on Finance headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had opposed this, arguing it would expose the sector to global vulnerability. <br/><br/>However, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is in favour of raising FDI ceiling, saying it would help the sector in raising funds which are needed for growth. <br/><br/> The government is keen to pass the bill in ongoing session of the parliament. December 8, 2013, will decide the fate of the insurance bill. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=871InsuringIndia News Fri, 06 Dec 2013 16:32:54 GMT Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), a part of Reliance Capital of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, on Wednesday announced its tie up with all five designated insurance repositories to provide life insurance policies in electronic form across all its products. It would enable and encourage Reliance Life policy holders to keep their policies in Demat form. Keeping policies in electronic format will facilitate customers to buy and monitor multiple life insurance policies in a single Electronic-Insurance Account (e IA).<br/><br/>In September this year, the regulator gave five companies - CAMS Repository Services Limited, Central Insurance Repository Limited, SHCIL Projects Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited and Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, the status of insurance repositories and provided them with a licence that will be valid till July 31, 2014. The regulator also said that insurance companies can enter into agreements with one or more repositories.<br/><br/>The company statement said that it is one of the first few private insurers to offer this facility to its customers.<br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited had collected a total renewal premium of over Rs.4,015 crore for the fiscal year 2012-13. During the previous fiscal, the company has sold about 7.5 lac policies. And, as on previous fiscal, the company has an Assets Under Management (AUM) of more than Rs, 18,189 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=869InsuringIndia News Thu, 05 Dec 2013 15:51:54 GMT In a written reply to a question in the lower house of parliament, the Minister of State for Finance Mr. Namo Narain Meena said that there is no foreign company is presently functioning in India. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had informed the minister about the same.<br/><br/>However, foreign companies are present in India as insurance joint venture partners with their domestic partners with a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) ceiling of 26%. As per current law, no foreign investor can have more than 26% of stake in an insurance joint venture in India. The Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2008, seeking to raise FDI ceiling to 49 % has failed to get the necessary parliamentary nod as the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, did not favour this. However, the Union Finance Minister has recently said that the government is committed to table the bill in winter session of the Parliament. <br/><br/>At present 38 private insurance companies are functioning in India along with their joint venture partners, Mr. Meena said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=870InsuringIndia News Thu, 05 Dec 2013 15:51:54 GMT In a significant development, the Odisha state government is mulling over a health insurance scheme, which would benefit around 4.5 lac government employees and their family members. <br/><br/>Mr. Pradipta Mohapatra, Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Odisha) said, “The scheme will be an alternative to the prevalent reimbursement cost of medicine (RCM) scheme. We are examining various possibilities.”<br/><br/>To avail health insurance benefits under the scheme, the employees will only need to pay a nominal premium, while the state government will contribute the major portion of the premium of the group insurance. This scheme will facilitate employees to avail cashless treatment benefit for most ailments at network hospitals. There would be a ceiling on the sum insured for different category of employees. <br/><br/>According to the sources, the government will call for more than one insurance company to implement the scheme in the state. <br/><br/>The exact cost implication of the proposed scheme is yet to be worked out as the plan is still in its initial stage, Mr. Mohapatra said. <br/><br/>Although, the new health insurance scheme is expected to cost the government around the same as Reimbursement Cost of Medicine (RCM), while the benefits to the employees would be more. <br/><br/>Under the RCM scheme, the employees have to apply for reimbursement to the government through their respective departments. Irrespective of the cost incurred by them, they get fixed amount for different procedures. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=868InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:51:54 GMT One of the stakeholders in Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company, HSBC has decided not to exit its insurance joint venture with state-run Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. <br/><br/>Earlier this year, HSBC had shown its intension to exit Indian insurance market by selling its stake in the JV. The two public sector banks Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Canara Bank had opposed the proposed deal, as they are annoyed with HSBC’s decision to sell stake in its Indian life insurance joint venture without consulting them. <br/><br/>Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company was launched in 2008 as a joint venture, with Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce holding 51% and 23% stakes respectively, while HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Ltd with 26% stake. <br/><br/>HSBC has officially said that it would be staying back. So, the joint venture is intact. Its shareholding also remains the same, said Mr. R K Dubey, Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank. <br/><br/>Shriram Group, Canada's Manulife Financial Corp and a few others had shown interest in buying HSBC's stake in around Rs 4,000 crore insurance joint venture. In the joint venture, HSBC's stake is worth about Rs 1,000 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=867InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Dec 2013 15:40:54 GMT Private insurer Apollo Munich Health Insurance has announced the launch of a unique product-'ENERGY', for people living with Diabetes Mellitus 2 and/or hypertension, who are often denied insurance cover. <br/><br/>ENERGY has been tailored in such a manner that it would provide insurance cover as well as works with the insured to help them manage their health condition by giving them an array of information, tools and support. <br/><br/>The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Antony Jacob said, “What makes the product unique is that it combines health insurance, wellness, counseling, incentives, technology, and community together in a very holistic and seamless way, keeping the needs of people living with diabetes in mind.” <br/><br/>ENERGY is a first-of-its kind solution to the millions suffering from diabetes in India, Mr. Jacob said, adding, Diabetes is a silent killer, and we wanted to create an insurance product to address it. <br/><br/>ENERGY is India's first plan that truly understands Diabetes. The insurance and wellness ecosystem we have built will help those with Diabetes control it much better, and lead a 'close-to-normal' lifestyle, he added. <br/><br/>Yesteryears veteran left-handed batsman, Mr. Sourav Ganguly was also present at the launch of the product. He said, “I feel very strongly about this dreaded condition - diabetes. I know so many people who are suffering from it, but do very little to control it. As a sportsperson, fitness has always played a large role in my life. Maintaining one's health has to be the top priority for everyone, man or woman, teenager or senior citizen." <br/><br/>This product will initially be available in 8 cities from December 16, before being rolled out nationally next year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=866InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Dec 2013 14:11:54 GMT To provide affordable health insurance benefits to its account holders and their families, State Bank of Travancore (SBT) and SBI General Insurance yesterday jointly launched a group health insurance policy. <br/><br/>From now on SBI's insurance policy will be available to their customers through their network of branches at an affordable premium, said SBT deputy Managing Director Mr. Jeevandas Narayan. <br/><br/>In terms of affordability, a 35-years old SBT account holder can have a medical cover of Rs. 100,000 by just paying a modest premium of Rs. 1,300 per annum. <br/><br/>In other benefits under this plan, the policy does not require any pre-policy medical test up to the age of 65-years for people with no medical history. It also includes a wide coverage of 142-day care procedures, which is one of the highest in the industry. Besides, it also offers coverage of pre and post-hospitalisation expenses, transparent claim process and cashless treatment across over 3,000 hospitals in the network. <br/><br/>Mr. Bhaskar J. Sarma, MD-cum-CEO of SBI General, said, “India is one of those countries in the world which have the highest out-of-pocket health care expenses. One of the major reasons that India’s poor incur debt is the cost of health.” <br/><br/> This product is tailored to protect the happiness of the SBI account holders and their families with its affordable premium, Mr. Sharma added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=865InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Nov 2013 11:41:54 GMT Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company Limited has recently received licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to commence its operations in India. <br/><br/>The Cigna TTK Health Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Cigna Corporation, a US-based global health service leader and TTK Group, an Indian business conglomerate, which is present across several segments of industry such as- consumer durables, pharmaceuticals and supplements, health care services and bio-medical devices etc. <br/><br/>With this approval, Cigna TTK became the 28th registered general and 5th standalone health insurance company in India. It is all set to begin its operations soon. <br/><br/>Managing Director-cum-Chief Executive Officer of Cigna TTK Health Insurance, Mr. Sandeep Patel thanked IRDA for its support throughout the licensing process. "We are happy to announce that we have received the regulatory approval from IRDA to commence operations in India,” he said. <br/><br/>Furthermore, he said, “We are truly excited to mark our presence here and bring to life Cigna TTK's mission to improve the health and well-being of people. We will strongly leverage Cigna's global health services experience and expertise and the trust of the TTK Group to offer an innovative suite of products backed by an enhanced customer experience. To support this, we have extensively invested in state-of-the-art technology, to give customers and distributors a completely hassle-free and personal experience.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=863InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 Nov 2013 17:51:54 GMT In a letter, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), asking to extend health insurance benefits to people living with HIV (PLHIV). The letter said regulator to remove provisions from its draft that exclude HIV affected people from buying health insurance products. <br/><br/>Following the letter, IRDA issued a draft circular, which states that life insurance and health insurance cover for people living with HIV/AIDS or those who contract the virus after subscribing to a policy should be made available from April 1, 2014. <br/><br/>Then Additional Secretary of the Department of AIDS Control (DAC) (formerly the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)), Ms. Aradhana Johri in a letter to IRDA said that the draft circular’s standard underwriting guidelines for life insurance products upheld the exclusion of people living with HIV from current and new products, as well as the standard waiting period for HIV affected people. <br/><br/>"It is not an either-or-situation for HIV/AIDS patients”, Ms. Johri said adding "They should be able to buy both life and health insurance if their CD4 count (a measure of sickness) is above a particular cut-off. HIV/AIDS should be treated as any other chronic diseases like cancer or diabetes.” <br/><br/>Currently, as per an estimate, in India there are nearly 21 lac people with HIV are deprived off health insurance and life insurance benefits for other diseases if they test HIV-positive. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=864InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 Nov 2013 13:21:54 GMT Leading private sector insurer Aviva India has recently announced the launch of a new online term plan- ‘i-Life Secure’, with income protection for 15-years post death of the life insured.<br/><br/> In company’s release, the Aviva India Director (Marketing and Bancassurance), Mr. Rishi Piparaiya said, “Aviva i-Life Secure ensures that your family and their needs are protected, be it your child's school expenses, EMIs for housing loan or for that matter protection of your family by way of regular income when you are not around, all at a very nominal cost of premium.” <br/><br/>Aviva i-Life Secure ensures life insured’s family a guaranteed income for 15-years after the death of the insured. The policy pays out 10 percent of the sum assured at the time of claim settlement, thereafter 6 percent of the sum assured on every death anniversary of the life insured for 15 years and premium rebate, if the desired per annum income is equal to 6 lac or above. <br/><br/>Aviva India is a joint venture life insurance company between India’s Dabur Group and UK-based insurance company Aviva plc. Dabur group holds 74 percent in the joint venture and the rest 26 percent is held by Aviva plc. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=862InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:13:54 GMT Country’s largest general insurance company New India Assurance has said that it has tailored a combination product for lower income groups. The product will have combination of life cover, health insurance and accident cover among others. <br/><br/>Addressing an industry summit organised by the IMC in Mubai, New India Assurance Chairman-cum-MD, Mr. G Srinivasan said, “We are launching a product for the lower income population, like domestic helps, with an annual premium of Rs 800. This plan will offer life cover of Rs 1 lac to the family in case of death, critical illness and other hospitalisation expenses under Rs 20,000-30,000. The plan also offers accident cover.” <br/><br/>This plan has been launched on pilot basis and will be rolled out in the retail market soon, Mr. Srinivasan added. <br/><br/> IRDA Chairman, Mr. T S Vijayan was also present in the summit, and he appreciated the initiative taken by the state-owned general insurer. “Combination products are the key. This is the way to go forward. However, as regulator we also have to look at it as to whether these products are lessening the problems or not,” he said. <br/><br/>Insurance in the country was a major challenge, especially in the non-life sector, he added. <br/><br/>Furthermore, Mr. Vijayan said, “Since last three years, the non-life sector has grown by 20%, and is growing by 15% so far this year. About 25% people are covered under non-life, of which only 14% to15% are covered under health insurance, mostly because government is paying for it and the 60%-70% are under motor insurance cover.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=861InsuringIndia News Tue, 26 Nov 2013 15:09:54 GMT Country’s largest insurer the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has stopped selling 14 life insurance policies, including the most popular-Jeevan Mitra and Anmol Jeevan, in order to comply with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)’s new product guidelines. <br/><br/>Of these 14 products, the state-owned insurer has already withdrawn 7, including Children Deferred Endowment Assurance and Convertible Term Assurance with effect from 16th November 2013. <br/><br/>Other 5 products, including Jeevan Mitra, Jeevan Paramukh Plan, LIC's Bima Account I and II will not be sold from Saturday, 23rd November, 2013. Whereas, the insurer has decided to stop selling of the rest two products- Anmol Jeevan I and New Jeevan Nidhi, from 30th November 2013. <br/><br/>The new product guidelines for implementation of new individual product regulations for the life insurance industry had been brought out by the regulator in February this year. The life insurers had to be compliant with the new norms by 1st October, but the deadline was further extended to 1st January, 2013 on requests received from life insurance companies. <br/><br/>By bringing new product guidelines, the regulator is looking to make insurance policies more customer-friendly. So far the group policies are concerned, the insurers have been asked not to enrol these policies after the immediate policy anniversary falling due after July 2013. <br/><br/>However, the guidelines said, all group policies at the time of renewal of such policy shall be given an option to switch over to the modified version of the group product, if any, once introduced.<br/><br/>As per company’s official website, the Life Insurance Corporation of India has so far withdrawn 19 other policies that include Jeevan Varsha, Jeevan Nischay, Wealth Plus, Market Plus I, Jeevan Nidhi, Jeevan Vaibhav, Child Fortune Plus and Jeevan Sugam etc. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=860InsuringIndia News Sat, 23 Nov 2013 16:19:48 GMT One of the leading online ticket booking portals, TicketGoose.com has tied up with state-owned United India Insurance Company to offer its customers benefit of travel insurance policy while travelling by bus, said a senior company official.<br/><br/>Keeping travellers’ safety and security needs in mind, the company has tailored this plan which would provide travellers personal accident cover along with coverage for bus travel related risks like emergency medical expenses, damage or loss of baggage and any consequential loss due to travel disruption. <br/><br/>Mr. Karthi Easwaramoorthy, President and Co-founder of TicketGoose.com, said, “The policy will provide personal accident cover for Rs 2 lac per passenger, damage or loss of baggage up to a maximum of Rs 15,000 and emergency medical expenses up to a maximum of Rs 10,000 and consequential loss due to disruption of travel up to a maximum of Rs 5,000.” <br/><br/>The policy is an optional value added service priced at Rs 20 extra per passenger. <br/><br/>“Launch of this product is in line with our vision of enhancing the bus travel experience for our passengers. This product is an added solution for covering bus travel related risks”, said Mr. Easwaramoorthy. <br/><br/>To avail the benefits of this scheme, the customers will only need to tick the buy bus travel insurance option while booking tickets on TicketGoose.com. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=858InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 Nov 2013 14:32:48 GMT With the launch of an online term plan private life insurer Max Life Insurance has entered into e-commerce. In India the e-commerce business is currently valued at around Rs.60 thousand crore and the online life insurance market is estimated at over Rs.200 crore.<br/><br/>The plan is tailored to provide comprehensive protection through three different death benefit options- the tax-free level or increasing monthly income in addition to one-time sum assured and the traditional option of one-time tax-free sum assured. It also offers policyholders a comprehensive accident benefit rider, which along with death benefit, also provides on dismemberment benefit due to an accident. <br/><br/>Mr. Rajesh Sud, Chief Executive Officer, Max Life Insurance, said, “E-commerce will help us in reaching customers whom we were not able to efficiently connect with through our existing channels. The company plans to introduce a bouquet of long-term savings and protection solutions over the next two years.” <br/><br/>Max Life Insurance is a joint venture between Max India Limited, a leading Indian conglomerate, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company of Japan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=856InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Nov 2013 14:47:57 GMT Targeting risk-averse customers aiming at a good return over the medium-term, private sector life insurer AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company has unveiled a new investment plan ‘AEGON Religare Guaranteed Growth Insurance plan’. <br/><br/>According to the company, the plan offers its customers an 8-year premium paying term and a 10-year policy term. At the end of the period, the customers would get an annual return equivalent to 150% of the premium paid. <br/><br/>Mr. Yateesh Srivastava, COO, AEGON Religare Life Insurance, said, “The plan carries the benefit of providing a guaranteed return to customers for a period of eight years, after the policy term. It is an ideal plan for a medium-term investor who needs the security of growth, without undue risk.” <br/><br/>The minimum age required to enter into this plan is 8-years, whereas the maximum age limit is 50-years. And, the maximum age for maturity is 60-years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=859InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Nov 2013 14:32:48 GMT One of the latest entrants in Indian insurance sector, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company is eyeing to grow by 20 percent in premium collection by the end of this financial year.<br/><br/>"We expect a strong growth in our group business. We are strong on the protection and pension side of business," said Sri Kamalakar Sai Palavalasa, Director (Sales & Distribution) of IndiaFirst Life Insurance. <br/><br/>During last fiscal, the insurer had registered Rs. 1,316 crore in new business premiums. <br/><br/>IndiaFirst has completed fourth successful year of operations in the Indian insurance sector. It commenced its business in year 2009 and is owned by Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal & General, a wealth and investment company of the United Kingdom. Now, as part of its business expansion plan, the insurer plans to focus on health insurance portfolio. Recently, the company has launched its health card to provide cashless hospitalisation benefit to its policyholders at network hospitals. <br/><br/>"They connected to our network and the claim amount gets uploaded automatically," Sri Palavalasa said. <br/><br/>IndiaFirst is planning to hire 1,800 employees and to recruit more than 5,000 agents by this year end. Presently, the insurer has 3,500 agents and it has tied-up with several regional rural banks and cooperative banks, apart from the bancassurance network of 6,200 (of Andhra Bank and Bank of Baroda, promoters of the company). <br/><br/>The insurer is also aiming to expand its distribution network through tie-ups with IRDA’s approved insurance depositories, which was recently launched by the Union Finance Minister, Sri P. Chidambaram. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=857InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Nov 2013 10:03:57 GMT Country’s largest insurer the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has emerged as India's top-notch brand in Banking and Financial Services Industry (BFSI) category. The insurance giant was the only state-owned insurer in the BFSI category list, which had 29 contenders. <br/><br/>The list includes six insurers and 19 banks of which 10 are state-owned banks. These results are based on a survey conducted across 16 cities by the Trust Research Advisory (TRA), a brand intelligence company, published in a report titled India's Most Attractive Brands. <br/><br/>In the list, the insurance giant is closely followed by private sector financial behemoth ICICI, which ranked 2nd in the list. While, SBI ranked 3rd among all BFSI brands featured and tops the list of India's Most Attractive Brands. <br/><br/>Axis Bank ranked first in the Most Attractive Private Bank category followed by IDBI Bank. There are only two foreign banks listed of which HSBC named as India’s Most Attractive Foreign Bank followed by Citibank. <br/><br/>In the public sector banks’ category, SBI followed by UCO bank, which ranked 2nd in the category. While PNB Bank and Bank of Baroda ranked 3rd and 4th respectively in the category. <br/><br/>In private insurers’ category, Aviva Life is leading the list, followed by ICICI Prudential. Max Life and Bajaj Allianz ranked 3rd and 4th respectively in the category. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=855InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Nov 2013 12:14:57 GMT The European Union (EU) is putting pressure on the Indian government to raise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) ceiling in insurance sector and also increase voting rights of foreign investors as part of the proposed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and India. <br/><br/>A group of representatives from the EU, who play a significant role in signing agreements, met their Indian counterparts on Tuesday and asked them to pass several pending bills, which includes the Insurance (Amendment) Bill and the Pension Bill. <br/><br/>The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to raise FDI ceiling to 49 percent from current 26 percent, has already been approved by the Indian Cabinet, but it failed to get the necessary parliamentary nod as the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, did not favour this. However, the Union Finance Minister has recently said that the government is committed to table the bill in winter session of the Parliament. <br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Mr. Pawel Zalewski, Vice Chair, International Trade Committee of the European Parliament said, “The logic of the negotiations is that unless everything is agreed, nothing is agreed. Insurance is not agreed yet.” <br/><br/>An official from the EU said that the EU will not merely be satisfied by a raise in FDI ceiling if there is no increase in voting rights. The EU delegates are also not very optimistic of the proposed Free Trade Agreement to be concluded before the general election of India, which is intended to take place early 2014. <br/><br/>A study, conducted by the European Union, says that if the Foreign Trade Agreement is successfully completed, at least 20 lac jobs for Indians will be created. The FTA will include 95 percent of the tariff lines between the two areas and comprise a market of over 17 thousand lac people. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=854InsuringIndia News Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:14:57 GMT The government of India has decided to launch an insurance scheme for blue-collar expatriate workers residing in the Gulf countries. The Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY), which aims at providing insurance and financial protection up to 6 lac expatriate workers, will be formally launched on Monday by the Minister of Overseas Indian affairs, Mr. Vayalar Ravi. Around 65% of Indian workers in the UAE are blue collar workers. <br/><br/>Through MGPSY, the government is trying to encourage Indian overseas workers to build up savings that they can be used for their resettlement on their return to India. The scheme would also contribute to their pension and provide a life insurance cover against natural death during the insurance period. <br/><br/>Blue-collar expatriate workers in the Gulf countries aged between 18 to 50 years and who have Emigration Check Required status stamped on their passport, and have migrated on employment or contract visa, are eligible to enrol in the scheme. They would need to open a Non-Resident External account that allows Non-Resident Indians to remit funds in any permitted foreign currency, which is converted to Indian rupees and credited to their account. The participant’s contribution will be automatically deducted from this account and credited to the scheme. <br/><br/>The government of India, through the scheme will contribute Rs. 1,000 per year for every saving of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 12,000 by each subscriber. While, in case of women subscribers, the benefit will be double for the same amount of savings. An additional contribution of Rs. 900 will be made for the subscriber account for saving Rs 4,000 or more annually towards a return and resettlement fund. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=853InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 Oct 2013 17:27:30 GMT Private sector insurer Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company has rolled out a new product - Chola Swasth Parivar Health Insurance Policy. This family floater policy provides a combination of health and personal accident insurance covers to its customers.<br/><br/>In India, the health insurance segment is growing rapidly, and is expected to grow at 25% over the next five years. According to an estimate, the health insurance sector would be around Rs. 20,000 crore by year 2020. <br/><br/>Mr. S.S. Gopalarathnam, MD, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance said, “Health insurance is in growth phase in India with over 70 per cent of healthcare expenses still borne by individuals. There is a need to offer comprehensive and innovative products that are affordable to middle classes.” <br/><br/>As per the company’s statement, the premium for a family of four persons and sum assured Rs. 300,000 will be around Rs 5,000. <br/><br/>Cholamandalam MS is looking to capture a 4 - 5% market share in the health insurance segment. It has achieved a GWP of Rs 1,346 crore in 2011-12. The company has 92 branches and over 6,000 agents across the country. <br/><br/>Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between the Murugappa Group, an Indian business conglomerate, and the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company of Japan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=852InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 Oct 2013 17:22:38 GMT Country’s largest insurance company, the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has announced that it would be able to offer policies in electronic format from January next year. According to an official, the state-run insurer expects to tie-up with insurance repositories in the next two months. <br/><br/>According to the IRDA guidelines for insurance repositories, tie-up with insurance repositories is mandatory for a certain class of products and we have to be compliant, said Mr. S.K. Roy, Chairman of LIC, adding, “We are examining the matter and I expect it to be finalised in the next couple of months.” <br/><br/>Having an electronic account with a repository, policyholder will be able to keep his life insurance policies such as term insurance, pension plan, child plan etc. in electronic form. The benefit of keeping policies in electronic account is that there is no risk of losing the traditional paper documents. Moreover, it’ll facilitate policyholder to pay his premiums online and renew policies through the relevant repository’s website. <br/><br/>The sector regulator has recently provided insurance repository licence to five companies i.e. - Central Insurance Repository Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited, Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, CAMS Repository Services Limited and SHCIL Projects Limited. <br/><br/> “It is a game changing intervention by the regulator which has huge implications,” Mr. Roy said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=851InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 Oct 2013 17:22:03 GMT Concerned over delay in settlement of RSBY claims, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India has issued a circular to insurance companies directing them to settle all claims under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) within a month. <br/><br/>“It has been observed that claims for even the period 2009-10 have not been settled by the insurance companies or have been rejected without giving any sound reasons”, said the circular. <br/><br/>The direction came after the ministry received complaints from the government over delay in claims settlement by insurers and Third Party Administrators (TPAs). <br/><br/>RSBY is a health insurance project for ‘Below Poverty Line (BPL)’ families under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It provides cashless insurance for hospitalisation in public as well private hospitals. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=850InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 Oct 2013 17:19:31 GMT Private sector general insurer Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd, on Tuesday, launched a new insurance product ‘Chola Protect for Trucks’ with 11 add-on covers, which will provide complete protection to trucks.<br/><br/> In a release, the Managing Director of Cholamandalam MS said, “It is India’s first packaged complete protection policy for trucks that offers maximum coverage and service to customers.” <br/><br/>With the launch of ‘Chola Protect for Trucks’, Cholamandalam MS aims at to provide total protection to truck owners with 100 per cent depreciation waiver, registration and insurance cost, reinstatement value in case of total loss, driving licence, registration certificate, monetary compensation for loss of key, permit, payment for road tax. <br/><br/>Chola MS also rolled out country’s first emergency road-side services for trucks named- CARE 24X7, in a tie-up with Mapfre Asistencia, a leading insurance company of Spain. CARE 24X7 offers a bouquet of assistance services including towing of vehicle from the accident site, battery jump-start, gear lever setting, brake and clutch settings minor electrical work etc. <br/><br/>Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between the Murugappa Group, an Indian conglomerate, and the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company of Japan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=849InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 Oct 2013 14:32:48 GMT  The Maharashtra state government has decided to insure life of tribal students enrolled at the department’s schools and ashramshalas.<br/><br/>Speaking to reporters in Nashik, the tribal development minister Mr. Madhukar Pichad said that the insurance scheme will provide coverage of death due to snakebite, food poisoning, or any other accident. This insurance scheme is the first in its kind in the state. The compensation amount has yet to be decided. The tribal development department will soon decide the sum.<br/><br/>The premiums would be paid by the state government, Mr. Pichad said. <br/><br/>In addition, the minister also said that he would be checking quality control issues when a building was being handed over to the department. <br/><br/>"Since, the tribal development department does not have a construction wing of its own; it has to rely on the Public Works Department (PWD). It has now been decided to conduct quality checks of all establishments that will be handed over to the tribal department, before they are inhabited," he added further.<br/><br/>It’s unfortunate that only a very small fraction of developmental plans are spent on tribal welfare, Mr. Pichad said adding, “We have decided to closely monitor the expenses set out to district collectorates for tribal development every month.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=848InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 Oct 2013 11:09:48 GMT Country’s leading private life insurance company HDFC Life has won the 7th edition of prestigious SAP ACE Award-2013 for Customer Excellence. This award is in recognition of the business excellence that achieved the insurer through best implementation of SAP.<br/><br/>SAP ACE awards are given to the industries to recognise the best of best-run businesses in the subcontinent. HDFC Life won this award in the category of Best Run Award in Budgeting, Planning & Consolidation.<br/><br/> "Technology is an important strategic lever for HDFC Life. We believe in using technology to innovate, build efficient processes and deliver superior services to our customers. SAP has helped us excel by driving cost-effective processes with optimum productivity. We are delighted to receive the SAP ACE Award in recognition of our pursuit of excellence in technology and hope to further better our edge towards the use of technology to boost business,” said Mr. Thomson Thomas, Senior Vice-President (Business Systems & Technology) of HDFC Life.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=847InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Oct 2013 11:07:51 GMT State-owned general insurance companies have decided to cut premiums on group health insurance policies to attract corporates. The insurers are quoting premiums 10-15 percent below their claims ratio.<br/><br/>The four state-owned insurers are - United India Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and National Insurance. PSU general insurers together have 60-65 per cent share in group health insurance portfolio. Since the private sector insurers have also been tapping corporates, the difference in premium collection between the state-owned and private sector insurers has been deducing over the past few years, which made public sector insurers aggressive. Also, a recent finance ministry directive prohibited state-owned insurers bidding for each other’s business to stop unfair competition among them. <br/><br/>Numerous private insurers are indulging in this practice just to attract corporate accounts. According to an industry official, “It is not a good practice for the industry. It a situation where we are trying to kill each other.” <br/><br/>Another expert from the industry said that it is not sensible to offer discounts to large profitable firms, since they are capable of purchasing insurance without a subsidy. "Insurance is based on a common pool concept. If large players are being offered high subsidy, then others in the pool (retail customers) will have to compensate for it. So, in the long run, prices for individuals’ health policies will go up," he added.<br/><br/>Since, heavy discounts are being offered to corporates by large insurers, smaller insurers are concentrating on retail segment. A senior official from a standalone health insurance company said, "We cannot match the rates offered by the large general insurers. Therefore, our only alternative is to build the retail segment where we can price appropriately.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=846InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Oct 2013 11:06:21 GMT Lloyd’s of London, the world’s specialist insurance market has put conditions for the Indian reinsurer General Insurance Corporation of India's (GIC Re) entry into the Lloyd's market. According to a top official at Lloyd's, the Indian reinsurer can think of joining Lloyd's market only if the Indian government hikes the investment ceiling in insurance sector for foreign players.<br/><br/>Lloyd’s of London, also called Lloyd’s, is not an insurance company; it’s a market located in London's primary financial district, the City of London. Insurance companies at Lloyd’s join together as syndicates to insure risks.<br/><br/>When the spokesperson at Lloyd’s asked if there is any condition from the Lloyd's side which can be a barrier in Indian reinsurer’s effort to enter into Lloyd's market, he said, “Lloyd's does not talk about individual applications or expressions of interest to join the Lloyd's market.”<br/><br/>Entry into the Lloyd's market is subject to Lloyd's approval and we have rigorous criteria against which all applications are considered. Each application will be considered on its individual merits, he added further. <br/><br/>The spokesperson at Lloyd's said Lloyd's is desperate to play its part in India's success story and we already provide important reinsurance support to the local market.<br/><br/>Mr. AK Roy, CMD, GIC Re had earlier said that the state-owned reinsurer is planning to acquire a syndicate - through which Lloyd's market does business - to strengthen its financial standing in the global reinsurance market.<br/><br/>The Insurance Bill (Amendment)-2008, which suggests hiking foreign direct investment ceiling in insurance sector to 49% from existing limit of 26, is still get parliamentary nod. Despite Congress led UPA government’s keen interest, the pass could not passed due to fierce criticism and opposition of party. The Standing Committee on Finance is being headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=845InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 Oct 2013 10:06:16 GMT The shipping ministry of India has extended insurance cover on Iranian ships carrying crude oil to India to be underwritten by Iran’s Kish P&I and India’s Moallem Insurance for another few months; which would allow refiners to continue importing crude oil from Iran on a CIF basis, a top official from India refining industry said. <br/><br/>The earlier approval of providing insurance cover to Iranian ships carrying crude oil to India expired at the end of September this year, which froze down crude oil imports. <br/><br/>India imported a total of 13.1 million mt of crude oil from Iran during the last fiscal year, a sharp drop of 5 million mt from 18.1 million mt in the fiscal year 2011-12. <br/><br/>Indian refiners asked Iran to start delivering crude on a CIF basis in July 2012 after the EU imposed sanctions that prevented European P&I clubs from providing insurance coverage to cargoes carrying crude oil from Iran. <br/><br/>Public sector refiners Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) stopped importing Iranian crude in April after insurance companies introduced ‘subject to sanctions’ clauses. <br/><br/>MRPL still cannot receive Iranian cargoes at its recently commissioned single-point mooring because the mooring was not insured at the time of commissioning. It can receive only at the Mangalore Port jetty not at the SPM, the source said. <br/><br/>MRPL and Essar Oil are the two major importers of Iranian crude. HPCL is still waiting for clarity over the issue of whether Indian refiners are fully covered for processing Iranian crude before resuming imports. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=844InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 Oct 2013 17:50:02 GMT One of the deadliest tropical cyclones Phailin, which hit Odisha and Andhra Pradesh on October 12, 2013, may not lead to huge losses for general insurers in India, since the cyclone affected mostly clay houses, huts and public property, which do not fall under insurance purview. <br/><br/>According to an official from a state-owned general insurance company, losses would be anything below Rs 100 crore. Although, the insurers have not yet assessed the affected areas and are waiting for few more days to give a final estimated loss. Two days after the cyclone hit the states, the insurers have received claims of about Rs. 4-5 crore.<br/><br/>However, in coming days, there is a possibility that claims may rise due to massive floods in coastal area of Odisha, as the cyclone has weakened it, and also due to heavy rains in Bihar. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=843InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 Oct 2013 17:47:36 GMT The insurance watchdog in India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is inviting applications from retired insurance professionals from PSU insurance companies to fill 15 positions on a contract basis. <br/><br/>To apply for the post, the candidates must have qualification in CA/CFA/CS/ICWA/LLB/MCA/B.Tech (IT)/FIII or equivalent and also should have experience in Audit/Inspection/Accounts/Legal/Information Technology/Insurance and have retired from any PSU insurance company in Scale–II or Scale-III. The candidate must not be above 62 years of age on November, 2013. <br/><br/>The selected candidates will be posted at Hyderabad/Mumbai/New Delhi. Apart from a consolidated remuneration of about Rs. 40,000 per month, they’ll not be entitled to get any other facilities or allowances. <br/><br/>The last date of receipt of application is October 31, 2013. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=842InsuringIndia News Thu, 17 Oct 2013 14:36:02 GMT United India Insurance Company Limited, a state-owned general insurance major, has been imposed a penalty of Rs. 50,000 by SAS District Consumer Forum for not settling the claim of one Mr. Prithi Sodhi, a resident of Derabassi in Mohali district of Punjab.<br/><br/>In November 2011, the complainant Mr. Sodhi was left unconscious after he was looted and his Tavera car was stolen by 5 people in Yamuna Nagar. Soon after he regained consciousness, he approached the nearby police station, Chhachhrauli. After the medical examination was conducted, the police registered a case of theft. <br/><br/>Within three days of theft, the complainant approached United India Insurance office to claim motor insurance. However, the insurer repudiated the claim saying that the terms and conditions of the insurance policy has been violated as complainant was using his vehicle as taxi for profit making purpose. The insurer also stated that there was a delay of three days in informing the incidence. <br/><br/>Thereafter, the complainant moved to district consumer forum. Where, during the legal proceedings, the leading general insurer could not prove that the vehicle was used as taxi for profit making purposes. The forum also cited that the delay caused in reporting to the insurer about the theft could be explained as the complainant was busy with the police procedures. <br/><br/>In its verdict, the forum ruled, “The United India Insurance Company was wrongfully repudiating the claim.” Since, the forum found the insurer deficient in services; it ordered the insurer to pay the entire amount, Rs. 300,000 as the insured amount and Rs. 50,000 towards penalty for deficiency in services, within a month. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=841InsuringIndia News Thu, 17 Oct 2013 14:32:48 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked insurers to provide life insurance cover to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) from April 1, 2014. However, the insurers said that the lack of proper data about the ailment will be a hurdle determining premiums of the product. <br/><br/>In the draft guidelines last week, the regulator said that the board-approved underwriting policy should be kept in place by all insurance companies. It said that a PLHA cannot be denied a life insurance cover, if they satisfy the eligibility criteria mentioned in board-approved underwriting policy. <br/><br/>Pricing the risk is a major concern for the life insurance companies. While, they have been asked by the regulator that the mortality study conducted by the Institute of Actuaries of India with the support of the working group constituted by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) could be referred for pricing, which insures don’t find viable. <br/><br/>The regulator also said that the insurance companies can also take the standard underwriting guidelines for life insurance products framed by the Life Insurance Council into consideration. <br/><br/>The biggest concern was that PLHA conditions are still not completely curable, said a senior official from the industry, adding, “On one hand, while we are finding it difficult to price conditions such as cancer, a product for PLHA would become unaffordable for the masses.” <br/><br/>Further, the guidelines said the board-approved underwriting policy should provide clear guidelines on PLHA and clearly indicate all possible risks to be considered for underwriting, along with the eligibility criteria to consider such proposals in terms of medical and non-medical parameters. <br/><br/>The policy should also specify all the risks that would be deferred and denied/declined, it added. <br/><br/>The regulator, on the health insurance segment, said that if an insured is HIV negative at the time of signing the policy, and later found to be HIV positive during the policy term, the insurance company can’t reject/deny any claim, on such grounds. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=840InsuringIndia News Wed, 16 Oct 2013 16:30:06 GMT Private sector insurer Max Life Insurance has launched a term insurance plan, under which the beneficiaries will get part of the insurance amount in monthly instalments over a period of 10 years. In addition to the basic plan, the new online term insurance policy will provide an option to beneficiaries where for Rs. 10,100, they’ll get Rs. 1 crore term insurance cover plus an income of Rs. 40,000 per month for a period of 10 years. In its third option, for a premium of Rs 11,100, the policy will provide an immediate death benefit of Rs. 1 crore and an income of Rs 40,000 per month, which will be raised by 10% every year up to the 10th year. Whereas, under the basic plan, a term insurance cover of Rs. 1 crore is available for a premium of Rs. 7,400.<br/><br/>According to a research, the increased affordability has increased the average sum insured in online term insurance up to Rs. 70 lac. Completion in the market and absence of distribution costs are the main reasons bringing down the price of online term insurance plans to a third of the similar plans sold through traditional agent channel. <br/><br/>The monthly income option of the plan provides beneficiaries the benefit of income tax. Given today's fixed income returns, an investment of Rs 40 lakh would end up attracting a large tax liability. However, the monthly payouts under Max Life's policy are not subject to tax because they form part of the death benefit paid out by the insurance company. <br/><br/>“If something were to happen to the breadwinner and this sort of money were to come in hand, you are either unprepared to manage the money or there are some people who want to take advantage of the situation,” said Director and Chief Marketing Officer of Max Life Insurance, Anisha Motwani. <br/><br/>Keeping this in mind, the company had considered a product where the entire amount is paid out as monthly income. However, policyholders look for a lump sum payment to their dependants as this provides a reassurance to them in any eventuality, she said, adding; we felt that the optimum level is to provide 50% of the policy in the form of monthly payments. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=839InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 Oct 2013 12:16:40 GMT Here’s an encouraging news for farmers cultivating trees for commercial purposes in Tamil Nadu. The Forest College and Research Institute (FCRI) has tied-up with public sector insurance giant United India Insurance to provide agro-forestry insurance to farmers growing commercial trees.<br/><br/>The scheme - Agro forestry Plantation Insurance, was rolled out by Mrs. Santha Sheela Nair, the Vice-Chairperson of the State Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu, on Thursday at FCRI, Mettupalayam. <br/><br/>Initially, the insurance scheme will cover only seven species of tree namely - Casuarina, Eucalyptus (Pulpwood), Melia Dubia (Plywood), Ailanthus, Gmelina (Matchwood), Leucaena and Dalbergia Sissoo (Indian Rosewood), as these trees are widely cultivated across the state. <br/><br/>In a release of FCRI, the Dean (Forestry) P. Durairasu said that the FCRI worked with the insure to develop a scheme to cover tree crops, in view of the fact that the existing crop insurance scheme did not cover tree crops. <br/><br/>The insurance scheme will cover perils such as forest and bush fire, lightning, riot and strike, storm, cyclone, flood inundation and loss due to wild animals, said Durairasu, adding, the premium rate for basic plan will be 1.25% of the input cost. The premium for a land of one acre plantation will range between Rs. 300 to Rs. 600, depending upon the species of the tree and input cost. The farmers will get compensation as per input cost in case of damage to the trees due to any of the mentioned perils. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=838InsuringIndia News Sun, 13 Oct 2013 13:01:40 GMT Public sector J & K Bank is mulling to sell partially or completely its 5 per cent stake in MetLife India Insurance. The bank has already divested its MetLife India stake partially to reduce its equity from 11 per cent to 5 per cent. <br/><br/>CEO and Chairman of J & K Bank, Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed said that it had raised Rs 190 crore by selling 118.1 million shares to Punjab National Bank. Fund raised by selling equity has been put into the bank’s reserves. <br/><br/>J & K Bank is a corporate agent of MetLife India, which through its network branches, sells insurance products. It controls 68 per cent of the loan book in J & K and has 63 per cent share in deposits in the state. <br/><br/>J & K Bank has provisioning coverage ratio of 94 percent, Mr. Mushtaq said, adding, “Our capital adequacy ratio is 13 per cent while the requirement is only 9 per cent.” <br/><br/>The bank is aiming to add 250 more branches to its 750 branch network. Although, the bank is not in hurry to expand its overseas, Mr. Mushtaq said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=837InsuringIndia News Sat, 12 Oct 2013 11:23:40 GMT Private sector insurer Shriram General Insurance, the insurance arm of Shriram Group, has become the first private insurance company to buy company abroad. It has bought a substantial share in Philippine non-life company, Monarch Insurance.<br/><br/>The insurance regulator in India Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, in May this year, permitted domestic insurers to do business abroad if they fulfil essential criteria set by the regulator. The guidelines required a life insurance company to have net worth of Rs. 500 crore, and a net worth of at least Rs. 250 crore for a general insurance company before making overseas investments. And, also they should have a three-year profit track record. <br/><br/>This is the first overseas insurance transaction since the regulator’s nod. <br/><br/>Earlier, the Shriram Group held a stake in the Philippine company through a Singapore-based holding company-Bharat Investment. <br/><br/>Sri G S Sundararajan, Group Director of the Shriram Group said the group had planned to infuse Rs. 35 crore to meet capital requirements of which Rs. 10 crore was already invested. The remaining Rs. 25 crore has been invested by the group’s insurance arm after due approval from the regulator. <br/><br/>Sriram Group had bought 40 per cent stake in Monarch in June 2007 for a consideration of about Rs. 7 crore. According to the website of the Monarch, it is a 50-year old Philippine SEC registered and Insurance Commission licenced general insurer. <br/><br/>Promoted by Shriram Capital, Shriram General Insurance Company has a capital base of Rs 258 crore. It has registered a premium income of Rs 347 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal year. Shriram General has also been consistently making profits. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=836InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 Oct 2013 14:46:40 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has said it hopes to grow insurance business in India this fiscal to touch the psychological mark of Rs 4 lac crore.<br/><br/>The Chairman of IRDA Sri T S Vijayan said the regulator is chewing over to bring out norms for sub-brokers of insurance products to tighten insurance products distribution system. However, he didn’t put any time frame for it. <br/><br/>As compared to last year, this year there should be a good growth in business for all companies, both life and general, Sri Vijayan said on the sidelines of the Indian Institute of Risk Management convocation ceremony. <br/><br/>Further, he said the regulator is working to see that both the insurance distribution and products come to a stage where they can contribute and address the real need of the customers propelling the industry to the next level of growth. <br/><br/>IRDA approves products in such a way that there is little or no scope for mis-selling of products, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=835InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Oct 2013 10:12:40 GMT With a view to curb large-scale leakages in claims settlement of health insurance policies and to quicken their processing, country’s four state-owned general insurers have incorporated their common in-house Third Party Administrator (TPA), named Health Insurance TPA of India. The company will start its operation in April 2014.<br/><br/>According to an official close to the development, the four state-run general insurance companies - National Insurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and New India Assurance have 23.75 % stake each in the joint venture; while the state-owned reinsurer General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India holds the rest 5%.<br/><br/>Once the TPA starts its operation, the claim settlement from external agencies will gradually be transferred to the Health Insurance TPA of India. It has been formed with an authorised capital of Rs 300cr and paid-up capital of Rs 10cr. It will process health insurance claims received by the member insurers.<br/><br/>As per the industry experts, the common in-house TPA will reduce the claims ratio of insurance companies. Also, it will reduce expenditure for the member insurance companies; as they pay about 6% of premiums to TPA for settling claims. Currently, most companies in the health insurance space dependent on TPA for claim processing, which leads to delay in claims settlement.<br/><br/>Chairman and Managing Director of New India Assurance, Sri G Srinivasan has been appointed as the chairman of the board of the TPA company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=834InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Oct 2013 13:32:42 GMT The Odisha state government has selected four insurance companies - IFFCO-Tokyo, Reliance Insurance, New India Assurance and National Insurance to implement farmers' health insurance scheme under the Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojna (BKKY) for the financial year 2013-14. These firms were selected through a tender process in which 14 firms participated. <br/><br/>To implement the scheme, the government has divided central, northern and southern zones into six divisions, each zone into two divisions. Out of which, IFFCO-Tokyo and Reliance Insurance have been given four divisions while New India Assurance and National Insurance have got one division each to implement the scheme.<br/><br/>The government announced this scheme in May this year. The Expenditure Finance Committee has approved the scheme with an outlay of Rs. 613 crore for four years. For the financial year 2013-14, Rs. 100 crore has been sanctioned. <br/><br/>A senior official in the agricultural department said that the government is keen to roll out the scheme this month after Puja holidays.<br/><br/>An order to prepare list of all eligible farmers has been given to the Department of Agriculture and Food Production. All farmers, irrespective of their financial status will come under the scheme. More than 2.5 crore farmers are expected to be benefited under the scheme.<br/><br/>Under the scheme, five members per family will be provided insurance cover of Rs. 1 lac. They will be issued smart cards which can be used at hospitals to avail health insurance benefits. Beneficiaries will have to pay Rs 30 towards enrolment fee in order to avail the benefit. However, those who have already enrolled under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) don’t require to pay. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=833InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Oct 2013 17:57:42 GMT Private insurer SBI Life Insurance on Thursday announced that it would soon launch a new Unit-Linked Insurance plan (ULIP) - 'Smart Power Insurance', which will be available for customers from October 7, 2013. This plan is especially designed to cater to youths’ twin needs of savings and life insurance cover. It’s a low premium, simple product that takes care of the varying needs of the customers as their income increases while giving them flexibility of periodic increase in sum assured and partial withdrawal, said Sri Atanu Sen, MD -cum- CEO of SBI Life Insurance in a press release.<br/><br/>As per the release, SBI Life Smart Power Insurance plan comes with two options to choose from - Level Cover option and Increasing Cover option. This plan also gives two fund options - Trigger Fund option with the advantage of buying low and selling high, and Smart Funds option that has the option to choose from seven funds. During the policy term, policyholders will have the flexibility to switch twice between these options.<br/><br/>Smart Power Insurance also offers a unique in-built ‘Accelerated Total and Permanent Disability’ (TPD) benefit, advancing the policy benefit in case of permanent disability due to accident or sickness. <br/><br/>The policy term options are 10, 15 or 30 years. The minimum sum assured will work out to either ten times of the annual premium or 0.50 multiplied by the term and annual premium, whichever is higher. While, the maximum sum assured will be 20 times of the annual premium.<br/><br/>The minimum premium payable works out to Rs 2,000 monthly, Rs 5,500 quarterly, Rs 9,500 half yearly and Rs 15,000 annually. The age eligibility for this plan ranges from 18-45 years with the maximum age of maturity being 65 years.<br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between State Bank of India, country’s leading public sector bank and BNP Paribas Cardif, the insurance arm of BNP Paribas of France. SBI holds 74% stake and BNP Paribas Cardif the remaining 26% in the JV. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=832InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Oct 2013 17:57:04 GMT With a view to uplift the morale of about 200 party cadets working in Maoist-affected area, the Chhattisgarh Bhartiya Janta Party legislator Santosh Bafna has announced to offer a LIC life risk cover of Rs 5 lac each<br/><br/>This decision has been taken aftermath of the Maoist attack on Congress rally in Chhattisgarh's Bastar on May 25th this year, which almost killed the top leadership of the state Congress. This incident has heightened the concerns of the ruling party over its campaign in Maoist-affected areas.<br/><br/>"Anxiety prevailed among the party activists about their safety. My initiative is aimed to encourage the party-men for electioneering in the sensitive zones of Bastar," Jagdalpur legislator Sri Bafna said.<br/><br/>Bastar has 12 assembly seats out of which BJP won 11 in 2008 assembly election, which played a vital role in formation of government. However, this has provided a chance to the Congress party to attack on the government, which said it showed that even the BJP feels their people are unsafe since the state 'failed' to offer the common man a sense of security. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=831InsuringIndia News Thu, 03 Oct 2013 14:51:07 GMT Private sector insurer Liberty Videocon General Insurance Company on Monday unveils a comprehensive Group Personal Accident Policy mainly to cater the needs of corporate, associations, institutions and groups as defined by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. <br/><br/>In a release, Liberty Videocon CEO Sri Roopam Asthana said, “With Group Personal Accident Policy, our aim is to provide comprehensive insurance benefits to our customers. This policy supports the growing focus on employee benefits by corporate and inherently fulfils their commitment towards enhancing employee engagement. It enables corporate or groups to provide a safety net to their stakeholders in case of an emergency.”<br/><br/>This is a comprehensive product with affordable premiums, which has features of Death and Disability and host of add features like accidental hospital daily cash, medical expenses, child education support, family transport benefit and life support benefit etc. It also provides the flexibility to extend the insurance benefits to the employees/group members' dependents under a single sum assured with a unique feature of restoration of sum assured.<br/><br/>We will shortly bring more products, which will cater to various other needs of our customers, Sri Asthana said.<br/><br/>Liberty Videocon General Insurance is a joint venture between India's Videocon Industries Limited and Liberty Citystate Holdings Pvt. Ltd., which is a part of US-based Liberty Mutual Insurance Group. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=830InsuringIndia News Thu, 03 Oct 2013 14:49:46 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Monday, issued a circular deferring the product re-filing deadline for life insurance companies by three months i.e. from October 1 to January 1, 2014. Now, the life insurance companies can sell their existing products till December 31, 2013.<br/><br/>The regulator had extended the deadline because the Life Insurance Council and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had earlier sought an extension of the deadline. In case of not extending the deadline, the life insurers would have been able to offer only fewer policies; as most of the insurers had filed products with new regulations only in the last week of September. This may lead to a slowdown in sales of life insurance products. <br/><br/>“We have decided to give an extension of three months. We realise that these are productive months for insurers. All 24 insurers have filed their products but most of these products, particularly that of the Life Insurance Corporation of India’s came to us in the last week of September. So we have decided to give an extension,” said Sri Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, Member Life, IRDA. <br/><br/>Although, there is no extension of deadline on highest NAV guaranteed products. Insurers will have to discontinue these products from October 1, 2013, Sri Roy added. <br/><br/>As per the new guidelines, life insurers will not be permitted to offer guaranteed highest NAV (Net Asset Value) products in the unit-linked segment. In the case of unit-linked products (ULIPs), life insurance companies will need to inform customers about changes in the yield every month. The regulator, through the new norms, aims to make insurance products more customer-friendly and to curb product mis-sellings. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=829InsuringIndia News Tue, 01 Oct 2013 11:37:27 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has brought some minor changes in the health insurance regulations notified in February this year. <br/><br/>As per the new norm which will come into effect from next month, only new health insurance policies except those with tenure of less than a year will have a free-look period. Earlier, all health insurance policies were entitled to have a free-look period. <br/><br/>Insurance companies can provide coverage to non-allopathic treatment provided if the policyholder had received treatment only in a Government hospital or institutions recognised by it or accredited by quality council of India/National Accreditation Board on Health, said IRDA Chairman, Sri T.S. Vijayan in a circular. <br/><br/>While, the existing norms extends coverage to treatment received in ‘any suitable institution’ in addition to the above. <br/><br/>Further, the circular said that there would be no cumulative bonus on benefit based policies with the exception of personal accident cover. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=828InsuringIndia News Sun, 29 Sep 2013 18:23:38 GMT Technical hitches in implementation of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) in Uttar Pradesh has left around 2,802,000 beneficiaries in 34 districts of the state without health insurance cover for more than a month. As per the earlier plan, the cards were to renew rather than to issue new; but these technical snags compelled the government to issue new cards. <br/><br/>With a view to provide health insurance coverage to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India launched RSBY. The central government contributes 75% of the premium; while the concerned state government pays the rest 25%. The beneficiaries only need to pay Rs. 30 per year towards registration/renewal fee. Beneficiaries under the scheme are entitled to hospitalisation coverage up to Rs. 30,000 per year for most of the diseases that require hospitalisation. The insurance is cashless as every beneficiary is provided with a smart card, which he/she can use in network hospitals across the state. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=827InsuringIndia News Sat, 28 Sep 2013 16:02:38 GMT ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, a leading private sector insurer, on Thursday, sold total 582,608 shares of private shipbuilder ABG Shipyard through an open market transaction for Rs 15.79 crore at an average of Rs 271 per share.<br/><br/>According to the sources, the insurer sold half of the shares at Rs 271.01 per share on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and another half at Rs 271 per share on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). <br/><br/>ABG Shipyard is one of the largest private sector shipbuilding companies in India. It is the flagship company of the ABG Group, and has so far built and delivered more than 160 ships for domestic and international customers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=826InsuringIndia News Sat, 28 Sep 2013 14:28:38 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Thursday, announced to raise the investment ceiling for both life and non-life insurers in the infrastructure debt funds up to 20% from 10% of Assets Under Management (AUM).<br/><br/>The directive of the regulator came after the receipt of an application from India Infra debt seeking approval of the issue of Rs 500cr Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) to consider as investment in the infrastructure sector by insurance companies.<br/><br/>This decision of the regulator will help in greater amount of fund flow to infrastructure sector, which according to the expert, needs a huge investment of about USD one trillion during the 2012-17 period.<br/><br/>In the amendment to the IRDA (Investment) Regulation, 2000, notified in February this year, the regulator specified that investments in infrastructure debt funds backed by the Central Government shall be reckoned as infrastructure investment on a case-to-case basis. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=823InsuringIndia News Fri, 27 Sep 2013 17:17:38 GMT Week after the Union Finance Minister, Sri P Chidambaram inaugurated IRDA's Insurance Repository System (IRS), one of country’s leading insurer Reliance Life Insurance Company has announced the launch of life insurance policies in electronic demat form across all its products.<br/><br/>The IRS will facilitate policyholders to keep their policies in electronic demat form with an insurance repository, like shares and bonds. Policies in electronic form can be tracked easily as the details are available at one place. Unlike traditional physical policies, policyholders won’t require to visit different offices anymore. Updating details like change of address or nomination will now become easier, faster and reliable. <br/><br/>In a press release, Sri Anup Rau, CEO of Reliance Life Insurance, said, “The electronic insurance account will eliminate repetitive KYC requirements and provide one view of policies, premium paid, claim history, nominee details, and bring in all the benefits of demat to the life insurance business, including automatic reminders for premium.” <br/><br/>This green initiative will make it easier for the customers to buy and monitor multiple life insurance policies in a single demat account, he added. <br/><br/>Earlier this month, the regulator gave five companies - CAMS Repository Services Limited, Central Insurance Repository Limited, SHCIL Projects Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited and Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, the status of insurance repositories and provided them with a licence that will be valid till July 31, 2014. The regulator also said that insurance companies can enter into agreements with one or more repositories. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=825InsuringIndia News Thu, 26 Sep 2013 15:48:38 GMT The Haryana government has decided to bring rag pickers, miners, sanitary workers, rickshaw pullers and taxi drivers under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which has been providing health insurance cover to economically weaker section of the society. Street vendors, domestic workers, beedi workers, MGNREGA workers and building and other construction workers have already been included in the scheme in Haryana.<br/><br/>According to a spokesperson at Health Department, this scheme will cover about 2, 16,000 additional people including 27,000 rickshaw-pullers, 23,000 rag pickers, 27,000 miners, 22,000 sanitary workers and about 72,000 auto rickshaw and taxi drivers. The total estimated financial burden on the exchequer will be around Rs 5.80 crore during the fiscal year, out of which Rs. 1.45 crore (25 percent) will be borne by the state government. <br/><br/>RSBY is a government-run health insurance scheme for below poverty line (BPL) people working in an unorganized sector. It provides smart card-based cashless hospitalization in public as well private hospitals up to Rs 30,000. As of February 2011, about 23 million families have been enrolled in 25 states. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=824InsuringIndia News Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:12:38 GMT HDFC ERGO General Insurance, country’s leading private sector general insurance company has rolls out ‘Insurance Portfolio Organiser’, which facilitates its policyholders to get access to their policy-related information through insurer’s website or mobile phone as an application, which is compatible to all platforms like Android, Windows, Blackberry. This is also available on Apple devices.<br/><br/>This organiser enables policyholders with key features like- register online motor insurance and health insurance claims, place and track service requisite, detailed information of health insurance, motor insurance or personal accident insurance policy with the company. Customers can set policy renewal reminders free of cost, modify correspondence address, view nearest HDFC ERGO branch and hospital network, and can access customer care. <br/><br/>Sri Mukesh Kumar, Member of Executive Management and Head - Strategy Planning and Marketing at HDFC ERGO, said, “Smart applications are now making it possible to deliver a personalised and interactive user experience. ‘Insurance Portfolio Organiser’ application from HDFC ERGO enables customers to access the insurance information quickly no matter where they are – at home, at work or on the go.” <br/><br/>It can be viewed from any GPRS, Wi-Fi and Mobile data services enabled mobile phone, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=822InsuringIndia News Sat, 21 Sep 2013 13:21:40 GMT Private sector leading insurer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company has announced that it has purchased 3 lac more shares of Jagran Prakashan through an open market transaction. Post transaction, the insurer now holds about 1.67 crore shares of Jagran Prakashan. The insurer’s stake in the company has increased to 5.06 percent from 4.97 percent earlier. <br/><br/>The acquisition was done recently through the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The stock of Jagran Prakashan was 0.5 percent up and was trading at Rs 83- per share on the BSE. But on the NSE the stock was trading at Rs 82-per share, a down by 0.9 percent. <br/><br/>Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL), owner of Dainik Jagran, Mid-day, Naiduniya etc. is a Kanpur-based country’s leading media conglomerate. It owns 9 newspaper titles in 5 different languages across 15 states with over 100 editions. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=821InsuringIndia News Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:19:13 GMT With a view to boost crop insurance penetration in the country, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has permitted Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) to use the agent network of non-life insurance companies to distribute its products.<br/><br/>The regulator in a circular issued recently, has said that those agents and corporate agents willing to offer their services to AIC would have to submit a ‘No Objection Certificate’ obtained from their parent non-life insurance company and registered themselves with AIC. <br/><br/>However, the regulator said that the certificate is not required to use the existing agency network of state-owned non-life insurers by AIC to distribute government -sponsored agriculture insurance schemes and distribution of in-house products on co-insurance basis. <br/><br/>The regulator said that there is very less awareness about crop insurance in rural people. It is very urgent to make them aware about crop insurance, the regulator said adding, a large number of crops are being cultivated in India without appropriate insurance coverage. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=820InsuringIndia News Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:17:29 GMT Government-owned general insurer, National Insurance Company, on Wednesday, asked its employees to agree to sell policies and head micro-offices situated outside major cities, or get used to missing promotions for two years. The company has mandated even those who have spent more than 25 years of service in the company.<br/><br/>Reacting over the company’s decision, Sri K. Govindan, Joint General Secretary, General Insurance Employees All India Association, told reporters, “Heading a micro-office may be good for a man. But for a woman, it is a risky proposition, as there are issues of personal safety as well as the safety of office cash involved.” <br/><br/>Unions have taken up the issue with all the four public sector general insurers- National Insurance Company, New India Assurance Co. Ltd, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd and United India Insurance Co. Ltd., Sri Govindan said adding, the centre has directed the four general insurers to set up at least one office in all the villages/towns having a population of over 10,000, so as to achieve wider financial inclusion.Hence the insurers have decided to open micro offices in all such towns, but the insurers observe that some employees are not keen to take charges, as the pay and the perks to be paid are not proportionate with the work involved. <br/><br/>According to an industry insider, at the same pay, a person heading the micro-office not only has to sell the products and achieve the target, but also issue the policy document, deposit the cash/cheques collected in the bank and keep the office open. <br/><br/>“If the employee opts to take up a new assignment, then there is no quarrel. The problem arises when the employee is shown the stick - take up marketing or else no promotion for the next two years”, Sri Govindan said. <br/><br/>As per union officials, only National Insurance is compelling intra-clerical grade promotes to take up marketing jobs, failing which they are made ineligible to aspire for the next step for two years. The officials said, “It is a double whammy. How can you expect a person who worked inside an office for nearly two decades to suddenly go out into the market and start all over again? By doing that, the company actually loses back office talent.” <br/><br/>According to an official, the companies urged only those clerks who have been promoted to the officer cadre to head micro-offices. Now, that practice is being implemented at intra-clerical cadre promotion as well. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=819InsuringIndia News Thu, 19 Sep 2013 10:12:50 GMT Private sector insurer Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company hopes to increase its rural business to around 20% in next five years from 6-7 % at present, and is planning big expansion in these regions, a senior official said.<br/><br/>Sri Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, said, “We aim to increase rural business pie to 20% from the present 6-7 % in next five years. So, we are planning to expand our presence significantly to achieve this.” Despite the economic slowdown, the company will pursue its expansion plans in rural areas as rural economy remains vibrant, he added. <br/><br/>In addition, he said that car sales as well as FMCG products sales are increasing rapidly in rural areas. So, rural areas are going to drive the growth of general insurance industry in the future, for which we aim to increase our rural presence. Under penetration of insurance products in the area especially in non-life segment throws up a huge opportunity for the company. <br/><br/>The general insurance industry has witnessed deep discounts being offered by general insurers in recent months in commercial line and group health insurance segments, among others. <br/><br/>According to the data available with IRDA, Bajaj Allianz‘s gross written premium stood at Rs 1,506.36cr during the April-July’ 2013. <br/><br/>Despite the slowdown in industry growth, Bajaj Allianz is growing more than industry average, Sri Singhel said. <br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited (formerly part of Bajaj Auto Limited) and Germany's Allianz Group. Bajaj Finserv with 74% is the major stakeholder in the JV. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=818InsuringIndia News Wed, 18 Sep 2013 15:43:51 GMT Today, the Union Finance Minister Sri P. Chidambaram has launched IRDA's Insurance Repository System (IRS) in a function held in Hyderabad. This system will help individual policy holders keep insurance policies in electronic form and undertake modifications and revisions.<br/><br/>Insurance Repository System will also have digitised non-life insurance policies soon, Sri Chidambaram said. <br/><br/>In the mean time, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) said that the Insurance Repository System set up by the sector regulator in India, will be the first of its kind in the world. <br/><br/>Earlier this month, the regulator gave five companies - CAMS Repository Services Limited, Central Insurance Repository Limited, SHCIL Projects Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited and Karvy Insurance Repository Limited, the status of insurance repositories and provided them with a licence that will be valid till July 31, 2014. The regulator also said that insurance companies can enter into agreements with one or more repositories. <br/><br/>IRDA in a statement said, “The objective of creating an insurance repository is to provide policy holders a facility to keep insurance policies in electronic form and to undertake changes, modifications and revisions in the insurance policy with speed and accuracy in order to bring about efficiency, transparency and cost reduction in the issuance and maintenance of insurance policies.” <br/><br/>The IRS will generate a unique code number to all policyholders, and their policies will come under that number. It maintains the history of the policy details such as claims, nominees, beneficiaries and other data. <br/><br/>However, the policyholders will have an option to choose to either IRS or to be stuck to the traditional format. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=817InsuringIndia News Tue, 17 Sep 2013 12:15:51 GMT Concerned over the low insurance penetration especially in rural areas, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has released new guidelines allowing insurance companies to use licenced Common Service Centres (CSCs) as distribution networks in rural areas. An initiative of the National e-Governance Plan, the CSC model will operate in rural areas without access to internet. The plan provides services like e-governance, education and utility payments and works on the public-private partnership model.<br/><br/>With the help of a Rural Authorised Person (RAP), these centres will help insurance companies to market certain categories of retail policies through a special-purpose vehicle. A RAP will act as an insurance agent. The RAPs will help prospective insurance buyers in choosing appropriate product based on their need, and obtain detailed information relating to proposers/persons/risks to be insured and protection needs and suggest on the adequate cover. <br/><br/>Moreover, the RAPs will also assist prospect buyers/policyholders in all manners, whether, it’s about premium payment, assignment of nominee, claim procedure, filing forms or collecting of documents like death certificate or any other document required for the speedy settlement of the claims. <br/><br/>The regulator hopes this scheme will help insurance reaching out to the most untapped areas of the country. Through this scheme, people in remote will come to know about various insurance products and their benefits and hence insurance penetration in the areas can be increased. For the rural areas, the regulator has directed all insurance companies to design special products to be marketed exclusively through the CSC model and file the products for approval with the regulator. These products will be tailored especially according to needs of a particular area or the insured. Under the products, the maximum Sum Assured per life or risk will not be more than Rs two lac, except for motor insurance. <br/><br/>The RAPs will have to undergo 20 hours of mandatory training and register on the Learning Management System website. The online examination of RAPs will be conducted by the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology, which is an autonomous scientific society of the Government of India, Department of Electronics and Information Technology. <br/><br/>The RAPs will have to provide necessary assistance to the policyholders, claimants or beneficiaries in complying with the requirements for settlement of claims by the insurer and forward any information received from the client regarding a claim or an incident that may give to a claim without any delay. Also, if there is any delay on the part of the insurer to settle the claim, the RAPs will have to inform the policyholder accordingly, said the guidelines, adding, to increase persistency, the RAP will have to ensure remittances of premiums by policyholders within the specified time by giving them notice well before time, both orally and in writing. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=816InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Sep 2013 17:53:51 GMT The Chandigarh District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has imposed a penalty of Rs 20,000 on state-owned insurer United India Insurance Company (UII) for rejecting a claim. The forum also asked the insurance company to pay Rs 7,000 towards litigation cost and Rs 43, 864, the insured amount of the complainant's two-wheeler, Honda Activa. The forum has ordered the company to pay the entire amount within a month. <br/><br/>The vehicle of one Pradeep Kumar from village Kajheri of Chandigarh block was stolen from the parking area of a lake at Sector 42 when the complainant had gone for a walk around the lake. Although, the FIR regarding the theft was lodged after four days, the complaint informed the police the same day. <br/><br/>United India Insurance repudiated the claim on the ground that the vehicle was not registered at the time of theft and the FIR was lodged after four days, which deprived the police and the insurance company as well to make efforts to find the vehicle. Although, the claimant had presented a Non-Traceable Certificate to the insurance company obtained from the police. <br/><br/>The forum ruled that the repudiation of the claim because of non permanent registration was found to be unjustified and illegal. The forum also said that the plea of the insurance company with regard to delay in intimation to the police was found unsubstantial as it was duly informed on the same day as shown with the help of an RTI in the forum. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=815InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Sep 2013 12:29:51 GMT The Jaipur Metro Railway Corporation (JMRC) has decided to provide a free insurance cover to the passengers travelling by Metro train. The JMRC will pay the premium from its own fund. The corporation will invite proposals from insurance companies regarding the same. The JMRC decided to implement this insurance scheme after a meeting with the DMRC management in Delhi recently. <br/><br/>The JMRC will also provide insurance cover to its employees. Under the policy, the JMRC employees will get accidental and normal insurance cover as well. <br/><br/>“In two-three days, all work will be completed for the trial run of Metro (first phase) from Mansarovar to Shyam Nagar”, said Project Director of DMRC Sri Atul Gadgil. However, the exact date for the trial has not been fixed yet. <br/><br/>Only 40-50 metre track is remaining for electrification work which would be completed in next 2-3 days, Sri Gadgil said adding, locals will probably get to see the Metro running on the track on September 15. But people have to wait till next year for the Metro ride. <br/><br/>According to the officials, the trial would be conducted without passengers because for carrying passengers during the trial run, it is necessary to take prior permission from the district administration which has not been taken yet. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=814InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:29:51 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has approved most of the plans applied to it by various insurance companies ahead of the new product guidelines which is to be kicked in from October this year. The largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India had applied for around 50 products with the regulator; while leading private insurers like ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and HDFC Life had filed about 12-15 products each.<br/><br/>According to an industry insider, about 450 products were filed with the regulator for approval, and it has cleared almost two-third of the proposals. <br/><br/> "We have already filed most of our products and started receiving approvals too”, Sri Niraj Shah, Senior VP, and Head of Products at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said adding, “Recently, we launched a plan in compliance with the new guidelines. We hope to launch a reasonable number of products by October.” <br/><br/>As per the new guidelines, traditional products have been brought together with unit-linked insurance products; commission to policy has been linked to the policy term. Also, the regulator has asked insurance companies to specify the minimum cover, depending on the age of the customer. <br/><br/>From October 1, if the age of a customer is below 45 years, the insurance cover will be 10 times the annual premium or 105% of all premiums paid as on the date of the death of the policyholder, whichever is higher. Also, products like the highest net asset value guarantee and fund based guarantee will not be available in the market. <br/><br/>Policy surrender rules will also be changed and all policies surrendered between the fourth and fifth years will acquire a surrender value of 50% of the total premium paid minus the less survival benefits already paid. Products where premium rate, assumptions and benefits do not change, can be certified by the appointed actuary of the company and launched in the market. Delay in products approval may adversely affect first year income of insurance companies. <br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority had granted one-month extension to implement similar norms in group products. The industry is expecting a similar extension for individual category products too. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=813InsuringIndia News Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:17:51 GMT Following the increase in prices of imported car spare parts, due to sharp fall of the Rupee, the general insurance companies are forecasting a rise in car insurance premium in the coming days. <br/><br/>"Usually, insurance premium is a small percentage of the price of a car. As car prices have gone up due to rise in cost of imported spare parts following the rupee fall, premium may also go up during the time of renewal," said Chief Executive of Bharti Axa General Insurance Sri Amarnath Ananthanarayanan. <br/><br/>The Indian rupee has seen a sharp decline of more than 20% since May this year and is currently hovering around Rs.66 per dollar; this has raised costs of imported spare parts of most of the automakers in the country. Auto companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW, which use more imported parts than others, have increased prices in the recent months on the back of rising import cost. <br/><br/>Sri KG Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD & CEO, Future Generali India, said, “If the costs of spares go up, this will definitely increase the claim settlements for us. Also, if you see on a six month average, the labour cost has gone up by 10-15 % for manufacturers. So, a 15-20 % hike in the insurance premium is expected.” <br/><br/>Sri K Sanath Kumar, General Manager and Whole-time Director of country’s largest general insurance company, New India Assurance, has also echoed similar views, but said the increase may happen in the high-end luxury cars segments only. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=812InsuringIndia News Mon, 09 Sep 2013 12:17:51 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has issued an exposure draft on the usage of trade logos by insurers, in which it has advised all insurance companies to use distinct trade logos of their own in order to reduce cost and minimize the confusion in the minds of distributors and investors as well. The regulator has highlighted the reputational risks associated with the insurance companies using the trade logos of their business partners or promoters. <br/><br/>The regulator, in its exposure draft, clearly said that if an insurance company uses the trade logo of any of its partners, there should be a prominent declaration that the insurance company is a separate entity, giving the names of all the partners. The insurance company should mention clearly that mere adoption of a promoter’s logo does not convey any inheritance of financial strength and the quality of promoter in products and services of the insurance company. Further, the draft also said that if an insurance company uses the trade logo of any of its partners, there must be a written agreement between the insurance company and the promoter with underlying terms and conditions. Also, the parties to the agreement shall specify the consideration amount, if any, leaving no scope for any arbitrary payments.When the consideration is premium, it should mention the percentage of premium with reasonable capping. <br/><br/>If there is no consideration, specific mention of this should be made in unambiguous terms.<br/>Should have specific caveats on settlement of compensation.<br/>Agreement must be signed for specific period. <br/>Any payout towards compensation should be remitted from the shareholder’s account. <br/>IRDA also said that some companies have agreements for using promoters’ logos, but there is specific timelines to use trade logo. <br/>IRDA has asked all insurers to send their recommendations before September 30, 2013. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=811InsuringIndia News Fri, 06 Sep 2013 15:37:51 GMT The Union Finance Minister Sri P Chidambaram, on Wednesday, said that the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to hike foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling in insurance sector to 49% from current 26%, will be tabled in winter session of the Parliament. <br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Sri Chidambaram said that the government has agreed to a suggestion by opposition parties to take up the insurance bill in the next session of Parliament, after passing the pension bill in the current session. <br/><br/>As the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, did not favour hiking the FDI cap, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill is pending in the Upper House since 2008. <br/><br/>Recently, Sri Chidambaram had said that the insurance sector requires USD 5-6 billion capital. The insurance penetration ratio in the country is very low. In the life insurance segment, it is 4.4 % and 0.76% in the non-life segment. In India, more than two dozen private sector life and non-life insurance companies are operating their business. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=810InsuringIndia News Fri, 06 Sep 2013 15:35:09 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has refuted the observation of World Bank-IMF (International Monetary Fund) study which said that the Indian insurance regulator was not completely independent to supervise and regulate insurance companies..<br/><br/>IRDA chairman, Sri T.S. Vijayan in a statement said, “IRDA would like to assert that there is complete autonomy with regard to supervision and regulation of insurance sector in general and insurance companies and intermediaries in particular.” <br/><br/>The World Bank-IMF study report said that the insurance regulator in India is not completely independent as a supervisory authority in view of the current uncertainty regarding control of its funding and budget, its incomplete oversight on the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. It said that a maximum time frame should be specified for the regulator to respond to various applications. <br/><br/>The study, further said that the insurance regulator in India is following the ‘name and shame’ practice of penalising the insurers by putting up their names on its website as the available financial sanction powers are outdated. <br/><br/>According to IRDA, the concerns expressed in the study on valuation of non-life insurer's liabilities are being addressed by strengthening the stipulations for provisioning for incurred but not reported, and incurred but not enough reported liabilities/claims. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=808InsuringIndia News Thu, 05 Sep 2013 16:32:43 GMT The consumer protection forum has ordered the National Insurance Company to pay Rs 2.23 lac to M/s India Poly Pack Industries of Kanpur towards compensation amount within 45 days. The complainant Mahesh Kumar Sharma had claimed a sum of Rs 4.26 lac with interest and damages for mental agony and legal expenses as the insurance company had failed to pay damages against the policy.<br/><br/>On April 24, 1991, fire broke in M/s India Poly Pack Industries due to short circuit and raw material was destroyed. According to the complainant, raw plastic material and goods were insured for Rs 5 lac for the period of December 17, 1990 to December 16, 1991. The complainant lodged an FIR with Rail Bazaar police station. On April 25, 1991, the National Insurance Company was also informed about fire and losses. The insurance company sent a surveyor who assessed the loss to the tune of Rs 4.26 lac. <br/><br/>Because the insurer did not pay the insurance amount, the complainant made correspondence to the insurer. But despite that the insurer did not pay the compensation amount. The insurer in its argument with the forum alleged that surveyor had assessed a loss of Rs 2,22,871, and a letter of consent was given to the complainant, but he neither gave his consent nor accomplished formalities. Then, the insurer closed the file in 1994 on the basis of 'no claim'. <br/><br/>The forum observed that complaint was not time barred as firm was in continuous touch with the insurance company. Sureveyor had assessed loss to the tune of Rs 2,22,871 and that letter was provided by him to claimant was not proved. Action taken by the surveyor was also not on record. Under those circumstances case closure under no claim could not be justified. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=809InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Sep 2013 10:41:43 GMT With a view to curb insurance mis-selling, the Insurance regulatory and Development Authority is mulling over an idea to educate about 25 lac insurance agents in the country. The mis-selling has been a major concern for the industry over a decade, specifically after the emergence of equity-oriented insurance products. The regulator will provide specialised training to the insurance agents. After clearing the basic examination, they would be qualified licensed agent to sell insurance products.<br/><br/>Only during the financial year 2012-13, the IRDA received one lac complaints on mis-selling, out of which 36,702 were unit-linked insurance products; 55,866 traditional life insurance products; and the rest were health insurance, pension plans and others. <br/><br/>According to an official, the training, aimed at instilling seriousness among insurance agents about sales as a career and stop unfairly selling insurance schemes just to earn commissions, will be imparted according to a syllabus being specially designed by the regulator. <br/><br/>A team set up by the regulator is ready with the first cut of the project and IRDA is in talks with the government to involve the National Skill Development Corp. (NSDC) to create a country-wide infrastructure to train and manage institutions which will offer the specialised training to insurance agents, the official added. <br/><br/>The training programme is expected to be rolled out by the end of the year 2013 and about 10 lac insurance agents will be trained for the specialized skills in the first phase of its training. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=807InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:24:41 GMT The Karnataka state government has announced to re-introduce the livestock insurance scheme in South Kanara (also Dakshina Kannada) after a break of almost one year. The government will reintroduce the scheme in 17 districts including the coastal district.<br/><br/>Under the scheme, farmers of the region will get benefit of the total reimbursement of the price of milking cows or buffalos in the event of their death due to diseases, flood and other perils. The market value of the insured cattle will be evaluated by a three-member committee. And, the amount will be transferred to the account of the farmers. Farmers can also avail the help of the department officials in getting the insurance amount. <br/><br/>The farmers interested to cover their cattle will need to pay only 50 percent of the premium amount, while the rest will be borne by the state government. The scheme was first introduced in year 2011 in association with United India Insurance Company to protect farmers’ interest in case of any eventuality. The scheme liked by the farmers and about 5, 850 farmers got registered their cattle. But due to some technical reason, scheme was stopped. <br/><br/>“The livestock insurance scheme is offered only to cows and buffalos, which give at least 1,500 litres of milk in a milking phase. The total premium for three-year insurance scheme is Rs 2,795 and farmers need to pay Rs 1,551 only”, said Sri K V Halagappa, Deputy Director of the department of veterinary science and animal husbandry. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=806InsuringIndia News Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:24:41 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has directed all the CEOs of insurance companies to follow the regulations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) while carrying out their telemarketing activities. <br/><br/>As per the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010 issued by TRAI, those sending commercial communications should be registered with TRAI as a telemarketer. They are also supposed to use telephone from the ‘140’ number series and filter the numbers they are accessing through the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) database before making voice call and sending SMSs. No subscriber is allowed to do telemarketing activity through their normal 10 digit numbers. <br/><br/>In a circular released on Tuesday, IRDA said, “It has been brought to the notice of the Authority by the chairman of TRAI that some of the insurance companies and their marketing intermediaries, including agents, are engaging telemarketers not registered with TRAI to promote various products or services to customers, in breach of TRAI’s regulations.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=805InsuringIndia News Fri, 30 Aug 2013 19:04:41 GMT Insurance regulator, Insurance regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has notified Insurance regulatory and Development Authority (Linked Insurance Products) Regulations, 2013 in which, Regulation (9) prescribes levels of commission under the linked insurance products, said Sri Namo Narain Meena, Minister of State (Finance), in Parliament on Tuesday.<br/><br/>In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Sri Meena said, “Likewise, Commission norms in respect of non linked products have been prescribed in Regulation (21) of Insurance regulatory and Development Authority (Non-Linked Insurance Products) Regulations, 2013.” <br/><br/>As per the data available at IRDA, the first year premium of the life insurance business has dropped by 6.48% at Rs. 1,07,008.37 crore in fiscal year 2012-13, due to various factors rooted in the economic environment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=804InsuringIndia News Fri, 30 Aug 2013 19:03:13 GMT LIC Nomura Mutual Fund in collaboration with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, on Wednesday, announced the launch of ‘Auto Premium Payment System (APPS)’ for its mutual fund investors to assure timely payments of their LIC insurance premiums.<br/><br/>Through this free service, the insurance premium amount of the investors, on due date will be remitted automatically to LIC by LIC Nomura Mutual Fund, out of the investors fund. Investors can avail this facility on three schemes — LIC Nomura MF Income Plus Fund, LIC Nomura MF Liquid Fund and LIC Nomura MF Savings Plus Fund and. .<br/><br/>To avail this facility, the investors will need to register for an auto Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) facility, by filling the mandate. The mandate can be submitted at any of the branches of mutual fund or insurance. If there is no adequate balance in investor’s mutual fund holdings, and payment bounce, investors won’t be penalized for it. In this case, they will have to use the alternate mode of payment, like cheque, ECS or net banking. .<br/><br/>Since it does not levy any extra charges, investors can choose it as an alternate mode of payment. Sri Nilesh Sathe, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the LIC Nomura Mutual Fund said, “The company expects to get 1 lac mandates through this scheme.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=803InsuringIndia News Thu, 29 Aug 2013 19:00:54 GMT The Maharashtra state government has mooted to launch a novel insurance scheme named ‘Sukanya’ for girl child born in families falling under Below Poverty Line (BPL). The scheme was proposed by Women and Child Development Ministry, and expected to be tabled today in the cabinet meet. <br/><br/>Under the scheme, the government will deposit a sum of Rs 21,200 after January 2014 in the name of a newborn girl with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Against which, the girl would get a sum of Rs one lac when she turns 18. But before making withdrawal, the girl's family would have to ensure that the girl has at least completed her SSC and her marriage has not been arranged before she turns 18. The enrolled girls will also be provided a scholarship amount of Rs 1,200 annually. <br/><br/>Although, the scheme would initially be applicable for BPL families, but the government has plans to extend it to others too, said the Maharashtra Chief Minister Sri Prithviraj Chavan. <br/><br/>According to an official, over two lac girls take births in BPL families every year. To cover them all, the government will need a corpus of around Rs 576 crore. <br/><br/>The Women and Child Development Ministry is also mulling over a scheme, aimed at providing financial aid to rape and acid attack victims. Under the scheme, the victims will get around Rs 3 lac as financial assistance for their health treatment, legal aid, counselling and rehabilitation purposes. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=802InsuringIndia News Thu, 29 Aug 2013 18:17:00 GMT Following the Uttarakhand disaster in which India's largest general insurance company the New India Assurance sees a loss of around Rs 150-crore, it has decided to raise the premium in high hazards zones.<br/><br/>Sri G. Srinivasan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, New India Assurance said, “The quantum of increase will, however, depend on the risk exposure. The rate hike will be made after doing a risk inspection of the terrain.” <br/><br/>“The major loss came from hydro power stations, apart from a number of small claims,’ Srinivasan said, admitting that the extent of damage this time had caught many by surprise. <br/><br/>Further, Srinivasan said that it has opened the eyes of general insurance companies. “We will be increasing the premium rate for hydro power projects in that area. Such projects will attract differential pricing, depending on the physical hazard it is exposed to in that location”, he added. <br/><br/>When asked on claims settlement, he said that the New India Assurance has settled about a third of the claims, and rest will be settled in the next couple of days. <br/><br/>On Kudankulam project, he said “In India, there is no cover for hot zones in nuclear installations. There is a proposal to form a nuclear pool in collaboration with Indian and foreign companies. But this is still in a very beginning stage.” <br/><br/>“Once such a pool is in place, insurance companies will be able to offer cover even for hot zones, where nuclear reaction takes place. The cover is only for the cold zone at present,” Srinivasan said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=801InsuringIndia News Wed, 28 Aug 2013 16:47:00 GMT New India Assurance - India's largest general insurance company on Monday announced that it would launch four new health insurance products in another six months. Sri G. Srinivasan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of New India Assurance Company said, “The products awaiting regulatory nod are - Family Floater, Top-up, Critical Illness cover and policy for high net worth individuals.”<br/><br/>New India Assurance is aiming for 20% growth and has set a target of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 12,000 crore from domestic and Rs.3, 000 crore from overseas operations) in premium income during the current financial year as against Rs 12,500 crore of previous fiscal, Srinivasan said. <br/><br/>Health insurance segment contributes 27% of the total business of the company, he added. <br/><br/>Srinivasan said that the company has registered a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs. 262 crore during the first quarter of the current fiscal. Further, he said that company’s PAT this fiscal year would touch Rs. 1,000 crore, since the company expected to renew 80 - 85 % of the existing products, and the remaining 15 % from new premium. <br/><br/>New India Assurance is present in 22 countries, and aiming to expand its business in new territories like- Myanmar, Canada and Qatar this fiscal year. The company would also expand its agent base to one lac in the next two years, from the current agent strength of 55,000. During the fiscal, the company is also planning to open another 400 micro offices across the country, taking the total number to 1,000. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=800InsuringIndia News Tue, 27 Aug 2013 13:10:45 GMT Canada-based Manulife Financial Services is in final round of discussion with battery behemoth Exide Industries to buy 26 percent stake in ING Life Insurance Company, sources close to the development said. Since the Dutch partner ING Financial group exited the insurance joint venture ING Life Insurance, Exide has been in search for a foreign partner. However, CEO of Manulife Financial Services, Sri Mukul Gupta has refused to comment when asked.<br/><br/> If the deal is finalized, it will be the first major investment by an insurance company in India since April, when Sumitomo tied up with Delhi-based Max India. Manulife Financial Services can buy 26 percent stake, the maximum permissible under the current law. Although, the deal value couldn’t be ascertained but ING Life Insurance was valued at about Rs 1,100 crore when ING exited. Exide had purchased 50% stake from three investors including ING, retired investment banker Hemendra Kothari and the Enam group taking the entire control over the company.<br/><br/>The Insurance (Amendment) Bill which permits to raise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to 49 percent, is yet to be tabled in the parliament though the government gave some indications that it may be passed by the end of the monsoon session. <br/><br/>Seeing a slowdown in Indian insurance sector due to the general economic slowdown and the after effects of a sudden restriction on unfair practices by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), New York Life and ING have exited Indian operations while British banking giant HSBC is in talks to follow suit. Foreign investors are waiting for the raise in the FDI ceiling in insurance before putting more money. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=799InsuringIndia News Sat, 24 Aug 2013 12:40:45 GMT The Goa State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has reversed the order of the North Goa District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum which ordered the SBI Life Insurance Company to honour the Insurance claim of a deceased person who hailed from Marcel in Ponda taluka.<br/><br/>The SBI Life had repudiated the claim on the basis that the deceased had withheld the facts that he was suffering from diabetes and was chronic alcoholic. The Goa State Consumer Disputed Redressal Commission has brushed aside the complaint against the bank. <br/><br/>The deceased had taken a house loan of Rs 10 lac from the St. Estevam branch of the State Bank of India in January 31, 2008. The deceased had also taken a group insurance policy from the bank meant for housing loan borrowers of SBI. Though the deceased had submitted a good-health declaration to avail of the policy, the policy stipulated that the assurance would be null and void, if any incorrect averments were made or if any information was suppressed. <br/><br/>In October 2008, the deceased was admitted to a hospital where he diagnosed with cirrhosis of liver and his past history was recorded as a 'known case of diabetes mellitus on regular treatment'. He was then admitted to other hospital for further treatment. Here it was noted that the deceased had a history of diabetes, was a smoker and chronic alcoholic for 20 years. He expired on November 7, 2008. The hospital's death summary listed a long list of medical conditions including 'alcoholic liver disease'. <br/><br/>The nominee, wife of the deceased filed an insurance claim but the insurer rejected the claim stating that the deceased had given a false good health declaration at the time of entering into the insurance scheme. The wife approached the district forum which ruled in her favour. The bank then appealed before the Goa State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The commission observed that the deceased has suppressed the facts and gave false answers to obtain the policy. The commission termed it a fraud case because the insured despite being a regular smoker, a drinker for 20 years, a diabetic for three years on medication who eventually died of cirrhosis of the liver, had withheld the facts at the time of signing the policy. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=798InsuringIndia News Fri, 23 Aug 2013 15:12:45 GMT Insurance watchdog, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has decided to come out with stricter guidelines for insurance agents in order to prevent them from marketing ponzi schemes. This decision has been taken as a result of the Saradha scam, a financial scandal which ate into Rs. 200-300 billion of over 1.7 million depositors. This was caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group.<br/><br/>Under the new guidelines, both individual as well as corporate agents would have to submit written undertakings of having no association with private entities involved in the business of accepting public deposits. This stricture would be applicable to both public and private insurance companies as well as general and life insurance firms. <br/><br/>The authority will shortly ask insurance companies under its authority to collect the written undertakings from their regular and corporate agents, IRDA sources said. <br/><br/>The Saradha scam clearly revealed that several insurance agents most of who were associated with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, were doubling up as collection agents of different chit fund companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=797InsuringIndia News Thu, 22 Aug 2013 16:18:45 GMT With a view to cross promotion of each other's products, Public sector bank, Canara Bank and state-owned general insurer, United India Insurance (UII) on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Now, the insurer will leverage Canara Bank's huge network of over 3,800 branches to sell micro insurance products to rural population.<br/><br/>The MoU was signed by Canara Bank CMD Sri R K Dubey and United India Insurance CMD Sri Milind Karat CMD, at a function in Bangalore. Under the MoU, Canara Bank has announced a retail loan package created exclusively for the employees of UII. In return, UII also launched specific personal insurance products designed for the bank's customers to cover their financed and non-financed assets. <br/><br/>Sri R K Dubey said that the bank aims to earn Rs 50 crore as fee from selling non-life policies in the current fiscal, up from Rs 15 crore in the previous fiscal. He also said that the bank is looking to increase its branches from the current 3,800 to 5,000 by FY’ 2015. The bank is also on the threshold of tieing-up with another state-owned general insurer for health insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=796InsuringIndia News Thu, 22 Aug 2013 14:08:45 GMT In an accident in 2009, Muralidhar Pandilapalli, a 38 year old software professional from Pune, was hit by a speeding truck resulting in his death. <br/><br/>At the time of the incident, Muralidhar was drawing a package of INR 5 lakhs per annum. He left behind a 34 year old wife, a 6 year old son and a 1 year old daughter. They filed a claim with the insurance company, New India Assurance Ltd. The insurer denied the claim on the basis that the truck was not driving rashly. On the contrary, the company concluded it was Muralidhar who was driving rashly and tried to overtake the truck from the left side resulting in his death.<br/><br/>Upon being denied by the insurer, the dependents filed the claim with Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Pune. After looking at all the proofs submitted before the tribunal, the MACT observed that the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving by the truck driver. MACT completely denied the insurer’s version of the accident and ordered the insurer and truck owner to jointly pay INR 65.27 lakh alongwith 7.5% interest from December 2009 when the petition was filed. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=795InsuringIndia News Sat, 17 Aug 2013 15:06:45 GMT Country’s largest general insurance company, New India Assurance has announced that it would not charge extra premium for patients with diabetes or hypertension under its revised health insurance policy. The insurer has also withdrawn a clause from its policy that excluded cover for ailments caused by consumption of tobacco. This move will not only come as a relief to a huge urban population, but it will also eliminate disputes arising out of wrongful rejection of claims.<br/><br/>As of now, the insurer has been charging 10-20% extra premium to health insurance seekers suffering from these two conditions. Almost every insurer has been charging as high as 30-40 percent premium for offering health insurance cover to individuals with such existing ailments at the time of issuing policies. Also, some insurance companies continue to refuse offer covers to individuals with these conditions. <br/><br/>Mr. Antony Jacob, CEO of Apollo Munich, a leading health insurer said, “In case an individual suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes or hypertension, it is evident that the health risk applicable on this particular individual will be greater than a similar individual without such problems. This leads to the insurance company applying an extra premium on health insurance policies of an individual suffering from such conditions.”<br/><br/>Now, the new mediclaim policy allows health insurance cover up to Rs 8 lac as against earlier Rs 5 lac. “Senior citizens will also be given a one-time option to increase their sum insured if they have had two claim free years”, said Sri Segar Sampath Kumar, Head ( health insurance), New India Assurance.<br/><br/>The new policy has come into effect from July for new sales and all renewals from August 2013 will be under the new terms. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=794InsuringIndia News Fri, 16 Aug 2013 15:06:25 GMT Insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked all general insurance companies and stand alone health insurers to provide detailed guidelines to third party administrators (TPAs) for health insurance claim settlements.<br/><br/>Although, TPAs are not permitted for claim settlements or rejections in health insurance policies, they may handle claims, admissions and recommend to the insurer for the payment of claim settlement on the condition detailed guideline is prescribed by the insurer to them for claim settlement. IRDA circular said, “Every insurer utilising TPAs is advised to send a specific confirmation to this effect to the Authority on or before September 30, 2013.”<br/><br/>The regulator has suggested all the insurance companies to check that detailed guidelines are prepared and given to the respective TPA as per its regulation.<br/><br/>A TPA is an organization that processes insurance claims and also handles many aspects of other employee benefit plans such as processing of retirement plans and flexible spending accounts. This can be viewed as outsourcing the administration of the claims processing. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=793InsuringIndia News Thu, 15 Aug 2013 15:05:46 GMT The UP State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has governed an insurer to pay Rs 30.9 lac as insurance claim to a trader whose food grain stock kept in a godown was destroyed in spontaneous combustion. The company had refused to pay the damages saying it was a case of ‘no-claim’ and its surveyor had assessed the total loss at Rs 16.9 lac. <br/><br/>The trader's premises was insured by the opposite party for a year from April 2006 - April 2007 for Rs 50 lac only on the stock of paddy, wheat, rice brawn D-oil cake, food grains and pulses against earthquake, risk and spontaneous combustion. <br/><br/>On September 11, 2006, a fire broke out on the trader’s premises due to combustion. It destroyed the stock of rice brawn D-oil cake kept in 20,200 gunny bags, weighing 14137.75 quintals. The stock was insured. The trader informed the fire officer of Sitapur for three consecutive days-September 11, 12 and 13. He also informed the insurance company and the police. The company had sent its surveyor to assess the loss. After 2-3 days, the trader saw more flames in the premises and called the firemen again but they didn’t come. <br/><br/>The trader claimed a loss of over Rs 48 lac, but the insurer refused to accept it saying the trader had breached the insurance contract by misrepresenting the facts. <br/><br/>Consumer rights lawyer Sri Sarvesh Sharma said, “It is wrong to say that the complainant did not take out stock from the godown on the advice of the firefighters and allowed it to be destroyed.” <br/><br/>"The complainant is being accused repeatedly that he managed the total loss of stock in collusion with the fire brigades evidencing the total loss of stock, then how it could be said that it was partially damaged”, the commission said. <br/><br/>The commission also found the surveyor's assessment of total loss being Rs 16.9 lac inexact and ordered the insurance firm to pay Rs 30 lac towards compensation. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=792InsuringIndia News Tue, 13 Aug 2013 16:04:58 GMT Country’s official auditor the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has blamed four public sector insurance companies - National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance for causing loss of Rs. 122 crore. CAG in its report, tabled in Parliament, has pronounced their decision to enter into business pact with private player Star Health and Allied Insurance Company ‘an imprudent decision’.<br/><br/>In November 2007, the Tamil Nadu government invited bids from general insurance companies to provide health insurance cover to the state government employees and local bodies, among others. Star Health and Allied Insurance Company won the bid, in which the four PSU insurers too had participated. Although, the premium quoted by the four public sector insurance companies was much higher than finally agreed to by Star, they entered into a co-insurance agreement with the private insurer as the leader. <br/><br/>The report said that during the four-year period from June 2008 to June 2012, the four PSU insurers suffered a total loss of Rs 121.81 crore. During the period, the insurers received premium of Rs 137.33 crore and accepted expenditure of Rs 259.14 crore towards claims, administrative charges and other expenses. <br/><br/>Further, the report said, “A substantial part of claim was borne by the four PSU insurers, who accepted the co-insurance in spite of low premium and without putting in place appropriate checks and balances to safeguard their financial interests.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=791InsuringIndia News Mon, 12 Aug 2013 15:58:26 GMT With a view to increase insurance penetration across the country and to give rural population more access to insurance, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has allowed banks to act as insurance broker. The regulator has come up with regulations for licensing banks as insurance broker. However, the regulations do not mandate banks to become insurance brokers.<br/><br/>As of now, banks have been distributing insurance products only as corporate agents under a bancassurance model. Under this arrangement, banks can sell products of one life and one non-life insurance companies. <br/><br/>As per IRDA (Licensing of Banks as Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2013, there is no capital requirement for banks to carry out insurance broking business. To qualify for the broking license, a bank will need to have the principal officer, an officer of general manager or equivalent category, who is appointed exclusively to carry out the functions of an insurance broker. <br/><br/>The license will be valid for three year from the date of issue, and the renewal application can be applied 30 days prior to its expiry date. <br/><br/> The Union Finance Minister Sri P. Chidambaram in its Budget speech in February this year had announced that banks would be permitted to act as insurance brokers. This was being done so that the entire network of bank branches can be utilised to increase penetration. <br/><br/>Although, there is still no clarity on which way the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will move and whether it would allow banks to act as insurance brokers. The incumbent RBI Governor, Sri D. Subbarao had showed deep concerns over allowing banks to act as insurance-brokers. He said that banks assuming the role of insurance brokers may also lead to conflict of interests. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=790InsuringIndia News Sat, 10 Aug 2013 12:43:24 GMT The Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has governed the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lac with 9% interest from March’ 2000 to a widow for wrongly rejecting her husband’s insurance claim. This verdict came after the country’s largest insurance company had filed an appeal in the state commission in 2003 against the decision of a district forum, who ruled in favour of the widow.<br/><br/>On July 2, 1997, Pradeep, a resident of Vile Parle in Maharashtra suffered a heart attack and died. His widow, Asha Dave submitted the claim form to the insurer, but the insurer rejected her claim on the grounds that her husband Pradeep had suppressed that he was suffering from hypertension. Then, the widow, Asha Dave moved to district consumer forum in year 2001. The forum ruled in favour of Asha. After that, the state-run insurer filed an appeal in the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.<br/><br/>In its appeal, the LIC claimed that the insured’s certificate of treatment/consultation signed by his doctor revealed that he suffered from hypertension.<br/><br/> The commission said, “We find no reason to believe that the deceased had suppressed any material fact of suffering from hypertension.”<br/><br/>“It cannot be said that the LIC had a valid reason to repudiate the claim. Repudiation being arbitrary, deficiency in service on the part of LIC is well established, the commission added. Asha rejected LIC’s claim that her husband was suffering from hypertension. She said when the LIC recorded details for Pradeep’s health statement in 1997; he was not suffering from hypertension. A mediclaim attendant's certificate issued after Pradeep's death to Asha by the same doctor who had signed his certificate of treatment/consultation stated that he did not suffer from hypertension. "This declaration assumes more weightage," the commission said. "The certificate of treatment/consultation cannot be believed." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=789InsuringIndia News Thu, 08 Aug 2013 17:52:11 GMT The Odisha government is chewing over an insurance scheme for students of government schools. If the scheme is implemented, over 66 lac students from Class I to X would be benefited.<br/><br/>The Naveen Patnaik government took this decision in view of frequent incidents of school accident recently, in which several students lost their lives. However, the proposal is in its preliminary stage, and insurer is yet to be finalized. The government representatives are in talks with general insurance companies. “We are discussing with various groups. Norms are yet to be finalized”, school and mass education secretary Smt.  Usha Padhee said.<br/><br/>“The scheme would cover all types of mishaps during school hour, educational tours, picnics, road accidents, fire, drowning, falling from trees or boundary wall collapse. The compensation money will help parents and guardians of affected students in meeting medical expenses immediately”, Smt. Padhi said adding, “In case of death, the parents of the deceased student would get compensation between Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lac from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, but there is no provision for major injuries.”<br/><br/>The government, as of now, has been providing compensation packages of around Rs 1 lac in case of major mishaps. And, in some cases, the medical expenses are also borne by the government. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=788InsuringIndia News Thu, 08 Aug 2013 17:22:24 GMT British insurer Aviva PLC may pull out its India life insurance joint venture with the Dabur Group. In the 74:26 joint venture, the foreign insurer holds the maximum permissible limit of 26% stake, which valued around Rs 3,040 crore. According to the sources, Aviva Life is in the process of moving away from less-profitable markets where it has struggled to expand its business. Aviva aims to cut its costs by Rs 3,700 crore by the end of the year. The insurer is in the process of hiring corporate advisors to find buyers for its stake in the joint venture.<br/><br/>Sources said that Aviva is considering over numerous options, including selling its stake to Dabur Group itself, if it fails to find a foreign buyer. If Aviva exits from Indian insurance market, it would be the 3rd foreign insurer to quit India since 2012, obstructed by regulations that restrict foreign ownership and fierce political opposition to changing those limits. Dabur Group owns Ayurvedic medicine and food products manufacturer Dabur India. <br/><br/>“We don't comment on market speculations or rumours as a policy,” said Aviva PLC in a statement. Sri Mohit Burman, a director of Aviva Life who represents Dabur Group, was not available for comment. <br/><br/>Aviva had identified India and China as potential and ‘must win’ markets, but the decision to sell out its Indian insurance business indicates a change in that policy. Aviva hired former AIA Group chief executive Mark Wilson last year to lead a turnaround in its business, hit by slower growth in its main market of Europe. Wilson joined after spiralling costs and poor share price performance triggered an investor revolt in 2012 that forced out then-CEO Andrew Moss. <br/><br/>This year, Aviva pulled out of its Malaysian insurance joint venture and exited from Russia. <br/><br/>The insurer witnessed a 4.1% drop in new business premiums for the period April-May, as compared to the same period last year. It saw a 7.8% drop in new premium collection to Rs 2,960 crore in this period. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=787InsuringIndia News Tue, 06 Aug 2013 14:02:17 GMT Public sector general insurance company, New India Assurance Company Ltd. has decided to permit customers to buy third-party motor insurance policies through its website. According to a company insider, the company will offer a discount of 5-10% on premiums for such policies.<br/><br/>Sri G. Srinivasan, Chairman & Managing Director, New India Assurance said, “We plan to allow customers to purchase standalone third-party motor insurance policies and householder policies shortly through our online portal.”<br/><br/>Normally, general insurance companies do not show interest offering third-party motor insurance as it is a loss-making portfolio.<br/><br/>The third-party motor insurance has been mandated in India. Third party cover refers to the covers provided by the insurance companies for damage caused to a third party standing by the road and got injured or killed by an insured vehicle. In such cases, the claim amount can be unlimited. In recent times, this portfolio of insurance has seen high claims ratios in excess of 120%.<br/><br/>The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. head quartered in Mumbai is the largest general insurance company of India on the basis of gross premium collection inclusive of foreign operations. At present, online portal of the company offers private car and two-wheeler comprehensive insurance policies, health insurance cover, personal accident cover and foreign medi-claim policies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=784InsuringIndia News Fri, 02 Aug 2013 13:39:27 GMT Oil minister Sri M. Veerappa Moily has approved an accident insurance scheme for public transport drivers of buses, autos and taxis running on CNG in Delhi and its suburbs- Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. The scheme is expected to benefit more than 3 lac families.According to the sources in Delhi government, the scheme named - IGL Suraksha Yojana, would be launched by this week and implemented through Indraprastha Gas Limited. <br/><br/>Earlier this month, Delhi’s Transport Minister Sri Ramakant Goswami had said, “The drivers are the backbone of public transport sector. The drivers are generally the sole bread-winners of their families and keeping this in mind, it has been decided to launch an accident insurance scheme for them.” <br/><br/>Under the scheme, the nominee of a driver will get a death benefit of Rs 1,50,000 if a driver dies while driving a public transport vehicle. An amount of Rs 25,000 towards children’s education allowance per child (maximum for 2 children) would also be given under the scheme. And, in case of an accident requiring treatment for injury or frature, a lump sum amount of Rs 10,000 will be given to the driver. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=786InsuringIndia News Thu, 01 Aug 2013 19:22:27 GMT The Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has held that an insurance claim cannot be repudiated by bringing up an exclusion clause which was not brought to the notice of the policy holders. If an insurance company does not educate the insured about the exclusion clause in the policy, then claim must be paid by the insurer.<br/><br/>Following a complaint filed by some Achala Marde of Maharashtra, whose husband Rudrani met with an accident and died before being admitted to the hospital, the Forum directed the insurance company, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd. to pay the insurance amount of Rs 5 lac as well as Rs 1.60 lac towards compensation to the nominee. The Forum found insurer guilty of deficiency in service. The insurer had rejected the claim on the basis that 121 mg per litre of ethyl alcohol was found in the blood sample of the insured at the time of the accident, which violated the terms and conditions of the policy. <br/><br/>On December 24, 2009, Rudrani, a biker died in an accident. The claim, after being rejected by a district consumer forum, Rudrani’s widow, Achala Marde had appealed before the state consumer forum. In her filing, Achala asserted that the reflection of ethyl alcohol in the blood sample was due to the ethyl substance medicine administered to save her husband’s life. She also said that her husband never consumed liquor or any intoxicating substance. Further, she alleged that the terms and conditions relied upon by the insurer were not brought to her husband's notice. <br/><br/>While the insurance company contended that the claim was rejected on the basis of violation of exclusion clause of the policy. It said that the victim Rudrani was under the influence of alcohol at the time of accident. <br/><br/>Pointing out the police panchnama, which clearly says that the victim was hit in the motorbike accident by the rash and negligent driving of the oncoming motorcyclist and criminal proceedings have been lodged against him, the Forum held that it can in no way be established that the presence of alcohol in the blood report was a contributory cause to the fatal accident. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=785InsuringIndia News Thu, 01 Aug 2013 14:19:27 GMT Bus-ticket booking portal, abhibus.com has tied-up with ICICI Lombard General Insurance to launch an insurance policy for customers booking tickets on its website. Under the scheme which is specifically designed for domestic bus travellers, its customers will get personal accident cover, daily hospitalisation allowance and reimbursment of hospitalisation expenses due to injury suffered while travelling. To avail benefits of insurance, the traveller would need to simply tick the ‘Buy bus travel insurance’ option at the time of booking tickets. <br/><br/>Sri Sanjay Datta, Chief (Underwriting & Claims), ICICI Lombard said, “With this distinct scheme, the bus travellers can now avail host of insurance benefits related to their bus journey which includes reimbursement of hospitalisation expenses, personal accident cover and daily hospitalisation allowance.” <br/><br/>Under the scheme, the company will provide a sum of Rs 2 lac as personal accident cover and up to Rs 1.5 lac towards hospitalisation expenses. Additionally, the commuters will also get Rs 500 per day as daily hospitalisation allowance (except for the first 24 hours) for maximum hospitalisation of 7 days.<br/><br/>AbhiBus.com is headquartered in Hyderabad. It is a service provider for more than 100 large private bus operators in India, 4 state transport corporations and 2 international operators. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=783InsuringIndia News Wed, 31 Jul 2013 11:02:45 GMT Private insurer SBI General Insurance registered a significant growth of 115% in gross premium collection at Rs 270.89 crore in the first quarter of the fiscal year-2013. The company also registered 107% growth in number of policies issued, from 115,676 in previous year to 239,082.<br/><br/>Sri Bhaskar. J. Sarma, MD and CEO, SBI General Insurance said, “We have increased our presence to 40 locations and have been able to establish a strong foundation across Retail, Corporate and SME business segments as well as across various product lines like Motor, Fire, Engineering, Home Insurance and Personal Accident Insurance during the past year. Our recently launched Health Insurance product is gaining traction with customers.”<br/><br/>The insurer has also planned to expand its network in tier-ll and tier-lll cities by adding another 25-30 branches.<br/><br/>SBI General Insurance Company Limited is a new entrant in the sector. It got registered to IRDA in year, 2009 becoming the 22nd general insurer in the country. It’s a joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI) and Insurance Australia Group, Australia. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=782InsuringIndia News Wed, 31 Jul 2013 11:02:14 GMT Mumbai-based home loan and housing finance company Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) has bought DLF’s 74% stake in the insurance joint venture DLF Pramerica Life Insurance. However, neither of the companies has disclosed the deal amount, but according to the sources close to the development, the amount could be anything around Rs 350-400 crore.<br/><br/>In 2007, the largest reality firm of India, DLF had announced to enter into life insurance sector through a joint venture with US-based Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd., a unit of Prudential Financial Inc.<br/><br/>Apart from DLF Pramerica Life Insurance, Prudential International Insurance is present in Indian insurance sector through joint ventures with two dozen Indian life insurance companies, in which Prudential International Insurance holds the maximum permissible foreign holding of 26%.<br/><br/>DLF in a filing to BSE said that it signed definitive agreements on Thursday to sell its 74% stake in the life insurance joint venture DLF Pramerica Life Insurance to DHFL. The stake sale in the joint venture is part of DLF's strategy to divest ‘non-core’ assets to reduce debt. The joint venture had reported a combined loss of over Rs. 250 crore during past two fiscals. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=781InsuringIndia News Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:21:01 GMT Several employees’ unions have been opposing Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2008, which recommends to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling to 49% from 26%. The Union government has approved the bill as recommended by the Arvind Mayaram Committee, and is making thorough efforts to pass during the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament.<br/><br/>Addressing a press conference, Mr. Ravi and Ms. Geetha, members of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India Employees’ Union said that the decision to raise FDI ceiling in insurance sector would only help foreign capitalists gain greater access and control over domestic savings, which is against the national interest.<br/><br/>The south zone Insurance Employees' Federation is also opposing the bill. In its 32nd state level conference, which is to be held from August 3 to August 6, the body is planning to meet over one lac people as part of its 'Meet the Public' programme. According to the sources, the key highlight of the meet would be expression of opposition to FDI.<br/><br/>If the bill is passed, a foreign investor can be able to invest up to 49% in India insurance sector under the automatic route in which companies investing do not require prior government approval.<br/><br/>Sri K. Swaminathan, General Secretary, south zone Insurance Employees Federation said, “If you see the claims settlement experience of private insurance companies, in many cases, the unsettled claims are as high as 40% to 50%.”<br/><br/>“There are no new products for the public as a result of the FDI hike,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=780InsuringIndia News Thu, 25 Jul 2013 11:15:04 GMT Public sector insurer New India Assurance Co. Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) to provide an exclusive portal for members, students and employees of the institute. <br/><br/>The insurer in its release said that it would provide a portal which can be accessed through a link in the ICSI website. Through the website insurance policies such as health insurance, motor insurance, personal accident and professional indemnity can be bought. The portal facilitates to pay premium by using credit card, debit card or net banking.<br/><br/>New India Assurance has crossed global premium of Rs 12,500 crore in fiscal year 2012-13 at a growth rate of 18%. For the fiscal year 2013-14, the insurer has planned to achieve growth rate of 20% with business around Rs 15,000 crore. The insurer is set to expand its overseas operations in Myanmar, Qatar and Canada.<br/><br/>New India Assurance Co Ltd. is one of India’s five public sector insurance companies. It is the largest general insurance company of India on the basis of gross premium collection inclusive of foreign operations. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=779InsuringIndia News Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:03:36 GMT The South Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has held that when the terms of an insurance policy are vague, benefits should be given to the insured. The insurer National Insurance Company denied the accidental death claim of a Mumbai resident on the ground that the death of his father, a senior citizen and a doctor, due to a fall at home, was not accidental and was caused by disease-related giddiness. <br/><br/>In its decision, the consumer forum told the insurer to pay the victim's son, Dr Sunil Vakil, the insured sum of Rs 5 lac along with an interest of Rs 1.20 lac. The forum also asked insurer to pay Rs 23,000 as compensation for an unfair trade practice and towards the costs of the complaint. <br/><br/>The forum cited a national commission order which said it was an accidental death even if an insured person suffered a fit and drowned or fell in front of a train and was killed. <br/><br/>The national commission ruling said “It is settled law that when two reasonable interpretations of the terms of the policy are possible, the interpretation which favours the insured is to be accepted and not the interpretation which favours the insurance. Further, the terms of the insurance policy are drafted one-sided by the insurance company. Therefore, in case the terms of the policy are vague, benefits should be given to the insured and not to the insurer." <br/><br/>Death, which does not occur in the usual course or natural course of events or causes which could not be reasonably anticipated, is considered accidental, the commission order added. <br/><br/>The insured Dr. ShirishVakil was covered under the Janata Personal Accident Insurance Policy. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=778InsuringIndia News Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:03:03 GMT Private sector insurer AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) Company has announced its tie-up with YES Bank for collecting premiums. This would facilitate customers to pay their renewal premiums as well as new business premiums at any YES Bank branch across the country.<br/><br/>To pay ARLI’s premium at any YES Bank branch, the customer needs to fill in the deposit slip in favour of AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company Limited bearing his/her policy number, name and contact number on the reverse of the slip. The customer soon receives a premium payment acknowledgement receipt upon payment across the bank counter.<br/><br/>The bank which has more than 130 branches across the country will charge no extra cost for the facility. Any new branches added by YES Bank will be made available to AEGON Religare Life customers to make the renewal premium payment.<br/><br/>"Our idea of tying up with YES Bank is to provide our customers with an additional mode to pay their premium, without the hassle of locating and visiting an ARLI branch”, said Sri Yateesh Srivastava, CEO, AEGON Religare Life Insurance.<br/><br/>“YES Bank accesses real-time data of a particular policy and simply collects the due premium. We've ensured that the customer details are secured and do not transfer from or to any of the YES Bank branches”, he added. <br/><br/>ARLI is a joint venture between AEGON (26%), Religare Enterprises Limited (44%), and Bennett, Coleman & Company (30%). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=777InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 Jul 2013 17:01:40 GMT The country’s second largest general insurance company United India Insurance Co Ltd (UIICL) has decided to open 530 more branches across the country by the end of the year, 2013. At present, the state-owned insurer has 1,340 branches in India.<br/><br/>For the fiscal year 2013-14, the insurer has set a premium collection target of Rs 11,000 crore. Last year it had collected a total premium of Rs 9,266 crore registering a net profit of Rs 526 crore.<br/><br/>United India Insurance settles over 10 lac claims annually and had the highest solvency ratio of 2.52, UIIC Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Sri Milind Kharat said on Monday.<br/><br/>In order to its expansion programme, the insurer is on a recruitment drive for 294 administration staff. While other insurers- National Insurance, New India Assurance and Oriental Insurance are recruiting 423, 494 and 223 administration staff respectively.<br/><br/>Online registration for the post commenced on 16th July, and the last date is 3rd August, 2013. The tentative date for written test is 8th September. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=776InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 Jul 2013 17:00:34 GMT AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) Company has been conferred with the ‘E-Business Leader Award-2013’, under the category of Overall Insurance Industry Awards by the Indian Insurance Award in a function held in Mumbai recently. The E-Business Leader award is given to an insurance company that has deployed the online insurance channel effectively for sales, marketing and lead generation for the business. This also needs to commend an insurance company bringing special focus on this revolutionary distribution model.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Sri K.S. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director at AEGON Religare Life said, “AEGON Religare Life Insurance is extremely proud and happy to be honoured as the E-Business Leader Award. It gives me immense pleasure to accept this well-deserved award. It further strengthens our position as pioneers of Online Life Insurance in India. Introducing India to a digital distribution channel for life insurance was a challenge and I believe ARLI overcame this hurdle by simplifying the buying process and introducing several customer-friendly online term, health and investment products.” <br/><br/>The leading private insurer is a joint venture between AEGON (26%), an international life insurance, pension and investment company; Religare Enterprises Limited (44%), a global financial services group; and Bennett, Coleman & Company (30%), India’s largest media conglomerate. ARLI opened up the online sale of life insurance nearly two years back, is the largest player in this segment followed by Aviva Life insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=775InsuringIndia News Mon, 22 Jul 2013 18:34:31 GMT Warren Buffett’s prime investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway Inc has decided to close its online insurance broking business in India. In March 2011, Berkshire had launched its India insurance venture, Berkshireinsurance.com.<br/><br/>This news comes at the time when India is trying to woo foreign investors in various sectors to boost the sagging Indian economy. The Insurance Amendment Bill, which suggests hiking foreign direct investment (FDI) cap from exiting 26% to 49%, is pending in the Upper House. Due to the ownership restriction, Berkshire had invested only a small amount in the sector to sell products of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company rather than to enter into the insurance business itself with an Indian company. <br/><br/>Berkshire has decided to discontinue their online model of selling insurance products in India, a spokesperson for Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said. However, Sri Arun Balakrishnan, Head, Berkshireinsurance.com, has not yet confirmed.<br/><br/>The Bajaj Allianz spokesman said that all the existing policies that had been bought from Berkshireinsurance.com would be provided seamless services by an exclusive team set up at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=774InsuringIndia News Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:47:04 GMT Reliance General Insurance, a part of Anil Ambani’s led Reliance Capital has announced that it would launch a women and girl child centric health insurance policy named Reliance Healthgain on August 1, this year.  Making the announcement, Sri Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General Insurance said, “The new product would offer pricing benefits of up to 5 % on the total family premium in case of the addition of a girl child. It would also offer a discount of 5 % on the entire policy premium for a female proposer who is a widow covering self or children, or an individual covering self, provided she is unmarried, widowed or divorced.”<br/><br/>However, in any circumstances, the total discounts would never surpass 15%.  The other benefits of buying Reliance Healthgain policy are, in case of delay in claim settlement, the company would pay additional financial compensation to the policyholders. Similarly, in case of delay in policy issuance, the company would guarantee additional sum insured to the policyholders.<br/><br/>The insurer has not yet disclosed the pricing of the policy. According to Sri Jain, the same is expected to be disclosed in a week time. Through this plan, the insurer is planning to cover about 4 lac people within the first year of its launch. <br/><br/>In the first quarter of the FY’ 2013-14, Reliance General registered a growth of 110% to Rs 169 crore in health insurance premium. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=773InsuringIndia News Tue, 16 Jul 2013 19:35:13 GMT Motor insurance claims are liable to be denied if the driver does not have the appropriate license. Recently, the Thane Motor Accident Claims Tribunal upheld the decision of National Insurance Company Ltd to deny such a claim.<br/><br/>The tribunal ruled that the insurance company can deny the claim if the driver of the offending vehicle is driving without a license. The petitioner, Ramesh Eknath Kamble was on his two-wheeler when a tanker hit him from behind. This resulted in serious injuries to the petitioner and he was hospitalized for a long time. Upon his recovery and discharge from the hospital, he was declared 25% disabled for life by his doctors. Kamble filed a complaint with the tribunal seeking compensation from the tanker owner, Chandrakant Mhatre and National Insurance Company Ltd, the tanker’s insurer.<br/><br/>The tribunal rejected Kamble’s appeal on account of the driver not having appropriate driving license. The driver has a regular light motor vehicle license whereas he needed a commercial heavy motor vehicle license. Thus, the tribunal ruled that while it discharged National Insurance Company Ltd. from paying the claim, it ordered the tanker’s owner Chandrakant Mhatre to pay Kamble Rs. 6 lakh as compensation. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=772InsuringIndia News Mon, 15 Jul 2013 18:33:35 GMT As the Indian rupee hits its lifetime low, the cost of settling claims from travel insurance segment is expected to go up by 10 percent, according to experts from general insurance companies. They also said that the fall in the rupee may also have some impact on marine insurance claims though, marine insurance depends on the nature of shipments and clients’ profile.<br/><br/>Since the beginning of the fiscal year 2013-14, the rupee has devalued by over 12%. The rupee hit its lifetime low of Rs. 61.21 a USD on Wednesday pressuring the central bank and the capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to find out some unusual steps to fight inflation.<br/><br/>Dr. Renuka Kanvinde, AVP (Health & Travel), Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said, “In travel insurance, most claim settlements happen in dollars. Due to the rupee fall in the past few days, the claims in travel insurance are certain to be high.”<br/><br/>“As the rupee falls, exports are likely to be higher. So, general insurers will enter into marine insurance contract with exporters. Due to the fall in rupee, the claims arising out from marine insurance are likely to be higher,” said Sri Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, Chief Executive at Bharti Axa General Insurance Company. Companies will be absorbing the rise in claims as of now instead of hiking the premium to compensate the higher outgo, Sri Ananthanarayanan added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=771InsuringIndia News Mon, 15 Jul 2013 12:09:21 GMT Seeing cyber insurance a potentially lucrative business, Europe's biggest insurance company Allianz is looking to encash the opportunity. In recent times, a significant growth in corporate demand for insurance against computer hacking and internet breakdowns has been seen.<br/><br/>Allianz is a Germany based multinational financial services provider. Its core business is insurance. It is present in India through a joint venture with Bajaj Finserv Limited.<br/><br/>Mr. Hartmut Mai, Board Member at Allianz's AGCS unit for Global Corporate and Special Insurance Risks said, “We see cyber insurance as a big growth market.”<br/><br/>In coming days a substantial growth in the cyber insurance market in Europe is expected especially when the European lawmakers are assuring larger penalty for companies that lose data.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Mr. Mai said, “If my production lines are silent because my cloud (computing) provider cannot make the data I have stored there available, then that could threaten the company's existence.”<br/><br/>Cyber insurance products in the United States are already well developed, generating premiums of around $1.3 billion per year, they are drawing premiums of only around 150 million euros in continental Europe, including between 50 million and 70 million in Germany, which leaves space for the market to grow up to double-digit rates outside the United States, Mr. Mai added.<br/><br/>Talking about the premiums and coverage, Mr. Mai said that the annual premiums would range anything between € 50,000 to € 90,000, offering protection between10 and 50 million euros. In its first step, Allianz is planning to rolls out the scheme in Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand this year and will target several other Asian countries in 2014. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=770InsuringIndia News Thu, 11 Jul 2013 17:27:58 GMT As part of Financial Inclusion Programme, public sector insurer United India Insurance Company (UIIC) in association with Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) has launched a Web portal for issuance of Crop Insurance Policies of AIC.<br/><br/>Sri Milind Kharat, Chairman - cum - Managing Director of United India Insurance, and Sri P. J. Joseph, Chairman of Agriculture Insurance Company of India formally launched the Web portal recently.<br/><br/>This portal aims at the crop insurance needs of farmers residing in remote areas. Through this portal, the insurance agents would be able to transfer data on real-time basis due to which claims can be settled more quickly. <br/><br/>The farmers will be given a unique identification number that can be used for further renewals and communication to the insurer. <br/><br/>United India Insurance is selling two types of scheme- (a) Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS), and (b) Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) in selected districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=769InsuringIndia News Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:28:32 GMT General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re), the Indian Reinsurer, is planning to map hazard prone areas to avoid losses due to natural disasters. GIC Re plans to approach ISRO for satellite maps of the affected areas and use that as the basis of their research. The project will take 6 months to completely map the hazard zones and once done will be a first in India. Thereafter, GIC Re plans to encourage implementation of strict building construction codes in the hazard zones to avoid future calamities. Sri Ashok Roy, CMD, GIC Re said, “Premium for insuring properties in those areas may be higher and there could be a mechanism whereby insurance companies can refuse claims if insured entities don't follow rules.” <br/><br/>Due to the recent Uttarakhand Floods, the general insurers are expecting claims in the range of Rs. 3000-4000 crores. The claims are expected in categories like damaged power projects, motor vehicle claims and personal accident cover. There are around 245 power projects in Uttarakhand which have been affected by the recent floods. <br/><br/>Once completed, GIC Re plans to share the research with other government agencies.<br/><br/>Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the US Government’s disaster relief organization, does something similar there. FEMA has mapped the entire United States into hazard zones of various categories like, flood, earthquake, fire, hurricane, etc. with each category having its own building code. Any building constructed in these zones need to ensure the applicable code is met and the building owners have to buy additional insurance like flood insurance or wind insurance etc. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=768InsuringIndia News Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:28:09 GMT General insurance claims arising out of the ravaging floods in Uttarakhand are estimated to be around Rs 3,000 crore, an industry insider said on July 6.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Sri Milind Kharat, Chairman - cum - Managing Director of United India Insurance Company (UIIC) said, “Out of total estimated claims of Rs 3,000 crore, the United India exposure would be Rs 500 crore. United India Insurance has significant exposure in Uttarakhand and we are eager to settle the losses.”<br/><br/>So far the state-owned insurer had received 37 claims. The surveyors were not able to visit the damaged sites to assess the losses. The claims were mainly from hydel power projects, which suffered substantial losses, he added. <br/><br/>Assuming more claims to come, the General Managers of four state-run general insurance companies would meet in Dehradun next week to formulate a strategy for early claim settlement. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=767InsuringIndia News Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:27:42 GMT In an order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismisses abuse of dominance allegations against state-run insurer United India Insurance Company and its Third Party Administrator (TPA) E-Meditak in health insurance segment.<br/><br/>“It was appropriate to close this case...as no contravention of the provisions of the (Competition) Act is prima facie found to exist,” said the order.<br/><br/>The case was filed by an individual alleging United India Insurance that the insurer had obtained the business of ‘Mediclaim Insurance for the CanCard Holders under group insurance from the year 2005-06’.<br/><br/>The complainant alleged that since the insurer was the only and dominant service provider to ‘CanCard Group Medi insurance policy holders’, all holders who opted for these medical claim policies were necessarily required to carry out all the transactions through the insurance company and its TPA.<br/><br/>“... Opposite Party 1 (United India Insurance) does not seem to hold a position of strength in the relevant market (services of medical insurance) which can enable it to operate independently of the competitive forces prevailing in the relevant market or affect its competitors or consumers or the relevant market in its favour,” the competition regulator said.<br/><br/>The regulator also said that none of the TPA was dominant in the market of the services provided by them to various health insurance policy holders and non-life insurance companies within India.<br/><br/>There was also allegation on E-Meditak that it had failed to fulfil its obligations related to renewal or termination of the insurance policy, claim intimation and repudiation of claim, among others, under its agreement with United India Insurance.<br/><br/>However, the competition regulator mentioned that if the TPA E-Meditak was not fulfilling its obligations under the agreement, then the insurance company could have terminated the contract or take legal remedies and that the policy holders could have complained to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=766InsuringIndia News Sat, 06 Jul 2013 17:15:43 GMT The Annual Jagannath Rath Yatra this year will be insured for Rs. 1.5 crores. Last year, the Yatra was insured for Rs. 1 crore. The insurance will cover the entire route of the Rath Yatra and will provide protection to the Yatra against crowd related violence. Millions are expected to seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath, Subhadra and Balram in the 136th year of the Yatra. <br/><br/>The three raths used by the Lords are individual pieces of art in themselves. Each chariot is made of real teak wood and costs upwards of Rs. 15 lakhs. Besides this, the attires that the Lords adorn, cost approximately Rs. 50,000 each. The temple authorities may also seek insurance for the Lords’ attires and ornaments along with the three chariots.<br/><br/>The Gujarat Police is not leaving anything to chance. For the first time in India, two Unmanned Aerial Vehicle0073 (UAVs) called Netra will be used for crowd management and control. Netra has been designed indigenously by an Indian company in partnership with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=765InsuringIndia News Fri, 05 Jul 2013 17:15:05 GMT The capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is requesting the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to encourage insurers to become more vocal on issues of corporate governance.<br/><br/>Insurance companies hold substantial stakes in listed Indian entities. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India alone is managing assets of over Rs 13 lac crore. But, it is observed that the state-run insurer is not active investor.<br/><br/>"The Securities and Exchange Board of India has approached us to improve corporate governance practice in companies and the need for insurance companies to play an active role towards it. We are looking into the matter," said a senior IRDA official. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=764InsuringIndia News Thu, 04 Jul 2013 17:14:01 GMT The Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia’s chief executive officer, Tony Fernandes, said in New Delhi on Wednesday, that apart from the low cost airline business, the company is also eyeing the Indian insurance market through its Tune Money venture.<br/><br/>"The potential of India was always there in my eyes. I was waiting for the market to become conducive for us so that we can stay here for a fairly long time and I think the tide is now turning very quickly. So we felt that this is the right time to come to India," he said while addressing a press meet.<br/><br/>For his low cost airline, Mr. Fernandes mentioned that there will be multiple bases in southern India, like Bengaluru, Chennai and Kochi. He also plans to bring down the air fare rates even further in India. The company will start with Chennai as its head office. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=763InsuringIndia News Wed, 03 Jul 2013 17:35:32 GMT The Union Finance Minister Sri P. Chidambaram has directed insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to open special camp office in flood-hit state Uttarakhand and soften norms especially in case of stranded people to settle life insurance claims efficiently.<br/><br/>After a meeting with Sri Chidambaram, the acting chairman of LIC Sri Thomas Mathew said, “LIC will be opening a special office in that area to attend to all the claimants and relax the usual requirements for claim settlement.”<br/><br/>As per the current norms, the state-run insurer requires to wait for seven years period to consider a missing person dead. .”<br/><br/>“In this precarious situation, an indemnity bond can be taken from the claimants in such cases and the claims may be settled on priority,” Sri Chidambaram added. .”<br/><br/>The same norms were applied by the insurer in Tamil Nadu during the tsunami and in Gujarat during the earthquake. .”<br/><br/>According to media reports, thousands of people are feared to have died in the natural-calamity. So far 822 dead bodies have been recovered and about 8,000 are still stranded. The state government has decided to photograph and maintain the DNA profile unidentified victims which will help LIC to settle claims. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=762InsuringIndia News Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:40:40 GMT In order to reduce cashless claim authorisation time in health insurance, private sector insurer L & T General Insurance Company in association with E-Meditek Global has launched a pre-paid card - MediCash Card. Visa and Ratnakar Bank are the other partners in this alliance. <br/><br/>Sri Joydeep Roy, Chief Executive and Whole-Time Director of L&T Insurance Company said, “This card facilitates its customers to get instant approval and on-the-spot payment facilities, making the crucial period of wait almost negligible.” <br/><br/>However, this card is currently available only to L & T Insurance's corporate customers, but will be extended to individual customers by the end of this year, Sri Roy added. <br/><br/>As per the insurer, share of health insurance was around 21% in L&T General Insurance Company’s Gross Written Premium (GWP) of Rs 182 crore registered for last fiscal year. <br/><br/>L &T General Insurance Company is a part of Larsen & Toubro Limited which is an Indian multinational conglomerate having business interests in financial services, information technology, construction, manufacturing goods and engineering. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=761InsuringIndia News Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:50:39 GMT Private sector insurer Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company has been conferred with the prestigious - Life Insurance Company of the Year Award 2013, at the Indian Insurance Awards 2013 held on Tuesday. <br/><br/>Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Chief Executive Officer Mr. John Holder and Marketing Director Mrs. Vishakha R.M. received the award at a function in Mumbai organized by Fintelekt, SP Media for demonstrating overall leadership in product mix, revenues, customer mix and business model effectiveness during the fiscal year 2012-13. <br/><br/>The company, operating its business through bancassurance model, showed rich growth in last fiscal year 2012-13 across a variety of parameters such as growth of premiums and persistency of business. It is the fastest Indian life insurance company to cross Rs.500 crore, Rs.1,000 crore, Rs.1,500 crore, Rs.2,000 crore and Rs.2,500 crore in weighted premium income till date. <br/><br/>The Gross Written Premium (GWP) of the company as on May 31, 2013 stood at Rs. 6,740.6 cr and the number of policies sold is 396,329. <br/><br/>Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company is a joint venture in which two public sector banks Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce hold 51% and 23% stakes respectively while HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Ltd holds 26%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=760InsuringIndia News Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:47:17 GMT According to the life insurance companies, Uttrakhand disaster may lead to life insurance claims of about Rs 1,000 -crore. The unprecedented natural disaster in Uttrakhand has engulfed thousands of lives, and thousands still missing. Though the claims are yet to be filed, the insurers are mulling over a fast-track mechanisms to speed up claim settlements.<br/><br/>However, at this time it is difficult to put any figure, says analysts and insurance companies. They guess life insurance claims could be anywhere between Rs 800-crore and Rs 1,000-crore. <br/><br/>In case of life insurance policy, claims can only be made if the insured person dies or the government announces the insured person is presumed dead; though no claim can be made if the person is missing. <br/><br/>Although, the huge share of claims is expected to come to the state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, the private insurance companies have also alerted their teams to deal with the situation. <br/><br/>Sri Rajesh Relan, Managing Director & Country Manager of MetLife India Insurance said, “Our branch network in the area and across north India has been put on high alert. <br/><br/>In addition to life insurance companies, claims from general insurance companies are also likely to be very high. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=759InsuringIndia News Mon, 24 Jun 2013 16:52:58 GMT Hearing a petition filed by state-run insurer Oriental Insurance Company Limited challenging the orders of the Collector and District Election Officer requiring 38 staffers from its regional office for electoral process, the honourable High Court of Bombay on Wednesday nullified the order of the Election Commission, saying an insurance company is a local authority; hence its staffers cannot be involved in any election-related work. The petition was heard by a division bench headed by Justice S J Vazifdar.<br/><br/>The advocate of Oriental Insurance Company, Sri Arvind Kothari, in its argument said that the Election Commission did not have the power to requisition insurance company employees. In other hand, the government advocate Sri D A Nalawade argued that the Election Commission had powers and the quantum of work justified the requisition. <br/><br/>Giving the reference of the Supreme Court’s criteria, the judges said an insurance company cannot be called local authority. The requisitioning was illegal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=758InsuringIndia News Fri, 21 Jun 2013 16:47:18 GMT Private sector insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company on Wednesday announced the launch of it’s a new traditional participating endowment product-Flexi Save, which offers the policyholder a lumpsum maturity benefit with life cover.<br/><br/>In a press release, Sri Sandeep Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer -cum- Managing Director of Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company said, “This is the first product as per the new IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) guidelines on traditional plans. Since the plan offers policyholders the chance to withdraw their savings at life stages best suited to them, it would assist them in achieving their long term goals in life.”<br/><br/>Under the plan-Flexi Save, a policyholder can modify the policy maturity date and withdraws his savings with full maturity benefits plus accrued reversionary bonus till date plus terminal bonus(if any) based on his needs, the release said. <br/><br/>In case of unfortunate death of the policyholder, the nominee will get higher of either Sum Assured or 105% of the premiums paid till the death or multiple of Annual Base Premium, the release further said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=757InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Jun 2013 19:30:16 GMT Private sector insurer IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited has invited proposals for empanelment of an agency to manage the company’s social media engagements. <br/><br/>The empanelment will be for a period of three years, renewable yearly based on successful fulfilment of key performance indicators. The scope of work, evaluation criteria and timelines are available on the company’s website -www.indiafirstlife.com under the section ‘Tender’. <br/><br/>IndiaFirst is present in over 1000 cities and towns across India through over 5000 partner bank branches. <br/><br/>IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between two of India’s state-owned banks-Bank of Baroda with 44% stake and Andhra Bank with 30% stake, and UK’s financial and investment company, Legal & General with 26% stake. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=756InsuringIndia News Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:20:16 GMT General insurance companies in India may soon be adopting a new tool ‘telematics’ to determine motor insurance premium. <br/><br/>Telematics, which is also known as ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is basically a box like device fitted in the car to monitor the behaviour of the driver. It monitors a driver’s behavior while driving and transmits this information directly to the insurance company. Then the insurance company assesses the risk of that driver having an accident and charges insurance premiums accordingly. Hence, the driver who drives cautiously will have to pay lesser premium than those who drive less responsibly.<br/><br/>Many insurers, including the Liberty Videocon General Insurance Company, have started relying on this new technology.<br/><br/>Sri Roopam Asthana, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Liberty Videocon said, “Initially, we are trying out this technology in Mumbai and Ahmedabad on 1,000 cars.”<br/><br/>It is expected that this technology could revolutionise the motor insurance sector in India, which is worth Rs 30,000 crore. Earlier, the underwriters used data such as age, sex and location to assess the risk of the driver having an accident.<br/><br/>“The cars will be fixed with the telematics after the insurance firms tie up with the dealers, manufacturers and technology providers,” Sri Asthana said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=754InsuringIndia News Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:20:16 GMT As the people from low income groups are finding it difficult to have insurance cover at a cost which they can afford, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman Sri T. S. Vijayan has called for an appropriate focus on making affordable insurance products available for people of low income groups.<br/><br/>Speaking at a day-long seminar organized by the National Insurance Academy (NIA) in Pune, Sri Vijayan said, “For IRDA, financial inclusion means making insurance available to lower income groups at an affordable cost.”<br/><br/>The topic of the seminar was ‘Financial inclusion through insurance’. Eminent personalities from the sector put their views on how to provide protective financial umbrella for the country and the underprivileged section that need it most.<br/><br/> “In order to build a strong system, we must focus on improving persistent communication tools, improving premium policy renewal options, fostering long term distribution partner relations, optimum use of technology for providing services apart from the using brick and mortar structures, ensuring all financial needs can be addressed at one place,” Sri Vijayan added.<br/><br/>At present, the insurance penetration in India for life is 4.1%, and 0.7% for non-life, which is very small for a country like India. <br/><br/>In order to increase insurance penetration, the government in its Union Budget 2013-14, has announced to open insurance offices in all Indian towns having population of 10,000 or more. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=753InsuringIndia News Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:19:43 GMT Private insurer Shriram Life Insurance Company is aiming Rs 500-crore business from group insurance in the next three years, a top official said.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Sri Manoj Kumar Jain, Chief Executive Officer of Shriram Life Insurance Company said, “Group insurance segment, including group term, employees deposit linked insurance scheme and group gratuity, has a lot of potential. We have not done much in this segment and now we have decided to expand in group insurance mainly targeting small and medium enterprises.” <br/><br/>“We are targeting Rs 500-crore business from this segment in the next three years,” Sri Jain added. <br/><br/>At present, the total contribution from group insurance segment to the business is Rs 150 crore. <br/><br/>The company, as part of its expansion strategy, is planning to add 40 new branches, especially in tier- III and tier- IV cities as its core business comes from these cities. And, the company would hire 300 people this fiscal year. <br/><br/>Shriram Life Insurance Company registered Rs 82 crore net profit in the FY’ 2012-13, and is aiming 30 % growth this fiscal year on the back of expansion. <br/><br/>Hyderabad-based Shriram Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between the Shriram Group and the Sanlam Group. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=755InsuringIndia News Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:10:16 GMT State-run bank Indian Bank in collaboration with state-run insurer United India Insurance Company (UIIC), have announced the launch of a web portal offering online entry and renewal of mediclaim group insurance policies. Commission earning from the portal is expected to cross Rs 20 crore. <br/><br/>In order to increase its reach and make its offerings customer-friendly, the company is planning to extend the online facility to other policies too. <br/><br/>Sri T. M. Bhasin, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Bank, and Sri Milind A. Kharat, Chairman and Managing Director of United India Insurance launched the portal. <br/><br/>The bank in a press release said, “Indian Bank has been offering a co-branded group mediclaim insurance policy, Arogya Raksha group mediclaim insurance policy, to its customers since 2006. In 2012-13, it had mobilised non-life insurance business of Rs 31 crore for United India Insurance, earning a fee-based income of Rs 3.23 crore.” <br/><br/>“Till now the entire operation was done manually consuming huge time. To move towards a more customer-friendly business model, Indian Bank and UIIC have developed this web portal which will offer online entry/renewal of policies among other services,” the statement added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=752InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:37:24 GMT Private sector insurer SBI General Insurance Company Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Sri Bhaskar J. Sarma said that the company has set aside a capital infusion of around Rs. 250 crore this fiscal even as the non-life insurer hopes to start adding to its bottom line by 2014-15. <br/><br/>We hope to break even by 2014-15 given the better underwriting practices, coupled with consumer focus, Sri Sarma told reporters after announcing the annual results. <br/><br/>According to the company reports, SBI General reported a 208% growth in its gross written premium (GWP) to Rs 771 crore last fiscal. During this period, its net losses were at Rs 145 crore while its investment income stood at around Rs 71 crore, underwriting loss was around Rs 215 crore during this period. 61% of business was from the retail segment, followed by 20% from corporate and 19% from the SME sector. Bancassurance channel was the lead channel for the general insurer with a contribution of 63%, followed by 19% through agency channel, among others. <br/><br/>SBI General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). SBI owns 74% of the total capital and IAG the remaining 26%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=751InsuringIndia News Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:01:30 GMT Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), a part of Reliance Capital of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, on Monday announced the launch of a comprehensive non-participating unit-linked pension product – Smart Pension Plan- to encourage early saving for post-retirement financial independence.<br/><br/>Following the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) revised pension product guidelines and removed the 4.5% return guarantee requirement; various private insurers are considering launching new pension plans. However, RLIC would be among the first few to unveil a fresh pension plan.<br/><br/>In a statement, Shri Anup Rau, Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Life Insurance Company said, "With increasing life expectancy, there is a need to encourage long-term savings habit amongst the youth. We have carefully created this innovative pension plan that allows individuals to start early, create a long term corpus, and benefit from comprehensive features built in the plan to offer post-retirement security.”<br/><br/>The new plan is for individuals between the age group of 18 to 65 years with a minimum policy term of 10 years and the maximum policy tenure of 30 years, while the maturity age is between 45 to 75 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=749InsuringIndia News Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:41:30 GMT Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, a part of Reliance Capital of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, expects to grow about 20% in the current fiscal year -2013-14.<br/><br/>"We hope to grow around 20% in current fiscal year. Our focus is on growing both on top-line and bottom-line fronts,” Sri Rakesh Jain, Chief Executive Officer of Reliance General Insurance told reporters. <br/><br/>The private insurer reported a premium growth of 17.37% to Rs 2,010 crore for the fiscal year ended on 31st March’2013. <br/><br/>“The company would like to have profitable growth with focus on value than on volume alone,” Sri Jain said, adding the company would concentrate on weather insurance along with liabilities side to drive growth in the current financial year. <br/><br/>At present, retail business contributes 80% of the total business, while 20% comes from the corporate business. <br/><br/>“We want to bring a balance between the two and seek to increase corporate line of business to 25% in the near future," Sri Jain said, adding weather and liabilities would be major focus areas to grow the corporate business pie in the overall business. <br/><br/>On the new product launch, Reliance General said it would come up with a new health product along with a catastrophe product for retail segment in the future. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=750InsuringIndia News Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:31:30 GMT India’s leading long-term life insurance solutions provider HDFC Life has announced the launch of its first product compliant with new regulations notified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). HDFC Life ClassicAssure Plus is a protection cum investment plan with limited premium payment term. <br/><br/>In February this year, the regulator issued Non-linked and Linked Life Insurance Products Regulations to ensure that all products are consistent in design and are focused on meeting policyholders’ expectations. <br/><br/>Speaking on the launch, Shri Sanjay Tiwari, Vice President (Products), HDFC Life said, “We have been a front-runner in adapting to the new regulations. Keeping up with the trend, we are pleased to announce the launch of HDFC Life ClassicAssure Plus, which is a participating, traditional insurance plan that offers limited premium payment term along with a guaranteed reversionary bonus during the premium payment term. In line with the new regulation, the plan also offers higher death benefit during the policy term. This plan is ideal for meeting long-term financial goals and creating security and prosperity.” <br/><br/>Under the plan, on the death of the life assured, provided all due premiums are paid, the company pays the higher of the Sum Assured, 10-times of annual premium or 105% of the premiums paid plus accrued bonuses if any to the nominees. After the payment of maturity or death benefit, the policy is terminated. In case the life assured survives till the maturity date and full payment of premiums due throughout the premium paying term, Sum Assured plus accrued bonuses is paid to the policyholder. The policy has a limited premium paying term of 7 and 10 years. <br/><br/>In addition, the policyholder can also avail loan as per the terms and conditions, the company may specify from time to time. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=748InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:07:26 GMT The Haryana state government has announced to provide health insurance cover to domestic workers under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY). Under the scheme, domestic workers will get the benefit of cashless health insurance cover of Rs 30,000 per annum for a family of five on family floater basis. <br/><br/>In addition, all pre-existing diseases will be covered, including hospitalization expenses, taking care of most of the illnesses, maternity benefits, transportation cost of Rs 100 per visit (maximum of Rs 1,000 per annum), said a spokesperson of ESI health care department. <br/><br/>The scheme, which is being run by the Central government in association with the corresponding state governments, the Centre contributes 75% of the annual premium while the remaining 25% is borne by the concerned state government. The smart card cost of Rs 60 is borne by the Centre. <br/><br/>As per the Central government, domestic worker is a person who is employed for remuneration whether in cash or kind, in any household through any agency or directly, either on a temporary basis or permanent, part-time or full-time to do the household work but does not include any member of the family of an employer. He/she should have been have completed 18 years of age. <br/><br/>For identification of domestic workers, a certificate by registered Residents' Welfare Association to the effect that a person is working as a domestic worker in the area; employer certificate; certificate from a registered trade union or a police verification certificate would be treated as evidence. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=747InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:46:26 GMT The union finance minister Shri P Chidambaram in his budget speech had said that banks would be allowed to act as brokers to sell insurance. However, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has expressed some apprehensions about this model and said that it could lead to 'reputational risks' for banks. <br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is expected to announce its bancassurance norms in the next few days which provides much- relaxed guidelines. It does not set any capital requirement for the banks to act brokers but others need to follow Rs 50 lakh-2 crore capital requirement for a normal broking licence.<br/><br/>In addition, banks, according to the insurance regulator, are not required to set up any separate subsidiary for entering into insurance while the banking regulator insists otherwise.<br/><br/>According to a senior official, while, IRDA allows all the banks to enter into insurance broking business, the RBI has preferred a selective approach where the RBI will allow banks on a case-by-case basis.<br/><br/>At present, in India, a bank is allowed to become corporate agent of one insurer, means a bank can sell insurance products of one life and one general insurer only. But after becoming a broker, it can sell products of multiple insurers.<br/><br/>"Banks will be permitted to act as insurance brokers so that the entire network of bank branches will be utilised to increase penetration. Banking correspondents will be allowed to sell micro-insurance products," finance minister Shri P Chidambaram said in his Budget speech.<br/><br/>Whereas the Reserve Bank of India said, "Banks assuming the role of insurance brokers may also lead to conflict of interests where the bank is also the promoter of an insurance company. Some provisions, if implemented, may expose the banks to reputational risks. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=745InsuringIndia News Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:56:43 GMT The Union cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal for extending the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) scheme to the poorer sections of the society like rickshaw-pullers, auto rickshaw drivers, mine workers, sanitation workers, rag pickers and taxi drivers, Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram told reporters after the cabinet meeting in Delhi.<br/><br/>These sections are among unorganised sector which need to be brought under the ambit of the national health insurance scheme, the union cabinet said.<br/><br/>At total of 13.68 lakh rickshaw-pullers, 11.63 lakh rag pickers, 17.79 lakh mine workers, 10.08 lakh sanitation workers and 35.39 lakh autorickshaw drivers would be covered under the scheme.<br/><br/>The implications for extension of the RSBY programme would be around Rs 210 crore for the current fiscal year and around Rs 420 from FY’2015 onwards. However, the exact amount (that the government will bear) will be determined on the basis of persons identified and registered under these categories during each preceding year and actual premium rates. <br/><br/>RSBY scheme provides cashless health insurance cover of Rs 30,000 to Below Poverty Line (BPL) family of not more than five persons which are in unorganised sector. It already covers street vendors, beedi workers, domestic workers, building and other construction workers and the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) workers who have worked more than 15 days during the previous year. It is being implemented in 28 states including union territories and more than 3.44 crore smart cards have been issued as on March 31, 2013. The target for the current fiscal year is to cover 3.60 crore BPL families. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=744InsuringIndia News Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:27:09 GMT The committee set up by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has recommended the regulator to ask banks to renew at least half the life insurance policies they sell, failing which they may lose the licence to distribute insurance products.<br/><br/>In year 2011, the regulator had ushered in a minimum policy renewal criteria for individual insurance agents. The regulator directed insurance companies to terminate the contracts of agents who fail to get at least half the policies sold by them renewed in the subsequent year.<br/><br/>“We have noticed some instances of forced selling of insurance products by banks while advancing loans to customers. Hence, we are looking at calculating loss ratio (the ratios of premiums paid to the claims settled) in respect of business procured by banks so as to assess the quality of the business,” a senior official from IRDA said.<br/><br/>Further, the official said, “One of the factors that affect persistency is the after-sale service provided to the policyholder. Currently, large numbers of policies are left without being serviced after the policy is sold, resulting in the policies getting lapsed.”<br/><br/>The insurance regulator is in process of finalising bancassurance guidelines and is expected to come out with the final report by August this year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=743InsuringIndia News Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:15:29 GMT Private sector insurer Shriram Life Insurance Company has planned to sell over two lakh policies in the current fiscal year and wishes to register a 30% growth on its new business premium. The company had sold 1.54 lakh policies with a total gross premium of Rs 618 crore and posted a huge growth of 46.4% in its net profit at Rs 82 crore in the last fiscal year.<br/><bSriram Life has reported net profit at Rs 56 crore during the corresponding period of previous year, the company said in a statement.<br/><br/>For the financial year which ended on March 31, 2012 the company had sold 1.31 lakh policies.<br/><br/>Charged up with the result, Smt. Akhila Srinivasan, Managing Director, Shriram Life Insurance said, “During the year 2012-13, the new business premium grew by 7% over last year to Rs 421 crore. This growth is commendable in times when industry has degrown by 6%.”<br/><br/>The company's current paid up capital was Rs 175 crore, she added.<br/><br/>"We will continue to consolidate in southern market, but our major focus is to expand North and West. We plan to add around 50-70 new offices in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat", Shriram Life Insurance, CEO, Manoj Jain said.<br/><br/>Chennai based Shriram Life Insurance Company is a part of the diversified Rs 60,000 crore financial services conglomerate Shriram Group. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=742InsuringIndia News Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:15:03 GMT Leading private life insurer HDFC Life has been conferred with ‘2012 Excellence in Practice citation’ by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) for 'Improving First Level Sales Manager Productivity’ in the Sales Enablement category. <br/><br/>HDFC Life received an ASTD citation for the second consecutive year at an award ceremony held in Dallas, Texas during ASTD’s International Conference & Exposition on May 20, 2013. <br/><br/>“We are delighted to receive this recognition. At HDFC Life, we believe in investing in our people and one of the ways we have done it consistently is by offering rigorous training across all dimensions of skill enhancement. We are currently on the journey of implementing world class training practices and this citation is a milestone and motivator for all us in the HDFC Life family”, said the Managing Director-cum-Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Life Shri Amitabh Chaudhry. <br/><br/>The Excellence in Practice Awards program recognises organisations for results achieved through training and development practices and solutions. Awards are presented to organisations with proven practices that have delivered measurable results in achieving organizational goals. <br/><br/> The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) is a non-profit association for workplace learning and performance professionals. In more than 100 countries, ASTD’s members work in organizations of all sizes, in the private and public sectors, as independent consultants, and as suppliers. It received 150 submissions in 2012 from organizations around the world. Nine practices have been chosen to receive awards and 30 have been selected to receive citations. <br/><br/>ASTD is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to the training and development field. In more than 100 countries, ASTD’s members work in organizations of all sizes, in the private and public sectors, as independent consultants, and as suppliers. ASTD received 150 submissions in 2012 from organizations around the world. Nine practices have been chosen to receive awardsand 30 have been selected to receive citations. Excellence in Practice categories include: career development, diversity and inclusion, managing the learning function, integrated talent management, facilitating organizational change, performance improvement, coaching and mentoring, learning technologies, organizational learning and development, and sales enablement. <br/><br/>HDFC Life is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) and Standard Life plc, provider of financial services in the UK. HDFC holds 74% of the equity while Standard Life holds 26%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=746InsuringIndia News Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:36:46 GMT General insurance companies are planning to make smokers pay more premiums for health insurance cover. While life insurance companies are already charging smokers 15% extra premium.<br/><br/>General insurers, which are already facing mounting losses due to rising medical costs and high claims in the health insurance portfolio, have increased premium rates by 15-20 percent this year for all policyholders. <br/><br/>Shri K. G. Krishnamoorty Rao, Managing Director- cum-Chief Executive Officer, Future Generali India Insurance said, “Earlier, health insurance was only a one-year contract but under the new regulations with life-long renewals, we will look at parameters like smoking as well while determining the premium amount.” <br/><br/>As per the new notification for health insurance portfolio issued earlier this year by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), it’s been made mandatory for general insurers to offer life-long renewals. <br/><br/>Now, most of the general insurers don’t charge smokers a higher premium. In some of the cases if a person is above 45 years of age and is heavy smoker, he/she is asked to undergo an additional medical test before the policy issuance. <br/><br/>“The risk perception for smokers is definitely higher. But we are still gathering information on smokers and its correlation to health insurance claims,” said Shri Saibal Bhattacharaya, Associate Vice-President, Customer Service, ICICI Lombard general insurance. <br/><br/> “There is some amount of cross subsidisation by non-smokers, but since we do not have a premium differentiation for smokers as of now, we will look into it going forward,” Shri Bhattacharaya added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=741InsuringIndia News Thu, 30 May 2013 17:20:49 GMT Iran has proposed insurance cover to Indian refiners processing its crude to boost oil export as the Islamic nation looks to counter a fall in revenues hit by tough US and European Union sanctions over nuclear programme.<br/><br/>The Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has made the proposal during his visit to India in a bid to revive crude sales. <br/><br/>Aimed at persuading New Delhi to step up both crude oil imports and investment in the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries)-member's oil and gas sector, a delegation led by Qasemi arrived on Sunday. India is the second largest Iranian crude oil importer. <br/><br/>Following the refusal of Indian insurers to provide insurance cover to refiners processing Iranian crude oil, India cut import of Iranian oil by 26.5 % in the last fiscal year, and had reduced shipment by 56.5 % in April. <br/><br/>“We had a fruitful meeting...Our meetings are about the energy sector,” Qasemi told reporters, after a meeting between Indian oil minister Veerappa Moily. <br/><br/>According to the sources, Iran also offered to ship gas to India in liquefied form via Oman. Iran does not have the technology to liquefy gas so they have asked India to use Oman for liquefying the gas for further supplies to New Delhi. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=740InsuringIndia News Wed, 29 May 2013 17:10:27 GMT With a view to develop long –term relationship with customers, leading private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance has announced the launch of a unique programme - Swabhimaan Careers. Through this programme, the insurer will offer job opportunity to the deceased policyholder’s family. After the claim settlement, the insurer will reach out to the policyholder’s dependents and offer them a job opportunity at HDFC Life based on their qualification.<br/><br/>Shri Rajendra Ghag, Senior EVP & Chief Human Resource Officer, HDFC Life said, “At HDFC Life, we make every effort to foster and strengthen our relationship with our customers. We believe that when a customer buys a policy from HDFC Life, our relationship extends beyond the policyholder to also embrace their loved ones. We are proud to announce the launch of Swabhimaan Careers. It is one of the outcomes of HDFC Life’s strategic initiative of building long-term ‘Customer Relationships’.”<br/><br/>“The overall objective of insurance is to compensate the financial loss caused due to untimely death of a bread winner. Emotional loss cannot be compensated. However, by providing a fair employment opportunity to the dependants, we will help secure their future in line with our brand philosophy 'Sar Utha Ke Jiyo' thereby enabling them to live a life of dignity”, said Shri Ghag added.<br/><br/>From March this year, the insurer has started sending letters to the claimants informing them about this job opportunity. This letter informs them about the process involved in applying for a job. A dedicated team in HDFC Life is working to support the programme. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=739InsuringIndia News Tue, 28 May 2013 18:28:31 GMT Aiming to be among the top five reinsurers globally, the sole reinsurer of India, General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) is eyeing to acquire a Lloyds Syndicate member. At present, the India’s national reinsurer has been ranked 15th among international reinsurers by Standard & Poor’s (S & P), an American financial services company.<br/><br/>"Our intention is to be among the top five in the world," Shri Ashok K Roy, Chairman, GIC said adding, “Organic growth would take many years and acquisitions were under the company's consideration.”<br/><br/>"We need to be in Lloyds as a member as this would provide us with the platform to operate in 60 countries across the world. Lloyds has an ‘A’ (excellent) rating from New Jersey based rating agency AM Best and the same rating is available to all syndicates," Shri Roy said.<br/><br/>Lloyds of London has a unique structure and is more like an insurance exchange rather than a company. Lloyds accredits companies that individually underwrite insurance business across the globe. At present, GIC has a branch each in London, Dubai and Kula Lumpur.<br/><br/>The top five reinsurers in the world are Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hannover Re, Berkshire Hathway and Lloyds. Besides expanding in London, GIC is also looking to expand its aviation reinsurance business in the US. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=738InsuringIndia News Tue, 28 May 2013 18:27:43 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has permitted insurance companies with sound financial health and a minimum of three years of operations to set up their overseas business units.<br/><br/>However, to protect the interest of domestic policyholders, the regulator guided that the insurance companies setting up overseas business will not be allowed to use the fund of domestic policyholder. <br/><br/>It’s been a long standing demand of insurance companies from the insurance watchdog to open foreign insurance companies and branch offices abroad to exploit markets overseas. <br/><br/>As per the guidelines which allow Indian companies to set up business abroad, the regulator said the life, general and reinsurance companies with a minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore, Rs 250 crore and Rs 750 crore respectively can apply and seek permission to set up business abroad. <br/><br/>“To set up business abroad, the Indian insurance company should be registered and have been in operations for at least three years. It should also earn profit for three years”, the guidelines said. <br/><br/>The guidelines further said, “The Indian insurance company shall have in place appropriate arrangements to ensure that the policyholder's liabilities that arise for foreign operations are adequately ring-fenced in order to protect the Indian policyholder.” <br/><br/>At present, there are 52 companies in life, general insurance and reinsurance business in India and most of them have foreign partners. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=737InsuringIndia News Mon, 27 May 2013 18:42:17 GMT Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by one Monika Dudani Mehtab of Chandigarh seeking directions to the insurance companies to provide insurance coverage for treatment cost of infertility, the Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday issued notice to central government as well as the states of Punjab and Haryana asking them to file their replies on the issue. <br/><br/>The notice has been issued to Union Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and Family, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), all the public sector insurance companies and the states of Punjab and Haryana by a division bench headed by acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh. They have been asked to file their replies on July 22 before the HC. <br/><br/>The petitioner, Monika Dudani Mehtab had sent a representation in 2012 to various respondent authorities and the insurance companies requesting them to provide insurance coverage for the treatment of the disease of infertility at par with the other diseases affecting the human body but no reply was received from anyone. <br/><br/>Mehtab, in support of her claims told the court that many countries across the world have mandated insurance companies to provide insurance coverage for the treatment cost of infertility. She also submitted to HC that in 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO), in conjunction with the International Committee for monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology, formally recognized infertility as a disease. <br/><br/>Mehtab has also sought directions to the Union government as well as the state governments for treatment of the disease of infertility is provided at par with the other diseases in government hospitals. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=736InsuringIndia News Sat, 25 May 2013 14:10:17 GMT The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has reduced its stake in India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki to 8.25% from 10.78%, during November 2012-May 2013 period, the auto maker said in a filing to the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange).<br/><br/>The state-run insurer, which is not a part of the promoter group of MSI (Maruti Suzuki India), sold 62, 23,598 equity shares, representing 2.53% of MSI through open market transactions. The stock was down 2% at Rs 1706. The stock has hit a high of Rs1743 and a low of Rs1704. <br/><br/>Before the transaction, LIC held 3,11,35,128 equity shares of MSI, which came down to 2,49,11,530 at present after diluting the said stake. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=735InsuringIndia News Fri, 24 May 2013 10:50:17 GMT After the Rajasthan Royals, an IPL franchise terminated the contracts of its three tainted players- S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, the franchise’s official insurer Oriental Insurance Company too has cancelled the insurance covers provided to them. <br/><br/>A senior Oriental Insurance official said, “We took the advice of the franchise Rajasthan Royals on cancelling the insurance policy of the three players facing spot fixing charges, and after their nod have cancelled the policy. This is because if the players are jailed or something adverse happens to them, there would be claims.” <br/><br/>Fast bowler, S Sreesanth who is an auctioned player had a personal accident insurance cover of Rs 18 crore, a medical insurance policy of $1 million and baggage insurance of Rs 2,00,000. In case of a mishap, the medical insurance policy even allows an auctioned player to air lifted and flown to a foreign country for medical treatment. While, the other two players had a personal accident insurance cover of rupees one crore, medical insurance cover of Rs 5,00,000 and baggage insurance cover of Rs 2,00,000. <br/><br/>The insurance covers had commenced from March 25 and would end on May 31, after the finals. <br/><br/>The three players were arrested last week on charges of spot-fixing in the ongoing IPL matches. The police claimed that they received money from bookies that have underworld connections abroad. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=734InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 May 2013 17:59:17 GMT The first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, Smt. Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced to provide health insurance coverage of Rs 1, 25,000 each for artistes and technicians of Tollywood. Tollywood refers to the Tollygunge-based Bengali film industry in Kolkata, West Bengal.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Smt. Banerjee said, “We are announcing a health insurance scheme with coverage of up to Rs 1, 25,000 for performing artistes and workers in the film industry.” <br/><br/>Shri Gautam Ghosh, one of the most acclaimed film directors of modern India was also present with the Chief Minister at the media briefing. Welcoming the move, he said, “This is an extremely worthwhile move. I thank the CM for this. This was a long-standing demand of technicians, who find it very difficult to meet their medical expenses.” <br/><br/>Apart from this, the Chief Minister also announced to provide monthly allowance of Rs 750 each to various folk artistes. <br/><br/>“At present, we are providing an annual allowance of Rs 7,000 each to nearly 156 such folk artists. There are nearly 3,000-4,000 such artists. We plan to provide Rs 750 a month to each of them,” Smt. Banerjee said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=733InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 May 2013 17:58:05 GMT Xpress Money has tied-up with Union Insurance in Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region to launch remittance industry's first free life insurance cover for blue-collared Indian expats working in the region. This life insurance cover will be offered to the people using Xpress Money to send money to India from markets like the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.<br/><br/>This monthly renewable free life insurance scheme is specifically designed to suit blue-collared population – e.g.-electricians, mechanics, steel workers, highway workers, etc. The scheme will provide a life insurance protection of AED 15,000 Dirhams (approx INR 2,26,350), including AED 5,000 Dirhams (approx INR 75,450) of repatriation expenses of the mortal remains, the company said in a statement released on Monday. <br/><br/>“The insurance benefit will be available to any person remitting money through Xpress Money for a period of one month, from the day the customer makes a transaction. A remitter can avail this life insurance free of cost irrespective of the amount transacted”, said the statement. <br/><br/>Shri Sudhesh Giriyan, Vice President and Business Head of the Xpress Money, said, “This product was launched because majority of the Indian expats from blue-collared category, residing and working in the GCC region, generally work in hazardous conditions at construction sites and factories. This policy will benefit that category and give them life protection too".<br/><br/>“This life insurance is also a critical value addition to our services and will create a new milestone in the remittance industry”, he added. <br/><br/>Further, the statement said, “Over the next few months Xpress Money plans to offer this service to a wider range of customers and will add more corridors to the existing list, based on the response that the service receives from the target audience.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=732InsuringIndia News Wed, 22 May 2013 14:15:46 GMT Private sector insurer IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited is all set to launch health insurance and micro-insurance products by the end of this fiscal year, Managing Director-cum-Chief Executive Officer, Shri P. Nandagopal said on Monday.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Shri Nandagopal said the company will achieve break-even sooner than expected. At present the company is doing very well in the country and Andhra Pradesh in particular. <br/><br/>Currently, IndiaFirst Life’s product range covers term insurance, saving plans, education and retirement. It has a range of group insurance products in forms of credit, life, term and employee liability (gratuity and leave encashment) plans as well. <br/><br/>“We have registered a growth rate of 34 % last fiscal year in spite of the slowdown during the past two years affecting the industry. During the current year too we expect a growth rate of more than 20% on a larger base. We are confident we will achieve break-even in much less than the originally expected eight years,” Shri Nandagopal said. <br/><br/>The company is tying up with regional rural banks to sell health insurance and micro insurance products, he added. <br/><br/>“The company is in a position to issue an insurance policy to an applicant within half-an-hour. Most of the policies in the range of Rs 5-10 lakh do not require medical examination. We can easily give the policy in that time,” he further said. <br/><br/>IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between two of India’s state-owned banks-Bank of Baroda with 44% stake and Andhra Bank with 30% stake, and UK’s financial and investment company, Legal & General with 26% stake. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=730InsuringIndia News Tue, 21 May 2013 14:29:41 GMT With a view to speed up product approval process, the actuarial department of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has attempted to unveil standard parameters for five key life insurance products. <br/><br/>The regulator, after consultation with the Finance Ministry last year, had set up four working groups which included representatives from the life insurance industry and IRDA for standardisation of 18 products. <br/><br/>Under the IRDA’s ‘use and file’ process, life insurers filing products based on standard parameters will automatically be deemed to have been approved after 15 days of intimating the regulator. <br/><br/>According to a senior official from IRDA, the working group committees were expected to set up the benchmark for products by April this year, but parameters for only one product could be standardised. Hence, the actuarial department of IRDA has attempted to standardise five products, which will be released to the industry for their views shortly. <br/><br/>“The regulator has conveyed to us that expediting product approvals is a priority and the whole process of standardising 18 life insurance products will be completed by August this year,” said an actuary from a life insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=731InsuringIndia News Mon, 20 May 2013 13:19:41 GMT The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has allowed firms to ensure higher group insurance of Rs 1.32 lakh for each employee by choosing ‘Edelweiss Tokio Life-Group Life Protection’ in lieu of Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme provided by EPFO. <br/><br/>EPFO has engaged the private sector insurer Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company to provide this group term insurance plan in lieu of EDLI Scheme- 1976. According to a circular issued by EPFO to its field offices, the benefits under the ‘Edelweiss Tokio Life-Group Life Protection’ plan are better than those under the EDLI Scheme -1976. <br/><br/>Under the existing scheme, an EPFO subscriber gets insurance cover of up to Rs 1,00,000 before superannuation. <br/><br/>All those employers who would opt for the ‘Edelweiss Tokio Life-Group Life Protection’ would be given exemption from the EDLI scheme -1976, said the circular. <br/><br/>Employers contribute 0.5 % of basic pay of an employee as insurance premium to the EDLI scheme every month. The benefit under the scheme is given on the basis of the provident fund balance in the subscriber's account. <br/><br/>The subscriber gets the benefit equivalent to the balance in the PF account; if the balance is up to Rs 50,000. But if the balance exceeds Rs 50,000, the benefit is the account balance plus 40 % of the balance, subject to maximum of Rs 1, 00,000. <br/><br/>The maximum benefit under the scheme was enhanced from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1, 00,000 in year 2010. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=729InsuringIndia News Fri, 17 May 2013 17:14:03 GMT Leading private sector life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Co. has announced the launch of its new health insurance product – HDFC Life Health Assure Plan, aimed at providing comprehensive health insurance cover to the policyholders.<br/><br/>Speaking on the launch, Shri Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Life Insurance said, “Customer centric product innovation has been our prime focus at HDFC Life. In line with our philosophy, we are proud to announce the launch of Health Assure – a health insurance plan that will provide long term protection to our customers while offering a 50% NCB (No Claim Bonus).” <br/><br/>“The addition of the Health Assure Plan will strengthen our product offerings in this segment”, he added. <br/><br/>The product comes in two variants-Gold Plan and Silver Plan. It offers reimbursement of medical expenses incurred in a hospital. It also covers 200- Day Care Procedures, Pre and Post Hospitalization Benefit and offers a host of other benefits. It allows coverage for families on floater cover basis. <br/><br/>The Gold variant of this plan offers comprehensive mediclaim cover with added benefits of Hospital Cash, Wellness and Maternity Benefit (for family cover). The plan comes with a 3-year premium guarantee, which means that the premium remains same even if you claim. The Multiplier benefit increases the Annual Limit by 50 % after one claim free year and doubles the annual limit after two consecutive claim free years. <br/><br/>The minimum entry age for this plan is 18 years (91- days for dependent children), and maximum up to 70 years. There is no exit age which enables policyholders a lifelong renewability. Plan can be taken either as an Individual or Family Floater. Under Family Floater, one may cover spouse, children, both parents and parents- in- law too. <br/><br/>The minimum and maximum sum assured under Silver Plan-Individual is fixed to 3 lakh while in case of Family Floater; maximum sum assured may be opted up to 5 lakhs. <br/><br/>For Gold Plan-Individual, the sum assured is fixed to 5 lakh while for Family Floater the minimum sum assured is 7 lakh and maximum is 10 lakh. <br/><br/>HDFC Life Health Assure Plan provides flexibility to pay premium either Annually or in Single mode. <br/><br/>HDFC Life has tied-up with more than 4,500 hospitals for cashless claims. <br/><br/>HDFC Life is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation and Standard Life, the leading provider of financial services in the United Kingdom. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=728InsuringIndia News Thu, 16 May 2013 14:25:23 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is thinking over a proposal to set up a depository that will allow customers to hold policies in paperless form much like investors holding equity shares in demat accounts.<br/><br/>"We are thinking of having an insurance depository like the one in the stock market. It is still in a formative stage," Shri Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, Member (Life) IRDA, told reporters on the sidelines of the Insurance Summit held in Kolkata, adding, “Instead of holding policy bonds in paper form, the customers would hold them in demat paperless form.” <br/><br/>However, unlike stock market, it would not be mandatory for insurance customers to switch over to paperless form. It would be an optional and the customers may choose to stick with the traditional one, Shri Chowdhury said. <br/><br/>IRDA would set up a separate autonomous body to operate the depository. It will also lay down the regulations. <br/><br/>Shri Chowdhury also said insurers should take steps to stop mis-selling of products by their finanancial advisors. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=727InsuringIndia News Wed, 15 May 2013 12:15:23 GMT The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday favoured setting up an institutional mechanism for providing immediate funds and contingent credit facilities to people affected by natural disaster to help them recover from losses.<br/><br/>Addressing the first session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Delhi, Dr. Singh said, “Such steps of immediate funding would reduce suffering of people after any calamity.” The conference is being organized to review the status of preparedness of dealing with crisis situations resulting from the southwest monsoon and to discuss other disaster management related issues. <br/><br/>“There was need for greater attention about arrangements for providing funds to people so that they are able to cope with the losses they suffer due to natural disasters”, he added. <br/><br/>"The current systems, particularly at the national level, lack institutional incentives and do not promote mechanisms such as risk insurance and contingent credit facilities. The development of such ex-ante arrangements is particularly important because they typically serve as a primary source of immediate funding that would reduce human suffering, economic losses and fiscal pressures in the aftermath of natural disasters," Dr. Singh said. <br/><br/>Further, the Prime Minister said managing disasters was necessarily a collaborative and complex exercise, involving not only several departments of the government at the centre but also state and local governments, civil society organizations, local communities and the people at large. <br/><br/>The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of involving local communities in disaster risk reduction activities asking authorities to pay special attention in making full use of Panchayati Raj institutions in disaster mitigation and risk reduction efforts. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=726InsuringIndia News Tue, 14 May 2013 18:00:23 GMT Public sector insurer New India Assurance Company Limited said it has set a target of Rs 15,000 crore for premium collection in the fiscal year 2013-14.<br/><br/>The Chairman and Managing Director of New India Assurance Shri G Srinivasan said the company would launch a series of measures to surpass its target and grow above the market growth rate. <br/><br/>New India Assurance is also planning to recruit 25,000 agents in the current financial year with a view to increasing its presence significantly in rural, social and micro-insurance sectors, he added. <br/><br/> Furthermore, he said 16 more micro-insurance products have been added to the company’s stable and revised health insurance products are also in the offing. The company would settle large number of Motor Third Party (TP) claims through compromise and conciliation. <br/><br/>The company had opened 48 micro offices in Tier II and Tier III cities and rural areas, and had adopted two villages in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. <br/><br/>The company is also planning to enter insurance business in Qatar, Myanmar and Canada. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=725InsuringIndia News Mon, 13 May 2013 17:29:36 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Wednesday released fresh guidelines on insurance broking. According to the guidelines, banks doing insurance broking, or planning to do so, will have to form a separate broking arm which would be an independent accountable unit. The segregated unit shall have at least two persons with the requisite qualifications, mandatory theoretical and practical training and having passed the examinations required by the examining body.<br/><br/>“The remaining staff shall meet with the training requirements specified under clause...of the code of conduct, in addition to participating in relevant insurance seminars, workshops and continuing education programmes organised by the broking association and other stakeholders in the insurance sector,” said the guidelines. <br/><br/>Further, the guidelines said that banks acting as brokers would enable use of the entire network of branches and increase insurance penetration, plus adding to competition in rendering services. Bank should have a board-approved policy to address issues with regard to conflict of interest between the bank and clients receiving banking services vis-a-vis insurance broking. The said policy would have to be filed with the regulator at the time of seeking an insurance broking license and the revised policy at the time of renewal. <br/><br/>“Since banks are regulated separately by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it shall be a measure to enhance the efficiency in the conduct of procurement of insurance business and also accountability to the policyholder as compared to the agency channel,” the guidelines said. <br/><br/>The banks will have to keep the minimum deposit of Rs 50 lakh, 2 crore and 2.5 crore with IRDA’s lien for Direct Broking, Re-insurance and Composite Broking respectively. <br/><br/>The annual fees should be reduced to 0.4% of the preceding year's revenue. Further, the ceiling on business from a single client is proposed to be increased a flat 50% for any single group. Business emanating from a government body or a public sector unit is excluded from this provision, said the guidelines. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=724InsuringIndia News Fri, 10 May 2013 17:54:41 GMT Private sector leading life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company on Tuesday said it is interested in acquiring competitors which are up for sale and it would buy out the entire company rather than just one of the stakeholders.<br/><br/>"It makes sense to acquire a company because the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) does not allow one promoter to hold two licences," said Shri Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO, HDFC Life, adding "We would like to acquire the entire company and merge with us.” .<br/><br/>Shri Chaudhry's response comes after the strong speculation that it may buyout HSBC's stake in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Company. Without naming a company, he said any transaction is possible only when all partners are looking to exit. HSBC is selling its 26% stake in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance joint venture to focus on its core banking business. Two public sector banks Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce hold 51% and 23% stakes respectively in the insurance JV. .<br/><br/>For the fiscal year 2012-13, the insurer registered a net profit of Rs 451 crore, an increase of Rs179 crore from previous fiscal year. The total premium income increased by 11% while, the new business premium income increased by16%..<br/><br/>HDFC Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between India's top mortgage lender HDFC Ltd and British insurer Standard Life. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=723InsuringIndia News Thu, 09 May 2013 11:10:03 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has suggested Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, the largest insurer of the country to join the Indian Energy Insurance Pool proposed by the government to provide insurance cover to domestic refineries that process crude oil imported from Iran. <br/><br/>Suggestion came after general insurance companies and oil firms raised concerns that the proposed Rs 2,000 crore energy insurance pool may not be sufficient to provide risk cover to Indian refineries processing Iranian crude oil. <br/><br/> The State-owned Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals (MRPL) is the worst affected by the sanctions imposed by re-insurers as it is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil. India has cut down import of Iranian crude oil by over 26.5 % in the previous fiscal year. <br/><br/>"We are aware of the observations made by IRDA. It is too early to say that LIC will participate in the proposed pool. The company will take any decision after considering the interest of its policy holders," a senior LIC official said. <br/><br/>Under the proposed mechanism, the insurance pool will be created from the premiums collected by general insurance companies from such contracts and a matching contribution will be provided by the oil ministry. This will reduce the need for Indian insurers seeking re-insurance from the bigger global re-insurers as any claim that may arise could be settled from this pool. <br/><br/>However, another LIC official said that it is an unviable business proposal and since LIC is a commercial firm it will not participate in the proposed pool. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=722InsuringIndia News Wed, 08 May 2013 19:11:03 GMT Private sector insurer DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited (DPLI) on Tuesday unveiled a new savings cum protection plan-- Sahaj Suraksha.<br/><br/>The plan is designed to meet the essential expenses of customers and to help them continue with their lifestyle without making any compromises with their lifestyle, particularly during their retirement, the company said in a release. <br/><br/>Shri Pavan Dhamija, MD & CEO, DLF Pramerica Life Insurance said, "At the age of 75, one is most likely to see a dip in savings and an increase in unexpected expenses, which could result in a person compromising on his or her style of living. An increase in cost of living, combined with unexpected expenses, primarily health-related, increases the need for additional financial support. This is where DLF Pramerica Sahaj Suraksha can fit by supplementing their retirement savings. <br/><br/>According to the release, one can buy ‘Sahaj Suraksha’ policy as late as 55 years of age. And, the policy matures when the policyholder turns 75. <br/><br/>DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd is a joint venture between DLF Ltd, an Indian real estate company and the US-based Prudential International Insurance Holdings (PIIH). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=721InsuringIndia News Tue, 07 May 2013 15:01:03 GMT The Punjab Government has decided to increase the range of ‘Bhai Kanahiya Scheme’ and is extending a Medical Insurance cover of Rs. 1.5 lakh to each and every citizen of the state.<br/><br/>On Thursday, 2nd May, in Chandigarh, the Health Minister of Punjab, Shri Madan Mohan Mittal said that earlier, the medical insurance cover was provided only to members of co-operative societies, which has now been extended to each citizen of the state. "The premium supposed to be paid under this scheme has also been pruned to a lower level", Shri Mittal said. Besides, the state government has decided to provide medical insurance cover of Rs 30 thousand to 5.23 lakh BPL (Below Poverty Line) families of the state under the National Health Insurance Scheme.<br/><br/>Furthermore, Shri Mittal said that a new medical insurance scheme would soon be started for the 10 lakh families covered under Atta-Dal scheme. And, the premium of Rs 400 supposed to be paid per family would be borne by the state government. .<br/><br/>According to Shri Mittal, the state government has set aside a budget of Rs 20 crore for these new schemes. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=720InsuringIndia News Fri, 03 May 2013 15:02:03 GMT State-run insurer United India Insurance Company has registered a 36% rise in its profit after tax (PAT) at Rs. 527 crore in fiscal year 2012-13 from Rs. 387 crore in the previous fiscal year. The board has proposed a dividend of 70% for the FY’ 2012-13.<br/><br/>The insurer’s gross premium income during the fiscal grew to Rs 9,266 crore from Rs 8,179 crore in the previous fiscal, posting a growth of 13.29% with an increase of Rs 1,087 crore. <br/><br/>Shri Milind Kharat, Chairman-cum-MD, United India Insurance said, “United India could manage the claims ratio at 84.61% during FY' 2012-13 as against 88.5% during FY' 2011-12 thanks to better underwriting practices and other claim control measures.” <br/><br/> The company’s net premium income grew by 10.47% at Rs 7,489 crore as against Rs 6,780 crore in the previous fiscal year. And, the net worth grew 9% at Rs 4,952 crore as on March 31, 2013. <br/><br/>The claim ration during the FY’ 13 was at 84.61%, as compared to 88.5% in the previous fiscal year. <br/><br/>For the current FY’ 2013-14, United India Insurance is targeting a premium income of Rs 11,000 crore with a profit after tax of Rs. 600 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=718InsuringIndia News Wed, 01 May 2013 13:56:42 GMT The four state-owned general insurance companies and the national reinsurer have promoted a joint venture to manage their health insurance claims portfolio. It is expected to start its operations by September this year. Speaking to the reporter on Monday, Shri Milind A. Kharat, Chairman & MD, United India Insurance said, “We are in the process of finalising the name for the third party administrator-claims processing outfit (TPA). Once that is firmed up, we will apply to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for a licence.” <br/><br/>Earlier, a strong voice was raised by the policyholders to promote a captive TPA for settlement of health insurance claims. TPA is an intermediary between a health insurance company and a policyholder and it was first introduced by the regulator in 2000. A TPA carries out most of the back office work for which it gets around 5% of the premium as fees. <br/><br/>The four state-run insurance companies are the National Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Company Limited and United Insurance Company Limited. “The four primary insurers will hold 23.75 % stake each and 5 % will be held by General Insurance Corporation of India Limited (GIC)”, Shri Kharat said. <br/><br/>"The total project outlay is estimated at Rs.200 crore," he added. The four insurers together earn a premium of around Rs.9,000 crore under their health insurance portfolio and pay a service fee of around 5% on the above to the TPAs. Smt. Asha Nair, Director & GM, United India Insurance said, "With our own claims processing company, we will be in a position to leverage our combined strength to negotiate better rates with the hospitals.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=717InsuringIndia News Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:45:17 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chief Sri TS Vijayan has called for a meeting of the chief executives and appointed actuaries of all life insurers on May 2.<br/><br/>This is the first time after Sri Vijayan took charge as IRDA chairman in February this year, the members of life insurance business would formally meet him and discuss issues related to the new regulations passed by the regulator, especially the traditional product guidelines, published in February. The guidelines made significant changes in the traditional product structures, surrender charges and commissions payable to the insurance agents. <br/><br/>Life insurers will have to re-file around 70% of their products to meet the new guidelines. The insurers have been given time till June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013 to re-file their group and individual products, respectively. <br/><br/>According to a senior official of a private life insurance company, the regulator has asked all life insurance companies to give their opinion about the new guidelines and concerns, if any. The regulator has also asked for details on whether the implementation of these guidelines would have any impact, positive or negative, on business. <br/><br/>The Life Insurance Council, on behalf of the life insurance companies, has already given its opinion about the new regulations to the IRDA. Several provisions of the regulations such as variable insurance products have been termed impractical by the industry. <br/><br/>Issues such as pension product reforms including service tax and guaranteed return, and how to increase the penetration and density of life insurance would be some of the other topics of discussion. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=716InsuringIndia News Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:45:17 GMT Public sector lender Dena Bank, under a tie-up with the state-run insurer United India Insurance Company (UIIC), on Wednesday, announced the launch of a unique health insurance scheme for farmers who have Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) issued by Dena Bank.<br/><br/>At present, there are around 2,25,000 farmers across the country who have a Kisan Credit Card. The Kisan Credit Card scheme is a government-backed card to provide affordable credit to farmers in the country. <br/><br/>A function was organized in Delhi to launch this scheme and the Union Finance Minister, Sri P Chidambaram, Sri Namo Narain Meena, Minister of State for Finance, Sri Rajiv Takru, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Sri Ashok Dutt, Executive Director Dena Bank, Sri Milind Kharat, CMD, United India Insurance Company and several other senior officials from the Finance Ministry registered their presence in the function. <br/><br/>The Finance Minister handed over medical claim policies and ID cards to six farmers of different states holding KCC of Dena Bank on the occasion. He also thanked Dena Bank and United India Insurance for this wonderful initiative. <br/><br/>Under the scheme, the farmers, who have a Dena Bank KCC, and their spouses along with two children, will be eligible for free cashless health insurance cover up to a maximum of Rs 30,000. This cashless facility will be available at around 4,200 hospitals all over the country. Dena Bank is celebrating its Platinum Jubilee year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=715InsuringIndia News Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:27:21 GMT The largest insurer of the country, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has registered a record profit of Rs 20,000 crore (highest in around 7-8 years) in fiscal year 2012-13.<br/><br/>The state-run insurer now aims to invest Rs 2.15 lac crore in the current fiscal out of which 10-15% or Rs 21,500 crore will be in equities.<br/><br/>In an interview with a business channel on Monday, LIC chairman Shri D K Mehrotra said, ““The profit that we booked last year has been the highest in the last almost seven-eight years because we did get good opportunities.”<br/><br/>Last month, Shri Mehrotra, who is due to retire next month, had said that the fiscal year 2013-14 should see LIC “having a total investment target of, say, Rs 2.25-2.3 lakh crore.”<br/><br/>“Of that, about 10% should go to equity. If something better comes, say, an IPO comes; we should raise it a bit. About Rs 25,000-30,000 crore.”<br/><br/>It is widely believed LIC would be in focus once the divestment issues start hitting the market in the coming months. The government has set a target of Rs 40,000 crore by selling partial stake in listed PSUs. In FY 2012-13, LIC participated in seven divestment offerings - Hindustan Copper, NMDC, Oil India, NTPC, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF), Nalco, and SAIL.<br/><br/>Shri Mehrotra, however, had denied being labelled the government’s ‘bailout agency’ asserting that all of LIC’s investment decisions were based on its own assessment of market conditions and the fundamentals of the company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=714InsuringIndia News Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:37:45 GMT Owner of vehicles with tinted glass may soon, not be eligible to claim insurance for it, in case it meets with an accident.<br/><br/>As per a report, the Union Road Ministry has written to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), asking it to disallow owners from claiming insurance for vehicles whose windows and windscreens are darker than permitted. The ministry says that tinted glass or solar films in vehicles would be considered a violation of the warranty conditions in the insurance policy.<br/><br/>The Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 says that the windscreen and rear window of a vehicle must have atleast 70% visual light transmission. For side windows, it should be at least 50%.<br/><br/>The Union Road Transport Minister Shri C.P. Joshi wrote a letter to all chief ministers asking them to start a drive against tinted glass in their respective states.<br/><br/>“All of us have been watching with deep concern and anguish the repeated incidents of crimes against women in vehicles, most of which had tinted glasses or solar films,” said the letter.<br/><br/>The letter came in the backwash of the infamous Delhi gang rape, in which a paramedical student lost her life after being brutalised in a moving bus that had tinted windows. <br/><br/>“Registration of vehicles, which continue to violate the rules notwithstanding the suspension of registration, may be cancelled. Issuing challans to offenders is not a solution to the problem of tinted glass”, Shri Joshi wrote.<br/><br/>Furthermore, he wrote, “Whenever a vehicle with tinted glass is found (to be) involved in a crime, or causes damage to another vehicle or bodily harm to a third party, the vehicle must be impounded by the law enforcement authorities of the states and maximum penalty provided for in the MV (Motor Vehicles) Act must be imposed on the offending vehicle owner.”<br/><br/>“Ideally, all officers of the traffic police should be equipped with a handheld device which when fed with the offending vehicle’s registration number, should reveal data on its past challans (or offences). But none of the state traffic police can afford such devices,” said a transport official.<br/><br/>In an another idea, which the road transport ministry has conceptualized to track down repeat offenders, an officer will only have to send a text message with the offending car’s registration number to the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The NIC will send information related to the past offences of the vehicle to the mobile number from where the query came. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=712InsuringIndia News Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:33:47 GMT Two public sector banks Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Canara Bank, which are domestic partners in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance, intend to oppose the proposed deal, as they are annoyed with HSBC’s decision to sell stake in its Indian life insurance joint venture (JV) without consulting them.<br/><br/>According to the sources, the two Indian banks claim that HSBC is selling its stake without consulting them. They were not happy that HSBC, which runs the operations of Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance, approached prospective buyers without consulting them, even as the JV shareholding agreement contains ‘tag-along rights’.<br/><br/>The clause, which gives shareholders the right to be part of a sale transaction if one decides to sell stake, was inserted in the shareholding agreement when the JV was formed. So, the prospective buyer will have to offer Canara Bank and OBC similar terms as it offers HSBC in the deal.<br/><br/>Reports say that Canada-based life insurer Manulife and HDFC Life are in race for HSBC’s stake in the JV. Valuing the life insurance firm at Rs 4,000 crore, the HSBC stake could be worth about Rs 1,000 crore. The company which buys HSBC's stake can sign a new bancassurance agreement with the two banks, in addition to the existing bancassurance arrangement.<br/><br/>Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance joint venture was launched in June 2008. Canara Bank holds 51%, HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Ltd holds 26% and the Asian insurance arm of HSBC and Oriental Bank of Commerce holds 23% stake in the joint venture. <br/><br/>The joint venture operates a bancassurance model and has a network of over 6,000 bank branches of its corporate agents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=711InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:31:56 GMT The newly appointed chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Shri T S Vijayan has said that checking mis-selling of insurance products is a high priority. He also promised to restore the industry's credibility, which has taken a beating following large-scale mis-selling of ULIPS in the pre-crisis era.<br/><br/>Shri T.S. Vijayan took over as the 4th chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, succeeding Shri J Hari Narayan on February 21, this year. Before this appointment he was the chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.<br/><br/>This is the first time that IRDA is being headed by an insurance industry veteran – and the very reason why a lot of hopes are pinned on Shri Vijayan. He has to deal with the burden of expectation that would be more development-oriented as he is familiar with industry issues.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporter, Shri Vijayan said, “The insurance regulatory framework has evolved over the last decade to match the needs of the sector, whose landscape has changed post 2000 when the first set of companies were registered by IRDA. I expect the regulatory framework to stabilize to enable various stakeholders to work at further reaching out to meet the needs of the customer. I do believe that we have developed a strong foundation by aligning our regulatory structure to international best practices while, at the same time, keeping in mind the needs of our people. The industry and the regulator both need to lay down the roadmap for the medium term. Certainly, addressing mis-selling and protection of policyholders' interests is a priority.”<br/><br/>“I do believe that lack of awareness is the root cause of mis-selling and the best way of tackling it is to create awareness about the need for insurance and the various products. Against around 14 crore policies sold in a year by the insurance industry, there could be some instances where unscrupulous persons adopt malpractices for personal gains”, he added.<br/><br/>Recently, the format of the standard proposal form has been notified to draw attention to basic information as premium amount, mode of payment, policy term, and premium paying term, among others. It also provides for need analysis to ensure that the product is sold based on customer need and affordability; and aims at curbing wrong advice and mis-selling. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=710InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:31:01 GMT Private sector insurer Reliance Life Insurance, an arm of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group's financial services firm Reliance Capital Limited, is planning to strengthen its presence in pure health insurance space with an expanded product suite. The insurer is concerned over the low customer penetration in health insurance segment. <br/><br/>Currently, health insurance segment is mostly dominated by general insurance companies, but life insurance firms have also started offering health-focussed products of late. <br/><br/>Reliance Life insurance has also launched two new health insurance products – ‘Reliance Life Care for You Advantage Plan’ and ‘Reliance Life Easy Care Fixed Benefit Plan’. At present, the company has three products in health insurance segment. <br/><br/>Shri Anup Rao, CEO, Reliance Life Insurance said, “Health insurance is an important part of our comprehensive protection portfolio designed for customers because the health sector offers a huge service opportunity.” <br/><br/>"Health insurance penetration in India is as low as 5%, with over 85% of the 1.4 billion population having no health cover. We see health segment as an opportunity to serve all requirements of customers and their families in short, medium and long-term," Rao added. <br/><br/>Furthermore, he said, “We recognise health insurance as one of the primary protection requirements for individuals and family members in the country.” <br/><br/>The recently-passed new health insurance regulations, which specified the critical illnesses to be covered and standardised definitions, have propelled life insurers to turn their attention towards the health segment. <br/><br/>At present, on an average, life insurers have 2-3% of their business coming from health insurance in the retail segment and have a huge growth opportunity as the health market is highly untapped. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=709InsuringIndia News Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:51:14 GMT Keeping the farmers welfare in mind, the state government of Odisha has decided to provide health insurance cover and mobile phone to farmers.<br/><br/>The Finance Minister of Odisha, Shri Prasanna Acharya announced this welfare scheme during the first ever Agriculture Budget in Odisha State Assembly. The government has allocated Rs. 2 crore in the Budget-2013-14 for providing cell phone, which will benefit 20,000 farmers Under Digital Mandi Scheme. Each one will get a mobile phone with a cost of Rs.1000. <br/><br/>The government has also decided to convert Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) as Smart Cards allotted to the farmers. The new scheme will be piloted in Balasore-Bhadrak District Central Co-operative Bank covering about 3 lac active KCC holders of Balasore and Bhadrak district. This will cost the State Government Rs.3 crore. <br/><br/>Health insurance through a new program of Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY) for which Rs.100 crore has been allocated during 2013-14. <br/><br/>The health insurance cover will be for Rs.30,000 as available under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=708InsuringIndia News Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:48:17 GMT State-owned insurer United India Insurance has requested the Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) to allow it to sell agriculture insurance products in the western region, which is facing severe drought with major loss in horticulture crops like sweet lime, grape and mango.. <br/><br/>Sri Milind Kharat, Chairman and Managing Director, United India Insurance said, “We have requested to allow us to sell weather and crop insurance products in the western region, especially in Maharashtra where we are not hawking these products. Currently we are selling these products in the South.” <br/><br/>At present, the state-run insurers - New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance sell the products of AIC which offers yield-based and weather-based crop insurance programmes under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and the weather-based insurance scheme. <br/><br/>As Maharashtra is a major market in the crop and weather insurance space, most general insurers are trying to establish themselves in this space. <br/><br/>Crop and weather insurance is one of the growth spots for the domestic general insurance industry with nearly 25% yearly growth. Private players like ICICI Lombard and HDFC Ergo are also active in this space. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=707InsuringIndia News Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:51:15 GMT Private sector life insurer Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance unveiled a single premium endowment assurance plan, a non -participating endowment plan. The plan provides comprehensive cover equal to sum assured which is 10 times of its single premium. The policy offers guaranteed benefit on maturity and is designed for customers who prefer to invest only once. <br/><br/>Premium paid under this product will be eligible for tax relaxation under Section 80 C and Section 10 (10D) of Income Tax Act, 1961. <br/><br/>This plan offers a policy term which is for a maximum of 10 years, which is suitable for customers looking at a long-term investment with guaranteed returns. During this period, a policy holder can avail of a loan to meet unforeseen situations. The product enables a customer to pledge maximum loan amount which is 90% of the surrender value. <br/><br/>Premium for this product ranges between Rs 40,000 to Rs 25 lacs and above. For the policyholder who pays a minimum premium of Rs 40,000, will get cover of Rs 4 lacs, which is equal to 10 folds of the single premium. <br/><br/>This plan offers 5 premium bands according to which the policyholders will have to pay the premium. The maturity benefit payable will be based on the premium band, entry age and gender of the policyholder. <br/><br/>In - case of unforeseen situations, a policyholder can surrender the policy after completing at least first policy year. If the policy is surrendered after the 2nd year, the policyholder will get 50% of maturity benefit and 80% if the policy is surrendered in the 5th year. <br/><br/>Sri Deepak Mittal, CEO, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited said, “Assured return and tax benefit make this product a hassle-free product with multiple benefits and hence it is a product best suited for investors looking at long-term returns.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=706InsuringIndia News Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:49:46 GMT India's general insurance industry grew by 19.34 % in the 11 months of fiscal year’ 2012-13 led by SBI General which recorded more over 3 times growth in gross premium collection as compared to last fiscal year.<br/><br/>For the April-February period of fiscal year’ 2012-13, the total premium collection of the 27 general insurance cos was Rs 61,885.11 cr. .<br/><br/>The premium share of 21 private insurers stood at Rs 26,655.35cr and grew by around 22.78 %. While, the state-run insurers - New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance contributed Rs 31,196.3cr and logged a premium growth of 16.87% during the period. .<br/><br/>Among the private sector insurers, SBI General Insurance Company collected the highest premium of Rs 653.17cr registering a growth of 209.71%, ICICI Lombard with the largest market share collected a premium of Rs 5,655.27cr and, the second largest private insurer, Bajaj Alliance collected Rs 3,528.24cr premium during the period. .<br/><br/>HDFC Ergo General Insurance collected Rs 2,201.77cr, followed by Tata AIG with Rs 1,903.29cr. Reliance General collected Rs 1,853.26cr for the period. .<br/><br/>While, another private sector insurer, Star Health & Allied Insurance witnessed negative growth of 30.26% at Rs 740.39cr. .<br/><br/>Market leader New India Assurance with 7% market share collected premium of Rs 8,956.48cr, an increase of 17.21%. It was closely followed by Chennai-based United India Insurance with premium collection of Rs 8,311.44cr. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=705InsuringIndia News Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:43:25 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Monday asked all insurance companies to review the existing agreements with Third Party Administrators (TPAs) for providing health service. <br/><br/>A TPA is a person who is licensed under the IRDA (Third Party Administrators—Health Services) Regulations, 2001 by IRDA, and is a prominent player in the managed care industry and have the expertise and capability to administer all or a portion of the claims process. They are normally contracted by a health insurer or self-insuring companies to administer services, including claims administration, premium collection, enrollment and other administrative activities. A hospital or provider organization desiring to set up its own health plan will often outsource certain responsibilities to a TPA.<br/><br/>This is in order to ensure compliance with the new regulations on health insurance.<br/><br/>The insurance regulator has asked all life, general, standalone health insurers and TPAs to not only review the active agreements, but also file the copies of revised agreements with Irda on or before July 31, 2013. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=704InsuringIndia News Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:42:57 GMT Private insurer PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) on Sunday announced the launch of its loan protection plan- 'Met Flexi Shield' for the home and education loan customers of Punjab National Bank.<br/><br/>Punjab National Bank (PNB) is the second largest state-run lender of the country.<br/><br/>'Met Flexi Shield' provides protection against loan liability, in the event of unforeseen circumstances of the death of the borrower and offers full financial protection to the family, the statement said.<br/><br/>The launch coincided with the auspicious day of Baisakhi, which is the foundation day of the bank.<br/><br/>Sri Rajesh Relan, MD & Country Manager, PNB MetLife said, “With the launch of this compelling offering, we are taking another step in our journey to create a benchmark partnership and bring our products, technology and capabilities to PNB customers, to help achieve financial security.”<br/><br/>PNB MetLife is a joint venture where the US based MetLife Inc. and Punjab National Bank are the majority shareholders. Before Punjab National Bank bought 30% stake in the JV, the insurer was known as MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (MetLife India).<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=703InsuringIndia News Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:42:26 GMT The union finance minister Shri. P Chidambaram on Friday asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to focus more on its developmental role to increase the insurance penetration in the country.<br/><br/>Insurance penetration in India is below its need and potential. Awareness about general insurance is dismal. India is ranked at 52nd in the world in non-life insurance penetration, lower than Sri Lanka, Malaysia. “India has to go a long way to increase insurance penetration”, he said<br/><br/>Referring to Shri. TS Vijayan, the new chief of Irda, Mr. Chidambaram Said, “For the first time we have a former insurer as the head of IRDA and you have a mandate to develop the insurance industry. While regulations are important, development of the industry is equally important.”<br/><br/>TS Vijayan is the former chairman of the country's largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. Mr. Chidambaram was speaking at the launch of an IRDA-backed insurance awareness campaign by the General Insurance Council. <br/><br/>"We have 27 general insurance companies in the country, yet the general insurance penetration is 0.71%," he said, adding that by every measure there is a long way to go. The insurance density for general insurance in India is less than $9, while it is $53 in China. Gross underwritten premium (GWP) of the sector was Rs 69,000 cr in 2012-13.<br/><br/>FM also emphasized that the insurance awareness campaign should not remain limited to metros like Delhi and Mumbai but should spread to the states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, where insurance penetration and awareness is considerably low.<br/><br/>"This campaign must go to other capitals, this campaign must go to second-tier towns," he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=702InsuringIndia News Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:22:14 GMT On Thursday, Germany pressed India to raise the foreign equity cap in the insurance sector and reduce tariffs on import of automobiles as a prelude to the much- awaited India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) even as the two countries signed 6 pacts including one under which a German loan of Euro one billion (Rs7,000 crore) will be provided for a green energy corridor in India.<br/><br/>The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is currently in Germany to chair the second India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. <br/><br/>After talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “We are now in a position where we can get there. We have not yet overcome all the difficulties. We are not ready to sign yet but we thank India for paving the way for signing the agreement. We are in a dynamic stage of consultation.”<br/><br/>Ms. Merkel, who jointly co-chaired the second round of Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) with Singh, however, minced no words when she said that the increase in the insurance cap by India was "undeniably" an important issue apart from resolution of issues such as tariff rate quota on imports of German cars, Services and Intellectual Property Rights.<br/><br/>On the other hand, India is pressing Germany, the biggest economy in Europe, to provide a "strong political thrust" for inking of broad-based Bilateral Investment and Trade Agreement (BITA) with the 27-nation European block. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=701InsuringIndia News Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:10:33 GMT HSBC plc, the largest bank of Europe has said that it has decided to sell its 26% stake in a life insurance joint venture, which it runs in association with two Indian state-run banks, as it sheds noncore businesses globally.<br/><br/>If sources are to be believed, Canada's Manulife Financial Corp and the Indian unit of Standard Life are among the suitors to place first-round bids for HSBC’s stake Indian life insurance business, which is estimated to be valued at around $200 million. <br/><br/>Whoever buys HSBC's stake will get immediate access to about 5,500 branches of the two state-run banks. Bancassurance - an arrangement in which a bank and an insurance firm tie up so that the insurer can sell its products to the bank’s customers — is emerging as a key tool to sell insurance products across Asia as the life insurance industry matures in the region. <br/><br/>HDFC Life, a joint venture between India's HDFC Ltd and British insurer Standard Life, Birla Sun Life, a venture between Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group and Canada's Sun Life and ICICI Prudential Life, a joint venture between India's ICICI Bank and UK's Prudential are among the firms bidding for the stake in the first round. <br/><br/>According to the sources close to the development, HSBC's partners in India, Canara Bank Ltd and Oriental Bank of Commerce might also sell their stake in the insurance joint venture. <br/><br/>Recently, New York Life exited its joint venture with Max Life; and ING left the Indian market by selling its full stake of 26% to Exide. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=700InsuringIndia News Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:39:09 GMT <b>On Tuesday</b>, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) issued a notice advising general public not to buy insurance products from an unlicenced entity or insurer.<br/><br/>The insurance watchdog in a circular said, “The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is a regulatory body established by an Act of Parliament to protect the interests of the policyholders and to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry and for matters connected therewith.” <br/><br/>"It has come to (our) notice that a few entities under the banner of cargo carriers, couriers/logistic providers/freight forwarders/transporters or involved in similar trade are charging consideration from their clientele towards their contractual liabilities, using the terminology 'insurance', thus creating an impression that they are either insurance entities or arranging insurance on behalf of their clientele," said the statement. <br/><br/>Furthermore, the statement said, an entity could function as an insurer or an insurance intermediary only after a licence/certificate of registration from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority under the relevant provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, and the IRDA Act, 1999, for such a business. <br/><br/>Only such a licensed entity can offer an insurance product and collect/charge an insurance premium. <br/><br/>The statement also advised the general public to check the truthfulness of the entity as well as the insurance arrangement promised, before making any payment towards insurance premium/consideration. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=699InsuringIndia News Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:31:14 GMT On Monday, private life insurer Aegon Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) announced the launch of a traditional plan with guaranteed benefits — Flexi Money Back Plus Insurance Plan.<br/><br/>Mr. Yateesh Srivastava, Chief Marketing Officer & Head (Talent), said in a statement, “The investment climate remains uncertain and volatile. In such times customers seek shelter in products that provide guarantees. At the same time the money back component of the plan allows for a cash flow at regular and pre-determined intervals.” <br/><br/>“In addition to the guaranteed returns customers can also look forward to an upside through accrued bonuses from the first year onward,” he added. <br/><br/>Aegon Religare, under this plan, offers lot more apart from guaranteed returns. It offers extended life cover that goes beyond the premium payment term, rider that can be added to the plan, to provide extra cover in case of death due to an accident, bonus, guaranteed pay-outs, 40 % of the Sum Assured as maturity benefit at the end of the policy term. <br/><br/>To buy this product, the minimum entry age is 7 yrs. and maximum is 60, 58 or 54 yrs., depending on the tenure of the plan. Whereas, the maximum entry age at maturity is 75 yrs. <br/><br/> The minimum Sum Assured is Rs 1,00,000 and the minimum annual premium is Rs 13,033. <br/><br/>AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company in India is a joint venture between AEGON (26%), an international life insurance, pension and investment company; Religare Enterprises Limited (44%), a global financial services group; and Bennett, Coleman & Company (30%). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=698InsuringIndia News Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:02:28 GMT Jammu and Kashmir government has recently said that steps were being taken to provide life insurance cover to panchayat representatives in the state.<br/><br/>Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar, minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, said, “Honorarium and sitting fees of Panchayat Representatives have been fixed and steps are being taken to provide Life Insurance Cover.” He said large sum of money was also spent on training the Panchayat representatives under various schemes. <br/><br/>"Under Backward Regions Grant Fund and Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojna, capacity building and extensive trainings are being provided to the Panchayat Representatives as per the national capacity building frame work and for the financial year 2012-2013, an amount of Rs 11.85 crore has been made available for the purpose," the minister said. <br/><br/>Further, the minister said an amount of Rs 230 crore under 13th Finance Commission has been released mainly for the construction of Panchayat Ghars and in convergence with other schemes, a target of 1,788 Panchayat Ghars is to be completed with full funding. <br/><br/>A grant in aid Rs 72.24 crore has been released to the Halqa Panchayats for asset creation, furniture and rent, he added. <br/><br/>On MGNREGA, the minister said against the labour budget of Rs 1,077 crore for the financial year 2012-2013, an amount of Rs 1,365 crore has been approved for 2013-2014. <br/><br/>"During the financial year 2012-2013 there has been an availability of Rs 912.37 crore against which an expenditure of Rs 620.41 crore has been made by ending February 2013," he said http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=697InsuringIndia News Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:46:04 GMT One more foreign player Manulife Financial, the largest insurer of Canada is actively contemplating Indian Insurance sector to find a workable business model to set up shop here.<br/><br/>Other foreign players like Allianz, Prudential, Standard Life, Aegon, Aviva and Nippon Life are already present in the Indian insurance sector through joint ventures with their respective Indian partners. <br/><br/>Now, Manulife Financial is closely examining various rules and regulation of the sector regulator Irda including those for the foreign ownership restrictions. Currently, the insurer has a representative office in India. <br/><br/>Fiona SF Chan, Asia's AVP (Brand Development and Communications), Manulife Financial said, "We can confirm that we have a representative office in India. We have not pursued India (so far) because of ownership restrictions and, more recently, regulatory changes around product. But we maintain an active research brief and if we can find a business model that we think will work; we’d be prepared to enter India," <br/><br/>As per current rule, a foreign player can not invest more than 26% in Indian insurance business, but the proposals are underway to raise this ceiling to 49%. The union finance minister Mr. P Chidambaram has expressed confidence that much-awaited amendments to the Insurance Bill may be introduced by the government soon. The Bill seeks to raise foreign investment cap in the sector from 26% to 49 %.<br/><br/>Manulife Financial has principal operations in Asia, Canada and U.S.A. At the end of 2012, funds under management of Manulife Financials and its subsidiaries were $535 billion or over Rs 28 lakh crores. <br/><br/>As per the Life Insurance Council data, the Indian life insurance sector saw over Rs 33,633 crore of deployed capital, controlled more than Rs 16.18 lac crore managed assets with 34 crore policies in force as of March 31, 2012. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=696InsuringIndia News Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:42:47 GMT Indian private sector life insurer Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), a part of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital Limited, on Wednesday announced the launch of its new healthcare policy- 'Reliance Life Easy Care Fixed Benefit Plan' aimed at meeting both the hospitalisation and surgery expenses of individuals.<br/><br/>Announcing the launch, Mr. Anup Rau, Chief Executive Officer, RLIC, said, “Reliance Life Easy Care Fixed Benefit Plan is designed to cover the two major components of health expenses - hospitalization and surgery, keeping in mind the difficulties and worries faced by customers while meeting the high hospitalization and surgery costs. We are confident that our new healthcare plan will fill the gaps in health insurance and address key concerns among customers on claim amount, increase in premium in case of a claim and coverage on surgeries.” <br/><br/>Reliance Life Easy Care Fixed Benefit Plan gives the customer the option of paying a single premium upfront for the entire policy period of five years. This feature is seen as a key differentiator in the domestic health insurance market. <br/><br/>The new healthcare policy offers its policyholders a lump sum benefit of 100 % of sum insured to the insured suffering from 10 critical illnesses, including cancer, stroke, loss of speech, Alzheimer and coma. <br/><br/>This plan is available for the people between the age group of 18 to 65 years and can be opted for the plan with guaranteed renewability till the age of 75 years. <br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Reliance Capital Ltd., an Indian financial services company and Japanese insurance giant Nippon Life. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=695InsuringIndia News Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:03:37 GMT The Bank of Banks in India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed core investment firms/companies (CICs) to set up a joint venture company for undertaking insurance business with risk participation, subject to safeguards. <br/><br/>In the notification, RBI has said a core investment company should have a minimum net worth of Rs 500 cr and a satisfactory track record. And, also should have registered net profit for three consecutive years if it wanted to enter the insurance business. The notification also said that the level of net non-performing assets shall be not more than 1% of the total advances. <br/><br/>RBI has also clarified that CICs cannot enter into insurance business as agents. CICs that wish to participate in insurance business as investors or on risk participation basis will be required to obtain prior approval of the Reserve Bank. It should be ensured that risks involved in insurance business do not get transferred to the CIC. <br/><br/>Further, the notification said, “CICs cannot enter into the insurance business as agents. CICs that wish to participate in the insurance business as investors or on risk participation basis will be required to obtain prior approval of the Reserve Bank (which) will give permission on a case-to-case basis, keeping in view all relevant factors.” <br/><br/>As for the non-deposit taking systemically important CICs, they a are required to maintain adjusted net worth which shall be not less than 30% of aggregate risk weighted assets on balance sheet and risk adjusted value of off-balance sheet items. <br/><br/>Further, the Reserve Bank clarified that no CIC would be allowed to conduct such business departmentally. Further, an NBFC (in its group / outside the group) would normally not be allowed to join an insurance company and hence should not provide direct or indirect financial support to the insurance venture. <br/><br/>Within the group, CICs may invest up to 100% of the equity of the insurance company either on a solo basis or in joint venture with other non-financial entities in the group. This would ensure that only the CIC either on a solo basis or in a joint venture with the group company is exposed to insurance risk and the NBFC within the group is ring-fenced from such risk. <br/><br/>In case where a foreign partner contributes 26 % equity with the approval of IRDA/FIPB, more than one CIC may be allowed to participate in the equity of the insurance joint venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=694InsuringIndia News Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:53:24 GMT The third party motor insurance is all set to get dearer as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has proposed an increase in the payable premium.<br/><br/>According to the sources close to the development, the revision in prices is expected to hit hard on the entry-level segment which has below 1000 cc engines- the most as the rise in third party cover proposed for this category is 85%. This segment has the highest market volume which has cars like Maruti’s Alto, Hundai’s Eon, Chevrolet’s Spark and Tata’s Nano. The minimum increase of 1.4% will be in the 1,000-1500 CC category, which includes Maruti’s Swift, Ritz, Chevrolet’s Beat and Hundai’s Santro and i10. For over-1500 CC cars, the premium will increase by 43%. The third party insurance for commercial vehicles will be also increased by 30%.<br/><br/>As per reports, this increase has been mainly proposed because the losses insurance companies sustain in this area are rather high owing to outrageous claims, which can be sometimes as high as 200 % of actual amount. Sources said that the increased premium would surely minimise the vulnerability of losses being sustained by the insurance companies. <br/><br/>According to some industry experts, very soon an increase in own damage insurance is very likely as well. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=693InsuringIndia News Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:53:24 GMT L&T General Insurance, a unit of engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T), is set to merge with the Indian unit of Future Generali India Insurance.<br/><br/>L&T, Generali Group and the Future Group have signed a non binding term sheet for the merger of L&T General Insurance and Future Generali India Insurance. Post merger of the companies, L&T will hold 51 % stake, Generali and Future Group will hold 26% and 23% stake respectively in the newly formed company. <br/><br/>The completion of the transaction is subject to the receipt of the necessary approvals from governmental and regulatory authorities, including the CCI and the IRDA.<br/><br/>Pantaloon Retail (India) has entered into a share purchase agreement to sell its stake in insurance business. Even as L & T has not announced the value of the deal, it is believed that 51 % stake in the merged company would be valued at around Rs. 560 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=692InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:53:24 GMT Private life insurer SBI Life has unveils an online life insurance plan – eShield. It’s a Pure Term, Non-Linked, Non-Participating insurance plan which provides high insurance covers at attractive premiums.<br/><br/>Consumers can opt from 4 variants of the plan according to their requirement:<br/><br/>Level Cover- The Effective Sum Assured in this option is the Basic Sum Assured chosen at Policy Inception.<br/>Level Cover with Accidental Death Benefit-The Effective Sum Assured in this option is the Basic Sum Assured chosen at Policy Inception. There is an inbuilt rider of Accidental Death Benefit where an additional Death Benefit due to an accident would be paid which is equal to the Basic Sum Assured or Rs 50 lacs, whichever is lower.<br/>Increasing Cover- The Effective Sum Assured in this plan is the Basic Sum Assured which increases by 10% simple interest after every 5th policy year without increase in premium.<br/>Increasing Cover with Accidental Death Benefit-The Effective Sum Assured in this plan is the Basic Sum Assured which increases by 10% simple interest after every 5th policy year without increase in premium. There is an inbuilt rider of Accidental Death Benefit where an additional Death Benefit due to an accident would be paid which is equal to the Basic Sum Assured or Rs 50 lacs, whichever is lower.<br/><br/>Key Features of eShield:<br/>Security of your family at an affordable premium<br/>Rewards you for maintaining a healthy life style<br/>Wide variety of plan options, which has level and increasing cover<br/>Additional benefit of Accidental Death Benefit, and<br/>Tax benefit under section 80C and 10(10D) of Income Tax Act, 1961.<br/>Entry Age:<br/>Minimum: 18 Years<br/>Maximum: For Level Cover & Level Cover with Accidental Death Benefit- 65 Years and<br/> For Increasing Cover & Increasing Cover with Accidental Death Benefit -60 Years Maturity Age: 70 Years<br/>Aum Assured: Minimum: Rs.20,00,000 and Maximum: No Limit (subject to underwriting)Sum Assured would be in multiple of Rs.1,00,000.<br/>Policy Term: Minimum: <br/>For Level Cover & Level Cover with Accidental Death Benefit -5 Years<br/>For Increasing Cover & Increasing Cover with Accidental Death Benefit- 10 Years<br/> Policy Term: Maximum: 30 Years<br/>Premium Paying Term: Same as policy term<br/>Premium Amount: Minimum: Rs.3, 500 and Maximum: No Limit<br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=691InsuringIndia News Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:07:36 GMT On Monday, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) has announced the launch of a new family health insurance plan- 'Reliance Life Care for You Advantage Plan', which offers full coverage for the entire family under a single policy.<br/><br/>Reliance Life Care for You Advantage Plan provides comprehensive coverage for hospitalisation, surgeries and critical illnesses for the entire family including primary member, spouse, children, as well as parents and parents-in-laws, the insurer said in a statement. <br/><br/>"The key feature of the policy is that it allows an insured to pay a fixed premium for a three-year policy. This premium remains fixed for the three-year period, irrespective of the number of claims taken by the insured during the validity of the policy," it added. <br/><br/>The coverage offered by this plan ranges from Rs 2-10 lacs with a NCB (No Claim Bonus) of 5% of the Sum Assured for every claim-free year up to a maximum of 30 %. It also covers pre-existing illness, after continuing it for four continuous years. <br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance, along with its third party administrators (TPA), has a network of over 4,000 hospitals across the country to provide cashless hospitalization benefits to the policyholders. <br/><br/>"With our new health insurance solution, we are offering the much needed financial security to the customers to meet their health related contingencies and would continue to service them with innovative products”, Reliance Life Insurance newly appointed CEO, Anup Rau said. <br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Reliance Capital Ltd., an Indian financial services company and Japanese insurance giant Nippon Life. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=690InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:24:37 GMT The largest insurer of the country Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has picked up one-third of Nalco's shares that the government had divested last week, through the Offer For Sale (OFS) route.<br/><br/>On March 15th the government collected in over Rs 620 crore through the sale of its 6 % stake in the Odisha-based aluminium producer Nalco. Nalco in its filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), said that LIC had 5.040 % stake in Nalco, it acquired additional 5,24,82,219, or 2.036 % stake through the Offer For Sale. <br/><br/>After this, the state-run insurer holds 182,365,523 shares or 7.076 % stake in the company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=689InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:27:48 GMT Private life insurer Aegon Religare Life’s Managing Director & CEO, Mr. Jamkhedkar is likely to step down from the post, a person close to the development said.<br/><br/>Mr. K.S. Gopalakrishnan, the appointed actuary of the company is likely to be promoted to replace Mr. Jamkhedkar. However, the insurer has not yet confirmed the development.<br/><br/>The company has witnessed a drop in income for the April-February period; the company's new business premium income was down 32.27%. According to the experts, shareholders are looking to change the top management of life insurance companies, which are likely to face challenges after the sector regulator tweaked norms of traditional products. Companies will have to focus on efficiency and manage expenses within a limit based on the nature of the product.<br/><br/>Aegon Religare Life Insurance Company is joint venture between India's Religare Enterprises, Dutch insurance giant Aegon and Bennett, Coleman & Company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=688InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:51:00 GMT The Samajwadi Party (SP), a key ally of the Congress-led UPA-ll government has said it would oppose pension and insurance reforms bill.<br/><br/>The insurance reforms bill raises foreign direct investment ceiling to 49% from existing 26%. Whereas; the pension bill suggests to open up pension sector to foreign investors for the first time. <br/><br/>"We will continue to support the government but we are against foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance and pension sectors," SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said.<br/><br/>On Tuesday, DMK, an another key ally of the government withdrew its support from the ruling coalition in protest against the government's position on a U.N. resolution on Sri Lanka http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=687InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:40:02 GMT On Monday, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) asked all life insurance companies to adopt a standard proposal form for policyholders seeking insurance cover, which will bring uniformity and transparency in the life insurance space.<br/><br/>When an industry grows fast in a short period of time, it is easy for unfair practices to creep in unnoticed in the heat of the competition.<br/><br/>The regulator already has Regulations for insurers and intermediaries on issues relating to the point of sale.<br/><br/>Besides, it has identified that a ‘Needs Analysis’ or a ‘Suitability Analysis’ on the prospect by the intermediary or insurer would curb wrong advice and mis-selling.<br/><br/>The regulator has identified a Standard Proposal Form which contains column for personal information and suitability analysis for the policyholder.<br/><br/>The regulator in its notification said, “The objective of this regulation is to provide for a standard proposal form for individual policies in life insurance that has an inbuilt flexibility for seeking specialised information that is product specific to a particular product category.”<br/><br/>These guidelines has come into effect from February 16, 2013, said the notification. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=686InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:03:49 GMT Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has set up a committee to review the practices in insurance broking, review the entire IRDA (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2002 and evolve a standardised process to assess the gravity of violation for imposition of appropriate penalties.<br/><br/>The committee will also look into possibility of allowing the broker to apply afresh to the authority in case the authority has cancelled or refused the renewal of licence of an insurance broker as well as related matter in insurance broking.<br/><br/>The insurance watchdog, in its statement said that they have taken a decision to review insurance broking, in wake of issues like violation of regulations by some brokers, proposal to let banks become insurance brokers and draft on sub-broking.<br/><br/>“This may pose new challenges in monitoring activities and regulating the insurance brokers”, the regulator said in its statement citing to the Budget 2013-14 which permits banks to act as insurance brokers.<br/><br/>The seven member committee will be headed by Mr. Suresh Mathur, Senior Joint Director of IRDA. Other members of the committee include officials from IRDA, General Insurance Corporation, New India Assurance, SBI Life and IBAI. The committee is supposed to submit its report on or before April 30, 2013.<br/><br/>As of now the regulator has issued 345 insurance broker licences which is valid for three years from the issue date. Recently, the regulator has also said it has formed a committee to look into aspects of sub-broking in India and the committee submitted its report. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=685InsuringIndia News Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:36:43 GMT Insurance CEOs are excited about the proposals announced by the Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his Budget speech that make it easier to distribute policies through banks by allowing them to act as brokers. <br/><br/>However, they are keeping their fingers crossed over the promise made by government to raise FDI ceiling in insurance to 49% from existing 26%. The proposals include allowing insurers to open offices in tier II cities without IRDA permission and permitting banks to sell policies of different companies.<br/><br/>The issue was one among many debated at the Business Standard Insurance Roundtable held recently in Mumbai. It was attended by CEOs of five insurance companies. Mr. R K Nair, Member, Finance & Investment, represented the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).<br/><br/>Mr. Nair emphasized the need for the sector to grow. "We are happy with the Budget proposal of letting banks become insurance brokers”, he said.<br/><br/>Although insurers agree with the need of the reforms in distribution, they are not so optimistic about the outcome of the Budget proposal.<br/><br/>"It is not easy for banks to sell products of multiple insurers. They may sell it because they would get more money and not because customers want it. But is there enough money?,” asked Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, HDFC Life Insurance.<br/><br/>Mr. G. Srinivasan, CMD, New India Assurance, said banks had not been investing resources in training people. "Through these reforms, banks would be made more accountable," he said.<br/><br/>Mr. Suresh Mahalingam, MD & CEO, Tata AIA Life Insurance, said for the sector to return to the golden era of 2004-2008, an enabling distribution and profitability was needed. "Opening up bancassurance is a pre-requisite for the industry to grow and it augurs well."<br/><br/>Mr. Bhargav Dasgupta, MD & CEO, ICICI Lombard General Insurance said, “Banks could sell the good product of one segment of one company, coupled with a product of another segment by another company. This will help banks to cater to consumers in a better way.<br/><br/>There was a consensus on the need for faster product approval. New India Assurance CMD Mr. Srinivasan said the regulator needed to have a process of clearing new products by examining the basic features and letting companies innovate. While ICICI Lombard General MD & CEO Mr. Dasgupta said the scope of mis-selling was also low, as the product structure was comparatively simpler.<br/><br/>Instead of following the current model of sending out an 'exposure draft' to companies and then taking a decision, the insurers called for better collaboration with companies to enable a strong industry-regulator interface.<br/><br/>IRDA representative, Mr. Nair said, “In comparison to China and Brazil, we are slightly better off. Though, penetration in India seems to have fallen, that of the world on an average, has also fallen.”<br/><br/>"We can look forward to a better period in the coming year,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=684InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:35:30 GMT It’s a good news for those using expensive mobile handsets as the leading mobile manufacturer in India, Nokia India has joined hands with State owned insurer New India Assurance (NIA) to provide insurance cover to new Nokia handset from loss, thefts and burglary.<br/><br/>It also includes damage caused by accidental entry of fluid in the device’s internal circuitry, loss of device through housebreaking, loss of device riots, strikes and other malicious acts.<br/><br/>However, the insurance cover does not apply to regular wear and tear. The insurance premium will be 1.25 % of the cost of the phone or Rs 50, whichever is higher.<br/><br/>To avail the benefits of this unique scheme, the consumers will have to buy a Nokia phone from a Nokia branded retail store, pay the insurance premium and receive the insurance certificate at the store itself. To claim the insurance, consumers will need to file a written report with police authorities and report the loss of SIM to the concerned network service provider and acknowledgement to be furnished.<br/><br/>The scheme will be available from March 14, 2013 initially in Delhi & NCR, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Cochin.<br/><br/>Mr. Segar Sampath Kumar, General Manager, New India Assurance, said “Based on our deep understanding of the segment, we are looking to provide Nokia consumers with a seamless solution that is as easy to claim, as it is to buy.”<br/><br/>Kannan Gopalakrishnan, Director Retail, Nokia India said, “The NIA insurance plan is aimed at safeguarding Nokia consumers against the anxiety caused by loss, theft or damage of their devices, while offering them an affordable and effective solution to protect their investments. We believe with the changing consumer landscape and the growing penetration of smartphones in India, this plan is sure to see strong uptake amongst our consumers.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=683InsuringIndia News Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:05:12 GMT Private sector insurer Bharti Axa General Insurance Company is expecting to cut down its underwriting losses in next fiscal year and increase the investment income, a senior official said yesterday.<br/><br/>Mr. Amaranath Ananthanarayanan, Chief Executive, Bharti Axa General Insurance said, “We hope that underwriting losses will be lower in the next fiscal year and we are on track to break even by December 2014.”<br/><br/>According to the company, the underwriting losses of the company came down to Rs 176 crores in the first nine months of current financial year from Rs 187 crores in corresponding period last year.<br/><br/>“The data points were not comparable for the two periods due to changes in the motor pool norms”, Mr. Ananthanarayanan added. He is also hopeful of improving investment income in 2013.<br/><br/>According to the Chief Financial Officer Mr. Sampath Kumar, the company is expecting its investment income to grow by around 15% in 2013 and the company aims to attain a growth of 35% in revenue in the next FY.<br/><br/>Bharti Axa General Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, an Indian business conglomerate and French firm Axa group in which Bharti Enterprises holds 74 % stake. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=682InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:50:06 GMT Sensing the importance of overseas Indian workers in the country's development, the government of India has recently announced a new pension and life insurance scheme for overseas Indian workers that would allow over five million workers, especially those working in the Gulf, to save money for the future.<br/><br/>Addressing the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Jaipur the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh announced the government’s decision to introduce and sponsor the Pension and Life Insurance Fund. “The scheme will encourage the overseas workers to voluntarily save money for their resettlement and old age”, Dr. Singh said. <br/><br/>There were over 1,900 delegates from 60 countries present in the seminar.<br/><br/>“The scheme will encourage, enable and assist overseas workers to voluntarily save for their return and resettlement and old age. The scheme, which was recently cleared by the Cabinet, will also provide a low-cost life insurance cover against natural death”, he added.<br/><br/>Under the scheme, the government would co-contribute Rs 1,000 per annum for all subscribers who contribute between Rs 1,000 and Rs 12,000 per annum. Overseas women workers would enjoy a special additional co- contribution of Rs 1,000 per annum.<br/><br/> “This scheme fulfils a long-pending demand of our workers abroad,” Dr. Singh said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=681InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:02:36 GMT To protest against the proposed Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2008, approximately 14 lac agents of the largest insurer of the country Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India are on one day strike today.<br/><br/>Life Insurance Agents’ Federation of India (LIAFI) — the umbrella organisation of life insurance agents — are specifically opposing the proposed amendment to certain Sections (40, 40(2), 44, and so on) of the Insurance Act, 1938. These sections deal with ceiling on commissions, compulsion on insurance companies to pay the renewal commission after termination, and so on.<br/><br/>Mr. Shyamal Chakraborty, Secretary-General, Life Insurance Agents’ Federation of India said, “These amendments will result in the demise of the agency force and put the interest of crores of policyholders at stake.”<br/><br/>“These agents are also planning to hold a procession at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar area on 22nd March, 2013 if the Government does not respond positively,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=680InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:08:49 GMT On Tuesday, the largest general insurer of the country New India Assurance has announced the launch of a portal to enable customers to buy policies online.<br/><br/>The state-run insurer will offer products in motor, health, travel and personal accident segment through this portal along with policy renewal facilities, the company said in a release .<br/><br/>According to the press release, the company will offer products of comprehensive private car and two-wheeler insurance, health insurance , personal accident and overseas mediclaim policy. <br/><br/>The customer portal 'online.newindia.co.in' will also allow policy renewals. The existing customers would also be able to link their policies and track their claims among others.<br/><br/>The insurer also launched 'Anywhere Any Time Renewal' facility through which a customer can renew policy in its 1,500 offices and also online, the release said.<br/><br/>The insurer also said in the statement that it would launch its mobility solutions soon, which will have the facility to take and renew the insurance policies offered by it..<br/><br/>New India Assurance had registered a net profit of Rs 517 cr in the first nine months of the current fiscal (April-December). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=679InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:18:54 GMT On Monday, private life insurer Aegon Religare Life Insurance announced the launch of its Aegon Religare Assured Returns Insurance Plan which offers guaranteed payouts once the premium paying term is over.Mr. Yateesh Srivastava, Chief Marketing Officer & Head (Talent), said in a statement, “The Aegon Religare Assured Returns Insurance Plan has the benefit of providing a guaranteed return to customers for a period equivalent to the premium-paying term, once all premiums have been paid. It comes with two premium payment terms of seven years and 10 years.”<br/><br/>“This plan is meant for customers looking at safe and secured returns with very little risk,” he added.<br/><br/>The payout period is defined as the period starting from one year after the end of the policy term for a period equal to the policy term. The policy offers maturity benefit in the form of a guaranteed percentage of the annual premium. After the end of the policy term of seven or 10 years, at the end of each year, it offers 150 or 175 % of the annual premium, for the number of years equal to the policy term.<br/><br/>In case of unfortunate death of the insured during the policy term, all the future premiums are waived-off and the nominee receives the guaranteed payout, as per the policy, during the payout period. It also offers an option to the nominee to take the present value of the future payout at any point in time, during the policy term.<br/><br/>The minimum age required to enter into the plan is 25 years whereas the maximum is 53 or 50 years, depending on the tenure of the policy. The maximum age at maturity is 60 years.<br/><br/> Minimum annual premium for people less than 45 years of age is Rs 25,000 with a maximum of Rs 2,50,000. And, people above 45 years of age is Rs 40,000, with a maximum of Rs 2,50,000 per annum. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=678InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:08:26 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) may come out with a new policy giving automatic clearance to standard life insurance products and relax investment guidelines to encourage flow of funds into infrastructure sector, Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Namo Narian Meena said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.<br/><br/>The insurance watchdog has constituted Working Groups in consultation with the Life Insurance Council to set-out parameters and framework within which standard life insurance products can be automatically cleared, he added.<br/><br/>In order to canalise funds into infrastructure sector, IRDA has amended its Investment Regulations recently. Some prominent features of these regulations are as follows:(a) Permitted investments in the category of ‘other than approved investments’ to qualify for the investments mandatory requirement of investing in 15% of life fund in ‘Housing and Infrastructure category’.<br/><br/>(b) Investments in “Infrastructure Debt Funds” backed by central government as approved by IRDA shall be reckoned for investments in infrastructure.<br/><br/>(c) Reduced the mandated outstanding tenure of infrastructure bonds from 10 years to 5 years.<br/><br/>(d) The exposure of any insurer to an infrastructure company has been increased to 20% as against the single investee company exposure norms of 10%. The limit can further be increased by another 5% in case of Debt with the prior approval of the Board.<br/><br/>(e) Permitted investments in infrastructure SPVs to the extent of 20% of the project cost subject to appropriate guarantees by the parent company/ companies and meeting the specified eligibility criteria.<br/><br/>(f) Investments in infrastructure are excluded from the applicability of industry sector exposure norms.<br/><br/>Both, life and non-life insurance sectors have started up numerous steps for increasing insurance penetration countrywide. These include opening of new offices in small towns and launching of new products. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=677InsuringIndia News Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:15:46 GMT On Tuesday, Mr. Namo Narian Meena, Minister of State for Finance said in the Rajya Sabha that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has taken several initiatives to educate the consumers against mis-selling of insurance products and unfair business practices of insurance companies.<br/><br/>In order to educate consumers on insurance, the regulator has already launched a website www.policyholder.gov.in in June last year. Policyholder Handbooks are also uploaded on the website. Every insurer in India has on its website a link to regulator’s education website www.policyholder.gov.in .<br/><br/>“Information alerting consumers against mis-selling is provided by the insurance regulator in various languages via mass media such as television, radio, print and Internet and other channels,” said Mr. Meena.<br/><br/>In another step to stop mis-selling, the regulator has published a series of comic books titled ‘Ranjan and his tryst with insurance’ which are being distributed through various channels.  The Comic book series have also been converted into animation films.<br/><br/>IRDA also supports seminars by various consumer bodies to spread the message on guarding against mis-selling.<br/><br/>Various insurance companies are integrated with Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS) on a real time basis and all complaints registered in the systems of various insurance companies are mirrored in the central repository of IGMS. The IRDA analyses the complaints and publishes the same periodically. The data published by IRDA is also available on its Consumer Education Website.<br/><br/>The IGMS has helped improve efficiency of insurance companies in handling complaints and identify systemic issues for corrective action. IGMS thus offers a tool to IRDA to monitor certain aspects of market conduct. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=676InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:12:43 GMT The largest insurer of the country Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has announced the launch of its new life insurance plan- Jeevan Sugam. It’s a non-linked single premium conventional closed ended plan.<br/><br/>Jeevan Sugam can be purchased for a limited period only. It provides for a risk cover of ten times the single premium paid for a fixed term of ten years. On survival, maturity sum assured along with loyalty addition shall be paid to the policyholder. The amount of loyalty addition shall depend on LIC’s claim experience. <br/><br/>The policy shall be eligible for tax benefit under section 80 C as per existing provisions of Income Tax Act. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=675InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:11:59 GMT Presenting the union budget 2013-14, finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram said that insurance companies can now open branches at will in non-metropolitan cities and become trading members of stock exchanges in the debt segment. Other insurance updates of the budget are:<br/><br/>1)  After getting the essential regulatory approval, Insurance companies will directly be allowed to trade in debt market.<br/><br/>2)  There will be at least one LIC office and one state-run general insurance company office in all cities with population over 10,000.<br/><br/>3)  Banks will be allowed to act as brokers for selling insurance products of multiple companies. Currently, banks are working under the bancassurance policy and can’t sell products of more than one insurance company.<br/><br/>4)  KYC of banks will be eligible for insurance companies to issue policies. <br/><br/>Banking correspondents will be allowed to offer affordable insurance products to the rural and semi-urban population.<br/><br/>5)  The government run health scheme for BPL families working in unorganized sector will be extended to cover autorikshaw drivers, taxi drivers, sanitation workers and rag pickers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=674InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:00:05 GMT The Chennai-based state-run general insurer United India Insurance Company Ltd announced that it will recruit 7,000 agents in the next three months. The insurer has also lined up plans to hire about 400 officers and 600 clerks next year.<br/><br/>Mr. Milind Karat, Chairman and Managing Director, United India Insurance Company Ltd said, “Our agent force is 53,000 now. We will have 60,000 agents before the end of current fiscal year.”<br/><br/>"Our focus is on retail segment to drive growth in the future. As part of the strategy, we have opened 410 micro offices in rural areas”, said a senior company official.<br/><br/>Furthermore, Mr. Karat said, "We are increasing our agent strength and tying up with self-help groups to reach out to more people. The agents as well as its own staff will be used to increase retail business in rural areas.” “The growth drivers will be health and motor insurance,” he added. <br/><br/>On the company’s performance in health insurance sector, Mr. Karat said the growth in the segment was 25-30 % with 90 % incurred claim ratio. “We have reached break-even in this segment,” he added.<br/><br/>United India collected Rs 8,179 crore business last year, and is targeting to touch the landmark of Rs 10,000 crore in the current fiscal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=673InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:34:30 GMT In view of remove muddiness and bring better clarity on various terms used in health insurance, the insurance watchdog Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has finalized the guidelines for standardisation in health insurance.<br/><br/>There were regular complaints from the policy holders due to various interpretations in the health insurance sector. Hence, these guidelines will be applied to life insurers, non-insurers, standalone health insurers and third party administrators. <br/><br/>In an elaborate circular addressed to life insurers, non-life insurers, stand-alone health insurances and third party administrators (TPAs), the regulator has defined 46 commonly used terms and standardised 11 critical illness terms. These critical illnesses include Cancer, first heart attack, open heart replacement, coma, kidney failure, stroke, major organ transplant, paralysis of limbs and multiple sclerosis.<br/><br/>“Standard terms would reduce ambiguity, enable all stakeholders to provide better services and enable customers to interact more effectively with insurers, TPAs and providers. All insurers shall adhere to the stipulated definitions, while defining these 46 core terms in all health insurance policies,” said the circular.<br/><br/>The guidelines will be effective from July 1, 2013 for group products and October 1, 2013 for other products. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=672InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:41:58 GMT Former LIC Chairman Mr. T S Vijayan took over as the chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) replacing Mr. J Hari Narayan, who retired on Wednesday.<br/><br/>The government had invited application for the post in October last year.<br/><br/>He will be joining the Hyderabad office, said sources in IRDA.<br/><br/> Mr. Vijayan takes over the charge at the time when industry is facing a slowdown which will be a great challenge for him. He also faces the task of taking insurance to the rural market and simplification of insurance products will be another challenge for him.<br/><br/>1953 born Mr. Vijayan started his career in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India as Direct Recruitment Officer in year 1977. He graduated from Kerala University and holds a diploma degree in management.<br/><br/>The earlier three chairmen of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority were from public services. Mr. Rangachary was from Indian Revenue Service (IRS) while Mr. C S Rao and Mr. J Hari Narayan from Indian Administrative Service (IAS). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=671InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:39:26 GMT The government is likely to appoint former Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India chairman T S Vijayan as the new chairman of the Insurance Regulatory & Developmental Authority (IRDA). <br/><br/>Mr. T S Vijayan would succeed current chairman J Hari Narayan, who will retire on February 21.<br/><br/>Under the rules, the chairman’s tenure is five years from the date of entering office but not beyond the age of 65 years.<br/><br/>According to the industry sources, he has been proposed by the Union finance ministry and the application sent for final approval. Though the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had cleared Vijayan's name for the post last month, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has yet to approve. Usually, the ACC doesn't turn down a name once the CVC clears it.<br/><br/>According to a government circular, for being eligible for the post of IRDA chief the person should have at least two years of residual service on the date of vacancy, it means he/she should not be more than 63 years of age as on this Thursday, when the position will become vacant.<br/><br/>By the IRDA Act 1999, its head chairperson and members would be appointed from persons of ability and integrity with experience in life insurance, general insurance and allied fields useful to the Authority. For being eligible, an individual would need to have 30 years of experience and should have worked as secretary to the Union government or its equivalent in a state government or other institutions. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=670InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:29:09 GMT There is a good news for life insurance policyholders, as the Finance Ministry has given an indication that the ministry is considering a proposal to wave off service tax on first premium and create separate exemption limit for pension schemes in the three-months long upcoming Budget session beginning on Thursday.<br/><br/>Besides, the tax authorities are examining whether service tax may be assessed on realisation basis as against the current practice of levying duty on the premium on accrual basis.<br/><br/>As present, service tax is paid on dues or receipt of amount, whichever is earlier. However, some of amounts due are never received; similarly amounts received in advance with proposal are not converted into policy. Industry has demanded that service tax liability should be on the basis of receipt of amount and subsequent conversion as premium.<br/><br/>Under the existing Income Tax Act, Rs 1 lac income tax deduction is allowed on the premium paid along with other approved investments. The industry is expecting from the ministry to make an announcement in this regard which will benefit the consumers as well as the life insurance industry.<br/><br/>According to the sources, various incentives are being considered by the government for boosting life insurance industry including higher incentives for agents selling policies.<br/><br/>The Central Board of Direct Taxes is also considering whether the total sum paid for post-retirement medical scheme could be made eligible of income tax deductions.<br/><br/>The Finance Minister Mr. Chidambaram has been batting for the need to push savings in financial instruments than in assets like gold. He pronounced such type of assets ‘unproductive’. “The spurt in gold imports has aggravated the current account deficit,” he said.<br/><br/>Concerned over subdued growth in the insurance sector, Finance Minister Mr. Chidambaram had said, "In my view, the reason why insurance is stumbling in India is because of mis-selling of products and complex products. If you want to sell insurance to India, you must sell simple products and must make it absolutely clear to agents and other officers that they should not mis-sell.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=669InsuringIndia News Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:43:28 GMT The government is all set to include granting permission for foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 26% in the insurance broking sector under the automatic route in the consolidated FDI policy scheduled for a review in March this year.<br/><br/>According to the sources close to the development, the policy would make the FDI issue through a press note entry clear. The department of economic affairs (DoEA) has referred the matter to department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) to make necessary amendments in the FDI policy.<br/><br/>The FDI policy is currently silent on the issue, but Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has so far not objected to such investment on the advise of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). The insurance regulator has allowed FDI up to 26% in broking and issued licences on the basis of insurance brokers regulations 2002. This regulation applies same principles for broking as is applicable for the insurance companies where provision for 26% FDI is available both in regulations and FDI policy.<br/><br/>Mr. Akash Gupt, ED, tax and regulatory practise, PwC India said, “The move shall rationalise the long standing dichotomy between the treatment accorded to insurance companies and insurance intermediaries under the FDI policy. Insurance broking, falling under the latter category, has been categorised as ‘other’ financial services (outside the list of 18 permitted activities), thus, requiring prior FIPB approval irrespective of the extent of FDI.” <br/><br/> “This issue is long pending with the government. It needs a clarification as IRDA allows 26% FDI in broking considering it an insurance activity. Any clarity on this issue is a welcome step as investors are showing keen interest in the sector,” said Krishan Malhotra, head of tax and expert on FDI with corporate law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas.<br/><br/>Under the current consolidated FDI policy, DIPP has allowed entry to insurance business only and has not mentioned any intermediary services, including broking for getting FDI under the automatic route. It is now expected DIPP 2012 circular would be modified to include broking as one of the permissible areas for getting FDI.<br/><br/>“Lack of clarity on the policy results in delays in processing applications for FDI inflows in the insurance broking sector and also makes investors wary of putting money here. No one wants to be caught in regulatory issues after making investments,” said an official of insurance broking firm.<br/><br/>At present, there are about 250 insurance brokers in India, out of which 4-5 are international players participating through Indian insurance broking firms. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=668InsuringIndia News Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:32:27 GMT Insurers can now be able to hold up to 15 % equity stake in any company, up from existing10 %, as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has permitted raising of the investment ceiling.<br/><br/>The decision comes on the back on Finance Ministry pitching for raising equity investment limit for country’s largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India to up to 30 %.<br/><br/>The regulator, in a statement said, “Insurance companies will now be allowed to increase their exposure in equity in a given company from the present level of 10 per cent to a higher level of 12 % and 15 % depending upon the size of the Controlled Fund of any given insurer.”<br/><br/>This is commensurate and appropriate given the size of funds under consideration without adversely affecting the prudential management of investments, it said.<br/><br/>IRDA also approved the health insurance regulations that will enable development of a more robust, consumer friendly insurance system in the country.<br/><br/>Further, the board has referred the matter to insurance advisory committee to have more clarity on bancassurance regulation. The board also approved a standard proposal form to capture full details of a policyholder in accordance with the KYC norms for sale of life insurance products which would be mandatory after six months.<br/><br/>This would improve the service levels to prospective policyholders and to further minimise the chances of mis-sale, the regulator said.<br/><br/>The regulator, however, had spoken out against the move, calling it 'imprudent' while stating that LIC should be treated at par with all other private insurers. As per the Insurance Act, 1999, an insurance firm is allowed to hold up to 10 % equity in a company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=667InsuringIndia News Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:36:01 GMT On Monday, the Puducherry Health Department in association with the New India Assurance Company rolled out a health insurance scheme for cashless treatment for BPL (below poverty line) families in Mahe and Yanam regions.<br/><br/>Under the scheme, a cashless treatment facility, particularly for life threatening diseases is provided. The insurance cover is up to Rs. 1.5 lac for the beneficiary in the network hospitals identified by the health department. The scheme was very popular in Karaikal, an official source said.<br/><br/>The Director of Health and Family Welfare Services Dr K V Raman and the Chief Regional Manager of the New India Assurance Company signed a memorandum in the presence of the Chief Minister N.Rangasamy.Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the company G.Sreenivasan and Puducherry Welfare Minister P.Rajavelu were also present.<br/><br/>The SKOCH Group in the Ministry of Finance, New Delhi, an evaluator company, selected the health insurance cover under micro insurance project which is among the fifty projects launched on priority basis in 2012. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=666InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:28:05 GMT Insurance Regulatory and development Authority chairman Mr. J. Hari Narayan has said that the idea of financial conglomerates is flawed, and financial services companies, including insurers, should be kept out of banking when new licences are given.<br/><br/>Further, he said, while all financial services may appear to have similar goals, they are not driven by same values. Banking, insurance and mutual funds should be run as independent businesses with different set of shareholders and one should not venture into the other.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporter, Mr. Narayan said, "I think one of the biggest mistakes we have made in opening up is to allow banks to set up insurance companies. Fundamentally, it is a bad idea. The fundamental approach to money is different. Confusing the financial system is the worst business you can do. It is quite mysterious, and we all will suffer the ill-effects of it."<br/><br/>The move to issue new bank licences has prompted conflicting reactions. While the idea of conglomerates floating banks has been welcomed as they have the financial muscle, there is also the fear that they could manipulate it to further their business interests and compromise depositors' interest.<br/><br/>"Insurance and banking must be boring businesses and real jazz must be in investment, mutual fund and venture capital funds," says Hari Narayan, who will hang up his boots on February 20 after a three-year tenure that saw a public spat with the securities market regulator.<br/><br/>"It is a question of mental and financial hygiene. We can have both, but should not be in the same place. It is a thoughtless idea." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=665InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:30:46 GMT Leading public sector bank Punjab National Bank (PNB) and US-based MetLife India, on Monday, signed a deal wherein the former picked up 30% stake in the insurance company for an undisclosed amount. The new insurance venture has been re-branded as PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Ltd.<br/><br/>Finance Minister P Chidambaram, on the occasion of brand launching, said, “For a successful life insurance business, it is important to bring simple products to market that are easy to understand. Also, insurance companies should make sure that there is no mis-selling at any level.”<br/><br/>With the change in shareholding pattern, Jammu and Kashmir Bank will hold 5 per cent, Shapoorji Pallonji 17.15 %, Elpro Group 21.46%, while MetLife would continue to hold 26 % cent stake in the joint venture.<br/><br/>“Partnering with MetLife will give us access to global products and the risk management expertise of MetLife. The acquisition would make PNB Metlife ninth largest insurance company in India in terms of new business premium,” said K R Kamath, Chairman & Managing Director, Punjab National Bank.<br/><br/>Apart from PNB, MetLife India has two other banks, Karnataka Bank and Jammu and Kashmir Bank as their distribution partners.<br/><br/>“At present, around 60 per cent of business is coming from bank channels. We expect it to go up over the next few years. Also, it would be significant as the volume of business grows,” said Rajesh Relan, MD and country manager of PNB MetLife India Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=664InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:50:02 GMT Distracted over the misleading nature and selling of high NAV (Net Asset Value) -guaranteed life insurance products, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has decided to put an end to such products. <br/><br/>These products give an impression that returns offered are linked to market performance. At present, such products account for about 20% of life insurance sector’s new premium income.<br/><br/>Speaking on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM) and ICICI Lombard in Hyderabad, J Hari Narayan, chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, said, “The high NAV guaranteed products are discouraged in several markets since they result in an easy miscommunication... What is deemed to be highest NAV should not be confused with what is the highest index or how the market is performing. Highest NAV products tend to become debt products in order to maintain the guarantee whereas while marketing such products, the consumer is left with the feeling that it grows along with the value of the market itself.<br/><br/>According to the IRDA chairman, total assets under management for the insurance sector, which has posted a healthy growth, is expected to touch 20 lac crore by March 2013 against 18 lac crore a year ago. “When I took charge, the total asset under management was at 8 lac crore. Last year, it was 18 lac crore... and by March it may touch 20 lac crore,” he added.<br/><br/>Further he said the new product regime, as and when they come into force with different dates to stagger the implementation, gives time to insurance companies to readjust their processes.<br/><br/>"In the new product regime, we don't envisage clearing highest NAV products. But existing products of that nature can continue to be serviced to give whatever benefits the scheme had promised till the end of the policy tenure," said Hari Narayan.<br/><br/>Though a formal order withdrawing the products is yet to come, the regulator is believed to have been discouraging the companies from filing such products for approval. “The new product guidelines were considered by the advisory committee in its last meeting and the authority is set to meet on February 8 after which they will be gazetted,” he said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=663InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:40:02 GMT South Korea’s largest insurance company,Samsung Life Insurance is in talks with DLF -Pramerica to buy Pramerica's 26% stake in the insurance joint venture to enter India. Even after the exit of ING from Indian insurance sector by selling off its 26% stake in joint venture ING Vysya Life Insurance, several foreign players are eying to enter India.<br/><br/>Along with DLF merica, Samsung Life is also in talks with joint venture partners such as Bharti Axa to acquire the 26 % stake owned by Axa in the Joint Venture.<br/><br/>However, Samsung Life Insurance company has not yet begun any activities in its Mumbai office. No company spokesperson was available, neither in India nor its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea to comment on the matter.<br/><br/>Samsung Life, with an underwritten premium (excluding corporate pension) of 12.05 trillion KRW-South Korean Won (approximately Rs 58,000 crore) during the six months ended November 2012, has strong presence across Asia, excluding the Indian market. Samsung has registered a 25.4 % growth in six months, compared to the same period in 2011.<br/><br/>DLF-Pramerica is a 74:26 joint venture between DLF and American insurer Prudential International Insurance Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial. Pramerica is the trade name used by Prudential Financial. When contacted, the company declined to comment on the same.<br/><br/>According to an insurance industry expert, prominent insurance players from South Korea, Japan and other Asian nations are actively looking to expand their presence in India. At a time when some partners in JV insurance firms are looking to exit, this means positive news for these foreign players and consumers as a whole.<br/><br/>Asian insurance giants such as Nippon Life and Mitsui Sumitomo have already set up presence in India through buyouts in joint ventures Reliance Life and Max New York Life Insurance respectively. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=662InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:50:02 GMT Dutch banking and insurance group ING has said it will exit ING Vysya Life Insurance Company by selling its 26% stake to domestic partner Exide Industries, the second foreign insurer after New York Life to exit a competitive sector in India this fiscal year.<br/><br/>Exide Industries, which currently holds 50% stake in the joint venture will also buy another 24% from two promoters- Hemendra Kothari Group and Enam Group. Post acquisition, the leading batteries producer will become 100 % owner of the life insurance company.<br/><br/>Exide further said that it will look for a new foreign partner for its life insurance company.<br/><br/>Exide proposes to pay about Rs 550 crore for 50% stake, thereby valuing the ING Vysya Life at about Rs 1,100 crore.<br/><br/>India's insurance business was full of promise when it was thrown open to competition in 2000, but has instead been brought to its knees by losses, regulatory change, uncertainty and a sharp slowdown in economic growth.<br/><br/>ING in a statement, said, “ING's exit from the Indian life insurance joint venture is part of the previously announced divestment of ING's Asian Insurance and Investment Management businesses. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and, the transaction is expected to close in the first half of this fiscal year.” <br/><br/>“The sale of its stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance does not affect ING Vysya Bank , a listed Indian bank in which it has a 44 % stake, nor ING's fund management operations in India,” said the statement. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=661InsuringIndia News Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:27:30 GMT Tata AIG General Insurance, the latest entrant in the health insurance segment, has recently launched a service where it will settle health claims within four hours of filing for a claim. Normally it takes more than 6 hours for claim approval due to processing. <br/><br/>The insurer launched its first product in the segment around 10 months ago.<br/><br/>Mr. Ramesh Ramani, Senior Vice-President, Consumer Lines, Tata AIG General Insurance said, “Normally it takes over six hours for claims approvals due to processing. We thought to tighten the procedure further and bring down the time to only four hours. We introduced this feature to prevent a medical emergency from becoming a financial burden on our customers. This fast-track approval feature is available for existing customers as well as the new ones.”<br/><br/>"Being a new player in the health space we are planning to introduce innovative features and products that will not only establish our brand but also help us increase our customer base," he added.<br/><br/>Tata AIG General Insurance is a joint venture between the Tata Group and American International Group Inc (AIG). It has 8 health insurance policies under its portfolio. It has sold over 20,000 health policies between April-December 2012.<br/><br/>Going ahead, the private insurer is looking to launch segment specific products under the health category. And, the insurer has already filed few segment specific health products with the regulator. <br/><br/>“We hope to launch our first such product in the next six months," he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=660InsuringIndia News Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:04:39 GMT Private insurer Aviva Life Insurance recently launched ‘i-Shield’; an online term plan with return of premium. Aviva i-Shield provides life cover with a provision of return of 110 % of paid premium, in case the insured survives the policy term. This product is designed to provide customers life insurance with a ‘zero wastage’ proposition.<br/><br/>“Our product philosophy has always been based on simplicity and have kept the customer at the heart of our product development process. During our customer interactions we came across a set, which were keen to get a return even on pure protection plans. In line with their demand we launched a term plan with return of premium option – Aviva i-Shield for our online customers too. With Aviva i-Shield we aim to bring to our customers an online product which will address their protection needs at affordable price and return 110% of premiums paid on survival”, said T R Ramachandran, Aviva Life Insurance CEO and Managing Director.<br/><br/>“The online medium is fast gaining popularity. Given the convenience and the cost effectiveness of the medium, we envisage it to be the one stop shop for an informed life insurance customer. Our research with IMRB showed us that protection of family’s income in case of an unfortunate death is among the top three priorities for 52% of Indians”, he added <br/><br/>At present, the company offers a suite of innovative online products- Aviva i-Life, a term plan; and a health plan - Aviva Health Plus.<br/><br/>Some of the key features of Aviva i-Shield are:-<br/>Entry Age: 18 years to 55 years<br/>Maximum Maturity Age: 65 years<br/>Policy Terms: 10 to 25 years<br/>Premium Payment Frequency: Yearly, Half Yearly and Monthly<br/>Sum Assured : Rs. 15 Lacs to Rs. 5 Crore (In multiples of Rs. 25,000)<br/>Premium paid under the plan is eligible for tax benefit.<br/><br/>Aviva Life Insurance is a joint venture between Dabur Group, one of India’s oldest business houses and Aviva Group, one of the UK's largest insurer and one of Europe's leading providers of life and general insurance.<br/><br/>Aviva has 26% and Dabur has 74% stake in the joint venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=659InsuringIndia News Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:00:31 GMT The North Zone Insurance Employees Association (NZIEA), on Tuesday, strongly opposed Centre's decision to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance sector to 49 % from existing 26%, protesting that the FDI in the sector will mostly benefit the speculative market and ‘do no good to the country’.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, General Secretary of NZIEA, Mr. Anil Kumar Bhatnagar said that the Union Government had recently approved the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, and it was being proposed to be placed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.<br/><br/>“Parliamentary standing committee headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha had unanimously submitted its report on December 13 to the parliament, and the committee had opposed the increase in FDI in the insurance sector,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=658InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:56:18 GMT On Tuesday, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, one of India’s leading private insurers launched an app ‘Eezee Tab’ on the Android based platform to instantly issue or renew Motor Insurance policies as well as register claims. This app comes with a device which can accept payments either by credit or debit card. <br/><br/>Eezee Tab, which is an in-house developed, would eliminate the risk of cheque loss during transit and the delays due to technical problems associated with correction in cheque payments. Once the card is accepted, premium gets debited from the cardholder’s account and the policy gets issued instantly. In case the customer needs a printout of the policy, then the same can be taken through a wireless printer. <br/><br/>Along with the facility to issue policies, Eezee Tab also comes with a claim registration module. This facility will allow the user to register low intensity claims and upload photographs of the accidental vehicle thus providing quicker claim settlements. <br/><br/>“In the first phase, we plan to distribute ‘Eezee Tab’ which is an in-housed developed app to our agents who can use it to collect premiums from customer’s credit or debit cards and issue the policy instantly. This will also help them to give door step service to their customers. Presently motor insurance which forms the bulk of retail policies will be issued through this app and device and very soon extended to other retail insurance products,” said Mr. Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=657InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:54:03 GMT On Tuesday, Max Bupa Health Insurance launched a unique health insurance plan-Health@Companion. This product charges a lower premium for Tier II and Tier III cities. The Health@Companion is an online product that can be bought on the Net and would help the company cut distribution and other costs by 15 %.<br/><br/>The company will thus be able to lower the premium paid by customers living in the tier-II and tier-III cities. The premium would also reflect the lower medical costs in a particular region.<br/><br/>It’s especially beneficial for those living in non-metros. It’s also beneficial for those living in metros; because Health@Companion premium for even metros is lower than that charged by any other insurers.<br/><br/>There is an additional discount of 10% if a two-year policy is bought.<br/><br/>The policy has a three-tiered tariff plan. Customers living in the eight metros will pay the highest charges. Then come the state capitals, and finally the rest of India.<br/><br/>Manasije Mishra, CEO, Max Bupa Health Insurance said, “The premiums are based on the area in which the buyer resides. The lower charges for Tier- II and Tier- III cities reflect the lower cost of healthcare in those areas as compared to metros.”<br/><br/>"We feel that this unique product will bring in more volumes, as it gives us immense reach into the tier-II and Tier- III cities. The lower premium factor will also make the new product more attractive for buyers in these areas," he added.<br/><br/>The company, which has presence in some 12 Indian cities, added that it will keep innovating new products that can be sold over the e-commerce platforms. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=656InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:34:08 GMT Private insurer Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), on Monday, announced the launch of its non-participating unit-linked pension plan - ‘Empower Pension’. The plan is aimed to enable policyholders to accumulate their premiums and the investment returns into a corpus for their retirement needs.<br/><br/>In the vesting phase, this corpus would be used to purchase annuity, which ensures a stream of regular income payable for the rest of their lives.<br/><br/>Jayant Dua, Managing Director and CEO, Birla Sun Life Insurance, said, “The Indian economy lacks access to a comprehensive and in-built social security regime unlike other developed economies and is under strain due to rising life expectancy. This, coupled with the increasing trend of the nuclear family system in India, makes it imperative for individuals to plan their savings towards meeting their post-retirement lifestyle today.”<br/><br/>The product offers guarantee at exits like vesting and death, tax benefits and guaranteed additions from the sixth policy anniversary.<br/><br/>Birla Sun Life Insurance is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial, a Canada-based international financial services organisation. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=655InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:22:30 GMT LIC Nomura Mutual Fund has re-launched its open ended Unit-Linked Insurance Scheme (ULIS) on Tuesday with some additional features such as no exit load, free accident cover up to Rs 1 lac and guaranteed maturity bonus of 2.5 to 10 % of target amount, besides low-cost life insurance.<br/><br/>Mr. Nilesh Sathe, Director and CEO, LIC Nomura Mutual Fund said, “This is the right time to re-launch this product as investors would be looking at tax relief under section 80C.”<br/><br/>“ULIS has a good track record since 23 years. With additional features, we expect the fund to have Rs 500 crore AUM, with one lakh new investors”, Mr. Sathe added.<br/><br/>The asset management company has tied up with 14 banks to sell this scheme.<br/><br/>The scheme was originally launched in 1989 and has so far garnered assets worth Rs 140 crore AUM, adding it in three years; the company plans to have Rs 1,000 crore AUM for the scheme.<br/><br/>Fund allocation is balanced with 65 to 80% invested in equity and 20 to 35 % in debt, he said.<br/><br/> The scheme has a lock-in period of three years. “The lock-in period helps in better management of the investments by the fund manager and thereby, higher returns. There is no comfort in management when the money is withdrawn by investors from time to time,” said Mr. Sathe.<br/><br/>The scheme will provide life insurance cover up to Rs 15 lac. The auto cover facility will be available if the contribution for the target amount has not been received from the investor. In such a case, the premium will be paid from the existing units. However, the value of this investment cannot go below Rs 5,000.<br/><br/>Investment in ULIS as well as its dividend is tax free. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=654InsuringIndia News Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:35:03 GMT The public sector insurers plan to join forces to set up a common third-party administrator (TPA) to settle medical insurance claims.<br/><br/> Earlier, these insurers were mulling in-house TPA with a foreign partner, but it was shelved as they failed to identify a suitable partner.<br/><br/>The promoters of the proposed TPA will be: the four general insurers - New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance, and National Insurance; General Insurance Corporation (the national re-insurer); and Life Insurance Corporation of India.<br/><br/>G. Srinivasan, CMD of New India Assurance Company said the TPA is expected to be operational by October this year. This is aimed at eradicating fraudulent claims and lowering the claims ratio. It will also help boost profitability of the insurers.<br/><br/>Furthermore, Mr. Srinivasan said, “By coming together, the PSU general insurance companies, which account for 70 per cent of the health insurance premium, can leverage their strengths to negotiate better rates from hospitals, bring in better technology, and provide better services to customers. If there is better claims management, ultimately the benefits will be passed on to the customer.”<br/><br/>Currently, the PSU general insurers outsource the claims settlement process to different TPAs and their experience in this regard has been not satisfactory. Most private insurance companies have already shifted to in-house settlement of claims as they feel it enables them to have faster dispute resolutions and ensures that they have a direct connect with their customers.<br/><br/>The PSU general insurers, which control a substantial amount of the Rs 55,000 crore health insurance market, are making losses with claims ratio over 120 %, particularly in the group health portfolio. The insurers admitted that setting up an in-house TPA will result in higher administrative costs, arising from insurance companies having to undertake huge groundwork, entering into tie-ups with hospitals, and maintaining a 24x7 helpline, among other things. However, the cost involved in setting up the TPA can be recovered as the claims drop. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=653InsuringIndia News Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:10:45 GMT The first One-Day International cricket match between India and England, which would be played at Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) ground, Rajkot on January 11, 2013 has been insured by National Insurance Company for Rs 5.80 crore.<br/><br/>The stadium was recently inaugurated by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. It has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 75 crore. It is spread over 5.50 lakh sq ft area on the Rajkot-Jamnagar highway near Khandheri.<br/><br/>The insurance would cover various risks like match cancellation, advertisements and audience injury.<br/><br/>The SCA officials said, “We have taken insurance from National Insurance Company for the India-England ODI match. This is the first cricket match that will be played on newly built cricket stadium in Rajkot. We hope nothing unexpected will happen during the match. But as it is first match on our new ground, we do not want to take any kind of risk so SCA has decided to insure the match.”<br/><br/>Out of the total insured amount of Rs. 5.80 crore, Rs 2.50 crore is for match cancellation, Rs 1.50 crore is for audience injury and Rs 1.80 crore is for advertisements on the ground.<br/><br/>According to association all the tickets of this match has been sold out. Both the teams arrived in Rajkot on Wednesday and have started practicing. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=652InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:01:45 GMT Private sector life insurer Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co Ltd, on Monday, announced the launch of its two endowment plans -- ‘Save n Grow Plan’ and ‘MultiGain Plan’.<br/><br/>In a statement, the insurer said the ‘Save n Grow Plan’ is a participating endowment plan with increasing protection over the policy term and the ‘MultiGain Plan’ is a participating endowment plan with regular cash back. Both these plans address the wealth accumulation needs of a customer and protect the family against any eventuality.<br/><br/>The ‘Save n Grow Plan’ is designed for customers who have a mid-to long-term investment horizon to achieve their long-term goals such as funding for home, child's education and marriage. The plan offers a policy term of 15, 20, 25 and 30 years and the customer has an option of paying premium for only 10 or 15 years or paying it throughout the policy term. On death of a policyholder, his family gets sum assured along with the increasing benefit of 15 per cent of sum assured every 5th year from the policy inception.However, the other plan ‘MultiGain Plan’ is designed for customers with a short-term investment horizon to plan for holidays and buying a car. The plan offers a money back feature as a part of the survivalbenefits through which a customer receives 20 per cent of the sum assured at an interval of every 1/5th of policy term. On maturity of the policy, customer will receive 20 per cent of the sum assured along with the accrued bonuses. The plan offers a policy term of 20, 25 and 30 years.<br/><br/>Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance is the latest entrant to the life insurance market. It is a joint venture between Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=651InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:15:52 GMT Reliance General Insurance, a part of Anil Ambani’s led Reliance Capital, on Monday, announced the launch of a new feature which would facilitate customers to pay premiums using mobile phones. The company hopes this would increase productivity by 25 % and sales by 20 %.<br/><br/>The company launched point of sales service using mobile phones - Mobile Point of Sales (MPOS) - which allows customers to pay premium using a mobile phone and eliminates payment-related delays, errors and frauds, a statement said.<br/><br/>Mr. Rakesh Jain, C E O and Executive Director, Reliance General Insurance Company (RGIC) said, “With this mobile payment platform, we are providing our customers an additional mode of payment with a view to strengthen our First-Time-Right initiative and eliminate all premium-related irregularities that can be possible with a manual system followed by the industry.”<br/><br/>“With wider usage over a longer period of time, we believe it will help us translate in about 25 per cent increment in sales-force productivity and 20 per cent increase in sales”, he added.<br/><br/>The facility ensures higher level of security and transparency in premium payments with instant confirmation about the transactions through SMS and email.<br/><br/>Any GPRS-enabled touch screen mobile phone can be converted into point of sales terminal, which facilitates card payments, by connecting an external special card reader dongle. RGIC agent will carry the MPOScard reader dongle with their mobile phone to access the application of the bank and initiate premium collection from the customer.<br/><br/>Reliance General Insurance has distributed 1,000 dongles to its agents in the pilot phase. The company plans to equip its sales teams with 5,000 dongles in the next few months to enable wider usage, the company added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=648InsuringIndia News Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:20:52 GMT A leading information technology, consulting and outsourcing company Dhruv Compusoft Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. has announced that it has launched Insurance Grievance Management System for Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd. (ECGC), which integrates with IRDA's Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS) via Web services.<br/><br/>Through a press release the company claimed that four firms in India have implemented Dhruv's IGMS system, and through this engagement, Dhruv will help them in meeting IRDA regulatory requirements relating to IGMS.<br/><br/>P. Prasad, Deputy General Manager, ECGC of India Ltd. said, “Dhruv has successfully implemented IGMS for us and we are happy with their work and knowledge of IRDA's specifications on IGMS and also their continued support.”<br/><br/>In a bid to overhaul the consumer grievance redressal mechanism for the insurance sector, the IRDA has proposed to set up an Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS). Dhruv Compusoft has in turn designed an elegant grievance management system to enable both insurers and the IRDA to synchronize in real-time, while demarcating batches.<br/><br/>With IGMS, policyholders can register and view the status of the grievance filed. Through the new grievance management system, the regulator proposes to create a central database of all complaints flowing in to the insurance grievance redressal mechanism.<br/><br/>Dhruv Compusoft Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. is a Bangalore based leading information technology, consulting and outsourcing company that delivers solutions in area of manufacturing, insurance, financial services, healthcare and not-for-profits. It has offices in India, Singapore and USA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=650InsuringIndia News Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:15:52 GMT County’s leading nationalized bank Punjab National Bank, with reference to earlier announcement on dated July 28, 2011, has now informed BSE that the Bank has received all regulatory approvals including fair trade regulator the Competition Commission of India (CCl) for acquiring 30% stake in Metlife India Insurance Co. Ltd. Now, the Company will be rebranded as PNB Metlife India Ltd.<br/><br/>In its order on December 26, CCI noted that operations of PNB and MetLife India are not similar or identical. "Although PNB provides services to MetLife India as a distribution agent, the share of MetLife India in the business of life insurance is relatively insignificant and is not likely to raise any adverse effect on competition in India," CCI said.<br/><br/>In 2011, PNB had announced picking up of 30 per cent stake or about 60.38 crore shares in MetLife India for an undisclosed amount. Besides, the two entities had reached an agreement following which PNB is acting as an agent of MetLife India for the distribution of its insurance products.<br/><br/>MetLife India is a joint venture between MetLife International (an affiliate of US-based MetLife Inc) and group of Indian investors. Both PNB and MetLife India had approached the fair trade regulator for approval on December 7, 2012. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=649InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:10:52 GMT The largest insurer of the country the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has hikes its stake in Cairn India by 2.064% to 7.088%, according to a notification on Bombay Stock Exchange. The trade was executed through various brokers by a market purchase and was worth Rs 1,283 crore. The total number of shares now being held by LIC in Cairn India now stands at 135,376,217.<br/><br/>The company, however, decreased its stake in pharma company Sanofi India and FMCG Tata Global Beverages. In Sanofi India, it sold about 4.64 lacs shares amounting to a 2.01 per cent stake in the company, diluting its total stake in the company to 3.06 per cent. This sale was carried out between September 18 and December 26.<br/><br/>In Tata Global Beverages, the insurance major sold about 1.28 crore shares (or 2.07 per cent) of the total shares, bringing down its total stake in the company to 7.63 per cent. This sell-off was carried out between August 23 to December 26.<br/><br/>State-run insurance giant is planning to invest Rs 2.4 lacs crore this fiscal year, D.K. Mehrotra, Chairman, LIC said in an interview.<br/><br/>“Our investment is based on the performance of the company vis-à-vis their competitors, market scenario, corporate governance, track record and future earning. We normally do not get influenced by internal happenings,” he added.<br/><br/>Recently, the finance ministry had allowed LIC to hold over 30% stake in any listed company.<br/><br/>Recently, LIC informed the exchanges that it sold over two per cent stake in Maruti Suzuki India over a period of time. After the sale, LIC's total holding in the carmaker reduced to a little over 10 per cent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=647InsuringIndia News Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:20:52 GMT Public sector general insurer, United India Insurance has registered a healthy premium growth of Rs. 47.57 billion in the first half of the current financial year and is likely to cross Rs 100 billion in the current year.<br/><br/>In a release, the insurer said that the net profit for the first half of the fiscal year 2013 was Rs. 3.51 billion.<br/><br/>United India Insurance has a net worth of Rs. 49 billion as on date with a market value of assets of over Rs. 195.14 billion. The solvency ratio is 2.78, which is among the highest among the major players. The company is planning to increase its rural micro-branches to 750. <br/><br/>United India Insurance Company Limited (UIIC) is the one among the 4 public General Insurance Companies of India and a leading General Insurance player. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=646InsuringIndia News Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:18:44 GMT The largest insurer of the country, the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, on Tuesday announced the launch of two new insurance policies, Flexi Plus, a unit linked insurance product and New Jeevan Nidhi, a conventional product with profit pension plan.<br/><br/>In a statement, LIC said that Flexi Plus not only provides a lump sum benefit on death of the policyholder but also the maturity benefit irrespective of survival of the policyholder. Under the policy, the policyholder can choose the amount of premium he/she desires to pay, depending on which equivalent level of cover will be provided. The plan aims at steady income carrying lower to medium risk.<br/><br/>The other product, New Jeevan Nidhi provides death cover during deferment period and offers annuity on survival to the date of vesting. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=645InsuringIndia News Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:18:11 GMT The Chennai-based public sector general insurer United India Insurance Company Ltd has announced it will hire 7,000 agents, 400 officers and 600 clerks in the next three year.<br/><br/>The agents as well as its own staff will be used to increase retail business in rural areas, Mr. Karat added.“Our business focus now is on rural retail which contributes about a little over 12 per cent of our total business,” the official said.<br/><br/>United India Insurance garnered Rs 8,179 crore last year and targeting Rs 10,000 crore in the current fiscal year.<br/><br/>“The growth drivers will be health and motor insurance,” Karat said. In the health insurance segment, the growth was 25-30% with 90% incurred claim ratio “We have reached break-even in this segment”, Mr. Karat said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=644InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:00:18 GMT The Jammu and Kashmir government has announced that it would provide insurance cover to all Panches and Sarpanches of the state very soon.<br/><br/>Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Ali Mohammad Sagar, after inaugurating a Panchayat Ghar at Matwar in block Balwal said that an adequate remuneration will also be provided to Panches and Sarpanches of the state. The Panchayat Ghar has been constructed at an estimated cost of the Rs. 20 lacs.<br/><br/>“The state government is determined to strengthen democratic institutions in the state. It has also ensured adequate empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions by giving them powers of 14 vital departments”, Mr. Sagar said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=643InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:59:31 GMT Leading private sector insurer Max Life Insurance, on Thursday, declared a one-time special bonus to all its active policyholders who have participating policies issued on or before December 31, 2005. A press release issued by the company said the special bonus will be paid at the respective policy anniversaries in the period between February 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014.<br/><br/>During this period, if there is a reinstatement which causes the policy to become active, that policy would also be eligible for the special one-time bonus. Policies that have been surrendered will not be eligible for this special bonus.<br/><br/>The special bonus will be calculated as a percentage of the annual premium paid. For the eligible policies, the longer the policyholder has been with the company, the higher will be the percentage of the special bonus.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion of first ever special bonus declaration, Mr. Rajesh Sud, CEO & Managing Director, Max Life Insurance said, “Max Life Insurance has experienced robust and profitable growth. We wanted to share the result of this improved performance with our loyal policyholders in the form of special bonus. The older the eligible policy, the higher the special one-time bonus it will be eligible for. We will continue delivering true value to our policyholders by focusing on long-term savings and protection.”<br/><br/>Over 2.6 lacs policyholders would receive payments ranging from 20-100% of their annual premiums, irrespective of the premium term or the policy term of the policy. The total payout is estimated to be around Rs 130 crore. The special one-time bonus payment would be made through cheque irrespective of the bonus option chosen by policyholder, the release said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=642InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:58:59 GMT Private insurer Reliance Life Insurance (RLIC), on Tuesday, introduced a new distribution channel ‘Career Agency’, aiming to enhance the company's reach and footprints across the country. Under the new distribution channel, the company will hire 3,000 more career agents in the next three months.<br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance has already hired 2,500 persons under a new distribution model, wherein insurance agents would get fixed stipend and variable commission. By the end of this fiscal year, the total strength of the career agents would become 5,500 and will be deputed in 220 branches across the country.<br/><br/>According to RLIC, it is a first-of-its-kind distribution channel by any private insurer in the country that is based on stipend and variable commission pay-out structure.<br/><br/>Malay Ghosh, President and Executive Director, Reliance Life Insurance said, "The main aim of Career Agency distribution format is to support new recruits during the learning phase so that they can concentrate on training and learning the ropes rather than being under the pressure of generating business to earn commission from the very first instance.”<br/><br/>In the career agency distribution model, the recruited persons would be called 'sales trainees' and would be given a fixed stipend for a six-month , which is also the training period. Once the advisor completes this training period and passes the licensing exam, the person would become a 'Career Agent' and moves to a variable commission-based pay-out structure.<br/><br/>This distribution model is a highly successful sales advisor model of RLIC's strategic partner Nippon Life, the second largest Japanese life insurance company and it has now adapted to the Indian Market.<br/><br/>RLIC aims at focusing on Tier III and Tier IV cities and towns for hiring of prospective career agents. Through this distribution channel, the company aims to increase number of the sales people in the field working for the company full time.<br/><br/>The Career Agency is the 3rd new distribution channel, Reliance Life Insurance launched this year. Earlier this year, the company launched two new distribution models - Life Plaza and Face-to-Face - and added them in the existing sales formats.<br/><br/> Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) is a part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group's financial services arm Reliance Capital Ltd. The company had a distribution network of 1,230 offices and over 1,50,000 advisors as on March 31, 2012. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=641InsuringIndia News Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:05:20 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is most likely to approve the proposed standard products on micro-insurance in a month’s time and such ready to launch products would be available in the market by March 2013.<br/><br/>On the occasion of an insurance meet which was held in Kolkata, Mr. P Nandagopal, MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance said, "We hope that the standard product on micro-insurance for the insurance industry will get Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's approval in a month's time."<br/><br/>"We are waiting IRDA approval and soon after, we will introduce the standard product in the market that can be sold off-the-shelf even through kirana stores. The products will be in place within March", Mr.Nandagopal added.<br/><br/>Earlier, the regulator had said it was planning to develop 10 standard products in consultation with industry bodies which could be launched by the insurance companies without seeking a regulatory nod.<br/><br/>Standard micro-insurance products or any of such products are designed to provide a comprehensive insurance cover to the economically weaker sections within the rural and urban communities.<br/><br/>“Both life and non-life companies will offer a composite product with options of additional cover from both life and non-life”, Nandagopal said.<br/><br/>Moreover, such standard product could be sold by both life and non-life insurers.<br/><br/>The regulator would allow various agencies like co-operative banks, regional rural banks, primary agricultural co-operative societies and even individuals like shopkeepers, medical store owners, petrol pump owners and public telephone operators to act as micro insurance agents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=640InsuringIndia News Tue, 25 Dec 2012 14:30:25 GMT In view of the benefit of weaker and vulnerable sections of the society, the Government of India is implementing two social security insurance schemes Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY) and Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY) through the largest insurer of the country, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).<br/><br/>This was stated by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.<br/><br/>Under the schemes (AABY & JBY), an insurance cover for a sum of Rs30,000/- on natural death, Rs37,500/- on partial permanent disability due to accident and Rs75,000/- on death or total permanent disability due to accident is provided. <br/><br/>Central Government contributes 50% premium as subsidy. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=639InsuringIndia News Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:28:38 GMT Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a health insurance programme for BPL families was launched in Arunachal Pradesh. Initially, the programme has been started in 10 districts, and in rest 7 districts will be in next phase.<br/><br/>The programme was launched by the Chief Minister Nabam Tuki in presence of his ministerial colleagues and other government officials during conference of all heads of departments, DCs and SPs.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Tuki said that with the RSBY, the government will be able to offer better healthcare facilities to all beneficiaries. This move is likely to help bring down mortality rate in the state. This service will be provided along with Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company limited that has signed an MoU with the state government. Royal Sundaram will offer health insurance cover to beneficiaries under the government-sponsored RSBY to BPL families. The CM further asked all the officers present to take it as an opportunity to get themselves aware about the scheme.<br/><br/>RSBY is a unique scheme run by central government which empowers card holders to access cashless treatment at all RSBY network hospitals across the country. Under this scheme, five members of a BPL family can get treatment for up to Rs. 30,000. The company has empanelled 9 hospitals across districts of Papum Pare, East Siang, West Siang, Lower Subansiri, West Kameng, East Kameng, Changlang, Lohit and Tirap. The beneficiaries of RSBY can choose to go to any network hospitals in any district in India and the benefits can be availed by producing the smartcard at the hospital. Approximately 40,000 BPL families are expected to get benefit by the scheme in the state.<br/><br/>Earlier, the Secretary RD, B R Babu, in his speech requested all the DCs to extend all help and support as they are the chief executive officers. Since healthcare is an important aspect for poor people, the scheme will help provide maximum coverage to poor families, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=638InsuringIndia News Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:10:14 GMT IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd on Tuesday announced a tie-up with an arm of local bourse Calcutta Stock Exchange-CSE Capital Markets Ltd for selling its products.<br/><br/>P Nandagopal, Managing Director & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd said, “This is a corporate agency arrangement with CSE Capital Markets. They have close to 25 people who have been certified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for selling insurance products.”<br/><br/>"This is toward expanding our reach. CSE has got a long association in the financial markets. We are holding talks with more regional bourses," he added.<br/><br/>Further, Nandagopal said the efforts were to reduce dependence of revenue from bancassurance channel which accounted for 80 % now. He wants bancassurance to come down to 50 %.In the meantime, during the current fiscal year, the insurer was aiming for 15% growth in premium collection over previous fiscal year 2011-12 of Rs 980 crore. The company was aiming for a breakeven in five years against the previous target of 6 years ending in 2016. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=637InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:07:44 GMT A much awaited Insurance (Amendment) Bill, which was supposed to be taken in the Winter Session of Parliament, is expected to be postponed once again.<br/><br/>A top government official said, “Insurance Bill will not come up in this session”. The Winter Session of Parliament that begun on November 22 will end on December 20.<br/><br/>Insurance (Amendment) Bill seeks FDI ceiling in the private sector insurance companies to 49% from existing 26%.<br/><br/>The Insurance (Amendment) Bill has been pending in the Rajya Sabha since December 2008. As part of economic reforms, the government is keen to pass the Bill, but main Opposition party BJP is for keeping the FDI ceiling in the sector at 26 %. The Left Parties are opposing the Bill.Because of the deferment of the Insurance Bill, the legislation to reform the pension sector is also likely to be delayed as the two are related.<br/><br/>The Union Cabinet had cleared the draft Bill on October 4 to allow FDI in various sectors. The Standing Committee headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, which had scrutinised the Bill, was against raising the ceiling on FDI in the sector arguing that it would expose the sector to global vulnerability.<br/><br/>Whereas, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said the industry requires USD 5-6 billion capital in the immediate run. The penetration ratio in life insurance sector is 4.4 % and 0.76 % in the non-life segment, which means a huge population is still uninsured in the country.<br/><br/>Currently, there are more than 24 private insurers operating their business in life and non-life segments in the country. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=636InsuringIndia News Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:41:53 GMT An idea of a fully insurance- dedicated university has been mooted by some of country’s leading insurers.<br/><br/>To set up the insurance university, Asean, a non-profitable organization which runs Asean Institute of Insurance & Risk Management, along with insurance companies like New India Assurance and Life Insurance Corporation, is pursuing discussions with various state governments for setting up the insurance university. The name of the university will be Asean Insurance University. As per initial estimate, Rs 65 crore will cost to set up the university and insurers are yet to decide their precise share.<br/><br/>State-owned insurers New India Assurance, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and United India Insurance as well as private insurers like TATA AIG and Universal Sompo will own stakes in the insurance university.D K Mehrotra, Chairman, Life Insurance Corporation of India at the Insurer’s Conclave on Saturday said, "This initiative will mainly focus on knowledge creation in the insurance space. We need to bridge the gap existing in this sector."<br/><br/>PK Bhel, a member of advisory committee of LIC, said the main objective of the insurance university would be to uphold research activities in the insurance realm.<br/><br/>At present, specialised courses in insurance are being offered by the Insurance Institute of India, the Institute of Actuaries of India, and some private institutions like the Institute of Insurance & Risk Management. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=635InsuringIndia News Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:51:26 GMT Leading private life insurance company HDFC Life has announced the launch of online Point of Sales (POS) system ‘CLICK2BUY’ for its distribution channels. The system will enhance customer insurance purchase experience and will also help to increase productivity of HDFC Life’s distribution channels.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Frederick D’Souza, Senior Vice President, HDFC Life said, “CLICK2BUY is yet another innovation by us as part of our strategic initiative! It is a step towards encompassing the entire journey from 'need-based selling' to 'demat policies..' It is a sales tool with the objective of simplifying the insurance purchase process for customers, helping our sales team to submit a zero-defect proposal online via Internet. In true sense, it will help each of our sales staff to achieve 100% of the proposal 'First Time Right. CLICK2BUY is a big long-term step towards faster policy processing, improved customer purchase experience, and increased business productivity.”<br/><br/>CLICK2BUY is such a tool which helps sales team to underwrite and communicate the decision or requirement up-front right at the Point of Sale. On clicking the submit button, the underwriting decision or medical reports required to underwrite are communicated upfront to customers. The system sends an email to the customer with the copy of the proposal form immediately on submitting the proposal.<br/><br/>CLICK2BUY is already proving to be a game changer and has won the recently concluded Asian BFSI Award 2012 in the ‘Underwriting Initiative of the year’ category. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=634InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:23:29 GMT Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Namo Narain Meena, today, in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha said the government has held meetings with the CEOs of all private and public sector insurance companies, IRDA, Life and General Insurance Councils to address the issues in the insurance sector and steps to be taken to revive the growth in the sector.<br/><br/>The steps identified for action, to give encouragement to the sector and expand penetration, include tax related measures and regulatory issues including investment norms, product design, micro insurance and bancassurance, among others. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=633InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:19:48 GMT India's leading credit information provider Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL) is now planning to expand its service to the insurance companies, both life and general. The data will not only help the insurance companies during the pricing decision but also the consumers, who will get attractive premium.<br/><br/>Speaking on the sidelines of CIBIL's third annual credit information conference in Chennai M V Nair, chairman, CIBIL said that "we are looking at insurance industry now and started our initial stage of discussion with the insurance regulator".<br/><br/>Mr. Nair said that the discussion with the insurance companies were in initial stages. CIBIL would also approach the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in this regard. The regulator had decided to have a separate (credit) bureau for insurance industry which is already in the offing.<br/><br/>"We are talking to the regulator to use our expertise and our platform", he added.<br/><br/>Presently, CIBIL caters to financial institutions including Banks, credit card companies, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), co-operative banks and any lender in the system. CIBIL got 840 members and number of consumer records process increased to 200 million from 13 million in 2004, said Mr. Nair.<br/><br/>On the significance of credit scores for lenders, he said delinquencies in credit cards, based on 90 days plus outstanding dues not paid, were 7 % in year 2009 but after CIBIL's offerings since 2008 it has now reduced to 1.5%.<br/><br/>The scores that so far helped access to bank credit would influence the price in future. “Banks have started choosing the borrowers with a better track record, and the natural sequence would be that those having a better score would bargain for a better price. We will see this happening in 1-2 years,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=632InsuringIndia News Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:36:02 GMT Private insurer Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, on Tuesday, announced the launch of ‘Chola Tax plus Healthline’, a complete health insurance policy.<br/><br/>Chola Tax plus Healthline policy offers coverage under two sections, namely Hospitalisation and Out Patient Department (OPD) Treatments.<br/><br/>The Hospitalisation section works like a regular Indemnity Health Insurance policy covering Hospitalisation due to all illness. The policy covers pre and post hospitalization for 60 days and 90 days respectively, Ambulance expense, Organ donor treatment expense and 141 Day care procedures that does not require 24 hours hospitalization-one of the largest offered by any general insurance company in the country.<br/><br/>Whereas, the OPD section covers all expenses incurred on healthcare like doctor’s fee, vaccines, spectacles, dental expenses, medicines taken as an outpatient. Alternate treatments like Ayurveda, Homeopathy etc are also covered under this section.<br/><br/>This policy also offers the broadest tax savings under any health policy. Under the policy, one can avail tax exemption of up to Rs 35,000 on the premium paid under Section 80 (D) of the Income Tax Act with up to Rs. 15,000 towards premium paid for self, spouse and children, and an additional exemption on Rs. 20,000 towards premium for parents over 60 years of age.<br/><br/>This policy can be bought for self and dependents including parents. It is available as an Individual or a Family floater cover. The maximum entry age for this policy is 65 yrs and it can be renewed lifelong.<br/><br/>“Day to day medical expenses like doctors consultation, lab tests, regular check-ups form a significant part of a family’s typical health care expenditure. This policy not only reimburses OPD expenses but also provide Hospitalisation coverage for all illnesses”, said Mr. S S Gopalarathnam, Managing Director, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited.<br/><br/>Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between the Murugappa Group, an Indian conglomerate and the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (MSIG) of Japan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=631InsuringIndia News Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:56:56 GMT Leading private insurer Future Generali India Insurance, on Tuesday, announced it has tied up with Chennai based firm IFMR (Institute for Financial Management and Research) Rural Finance, to offer its shop insurance products through its Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS) license holders.<br/><br/>In a release, Easwara Naraynan, COO, Future Generali India Insurance said, “We have developed a need based Shop Insurance product in partnership with IFMR Rural Finance. The product will be available at all 125 KGFS branches, across Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Odisha.”<br/><br/>Shop insurance will cover building and its contents against risk of fire, flood, storm, earthquake etc, and the contents of the shop will also be covered against burglary, he said.<br/><br/>"We are keen to see this business model work with efficiency, so that we can replicate it in other rural areas with many more products," Naraynan added.<br/><br/>Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS) is a network of regional financial institution set up in remote rural parts of India to assist in financial wellbeing of every individual and every enterprise in and around the region. Presently, five KGFS entities offer financial services in different parts of the country.<br/><br/>Future Generali India Insurance is a joint venture between Future Group of India and Generali Group of Italy. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=630InsuringIndia News Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:38:55 GMT State-owned insurer United India Insurance Company is planning to enter the Middle East and SAARC countries to tap the potential in these regions due to a presence of a large India diaspora, a top company executive has said.<br/><br/>Addressing the reporters in Tiruchirapalli (Tamilnadu) after a customers’ meet, Mr. Milind Kharat, CMD, United India Insurance said, “United India Insurance Company is eyeing operations in Middle East and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries. Though this is in preliminary stage, a detailed survey has revealed rich potential due to a large Indian diaspora and business activities of Indian and foreign companies.”<br/><br/>“The operations could be through a joint venture or a branch or an agency model and is expected to be commissioned in a few months”, Mr. Kharat added. He was confident that at least one center would begin operations before March 2013, subject to clearances.<br/><br/>United India Insurance has been maintaining 20% growth this year despite the economic slowdown and in substantial drop in sales of motor vehicles in the country. The company is targeting to surpass premium collections of Rs 10,000 crore by the end of this fiscal year. Furthermore, Mr. Kharat said that the online insurance policy scheme launched 18 months ago has been gaining momentum and claimed over 17000 policies had been issued through this online route. The company maintains the highest profit earnings among PSU insurance companies in the country.<br/><br/>He also said business accrued was 47% from Motor Insurance, 30% from Health Insurance, 12% from Marine Business and the rest 8% from Fire and others. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=629InsuringIndia News Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:46:21 GMT India is the world leader in micro-insurance and regulating it from its budding stages and revamping its regulations are a must, said a World Bank expert.<br/><br/>Moseleddin Ahmed, World Bank Consultant on Micro Health Insurance and Regulations, at a function held in Madurai said, “People need to be sensitized to the facility in order to alleviate poverty.” The occasion was a workshop on International Advanced Reflective Education on Training on Micro Insurance organised by Dhan Foundation along with German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in the city.<br/><br/>The three-day course is being attended by officials from various insurance companies, both public sector and private, NGOs, community organisations, farmers' federations and women self help groups. Experts from the Netherlands like Ryan Florijn, senior executive, Achmea Health Insurance, Karlijn Morsink from the University of Twente were also present on the occasion. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=628InsuringIndia News Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:18:25 GMT Mr. Amit Mallik has taken over as the Director - Human Resources of India’s leading private sector life insurer, Aviva Life Insurance. Mr. TR Ramachandran, CEO & MD, Aviva Life Insurance said, “I am delighted to have someone of Amit’s caliber join us at Aviva. Amit has proved himself to be an accomplished team builder with over 14 years across sectors in organizational development & human resources management. We look forward to his valuable contribution to our India operations.”<br/><br/>“My career objective has been to drive business growth through people and I am delighted with this opportunity as insurance is a people led business. At Aviva, my immediate priorities would be to deliver on the plans for 2012-13 with focus on creating a workplace that epitomizes high performance ethics, Next Gen people practices, Strong leadership development and learning culture”, said the newly appointed Director-HR Mr. Amit Malik.<br/><br/>Aviva Life Insurance is a joint venture between Dabur Group, one of India’s oldest business houses and Aviva Group. Aviva has 26% stake and Dabur has 74% stake in the joint venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=627InsuringIndia News Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:48:44 GMT Private sector insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance has unveiled an improved online term insurance plan named ‘Life eProtect’.<br/><br/>“Online life insurance has shown tremendous growth potential in the last 12 months. We launched our online channel earlier this year with Bharti AXA Life eProtect and the customer response has been very encouraging. Within 6 months of launch, we are currently amongst the top five players in the online term market. We have incorporated customer feedback to our existing term product in the new version of the online product to ensure that it is truly a best in class product in the market”, said Bharti AXA Life Insurance CEO Mr. Sandeep Ghosh.<br/><br/>Both; life cover and maximum entry age has been increased to 75 years and 65 years respectively for the plan Life eProtect keeping post retirement protection in view. Life eProtect also provides a unique and industry first service guarantee — Family Care benefit which ensures a release of Rs 1, 00,000 during times of distress within 48 hours of claim intimation.<br/><br/>“We found that customers today are looking for insurance products that offer comprehensive protection, especially after retirement. An individual’s responsibilities towards his family do not necessarily end with retirement. By increasing the tenure of eProtect, we are providing a longer coverage at extremely affordable premiums, making the new version one of the most competitive products in the markets,” Mr. Ghosh added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=626InsuringIndia News Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:30:06 GMT As a result of increase in premium rates and pick up in health insurance, non-life insurance segment has registered a 19.4% increase in gross premium income in the first six month of the FY’ 2012.<br/><br/>As per the data received from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the non-life insurance industry collected a gross premium income of Rs 39,453 crore in the first half against Rs 33,041 crore in the same period last year. <br/><br/>The private sector insurers performed better than the state-run insurers. The four state-run non-life insurers collected Rs 22,802 crore, registering an increase of 17.83%. Whereas; the private insurers have collected Rs 16,650 crore, a 21.62% growth. <br/><br/>The CEO of a large private insurance firm said, “Premium on fire and property insurance has gone up by 10-15%, contributing to the increase in premium collection.” SBI General Insurance registered significant premium growth of 206.69% during the period. Whereas; private sector insurer ICICI Lombard reported by 15.78%.<br/><br/>Stand alone health insurer- Star Health & Allied Insurance was the only company to register a drop in premium income of 40.9%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=625InsuringIndia News Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:21:51 GMT Employees of the Life Insurance corporation of India (LIC) in Visakhapatnam division on Thursday organised a fire torch rally against Union Government’s verdict to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) ceiling in insurance to 49% from current 26%. The government is all set to pass Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill in winter session of the Parliament.<br/><br/>The rally was led by N Ramanachalam, General Secretary and BB Ganesh president of the Insurance Corporation Employees Union. More than 200 employees participated in the rally.<br/><br/>The employees under the aegis of all India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) will observe a one-day nationwide strike if the government goes ahead with the passing of the bill in the parliament. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=624InsuringIndia News Fri, 30 Nov 2012 14:53:00 GMT Private insurer Tata AIA Life Insurance, on Tuesday, announced the launch of a limited premium paying, non- linked, non-participating, endowment insurance plan named ‘MahaLife Supreme’.<br/><br/>A Tata AIA Life Insurance release said the plan MahaLife Supreme offers a guaranteed annual income after the premium payment term till end of the chosen policy term, where customers will also get a guaranteed lump-sum at maturity, with the benefit of life insurance protection throughout the policy term.<br/><br/>Mr. Suresh Mahalingam, MD and CEO, Tata AIA Life Insurance said, “In this festive season, we are very happy to present a solution that can help our customers open doors to a guaranteed future. Our new product enables our customers to make the smart choice by planning both their savings outflow and the required regular guaranteed annual income inflows with the assurance of a long term insurance protection.”<br/><br/>Any individual between age group of 18 to 55 years can buy this plan. The maximum maturity age for option ‘A’ and option ‘B’ is 90 years and 85 years respectively.<br/><br/>In option ‘A’, term of the plan is 35 years and premiums have to be paid till the 15th year, while in option 'B', the term of the plan is 30 years and premiums have to be paid till the 12th year.<br/><br/>Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture company formed by Tata Sons and AIA Group Limited, a leading independent listed pan-Asia life insurance group spanning 15 markets in the Asia Pacific. Tata Sons holds a majority stake (74%) in the company and AIA holds 26% through an AIA Group company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=623InsuringIndia News Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:53:49 GMT London Mayor Boris Johnson has backed India’s verdict to open up the insurance and multi-brand retail sectors for FDI, arguing it might augur well for the poor even as he suggested that India can experiment with more ‘openness’.<br/><br/>Mr. Johnson is leading a business delegation to India. On Tuesday, addressing at the Indian School of Business, he said, "If a British insurance company is able to help reduce premiums for households for medical insurance for an Indian person with modest income, then that person will be able to spend the larger share of his wealth on other forms of consumption. That would benefit the economy.”<br/><br/>Speaking on FDI in retail, he said, “If a multiple-brand retailer can help people access food cheaply and securely with less anxiety about the price then again you are helping to increase, not diminish the wealth of some of the poorest people in the country.”<br/><br/>Furthermore, in a suggestive approach, he said, “I would humbly and respectfully suggest there are more ways in which India could experiment with more openness.”<br/><br/>Be known that the government has recently decided to move with its proposal to raise FDI (foreign direct investment) ceiling in insurance to 49% from existing 26%. It also had allowed 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail but left it to the states to permit opening of foreign funded stores.<br/><br/>Mr.Johnson said the critical thing in a global economy is to find the place and people who will add value in the most efficient and competitive way. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=622InsuringIndia News Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:52:51 GMT Private insurer Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) has recently announced the launch of 'Face-to-Face' distribution channel aiming to provide services to its customers whose agents have become inactive and also to provide post-sales service to policyholders.<br/><br/>Mr. Malay Ghosh, President and Executive Director of Reliance Life Insurance made the announcement. <br/><br/>"The main goal of this distribution format is to target existing customers who are currently not connected to any advisor and distributor. We hope this sales-cum-service initiative will not only help retain our existing customers but also help us enhance relationship value through cross-sell and up-sell to them." said Mr Ghosh.<br/><br/>The distribution channel ‘Face-to-Face’ will operate with Life Planning Officers (LPOs) who will primarily be woman employees, with housewives being one of the key target segments for recruitment. They would be trained to service orphan policies, develop a relationship and then cross-sell to existing customers and build their network through references.<br/><br/>For the purpose, around 200 woman employee advisors in 7 cities have been hired by the company during the pilot phase. And, in the next few months the company is planning to scale up across the country. These newly appointed advisors have started evolving relationship with customers and servicing policies after the completion of 30 days training.<br/><br/>This new sales format which is adapted from Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance would focus on Tier I and Tier II cities and leverage the talent pool amongst on housewives in these locations to connect with the customers and support the company's existing distribution channels. There would be a target for each woman employee advisors to meet a specific number of customers each day and each month.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=621InsuringIndia News Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:42:14 GMT Leading private life insurer Max Life Insurance on Thursday reported 6% growth in net profit at Rs 398 crore for the six months ended on September 30, 2012.<br /><br />In a release, the insurer said that the net profit for the corresponding period last year the net profit stood at Rs 375. The total premium went up marginally to Rs 2,900.88 crore for the quarter under review compared to Rs 2,872.84 crore. However, the new business premium declined by 3.7 percent to Rs 812 crore from Rs 842.89 crore.<br /><br />Mr. Rajesh Sud, CEO & MD, Max Life Insurance said, "While the economic and regulatory challenges continued, we continued to perform well due to our continued focus on building a successful and differentiated life insurance business to deliver the core value of long-term savings and protection in a Life Insurance contract. We are confident of a sustained growth as we continue to differentiate in the market through our advice based sales, diversified distribution channel, comprehensive product portfolio and superior customer experience through superior claims and complaint management.”<br /><br />The company’s Assets Under Management increased by 30% to Rs 19,184 crore over last year and sum assured that reached to Rs 158,054 crore, an increase of 7 percent.<br /><br />The company's paid up capital (including share premium) as on September 30, 2012 was at Rs 2,127 crore.<br /><br />Max Life Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture company between a leading India multi-business corporation Max India and global insurance leader Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=620InsuringIndia News Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:36:16 GMT Secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas Mr. Girish Chandra Chaturvedi is seen as a frontrunner to succeed Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman Mr. J. Harinarayan; whose term ends on end-February next year.<br /><br />By the last date for submitting applications, the ministry is understood to have received over two dozen of applications for the post. The names of the applicants are not yet disclosed.<br /><br />A civil servant is most likely to be appointed as new IRDA chief as the government is willing to specify 'secretary or equivalent' as desirable qualification. The government is also in the process of selecting two second-rung positions in IRDA. First is a member-actuary and the second member-distribution. In addition to member IRDA, the government will interview candidates for two managing director positions in Life Insurance Corporation of India.<br /><br />The interview for the positions will take place in the fourth week of November. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=619InsuringIndia News Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:45:01 GMT Private insurer Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has announced the launch of a unique ‘extended warranty plan’ for consumer durables which will enable a customer to extend the warranty period for 12 months after expiry of the manufacturer's product warranty.<br/><br/>The company release said this product is launched in association with Bajaj Finserv Lending. It is specifically for those customers who have availed the company's (Bajaj Finserv) 0% interest consumer durable finance for purchasing durables of their choice. The premium for this product will start from Rs 350 onwards.<br/><br/>Alpana Singh, Head (Market Management and Bancassurance), Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said, “The cover kicks in after expiry of the manufacturer's product warranty period and will be in force for the next 12 months. The sum insured of the policy shall be equal to the invoice price of the consumer durable or appliance.”<br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE of Germany. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=618InsuringIndia News Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:12:45 GMT Private insurer Max Life Insurance Company on Monday declared the first ever interim dividend of 5.1% to its shareholders since the inception of the company in year, 2000 when the sector was opened for private companies.<br/><br/>The company in its release said that the decision was taken during board meeting held recently. The company will distribute Rs. 115 crore (including dividend distribution tax of Rs 16 crore) based on the performance of the company during the first half of the fiscal year 2012-13. <br/><br/>This entitles Max India to get a dividend of Rs 70 crore, while Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance will be entitled to Rs 26 crore and Axis Bank Rs 3 crore.<br/><br/>Mr. Rajesh Sud, CEO & MD, Max Life Insurance said, “We are confident of our profit trajectory based on our strong business performance that has resulted in a gain of more than 3 percentage points in private market share over the last couple of years.”<br/><br/>The company's solvency ratio will remain in excess of 550% against the regulatory requirement of 150%, and a solvency surplus of more than Rs 1,500 crore after the interim dividend distribution.<br/><br/>The insurer is placed at no. four amongst the private life insurers with private market share of 9.5%.<br/><br/>During the fiscal year, 2011-12 the company registered a profit of Rs. 460 crore, up by more than 200% from the previous fiscal year.<br/><br/>Max Life Insurance Company Ltd.  is a joint venture company between a leading India multi-business corporation Max India and global insurance leader Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=617InsuringIndia News Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:27:01 GMT Despite low overall financial development, India is the top-ranked country in terms of life insurance density. Whereas in non-life insurance segment, India is ranked 3rd after China and the US at top two positions, but is ahead of countries like Germany, France, Japan and the UK; the World Economic Forum (WEF) has said in its latest report.<br/><br/>Life insurance density is measured in terms of ratio of direct domestic premiums for life insurance to per capita GDP of a country.<br/><br/>According to the Financial Development Report 2012, India has been ranked no. 40th in terms of overall financial development of a country, but it is placed better than many larger economies like the US, the UK, Japan and China for life insurance density.<br/><br/>Global consultancy leader McKinsey in its latest report said that Indian insurance sector is expected to see an exponential growth in 2012 amid increasing household incomes and higher premiums (as a percentage of the GDP).<br/><br/>World Economic Forum (WEF) said that its report measures the financial development of 62 countries across various segments of their financial systems and capital markets. The overall rankings are based on more than 120 variables spanning banking financial services, financial stability and non-banking financial services among other factors.<br/><br/>Furthermore, the report said "Recent empirical research has found a strong positive relationship between insurance sector development and economic growth; this relationship holds quite strongly even in developing countries. Insurance also creates liquidity and facilitates the process of building economies of scale in investment, thereby improving overall financial efficiency.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=616InsuringIndia News Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:25:27 GMT Madhya Pradesh government has decided to provide insurance cover to parents of girls benefited under the ‘Ladli Laxmi Yojna’ in the state.<br/><br/>The scheme was announced by the chief minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan on the occasion of ‘Kanya Poojan’ function which was celebrated at his official residence. Addressing the function, Mr. Chouhan also made a humble pledge to save the girl child. <br/><br/>According to a government release, a special campaign will be launched from 19th November to 12th October, 2013 to remove misconceptions about girl child. The chief minister said that apart from the insurance cover of up to Rs. 30,000, special facilities will also be extended to parents who have only daughters.<br/><br/> The release claimed that the benefit of the scheme ‘Ladli Laxmi Yojna’ has so far been extended to over 13 lac girls in the state.<br/><br/>Mr. Chouhan also said that a programme will also be held in every city of the state on 19th November 2012 to create awareness on barbarities against women. Special advocates will be appointed for forceful action against barbarities on women. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=615InsuringIndia News Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:06:36 GMT The chief minister of Maharashtra Mr. Prithviraj Chavan on Monday said that the government is planning to introduce an insurance scheme for women folk artistes to bring them at par with their male counterparts.<br/><br/>Speaking at the inauguration of All India Women Folk Artistes convention in Mubai, he said, “Women artistes have always been relegated to the background. The state government will try to accord appropriate status to the artistes.”<br/><br/>Artistes from Rajasthan, Tripura and Chhatisgarh are attending the two-day convention.“Folk art has unique importance in the state's culture scene and the male artist has always got prominent position”, he added.<br/><br/>He also said the government will try to provide grant to Lok Kala Academy in the Mumbai University.<br/><br/>Furthermore, he said the government will also try to complete the memorial of noted folk artiste Vithabai Narayangaonkar at her native Narayangaon. The government will also try to provide plot for housing of women folk artistes in Navi Mumbai after the court decision on government's land allotment policy which has currently been stayed by the court.<br/><br/>He also said that noting that folk art and entertainment were source of employment opportunities. Attempts would be made to open auditoriums at taluka level. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=614InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:32:10 GMT To discuss the industry problems, the unioun finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram along with his deputy Namo Narain Meena, on Monday met the chief executives of general insurance companies.<br/><br/>The insurers want the removal of administered pricing mechanism and capping of liability on third party motor insurance figure, some of them want withdrawal of service tax on reinsurance, allowing banks to sell more than one non-life insurer's products and extension of tax benefits to other policies.<br/><br/>After a meeting with chiefs of life insurers on 1st October’ 2012, the finance minister has announced the similar measures for the life insurance sector.<br/><br/>General insurance officials said that there is indefinite liability for non-life insurers to third parties, while the premium is definite.<br/><br/>“The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) could introduce the use and file system and chalk out certain standard products which could be used by the industry under the proposed system”, said Mr. Chidambaram.<br/><br/>The government sought to remove a key barrier to bring much-needed capital by proposing to raise the ceiling for foreign partners in insurance firms to 49 % from existing 26 %.<br/><br/>According to a report of the Boston Consulting Group last year, the cumulative underwriting losses for non-life insurers were nearly USD 6 billion in the year to March 2010. And according to the official the figure may have since touched USD 7.5 billion.<br/><br/>India's insurance industry needs an estimated USD 12 billion in capital to be adequately funded. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=613InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:31:33 GMT Despite a slowdown in the life insurance sector, sales of online term plans are booming. Nearly 55,750 term policies were sold in the past six months, an average of one policy in every five minutes. Whereas in 2011-12, nearly 49,500 plans were sold. <br/><br/>The leading private insurer Aegon Religare Life Insurance, which opened up the online sale of life insurance nearly two years back, is the largest player in this segment followed by Aviva Life insurance. With its popular plan ‘Click2Protect’, which was launched in January, 2011, HDFC Life is third in the segment. While ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Kotak Life Insurance are the other big players in online sales segment. Other big players such as Reliance Life Insurance and Bajaj Allianz have also initiated this popular trend of insurance selling.<br/><br/>However, the largest insurer of the country, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India is still reluctant to accept the new trend. It is fully dependent on tradition way of selling plans because of its huge agent network. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=610InsuringIndia News Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:43:11 GMT Private sector insurer Max Bupa Health Insurance Company in keeping with its philosophy of placing customer’s health first, announced the launch of a multi-city initiative 'Walk for Health'. Aimed at encouraging people to build more walking into their daily routine, Max Bupa Walk for Health, is an attempt to bring about positive long term sustainable behavioural change into their lives.<br/><br/>As a part of the initiative, Walk for Health will be organized during October and November 2012 in 11 cities for people of all age groups. On October 27 and 28, 2012, the walks will be organized in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Surat, Pune and Kochi. These will be followed by Walk for Health in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore on November 4, 2012. <br/><br/>www.walkforhealth.in, is a dedicated website on the initiative that has been created for participants to register online with their friends and family and get access to useful tips on walking. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=612InsuringIndia News Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:04:15 GMT The central government has finally approved the appointment of the new chairman of the country's largest general insurer New India Assurance. Prior to this appointment, Mr.G Srinivisan was heading another public sector (PSU) insurance company United India Insurance. Now, he’ll take over as Chief Managing Director (CMD) of New India Assurance.<br/><br/>The chairman post of the company was vacant since August 2011 when the government had suspended the then chairman of New India Assurance M Ramadoss for alleged violations in issuing insurance cover to a private airline when he headed another general insurance company Oriental Insurance.<br/><br/>Ramadoss was the CMD of Oriental Insurance when the credit insurance cover to Paramount Airways was approved. Oriental Insurance had confirmed that the company did not make any losses on Paramount's Account.<br/><br/>Although, the investigations against Ramadoss are still going on. The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) was examining Ramadoss' role in the irregularities in distribution of credit insurance cover to Paramount Airways.<br/><br/>In the history of insurance sector, it was the second instance when head of a public sector insurance company was removed. Before this, chairman of India's largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation, TS Vijayan was denied an extension after there were complaints against him.<br/><br/>In other appointments, the government has also confirmed the appointment of Mr. Milind Kharat as the new CMD of United India Insurance. Ealier, Mr. Kharat was heading Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd or ACIL. The government has also cleared the appointment of Mr. PJ Joseph as new chairman and managing director for ACIL. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=611InsuringIndia News Wed, 17 Oct 2012 17:03:02 GMT Private insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance has announced the appointment of Vineet Patni as its Chief Distribution Officer (CDO). At Bharti AXA Life Insurance, he will be responsible for all the Distribution Channels of the company including Agency, Direct Sales Force, Strategic and Partner businesses.<br/><br/>Earlier, Mr. Vineet was ‘Head of Insurance Business & Consumer Product Development’ with The Commercial International Bank and was based in Egypt. He was also a Board Member and chairperson of the Audit Committee for Commercial International Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Mr. Vineet has huge cross functional and cross industry experience of over 17 years in Life Insurance industry, General Insurance, Retail banking, Liability Business and Wealth Management.<br/><br/>Bharti AXA Life Insurance is a joint venture company between Bharti Enterprises and AXA, world leader in financial protection and wealth management.<br/><br/> "We are delighted to have Vineet on board and his experience of working in developing markets outside India coupled with his experience in India during the early days of the Industry will prove to be very useful for us as we look to consolidate and build a profitable business over the next few years", said Mr. Sandeep Ghosh, CEO of Bharti AXA Life Insurance at the time of announcement of the latest appointment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=609InsuringIndia News Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:44:12 GMT Magma HDI General Insurance (MHDI) and Religare Health Insurance are two new entrants in insurance sector.<br/><br/>Magma HDI General Insurance (MHDI) is a joint venture between non-banking finance company Magma Fincorp and a leading German insurer HDI Gerling. The insurer has launched its operations on Thursday. While, Religare Health Insurance has begun as a standalone health insurance player.<br/><br/>Mr. Sanjay Chamria, Chairman, Magma HDI General Insurance said, “The new company would leverage the strengths of the joint-venture partners to offer customised services to its customers in India. Over 80 % of Magma's 240 branches are located in the semi-urban and rural areas, generally underserved for insurance products.”<br/><br/>“The launch of a general insurance business would enable Magma to offer end to end solutions to customers by financing the purchase of cars, tractors, commercial vehicles or construction equipment, as well as providing insurance to the asset purchased”, said an official.<br/><br/>The company would launch operations in 39 locations in the first year and recruit about 500 people.<br/><br/>Another entrant Religare Health Insurance, however, has started its operations in July this year; formally it was launched on Thursday. In these three months of its operation, the insurer has collected Rs 14 crore of premium through its 134 centres serving 34,000 people.<br/><br/>The shareholders comprise Religare Enterprises Ltd, Union Bank of India and Corporation Bank. It would use the distribution network of these banks for its products.<br/><br/>Managing Director of Religare Health Insurance Anuj Gulati said the company would launch products products for critical illness and foreign student travel medical insurance. A policy for HIV/AIDS patients was also being actively worked on. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=608InsuringIndia News Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:42:07 GMT Private sector health insurer Max Bupa, on Thursday, announced the launch of a comprehensive health insurance plan ‘Health Assurance’, which offers 3-in-1 benefits such as critical illness, personal accident and hospital cash.<br/><br/>In a release, the Chief Financial Officer of Max Bupa Mr. Neeraj Basur said, “Health Assurance is an easy to understand yet comprehensive guaranteed cash benefit plan that is designed to ensure customers have the freedom to choose their course of action and treatment in case of any emergency, just like they choose their own health regimen to stay healthy.”<br/><br/>Furthermore, he said the cash payout of the sum insured will help the customers protect their savings so that they can utilise them the way they have planned and not for medical emergencies, giving complete financial security.<br/><br/>The plan Health Assurance facilitates customers to choose their own sum insured for the guaranteed cash payment ranging from Rs 3 lac to Rs 10 lac in case of critical illness cover, Rs 5 lac to Rs 25 lac for personal accident cover and Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000 per day as daily cash benefit under hospital cash.<br/><br/>Critical illness cover provides assured cash benefit equivalent to policy cover on diagnosis of 20 key illnesses. Whereas, the personal accident cover offers coverage for accidental death or permanent total disability or accidental dismemberment.<br/><br/>The entry age for the policy is from 18 to 65 years.<br/><br/>Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Max India Limited and UK-based Bupa, a leading international healthcare provider. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=607InsuringIndia News Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:18:59 GMT Congress-led UPA-II Government, has decided to provide free life insurance cover to all the residents of the three districts, two in Punjab - Gurdaspur and Amritsar — and one Uttar Pradesh district-Chandauli on pilot basis.<br/><br/>Amardeep Singh Cheema, Director, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) said, “The national advisory council, headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, had sent the proposal to which the Ministry of Finance agreed and LIC approved the pilot project.”<br/><br/>The plan will provide coverage to all the people of these 3 districts under two schemes — ‘Aam Aadmi Beema Yojana’ and ‘Jan Shree Bima Yojana’ under group insurance.<br/><br/>For Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, if the bread earner of the family dies or becomes permanent disable due to an accident, the scheme will pay out a lump sum amount of Rs. 75,000 to the beneficiary and a monthly stipend of Rs 200 to his two school going children(class 9-12). In case of natural death, the nominee/beneficiary will get Rs 35,000.<br/><br/>Whereas, for the Above Poverty Line (APL) families insurance cover will be provided under other schemes but no stipend for the life cover will be given on the value (determined by LIC) of the person.<br/><br/>According to the sources, the data collection and pre-evaluation of beneficiaries in Amritsar (17 lac) and Gurdaspur (14 lac) by the LIC began on October 8.<br/><br/>“The two border districts of Punjab were selected as there is no major livelihood opportunity and no major industry besides many families are under BPL. Chanduali in UP was selected as 85 per cent of the district is Naxal-affected”, Mr. Cheema clarified the reason of selection. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=606InsuringIndia News Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:03:06 GMT State owned insurer United India Insurance Company Ltd, on Tuesday, has initiated an insurance literacy programme for school students.<br/><br/>Tamil Nadu Governor, K. Rosaiah has announced the launch of the programme on occasion of the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the insurer. On the sidelines of the celebrations, Mr. Rosaiah highlighted the low level of insurance penetration in the country and how lack of financial literacy among the vast sections of the population is responsible for this.<br/><br/>The public sector insurer, in the first phase of its programme, has identified 75 government and aided schools to promote insurance literacy among secondary school students.<br/><br/>G. Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, United India Insurance Company Ltd said, “It will conduct insurance and safety awareness classes, competitions, and provide sponsor-driven safety insurance cover to the students.”<br/><br/>“This is the first phase of the programme, and it will be extended to other schools over a period of time”, he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=605InsuringIndia News Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:02:17 GMT The Congress-led UPA government, on Thursday, has continued its wave of reforms by approving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in insurance up to 49% from current 26% and opening up the door of pension space to foreign investments. But, there is no clarity in FDI ceiling in pension space.<br/><br/>Although, the union cabinet has approved Insuance Laws (Amendment) Bill and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Devlopment Authority (PFRDA) Bill, it’s very difficult for government to pass these pieces of legislation in Parliaments. This is so, because the main Opposition party BJP and its allies opposed raise in FDI ceiling and insisted that the bill should be brought again to Parliament's standing committee on finance, which is headed by BJP senior leader Yashwant Sinha. <br/><br/>The Parliament's standing committee on Finance had recommended retaining FDI ceiling in insurance sector to 26%.<br/><br/>According to the sources, the bills are likely to be put in forthcoming parliamentary session. Bills need to be passed from both houses of the parliament before becoming laws. <br/><br/>Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, Finance Minister Mr. P Chidambaram said the government will reach out to the Opposition parties. He said, “I’m optimistic that the principal Opposition party will support. We should not jump to conclusions. Legislation-making process involves discussion in negotiation. There have been instances where a government that did not have absolute majority has got bills passed.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=604InsuringIndia News Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:25:40 GMT In a move to revive the ailing sector, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Wednesday said it will work to develop 10 standard insurance products in consultation with insurance bodies which can be launched by insurers without getting the regulator’s approval. <br/><br/>According to a senior official, the insurance plans based on these products will come under the ‘Use and File’ system which allows automatic approval after 15 days of intimation to the regulator, if the insurer has compiled with the norms.<br/><br/>Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority chairman Mr. J Hari Narayan said, “We will try to develop 10 standard insurance products. We will have to work closely with the insurance bodies- Life Insurance Council and General Insurance Council to see if we can develop such products."<br/><br/>Earlier, the Finance Minister Mr. P Chidambaram had said that IRDA will develop a policy to start automatic approval of standard life insurance products. According to him, Use and File system may be introduced.<br/><br/>Hari Narayan said that the persistence level is very low in the insurance industry and there was a need to bring in complete understanding of the market and insurance companies.<br/><br/>"The point is, the insurance industry requires to stabilise, they have to mature in their approach and I would say they are getting there but there is still some distance to go and in that context what we have agreed is that the regulator and the insurance industry will design jointly say about 10 products," Mr. Narayan added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=603InsuringIndia News Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:44:32 GMT Private sector insurer IndiaFirst Life Insurance on Wednesday launched MagicBoard-an integrated portable device which will improve customer service. MagicBoard was launched by Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company Mr. P. Nandagopal, in Mumbai.<br/><br/>In a release, Mr. Nandagopal said, “MagicBoard automates, simplifies the sales processes at the customer end and connects them with the distributor, employees and insurance organisation in a 360 degree integration where every stakeholder has a single page view in his hand held tablet PC for real-time information, intelligence and intervention.”<br/><br/>“MagicBoard is our sincere effort to achieve a game change in the life insurance industry," he added.<br/><br/>MagicBoard also offers instant, practical business intelligence for real-time decisions for customers, agents support and cost control.<br/><br/>IndiaFirst Life Insurance is a joint venture between India’s two largest state-run banks-Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank along with UK’s leading investment company Legal & General. Bank of Baroda holds the major stake (44%) in the joint venture, whereas; Andhra Bank and Legal & General hold 30% and 26% respectively in the JV.<br/><br/>As per the current law, a foreign insurer cannot hold more than 26% stake in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=602InsuringIndia News Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:44:02 GMT Supreme financial regulators like- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Forward Markets Commission (FMC) should be merged into a Unified Financial Agency (UFA), suggesting legislative reforms in the financial sectors a government-appointed panel said on Monday.<br/><br/>The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, headed by former justice BN Srikrishna, has also suggested setting up of a financial redressal agency (FRA) to address consumer complaints against companies across the financial sector.<br/><br/>The Approach Paper, on which the Commission will seek comments from the stakeholders, underlined the need for establishing an independent Debt Management Office (DMO) and a financial sector appellate tribunal to hear appeals against regulators.<br/><br/>"These changes will alter the Indian financial landscape from eight financial regulatory agencies to seven," said the Paper which will form the basis of the report of the Commission which was set up in March 2011 to re-write the legislations affecting the financial markets in the country.<br/><br/>At present, the financial sector is regulated by eight agencies which are RBI, SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA and FMC, Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), and Financial Sector Development Council (FSDC).<br/><br/>The UFA, it said, would deal with all financial firms other than banking and payments. It would also yield benefits in terms of economies of scale in the financial system.<br/><br/>The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) was set up to recast the financial sector legislations in tune with the contemporary requirements of the sector. At present, there are over 60 Acts and multiple rules and regulations that govern the financial sector. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=601InsuringIndia News Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:02:11 GMT Aiming to encourage people to buy insurance policies, union finance minister Mr. P Chidambaram on Tuesday, announced that the government is considering removing service tax on first year insurance premium payments. Due to which, the premium for the first year may get cheaper by 3%.<br/><br/>At present, a life insurance policyholder pays 3% service tax on insurance premiums.<br/><br/>Mr. Nageswara Rao, MD & CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance said, “If the service tax is removed, the benefit will be directly passed on to customers, making premiums cheaper for new customers.”<br/><br/>“Any reduction in cost will benefit the sector and will help companies to attract new customers,” he added.<br/><br/>Due to volatile market and slowing economy, insurance industry has been facing slow growth. First-year premium collections of 24 insurance companies fell 9% to Rs 114,233 crore in fiscal 2011-12 against Rs. 125,826 crore in the previous fiscal.<br/><br/>The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Future Generali India Life Insurance, Mr. Deepak Sood said, “Removal or reduction in service tax would encourage people to buy insurance policies because they will be able to get more insurance cover with the same amount of money. In India, buying of insurance policies is not in the priority list of individuals. Customers need to be encouraged by such steps.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=600InsuringIndia News Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:01:08 GMT The industry body of all life insurance companies in India, Life Insurance Council today signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with German Insurance Association, (Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft e.V.) to promote a cooperative relationship and mutual understanding between the two insurance industry bodies. This is first-ever tie-up with an international industry body of another country.<br/><br/>A press release by the Life Insurance Council said the tie-up will act as a platform for exchanging information, discussing matters and activities of common interest pertaining to the Insurance industry.<br/><br/>Speaking on the sidelines, Mr. V. Manickam, Secretary General Life Insurance Council, said, “Our association with GDV would be beneficial to the life insurance industry in India as it is still in its developing stages. We hope to adopt the best practices in respective countries, in our effort to reach out to all sections of the globe to spread life insurance awareness.”<br/><br/>The industry bodies will conduct employee exchange programs, through which representatives from Life Insurance Council and German Insurance Association will visit each other’s country.<br/><br/>On the occasion, Rolf-Peter Hoenen, President of the German Insurance Association said, “The memorandum will allow contribution of joint research and study activities and setting up of regional offices. This will increase the support and strengthen not just our association but our member companies as well.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=599InsuringIndia News Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:54:35 GMT The Thiruvananthapuram division of the largest life insurer of the country, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has started online selling of a pension plan named ‘Jeevan Akshay’<br/><br/>In a function which was organized to commemorate LIC’s 56th anniversary, the Additional Director General of Police Mr. Alexander Jacob handed over the first policy. This is a guaranteed plan where the pension starts with effect from the subsequent month on payment of the purchase price.<br/><br/>To promote online purchasing of insurance policies, the policy will get 1% more annuity if it is purchased online.<br/><br/>Minimum entry age for the policy is 30 years and maximum is 85 years. The minimum purchase price is Rs 1.5 lac.<br/><br/>In case the annuitant dies, the same pension can be continued for spouse. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=598InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:52:55 GMT After the significant success of Reliance Capital which hiked 50% returns for Reliance mutual funds, it is now the time for hiring as Reliance Life Insurance aims to recruit 40,000 new advisors within the next 6 months. In recent past, the insurer has hired over 10,000 advisors. Through the huge hiring of advisors, the company is aiming to bring more customers from Tier II and Tier III cities in the country.<br/><br/>In a statement, Malay Ghosh, President and Executive Director, Reliance Life said, “We have added close to 10,000 insurance advisors in the past few months and are targeting to recruit 40,000 more by the end of the current financial year to increase our reach.”<br/><br/>The company had more than 1,50,000 advisors at the end of last fiscal ended on 31st March 2012 with a distribution network of 1,230 offices across the country.<br/><br/>"Semi-urban and rural regions are on our radar for recruitment of these insurance advisors. We are attempting to create a stronger footprint across India with a view to enhancing the width and depth of our reach across the country," Mr. Ghosh added.<br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance will help these new advisors to get insurance advisor certificate in the current fiscal year. The company is investing significantly in its training and technology programmes to equip its agents with tools and help them sell better and service customers effectively and efficiently.<br/><br/>The new insurance agents would be trained by more than 200 trainers and about 1,000 master trainers.<br/><br/>R-Life said the main reason behind the huge recruitments and training is to further strengthen the agency model for selling various insurance products and servicing customers efficiently. The company aims to reach out to all segments of the society. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=597InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:52:00 GMT In view to promote insurance products by encouraging companies to come out with low premium products for increasing insurance penetration and discourage investments in gold, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) will soon work on a mechanism for faster approval of new insurance products.<br/><br/>After the meeting between finance minister P Chidambaram and IRDA chief J Hari Narayan which held on Wednesday, Financial Services Secretary D.K. Mittal said, “Roadmap has been agreed upon for faster approval of products. Some decisions will be announced on Thursday.”<br/><br/>“The meeting also dealt with issues relating to increasing insurance penetration, service tax and augmenting investment flow into the infrastructure sector. The meeting discussed how insurance companies can do more business, how better products can be introduced at lower premium,” Mr. Mittal added.<br/><br/>Insurers have been demanding from the regulator for faster clearances of products filed with it. The issue of relaxation in investment norms to help the sector earn more premiums was also discussed.<br/><br/>The Union Cabinet to soon take up proposal to hike Foreign Direct Investment ceiling in insurance to 49% from existing 26%. According to an official close to the development, the Bill is ready and it will be taken to the cabinet very soon. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=596InsuringIndia News Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:50:21 GMT To speed up the growth of the insurance industry, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) chairman J Hari Narayan is likely to meet Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram on Wednesday. The chairman has been bating for higher foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector.<br/><br/>On the sideline of ASSOCHAM insurance summit, Mr. Narayan said, “There is a list of issues, which will be further discussed in another meeting with the Finance Minister on Wednesday, like income tax, service tax. We believe that certain tax measures will be helpful for the growth of the industry.”<br/><br/>The government is trying to revive investor interest in financial instruments to curb demand for gold. Earlier this month, Financial Services Secretary D K Mittal also met the IRDA Chairman to discuss revival measures for the industry.<br/><br/> “Insurance, like many other sectors, requires greater levels of investments and in that regard we would welcome steps to increase FDI in the insurance industry. The Bill for enhancing FDI in industry has been moved by the government in the parliament and we have provided our inputs to the government,” Mr. Narayan said in an Assocham insurance summit.<br/><br/>According to the sources, the meeting had discussed the possibility of relaxing norms for insurance companies to attract more funds for the infrastructure sector. The industry has been putting pressure on the government to reduce service tax on insurance premium to attract investors.<br/><br/>Gradually, the life insurance products are losing its luster to attract investors due to the rigorous regulatory norms; which act as deterrent for marketing of such products. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=595InsuringIndia News Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:49:22 GMT In view to expand the reach of insurance cover to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the next five years, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has issued a draft proposal.<br/><br/>According to the draft, every insurer has to undertake such percentage of life insurance and general insurance business in these sectors and design specific standard product for this category of population, as may be specified by IRDA.<br/><br/>The standard insurance product would be in addition to the government schemes, which provide insurance cover at concessional rates. These standard products should include minimum sum assured of Rs 40,000 for life term cover and up to Rs 2,00,000.<br/><br/>The product can be extended to the family members and the period of cover shall be between 5 years and 25 years.<br/><br/>The draft further illustrated, “The objective of mandating a minimum percentage cover to these sections was to extend insurance cover to meet exigencies cast by natural catastrophes, accidental death in particular as also a means of protection for the family and some savings to bolster their financial security.”<br/><br/>The regulator said a lead life insurer should tie up with a non-life insurer or vice-versa for the benefit of the people.<br/><br/>All insurers, during the year 2012-18 are mandated to fulfil at least 50% of the target group through the standard product sales and the remaining 50 per cent may be fulfilled by any other approved rural and social sector products.<br/><br/>The draft also said the policy conditions and prospectus should be clear, simple and transparent language should be used without vague statements.<br/><br/>In its 'Composite Package of Standard Insurance Product for Rural and Social Sector' IRDA said weaker sections should be provided cover to meet the exigencies cast by natural catastrophes, accidental death, protection means for the family as well as to promote some savings to bolster their financial security. The product will have defined options and levels to provide choice and flexibility to customers in order to cater to individual circumstances.<br/><br/>The regulator has invited suggestions from all stakeholders on the draft within 30 days. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=594InsuringIndia News Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:51:37 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has restricted International General Electric Corporation (IGE) and J&K Bank from subscribing to a fresh issue of shares by MetLife India.<br/><br/>Issuing fresh shares is a part of process of inducting state-run Punjab National Bank into the life insurance company. The regulator has cleared the proposal, but with riders. IGE holds a 20.3% stake in the life insurance joint venture while Jammu & Kashmir Bank holds 11.26%.<br/><br/>After performing an exhaustive study, the regulator found that certain regulatory issues do not allow some of the existing shareholders to subscribe to the fresh issue and asked them not to subscribe to it.<br/><br/>The regulator in a circular said, "This constraint (of some existing shareholders to subscribe to new shares) was impacting the solvency position of the insurer and limiting its ability to grow.”<br/><br/>The deal will be cleared after some of the existing shareholders reduce their stake. As per the law, Insurance companies are mandated to maintain a 1.5% solvency margin. <br/><br/>After the induction of Punjab National Bank with 30% stake in the joint venture, the stake of MetLife will drop to 18%. If industry sources are to be believed, Jammu & Kashmir Bank is all set to sell its shares to MetLife. As per the current law, a foreign insurer cannot own more than 26% stake in India.<br/><br/>Industry sources indicate that Punjab National Bank (PNB) is picking up 30% stake in the joint venture life insurance, MetLife India for free. The insurer has already paid an upfront commission of over 500 crore to the bank. The transaction will mark PNB's entry into the life insurance space and will give MetLife a wider reach through bancassurance.<br/><br/>MetLife India is a joint venture between Jammu & Kashmir Bank, the US-based MetLife International (26%) and private investors, including Elpro International (13%) and M Pallonji Group (26.1%). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=593InsuringIndia News Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:22:56 GMT Users of social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, may soon be able to get their accounts insured against the nuisance of hacking. A UK-based company, ALLOW has launched the country's first social media insurance.<br/><br/>According to the ‘Daily Mail’ report, the information privacy company is offering services to specifically protect against reputational damage, account hacking and ID theft.<br/><br/>Accounts hacking on social media sites are quite common these days, where another user hacks accounts and posts abusive or offensive messages, which lead to a serious damage to an individual or business.<br/><br/>"Perhaps, insurance wouldn't have been needed a few years ago,” said Justin Basini, CEO of the company ALLOW.<br/><br/>"That's all changed now. Every internet user faces a certain level of risk that one day a digital criminal will target them or that they will suffer damage to their reputation," Basini added.<br/><br/>Premium for the cover is 3.99 pounds per month. The cover includes expenses for legal advice if case someone suffers an on-line attack and seeks some form of redress.<br/><br/>Furthermore, the cover also includes the cost of disabling accounts, suppressing offensive material and stopping any legal action triggered by hacking, for example if a hacker posts illegal material under a victim's name.<br/><br/>This insurance cover is available via the ALLOW Protect service, which also allows users to monitor how their personal data is used on-line. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=592InsuringIndia News Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:13:43 GMT The largest insurer and domestic institutional investor of the country, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has decided to invest an incremental Rs. 2.4 lac crore in securities this fiscal year against about Rs. 2 lac crore in last fiscal year, an increment by 20%.<br/><br/>Out of which, Rs. 45,000 crore is expected to be incremental in equities. The rest will be new investments in debt, and reinvestment of redeemed debt, dividends and profit from sale of equities.<br/><br/>As of 31st March’ 2011, total investment in securities was about Rs 11.47 lac crore.<br/><br/> “We are a long-term investor. We go by our own norms and do not interfere in their day-to-day working. In any case, we have our nominee directors in companies where we have a significant stake to take care of our interest. They have a clear mandate to protect our interest. Any decision that affects the interests of the organisation, we will definitely have a look at it. If it is a matter internal to them, we are okay with it”, said Mr. D. K. Mehrotra, Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India.<br/><br/>“Further, our investment is based on the performance of the company vis-a-vis their competitors, market scenario, corporate governance, track record and future earning. We normally do not get influenced by internal happenings”, he added.<br/><br/>In reply to a question, Mr. Mehrotra dismissed all the market speculations that the Life Insurance Corporation of India is the protector of the share markets.<br/><br/> “We do not save anybody or pull anybody down. It is a commercial decision. When the market comes down; we get a very good buying opportunity. We get very good scrips at a reasonable price, so we pick it up. And, when the market goes up, we have an opportunity to exit and book profits. We never see ourselves as a saviour when the markets tumble”, said Mr. Mehrotra.<br/><br/>According to SEBI rules, one entity should not sponsor two fund houses. LIC was one of the promoters of erstwhile UTI (now UTI AMC). The insurer has also rejected itself from a board seat stating that it is interested only in investment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=591InsuringIndia News Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:58:07 GMT Chintalapati Srinivasa Raju (popularly known as Srini Raju), an IT Professional, Entrepreneur and Private Equity Investor and Jammu & Kashmir Bank are likely to sell shares to MetLife as the American insurance giant  aims to induct Punjab National Bank in the joint venture.<br/><br/>Srini Raju is the co-founder and Chairman of Peepul Capital (successor to iLabs Venture Capital Fund). Besides funding and mentoring next generation entrepreneurs, he plays an active role in building educational institutions of higher learning. <br/><br/>Srini Raju plans to exit from the joint venture after selling his entire stake of 5%. His total managing assets is worth $1 billion. While, J&K Bank will offload a part its 11.5% stake, sources close to the development said.<br/><br/>After the induction of Punjab National Bank with 30% stake, the joint venture will be renamed as PNB MetLife. As per the current law, a foreign insurer can own only 26% stake in India.<br/><br/>After the deal, MetLife stake will drop to about 18%, which will allow the insurer to buy back Raju’s stake and some shares of Jammu & Kashmir Bank. Other existing Indian shareholders M Pallonji & Co and Dabriwala family of Elpro, will retain stakes even though the latter's holding may drop from 20% to 14%.<br/><br/>Last month, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority approved MetLife's proposal to transfer shares to PNB at market price. MetLife had originally proposed to transfer 30% stake to PNB at notional value.<br/><br/>But the regulator's insistence on issuing fresh shares at market price will lead to stakes of existing investors getting diluted. IRDA wanted a reduction in the equity stake of some shareholders and maintaining of solvency margin according to its directions. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=590InsuringIndia News Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:14:45 GMT Private sector life insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance, on Monday, announced the launch of new traditional savings plan named ‘Secure Savings’, which insures guaranteed returns along with the life cover of the policyholder.<br/><br/>Mr. Sandeep Ghosh, MD & CEO, Bharti AXA Life, said, “Given the volatile investment scenario today, consumers are looking for safe investment opportunities that provide guaranteed returns. The new plan provides guaranteed additions of up to 10 percent of each year's cumulative base premium paid.”<br/><br/>Under the plan, the Sum Assured along with Guaranteed additions is payable at maturity of the policy. In case of the death of the Life Insured, higher of Sum Assured or 105% of premiums paid along with accrued Guaranteed additions is payable Premium paid under the policy is eligible for tax deduction benefit under section 80C and 10(10D) of Income Tax Act.<br/><br/>Minimum age at entry is 3 years for 15 years policy term, and 0 year for 20 years policy term. And, the maximum age at entry is 55 years for 15 years policy term, and 50 years for 20 years policy term.<br/><br/>Minimum Premium for 15 year policy term is Rs 18,000 per annum, and Rs. 12,000 per annum is for 20 year policy term.<br/><br/>'Bharti Axa Life Secure Savings Plan' also gives policyholders an option to enhance protection by choosing from three riders - <b>(a) Accidental Death & Disability Rider</b>, which provides increased protection against total disability or death caused due to an accident. <b>(b) Critical Illness Benefit Rider</b>, which pays a lump-sum benefit in case of diagnosis of any of the six critical illnesses - Cancer, Stroke, Heart attack, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery, Major Organ Transplant and Kidney failure, and <b>(c) Premium Waiver Rider</b>, which allows premium payments to be waived in case of an unfortunate event of death of the policyholder.<br/><br/>Bharti AXA Life Insurance is a joint venture between India's Bharti Enterprises and AXA, an international financial protection and wealth management firm. Bharti Enterprises holds the major stake of 74% in the joint venture, and the rest 26% is held by AXA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=589InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Sep 2012 14:01:09 GMT India’s largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, which was supposed to invest Rs 50,000 crore in the equities market in the fiscal year 2012-13, has hardly invested around Rs. 8,500 crore in the first six months of the fiscal year. Last year, the insurer had bought shares worth Rs. 45,000 crore.<br/><br/>An official of LIC, who does not want to be identified said, “There are not many good offers in the market. The market is stabilizing now. So, we hope we will be able to invest.”<br/><br/>The state-run insurer was the biggest buyer of government securities, including explorer ONGC, last year where it had to buy nearly all the shares on offer valued at Rs 12,000 crore. It also helped the government in re-capitalising state-run banks such as Punjab National Bank and Syndicate Bank and invested Rs 8,000 crore. It has also exceeded the 10% limit in most of the banks post this investment.<br/><br/>Mr. Deven Choksey, Managing Director, KR Choksey Securities, said, “LIC should not invest in over-leveraged PSUs." Many companies that government wants to divest are cash-rich so LIC's investment should not be an issue.<br/><br/>In fact, The Children's Investment Fund is disputing the government's intervention in Coal India's management with the directive that it should supply coal to power producers or face a penalty.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=586InsuringIndia News Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:32:36 GMT HR consulting firm Mercer, on Monday, in a substantial top management appointment, announced it has appointed Tata AIG CEO, Gaurav D Garg as the Region Leader, Growth Markets, of the company effective from September 12.<br/><br/>Garg will incorporate Mercer’s businesses in Asia,Middle East, Africa and Latin America, where Mercer presently has operations in 20 countries.<br/><br/>In a statement, Julio A Portalatin, President and CEO of the company said that Garg will report to him and serve as a member of the executive committee at Mercer.<br/><br/>Mr. Garg joined Mercer from Chartis, the P&C insurance arm of the American International Group, Inc. (AIG), where he was most recently CEO & Managing Director of Tata AIG General Insurance in India. He joined AIG in year, 2000 and has held various senior positions such as country, regional and global positions, with a strong international focus.<br/><br/>“Mr. Garg has a well-established track record of setting up and running successful business operations in Asia and the Middle East, as well as managing global distribution,” said Mr. Portalatin.<br/><br/>“His strong entrepreneurial skills and deep understanding of the dynamics of growth markets will be invaluable to driving profitable revenue expansion for Mercer in these countries. Our decision to appoint him to this critical new role at Mercer is evidence of our commitment to investing and maximizing our opportunities in the growth markets”, he added.<br/><br/>Mr. Garg has a huge international experience of over 26 years.<br/><br/>So far his educational experience is concerned; he is Bachelor of Commerce and a Master degree holder in Business Administration. He is an alumnus of the Wharton Advanced Management Programme.<br/><br/>He is also a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India and a Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute, UK. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=588InsuringIndia News Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:42:59 GMT Max India Limited, on Monday, has announced it had sold its 22-year-old Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) film unit, Max Speciality Films (MSF), to German company Treofan for Rs540 crore. The company’s strategy is to focus on its core business of healthcare services besides life insurance.<br/><br/>The polypropylene film unit of the company, Max Speciality Films has an output capacity of about 52,000 tons per annum of film which is used by food packaging, consumer products and textile companies.<br/><br/>Over the years, the company has divested many of its businesses; including pharmaceuticals, telecom and electronics, but the BOPP unit always remained part of its portfolio.<br/><br/>The polypropylene film deal is Max India's third major transaction in the last one year.<br/><br/>Analjit Singh, chairman, Max India, said, ''It was always a tough decision for us to divest the oldest business in our portfolio. The move is in line with the Max India's focus on service-oriented businesses.”<br/><br/>According to Annual Report for fiscal 2011, Max Specialty Films’s sales turnover was R456 Crore in fiscal 2010-11 against R363 Crore in fiscal 2009-10. Net revenues increased by 25% from R333 Crore in 2009-10 to R417 Cr in 2010-11<br/><br/>Treofan develops BOPP films in Europe and the America, and sells in over 90 countries across the globe. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=587InsuringIndia News Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:38:14 GMT Private insurer AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI), yesterday, launched a new term insurance plan with unique features of two death benefit options and an in-built accidental death cover.<br/><br/>In a release, Mr. Yateesh Srivastava, Chief Marketing Officer, AEGON Religare Life Insurance said, “With growing uncertainty and diminishing social support systems, term insurance is the most cost effective way to secure the financial future for the family. The AEGON Religare Term Insurance Plan is one more step in offering a comprehensive suite of protection products.” <br/><br/>The minimum age eligibility to enter into the plan is 20 years and the maximum is 65years. Whereas, the maximum age at maturity is 75 years, and the minimum sum assured is Rs 10 lacs. <br/><br/>The term options for this plan ranges from 10 years to 40 years, or cover up to 75 years of age. The plan also provides life cover up to age of 75 years besides giving an option to add three riders like critical illness, woman care, total and permanent disability.<br/><br/>AEGON Religare Life Insurance is a life insurance joint venture between AEGON, Religare and Bennett Coleman & Company. AEGON is a multinational life insurance, pensions and asset management company, headquartered in The Hague (Netherlands). Whereas, Religare is a diversified financial services group headquartered in New Delhi (India). And, Bennett, Coleman & Company is the largest mass media company in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=585InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:16:17 GMT On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the company, Reliance Capital chairman Anil Ambani announced a special interim dividend for its shareholders, and said the company is in talks to sell a 26 % stake to strategic partners in its general insurance business.<br/><br/>Addressing the shareholders at Reliance Capital’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), Mr. Ambani said that the special dividend to the shareholders will be considered by the company’s board on 10th September, 12. <br/><br/>He also said that the life insurance arm of the company, Reliance Life would tie-up with banks for distribution of products and to enhance their reach. The strategic partner of the company, Japanese insurance giant, Nippon Life will help Reliance Mutual Fund products in Japan. Nippon Life is also in talks with Reliance Mutual Fund to manage its funds in India.<br/><br/>Nippon Life has acquired 26 % stake in Reliance Life for over Rs 3,000 crore in the largest FDI deal in the Indian financial services space.<br/><br/>Reliance Capital’s total income rose 21% to Rs. 6,627 crore last fiscal year, while net profit rose 57% to Rs 458 crore, Mr Ambani added.<br/><br/>In the next five years, Reliance Capital aims to increase the customer base to 5 crore, from existing 2 crore customers.<br/><br/>Along with financial services, Reliance Group is present in biz like telecom, infrastructure, power, media and entertainment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=584InsuringIndia News Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:39:31 GMT Atanu Sen has taken over as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the largest private sector life insurer of the country, SBI Life Insurance. Mr. Sen succeeds Mr. M.N. Rao, who retired on 31st August, 2012.<br/><br/>Atanu started his career with SBI in 1977 as a probationary officer. During the 35 years of his career in SBI Life, he has held various key positions. His previous assignment was as Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit and Risk Officer of State Bank of India.<br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture life insurance company between State Bank of India (SBI), the largest state-owned banking and financial services company in India, and BNP Paribas Assurance. SBI owns 74% of the stake in the joint venture and the remaining 26% is owned by BNP Paribas Assurance. As per the latest IRDA report, June 2012, SBI Life ranks 1st amongst private life insurance companies, in terms of new business premium collection for the fiscal year 2012-13. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=583InsuringIndia News Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:40:57 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has sanctioned the deal between state-run bank Punjab National Bank (PNB) and US-based insurer Met Life. PNB has purchased 30% stake in Met Life India Insurance Company.<br/><br/>The regulator, in its board meeting, which was held on 31st August, 2012, approved the initiation of Punjab National Bank as a shareholder of Met Life India Insurance Company with 30% stake, an IRDA statement said. <br/><br/>Furthermore, the statement said, “The Board approved the proposal ... subject to certain conditions inter alia on appointment of Directors on the Board of the insurer by PNB, reduction in the equity stake by some of the existing shareholder and maintaining solvency margin ...”<br/><br/>Punjab National Bank had announced its 30% stake purchase in Met Life India Insurance Company last year; although, the company did not reveal the deal amount. As per the terms of deal, MetLife will have an arrangement with the existing shareholders and will raise its stake to 26 per cent within 120 days of operationalisation of the deal.<br/><br/>Apart from PNB, the other major shareholders in the company are Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Shapoorji Pallonji and Met Life.<br/><br/>MetLife is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programmes, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=582InsuringIndia News Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:40:25 GMT The South Central Zone of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, on Saturday, launched its 3rd micro-insurance named ‘Jeevan Deep T-810’. Through this product, the largest insurer is eyeing to reach out to the economically weaker sections of the society.<br/><br/>On the occasion of the 56th anniversary of the corporation, the South Central Zone manager Mr. A.K. Sahoo announced the launch of the plan ‘Jeevan Deep T-810’ in Vishakhapatnam. “The scheme offers various modes of premium payment and has death benefit, maturity benefit and auto cover facility”, Mr. Sahoo explained the features of the plan.<br/><br/>The minimum age to buy the plan is 18 years and the maximum age is 60 years. The policy term is 5 to 15 years. The minimum insurance coverage is Rs.5,000 and the maximum is Rs.30,000. Those who pay the premium amount without fail for two years will have complete insurance cover for the next two years.<br/><br/>This is an endowment assurance with an added feature of guaranteed additions along with provision of loyalty addition. An immediate annuity product is available for ‘online buy’. LIC Senior Divisional Manager D. Tandi said this product was launched nationwide.<br/><br/>With the launch of this product, state-run insurer aims to procure approximately 5 lacs policies under the product in the fiscal year 2012-13. On the occasion, Mr. Sahoo said that it was on September 1, 1956 that LIC was set-up and is celebrated as LIC Day. The first week of September as Insurance Week every year.<br/><br/>Further, he said LIC is the largest insurance company in the world with a customer base of 31 crore and a market share of 74 percent in policies and 80.56 percent in premiums though there are 23 players in the market. “The corporation, which had a Rs 112-crore income in its year of launching, had an income of Rs 2 lakh crore last year. Its average daily collections stand at Rs 1,000 crore and settles a minimum of three claims per second. Its total assets now stand at Rs 14.77 lac crore,’’ he added.<br/><br/>Some of the other popular products are Girl Child Protection, Abhaya Hastam, Aam Admi Bheema Yojana and Janasri Bheema. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=581InsuringIndia News Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:53:42 GMT Private sector insurer Bajaj General Insurance Company Ltd. is planning to launch gender-based premium rates for health insurance policy. At present, the premiums for non-life insurance are determined on the basis of prospects’ age and not on the basis of their gender; whereas, the life insurers charge higher premiums for women.<br/><br/>Talking to the reporters, Mr. Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz said, “As per our study, women in India have lower chance of suffering an illness. We plan to come out with a health insurance product where the pricing will be based on gender. In six-seven months, we will have the product ready.”<br/><br/>The premium charged for women will be lesser than that of men, Mr. Singhel added. He also said the company earned around Rs. 500 crore premium from health insurance portfolio.<br/><br/>Further, Mr. Singhel said, “Our target is to grow the portfolio this year by around 25 percent. Out of the total health insurance portfolio, group insurance accounts for 60 percent and retail policyholders 40 percent. In terms of claims experience, the group business has the claims ratio of 93 percent while in the individual segment it is 83 percent.”<br/><br/>Despite lower penetration level, only 15% of 110 crore population is covered under health insurance policy, majority of which is a group medical cover.<br/><br/>Also, he said that the Indian health insurance sector is projected to grow at 25% to touch premium figure of Rs. 32,500 crore by year 2015 from Rs. 13,345 crore registered in previous fiscal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=580InsuringIndia News Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:20:40 GMT The finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram has called a meeting of life insurance companies on Saturday to discuss ways to improve insurance penetration, tax related concerns of companies in the sector and the frequent regulatory changes by the insurance watchdog IRDA.<br/><br/>All life insurers had been asked by the finance minister to give their suggestions on reviving the life insurance sector, deploying long-term insurance funds for its development and protecting the interests of customers, without hurting the interests of insurance companies.<br/><br/>The life insurance industry has seen an excessive shrink in new business premiums after policy sales were hit by large-scale changes in the design of unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPS) forced by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in September 2010.<br/><br/>According to the official report, the finance minister has sought feedback from the industry on issues related to regulator which need to be addressed. This is will be discussed in meeting to be held on 1st September’ 2010. The regulator’s officials have not been invited to the meeting.<br/><br/>After taking charge of finance ministry earlier this month, Mr. Chidambaram had stated the mutual fund industry and the insurance sector had turned sluggish, adding steps would be taken over the next few weeks to attract more people to invest in mutual funds, insurance policies and other well-designed instruments. He had also cleared a proposal to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the sector from existing 26% to 49%. <br/><br/>At present, the total penetration of life insurance in the country is merely 5%; which is of course, a matter of concern for the ministry and industry as well. The industry has seen a terrible slowdown in last couple years with policy issuance falling 8% in fiscal 2011-12. While, first year premium collections fell 9% to Rs 1,14,233 crore against Rs 1,25,826 crore in the corresponding period last year. However, in new business collection in the April-June period this year, the industry registered a 6% growth at Rs 19,452 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=579InsuringIndia News Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:18:39 GMT National Iranian Oil Company has offered India and other countries importing crude oil to use its own fully insured vessels. <br/><br/>Iran has been facing sanctions imposed by the US and Europe countries over nuclear programme; which has badly affected the shipments.<br/><br/> Mohammad-Ali Khatibi, Director of National Iranian Oil Company for International Affairs, confirmed that the countries purchasing Iranian oil can ship supplies through Iranian oil tankers that have full insurance cover.<br/><br/>Factors like fundamental supply and demand issues, geopolitical issues and psychological concerns have had an impact on the global market of crude oil, he added.<br/><br/>Further, Khatibi said that out of these three factors, the geopolitical factor has had the most impact on the market, especially in recent days.<br/><br/>Iran is one of the main oil suppliers for India; but the recent sanctioned imposed by the US and Eropean countries have affected the shipments lot.<br/><br/>Though, India does not recognize these international sanctions but the reason is that the ships carrying oil from Iran were previously insured by European insurance companies.<br/><br/>The offer of National Iranian Oil Company will definitely fuel Iranian crude oil shipments. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=578InsuringIndia News Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:01:35 GMT New entrant life insurer, Reliance Life Insurance is all set to hire over 5,000 salary based insurance agents from small cities and rural areas by the end of the fiscal year 2012-13.<br/><br/>Mr. Malay Ghosh, President & Executive Director, Reliance Life Insurance said, “We are aiming to hire over 5,000 insurance agents from small towns and rural areas and give them jobs as their career option with a sense of security. The recruitment drive is targeted at Tier II and III cities.”<br/><br/>Further he said, "We believe that the fixed salary-cum-variable income will be a game-changer in the domestic insurance sector.”<br/><br/>Recently, the insurer has announced to hire insurance agents to give them job securities and to minimize high attrition rate in the industry. In India, insurance agents work on commission basis and have uncertain income level. The insurer has already pointed out some potential small cities and rural areas across the country to hire agents on its pay-roll.<br/><br/>In its first step of hiring, the company will hire career agents for only 200 branches out of over 1,200 across the country.<br/><br/>According to Mr. Ghosh, the company has already hired over 500 career agents and in next phase will hire over 5,000 more career agents.<br/><br/>During the six months of training period, the insurance agents will be getting a fixed stipend, and the company will also assist them to pass licensing examination, which will help them to take their jobs with great commitment.<br/><br/>In its next phase, the company will take salary-based advisor system to the next level with bigger numbers and rapid growth.<br/><br/>When asked, whether this new distribution format will hit the exiting advisor workforce working on commission basis, Ghosh pointed out that the two distribution channels are positioned differently in terms of composition and execution.<br/><br/>"Rather both will complement each other and improve customer service."<br/><br/>With the passage of time, Reliance Life Insurance plans to take the salary-based advisor system to the next level with bigger numbers and proliferation. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=577InsuringIndia News Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:26:48 GMT West Bangal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, strongly opposed the proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in key sectors like retail, insurance and aviation.<br/><br/>Trinmool Congress is one of the allies of UPA government in the centre. <br/><br/>The iron lady of West Bengal, Ms Banerjee said, “We are not in favour of FDI in retail and all this (insurance)...And pension sectors. We are not in favour of FDI in aviation also. Always we are in favour of common people.”<br/><br/>“Foreign direct investment in key sectors like retail, insurance and aviation is not good for the people of the country,” she told reporters after her meeting with finance minister P Chidambaram.<br/><br/>"In our election manifesto what we raised, we will stick to it...Other countries all over world are also saying if they allow FDI in retail market, then workers will die...So we are not (in favour)," Ms. Banerjee added<br/><br/>Due to the strong opposition of its key ally, Trinamool Congress, the government has not been able to pass key reforms bills in parliament.<br/><br/>Also, the UPA government proposes to increase foreign direct investment ceiling in insurance sector to 49%, from existing ceiling of 26%.<br/><br/>The government is also looking to pass the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011, which provides for private sector and foreign investment in pension sector. While; in case of aviation sector, the government wants to allow foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic carriers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=576InsuringIndia News Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:03:48 GMT New entrant private life insurer, Reliance Life Insurance Company is in talks with several private as well as public sector banks to utilize their services in offering insurance products and to boost the business.<br/><br/>The president and executive director of Reliance Life Insurance, Mr. Malay Ghosh said, “We are in talks with several banks, including public sector banks for bancassurance.”Mr. Ghosh believes bancassurance, a big distribution gap for Reliance Life Insurance Company and tie-up with bank is much needed to boost the company’s business.<br/><br/>Further, he said in an interview, “Being a late entrant in the business, we have very limited option of choosing a bank partner, because most of them are either having an insurance unit themselves or have already entered into tie-up with other firms.”<br/><br/>As per the current law of the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), one bank can only tie-up with only one insurance company for bancassurance. That’s why the president of Reliance Life Insurance, Mr. Malay Ghosh is in favour to change the existing rule and allow banks to have more than one insurance company as partners for selling insurance products.<br/><br/>Major lenders like State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank have their own insurance unit. Those who don't have insurance units have already tied up with insurance firms long before Reliance set up its insurance unit.<br/><br/>The business of Reliance Life Insurance, which has over Rs.18,700 crore assets under management, is largely driven by agents working on commission basis. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=575InsuringIndia News Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:46:36 GMT The Maharashtra state government has launched an insurance scheme named ‘Kisan Janta Durghatna Bima (KJDB)’ to provide financial protection to the families of farmers who die due to struck of lightening, flood, snake bites, road accidents and electric shocks.<br/><br/>Farmers, who get handicapped due to such incidents, will also be able to get compensation.For the purpose, the government has already sanctioned a sum of Rs 31.51 crore. And, the government resolution (GR) in this regard has been issued recently.<br/><br/>According to the sources, around 1.37 crore farmers of the state will be benefitted under the scheme. All the farmers, who have been registered as farmers in government land revenue records will be eligible to get the compensation. The minimum age to get compensation is 10 years and the maximum age limit is 75 years.<br/><br/>The insurance scheme will remain in effect from 15th August, 2012 to 14th August, 2013. Agriculture commissioner has been appointed as the nodal officer for this scheme.<br/><br/>One of the state-owned insurers, New India Insurance Company has been awarded the contract for 3 revenue divisions-Nagpur, Amravati and Nasik. The company is said to clear the claims within 60 days of the receipt. <br/><br/>In all 3 revenue divisions, there are 54.80 lacs registered farmers who will get the benefit of compensation. The government has paid Rs 12.60 lacs to the company as premium amount. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=574InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:34:19 GMT Public sector bank, Canara Bank Limited has announced to launch a life insurance scheme which will provide coverage of Rs 1 lac to all its saving bank customers as a value added service at a very nominal premium.<br/><br/>The insurance scheme was launched in association with its joint venture company Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company.<br/><br/>Mr. A.K. Gupta, Executive Director, Canara Bank Limited said, “The cover is extended without any medical test and merely on a declaration of good health by customers and covers both natural and accidental death.”<br/><br/>According to the statement the annual premium rates (inclusive of service tax) are Rs 177, Rs 366 and Rs 988 for age groups of 18-35, 36-50 and 51-59, respectively.<br/><br/>Canara Bank is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, India and was ranked at 816 in the Forbes Global 2000 list. It had a major IT initiative to network all branches and move them to a single software platform. Canara Bank chose Flexcube from Oracle Financial Services Software as the application. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=573InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:33:24 GMT In view to neutralize farmers’ risk, the Haryana government has launched Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) as a pilot project in 18 blocks of 17 districts during the year 2012-13. The scheme will cover Kharif as well as Rabi crops like wheat, paddy, bajra and cotton.<br/><br/>The Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme has been launched for paddy crop during Kharif 2012-13 in blocks of Ambala-II, Gohana, Bilaspur, Palwal, Babain, Beri, Barwala, Tohana and Jakhal, Sirsa, Madlouda, Narnaund and Ballabgarh and for cotton crop, the scheme had been launched in Bawanikhera block of district Bhiwani. Whereas; for bajra crop, the scheme has been implemented in blocks of Mahendergarh, Bawal, Taoru and Farukhnagar.<br/><br/>To get the benefits of insurance cover, the farmers will have to pay Rs 300, Rs 297.50 and Rs 600 per acre for paddy, bajra and cotton crops respectively as premium under the scheme and the rest of the amount of the premium that is Rs 450, Rs 276.25 and Rs 300 for paddy, bajra and cotton crops respectively would be shared equally by the state and the central government.<br/><br/>The scheme was being implemented by Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited and other private companies approved by Government of India. A amount of Rs 13.18 crore were paid to 19,157 affected farmers, with an average of Rs 6882 per farmer during Rabi 2009-10 to Kharif 2011-12. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=572InsuringIndia News Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:51:32 GMT The wealthiest Ganpati Mandal of Mumbai, GSB King’s Circle has sought an insurance cover of whopping Rs 224 crores; whereas the Lalbaugcha Raja has trebled its insurance cover from Rs 14 crore to Rs 45 crore.<br/><br/>Ganesh Chaturthi falls on 19th September and the festival ends on Anant Chaturdashi on 29th September’12.<br/><br/>The cover will be for only 15-30 days duration and premium will naturally be in lacs for such a huge sum assured, which is of course a profitable deal. To gain advantages from this wonderful opportunity, around 6 leading insurers of India has filed their quotations to the GSB Seva Mandal.<br/><br/>Last year, the Mandal had taken a cover of Rs 220 crore. “This season, the figure has risen owing to the value of gold jewellery that adorns the deity", said one of the senior most trustees, Mr. Satish Nayak.<br/><br/>One of the senior officials of state-owned insurer, New India Assurance says, “We are crossing our fingers and are optimistic that the company will beat the competition". "Ours may not be the lowest quote but it is the most comprehensive," he added.<br/><br/>"There is an all- risk cover of Rs 22.11 crore and a standard fire policy of Rs 1 crore. A public liability or third-party insurance of Rs 20 crore is included. The lion's share of Rs 182 crore has been reserved for personal accident cover for 1,819 people, including volunteers, electricians and other labourers. That works out to roughly Rs 10 lakh per head," Mr. Nayak unveils the components of the policy.<br/><br/>Also, a small ground where the Mandal hosts its entire festivities has been covered for Rs 35 lacs.<br/><br/>Whereas, the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal has been insured by New India Assurance for a sum insured of Rs 45 crore, three-fold from last year cover of Rs 14 crore.<br/><br/>"We have raised the personal accident cover for every visitor from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 6.25 lakh. The premium for the entire month works out to Rs 10-11 lakh, which is not too high considering we receive lakhs of devotees," said Lalbaug treasurer Rajendra Lanjwal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=571InsuringIndia News Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:50:33 GMT State-owned insurance giant, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has posted a marginal growth in renewal premium collection in the fiscal year’ 2011-12 despite a sharp decline in single premium policies.<br/><br/>According to annual disclosures made public recently by the company, during the financial year 2012, the insurer collected Rs 1,21,027 crore of renewal premiums, a growth by 4% from last year Rs 1,16,461 crore.<br/><br/>Whereas, 11 large private sector life insurers had grown by around 6% in renewal premium (reported on May 26 in Financial Chronicle ‘Renewal premiums grow as insurers focus on persistency’).<br/><br/>From single premium policies, Life Insurance Corporation of India has collected Rs 41,667 crore in FY12, which is a huge decline by 18% from last fiscal Rs 50,747 crore. However, the company’s first year premium collection has grown by 11% in this fiscal.<br/><br/>For LIC, individual agents continue to be the dominant sales channel, with around 99.2 per cent of commission income being earned by them. Commission paid to individual agents has increased 5.3 % in fiscal’ 12 to Rs 13,956 crore, from Rs 13,252 crore in in last fiscal.<br/><br/>LIC has also increased focus on bank partners to sell insurance policies. As per data for financial year 2012, Rs 70 crore was paid to bank partners as commission, compared with Rs 53 crore during financial year 2011, a growth of 32 %. Consequently, portion of commission paid to banks has increased to 0.5 % during fiscal year’12, while it was 0.4 % during last fiscal year.<br/><br/>Total commission disbursement has also increased by 5.4 % in fiscal year’12 to Rs 14,063 crore, from Rs 13,347 crore in last fiscal year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=570InsuringIndia News Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:35:23 GMT In view to cut down attrition and improve customer services, private sector insurer Reliance Life, is introducing fixed salary system for its insurance advisors in semi-urban and rural areas. Company is introducing fixed income system for its insurance agents under its new format called ‘Career Agent’.<br/><br/>The move to introduce fixed salary system has been prompted by its Japanese partner Nippon Life Insurance. All agents of Nippon Life are on pay-roll and this has helped lot to the company to retain talent pool and dedicated services to the customers.<br/><br/>The main objectives behind introducing the system is just to ensure a minimum fixed salary to its agents in order to infuse a sense of security and professional commitment.<br/><br/>Mr. Malay Ghosh, President & Executive Director, Reliance Life Insurance said, “Yes, we are in the process to introduce a fixed income system for insurance agents under our new format called career agent. The basic impulse is to provide a minimum fixed salary to agents in order to infuse a sense of security and professional commitment.”<br/><br/>Under the new mechanism, the company will give fixed stipend to insurance agents for the first six months during their training tenure and help them pass the licensing examination, before they become the part of the company.<br/><br/>The company is targeting to hire 5,500 career agents across 200 branches by the end of this financial year. The company is also planning to hire 50,000 insurance sales advisors on commission basis in the next seven months. And, at the end of this fiscal, the company is targeting to increase its insurance advisors pool to over 150,000 from current 120,000.<br/><br/>More than 60% of its insurance policies are sold through its agents. Hence, the industry is facing a huge attrition rate.<br/><br/>"We are trying to plug those gaps through our new programme and provide training to young people with career paths. We will recruit new people on the back of fixed salary-cum-variable incentives to enable them connected with the company for a longer period of time," Ghosh added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=569InsuringIndia News Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:34:16 GMT Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd (TMB) in association with public sector insurer United India Insurance Company Ltd, has launched a cobranded family healthcare product, to offer customised health insurance policy for the bank's customers.<br/><br/>On the launch, KB Nagendra Murthy, MD & CEO, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd said, “The cost of healthcare is going to increase rapidly in the coming years and insurance is a requirement to meet the cost of healthcare for each individual. The cobranded product will give our customers a fine risk coverage at a low premium.”<br/><br/>Further, he said that TMB had entered into an agreement with United India Insurance Company in 2010 to act as a bancassurance partner. The bank has been marketing various products of the United India Insurance Company through it’s around 300 branches.<br/><br/>Cost of healthcare is growing rapidly, and insurance has become an essential requirement to meet the cost of health care for each individual and family. Only around 15 % of the population is covered under insurance, out of which 9% is through various central and state government schemes.<br/><br/>The insurance company expects its premium income to grow from last fiscal year's Rs 8,200 crore to around Rs 10,000 crore by the end of this fiscal year 2012-13.<br/><br/>Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd, which posted a total business of around Rs 31,034 crore last fiscal, expects around Rs 40,200 crore by the end of the current fiscal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=568InsuringIndia News Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:05:09 GMT In view to abridge claim settlement complexities, leading private sector insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company on Thursday introduced a unique service named ‘Claims Assistance Manager (CAM)’.<br/><br/>The Claim Assistance Manager will provide essential guidance to the claimants to take their claims to the logical conclusion through a personalised service of Claims Assistance Manager.<br/><br/> In a release, Jyoti Punja, Chief Operating Officer, Bharti AXA Life Insurance said, “Claim settlement is the moment of truth for any insurance customer. A number of our researches lead us to the conclusion that customers consider claim settlement as a complicated and lengthy process.<br/><br/>“We are sensitive of the claimant’s loss and expectation from his insurer, and hence, have introduced the Claims Assistance Manager to assist in the multi-step process.”<br/><br/>A Claims Assistance Manager (CAM) is a highly experienced Bharti AXA Life employee equipped with industry knowledge and well-versed in company processes.<br/><br/>The objective of the service is to bring clarity, offer support and provide a logical conclusion to claims. The initiative has been taken placed across all branches in the country through a communication structure designed to take the service aspect to the next level.<br/><br/>Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, an Indian business conglomerate and AXA, a French global insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=567InsuringIndia News Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:09:57 GMT Leading private sector insurer Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance on Thursday launched an online term plan with riders named ‘iSecure’.<br/><br/>According to a release, the plan comes with additional riders such as critical illness, comprehensive accidental protection benefit and hospital cash, making it the only online term plan in the market to provide riders. The minimum sum assured under this plan is Rs 20 lacs. Rituraj Bhattacharya, Head (Market Management), Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance said, "The online medium is becoming increasingly popular for buying financial products and this trend is being seen in life insurance as well. Bajaj Allianz has been the pioneer in offering an online ULIP and with iSecure, we have completed our bouquet of online products comprising ULIP, traditional and term insurance plans,"<br/><br/>‘iSecure’ comes with various key features such as-advantage of level term cover at low cost, benefit of attractive high sum assured rebate, flexibility to select policy term, option to include spouse among others, the release said.<br/><br/>Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Allianz SE and Bajaj Finserv. Allianz SE is one of the world's largest Life Insurance companies and asset managers. Bajaj Finserv recently demerged from Bajaj Auto. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=566InsuringIndia News Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:09:13 GMT In view to protect one’s standard of living (SOL) in case of unexpected tragic strikes , leading private sector insurer Tata AIA (previously Tata AIG) Life Insurance, on Thursday has launched a new comprehensive term insurance plan ‘Maharaksha Supreme’.<br/><br/>In a release, Mr. Suresh Mahalingam, Managing Director, Tata AIA Life Insurance said, “An unfortunate event in the life of the bread earner of the family may seriously affect the Standard of Living (SOL) of his loved ones and burden them with unexpected liabilities. With Maharaksha Supreme, our customers will also have the choice of increasing the cover amount for future milestone events like marriage and birth of a child, without going through the hassles of fresh medical underwriting by opting for Life Stage Plus option,"<br/><br/>Along with the dual benefits of Pure and Extra Protection, the plan ‘Maharaksha Supreme’ also comes with the benefits like increasing the premium cover and Payout Accelerator. Under the Pure Protection benefit, the nominee of the policy gets the sum assured in case of an unfortunate death of the policyholder. And, under the Extra Protection benefit, if the policyholder is diagnosed with Total Permanent Disability, the remaining premiums of the policy are waived off, and policy shall continue as a pure life insurance cover.<br/><br/>Other benefit of the plan is ‘Payout Accelerator’ benefit, under which the insured gets 50% of the Sum Assured on diagnosis of a terminal illness and if the insured is not expected to survive more than 6 months., and the rest 50% amount is paid out in the case of death. <br/><br/>This plan comes with a minimum sum assured of Rs 50 lacs. And there is special discount on premiums for the Sum Assured over Rs.1 crore.<br/><br/>There are also special rates for women and non-smokers. The premium payment mode is either single or regular.<br/><br/>The plan ‘Maharaksha Supreme’ is available to individuals between the age group 18-70 years for the Pure Protection Cover option and 18-55 years for the Extra Protection Cover option.<br/><br/>By paying an additional premium, the customer can further enhance cover by choosing riders out of Accidental Death Benefit, Surgical Benefit covering more than 900 surgeries and Critical Illness Lump Sum Benefit covering six critical illnesses like cancer, stroke, heart attack, coronary bypass surgery, chronic renal failure, major organ transplant. <br/><br/>Tata AIA Life is a joint venture between Tata Sons and AIA Group Limited (AIA). Tata AIA Life combines Tata's position in India and AIA's presence as the largest, independent listed pan-Asia life insurance group in the world spanning 15 markets in Asia Pacific. Tata Sons holds a majority stake (74%) in the company and AIA holds 26% through an AIA Group company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=565InsuringIndia News Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:08:13 GMT Leading private sector insurer, Reliance Life Insurance Company, a unit of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital, today launched a post-sales insurance service ‘Life Plus Club’.<br/><br/>‘Life Plus Club’ is the first of its kind in India. This service is inspired by ‘Zutto Motto’ (forever more service) service of Japanese insurance giant Nippon Life Insurance. Nippon Life is Reliance Life’s strategic partner with a 26 percent stake.<br/><br/>The company said its representatives would meet more than 10 lacs customers by March’ 2013, as part of the company's new post-sales customer service initiative. With the launch of ‘Life Plus Club’, the company would mandate an advisor or insurance agent to go back to the customer, beyond just collection of premium, with a view to maintain a closer and long term relationship with its policyholders. It would be mandatory for 1.5 lacs Reliance Life’s representatives, employees and channel partners to visit its policyholders at least once in a year.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Mr. Malay Ghosh, President & Executive Director, Reliance Life said, “Through this initiative, the company targets to meet 10 lacs customers by the end of the current financial year.”<br/><br/>The company sold more than one million policies in the last fiscal 2011-12 alone, while it is estimated to have a total of more than nine million policyholders.<br/><br/>During these interactions, the representatives would review the customers' existing policies, understand the changes and developments in the customers' life and family since their last policy, evaluate current insurance needs and requirements, offer advice on suitable new products and its benefits.<br/><br/>"The fundamental focus of insurance companies in India has been more on getting new customers than servicing existing policy holders. We wish to change this with our new initiative," Mr. Ghosh added.<br/><br/>Mr. Ghosh said that the domestic industry is facing issues on both orphan policies and mis-selling of products. He believes that after the implementation of this service the chances of mis-selling will be dramatically reduced as the agent will be mandated to visit the policyholder after the sale of the product.<br/><br/>The company is expecting about Rs 12 crore expenses this year under the initiative. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=564InsuringIndia News Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:50:37 GMT Despite continuous cutting of holdings by most mutual funds, insurance firms' stake in BSE 500 touched an all-time high level in the June quarter.<br/><br/>Driven by robust investments, the average shareholding (based on value) of insurance firms in BSE 500 stocks, which comprises 95 per cent of the total market capitalisation, rose 11 basis points to 5.9 per cent at the end of the June quarter.<br/><br/>According to estimates, insurance companies were net buyers to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore during April-June. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,958 crore and mutual funds sold shares worth Rs 918 crore during this period.<br/><br/> They added the bulk of investments from the sector came from insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which controls more than 80 per cent of the assets under management of the sector. Gross buying of LIC in Indian stocks during the June quarter was in the range of Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 crore.<br/><br/>Mr. Sudhakar Shanbhag, Chief Investment Officer, Kotak Life Insurance said, “Given the volatility, insurance companies try to deploy funds whenever there is any correction.”<br/><br/>Interestingly, unlike FIIs, who turned defensive during the June quarter, insurance companies adopted an aggressive stance by increasing their exposure to high-beta sectors like financials and industries.<br/><br/>According to JP Morgan, insurance companies increased their holdings in most sectors with the exception of consumer staples and healthcare. FIIs, on the other hand, increased their holdings in consumer staples, utilities and health care sectors, while they reduced holding in industrials, IT services and financials sectors.<br/><br/>Some of the companies in which insurance firms upped their stake are Bank of Baroda, Rural Electrification Corp, Infosys and Bajaj Auto, while they pared their holdings in firms such as Mahindra Satyam, Tata Motors, Zee and Bharat Petroleum Corp.<br/><br/>Ownership of FIIs in BSE 500 dipped by a marginal 10 basis points to 15.7 per cent and mutual fund holdings came off even further to just 3.7 per cent, according to an analysis done by JP Morgan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=563InsuringIndia News Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:49:45 GMT Leading private insurer Apollo Munich Health Insurance, on Monday has announced to launch 'Optima Senior' for citizens above 61 years of age.<br/><br/>In a release Mr. Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance said, “With the onset of retirement, most people find themselves losing their corporate health insurance coverage, at a time when it is needed the most. Optima Senior caters to senior citizens who seek uncomplicated and easy to understand health insurance coverage, with minimal restrictions and maximum benefits.”<br/><br/>Some of the great features of the plan ‘Optima Senior’ are it provides health insurance coverage for whole life with guarantee of no loading on change of health status. It also offers hassle-free uncomplicated coverage for those Indian citizens who are in their golden years and seek the best - in - class solution for their medical needs.<br/><br/>This product is for those Indian citizens who have completed their 61 years. They can opt any of the sum insured out of three levels-Rs 2 lacs, Rs 3 lacs and 5 lacs. Like other Apollo Munich products, this product too have no any claim based loading or underwriting.<br/><br/>Under this product, a policyholder also gets 5% non- cumulative discount on the renewal premium after every claim-free year, if the premium is paid without any break. It means that each time a policyholder pays renewal premium after a claim free-year; will be eligible to get 5% discount in the premium paid under the policy.<br/><br/>It also provides coverage for an E-opinion, wherein a policyholder can obtain a second opinion, from Apollo Munich’s medical panel for listed ‘Critical Illness’ suffered during the policy year.<br/><br/>Apollo Munich Health Insurance is a joint venture between Apollo Hospitals and Munich Health. Apollo Hospitals is a major private healthcare provider based in Chennai, India. It was founded by Dr Prathap C. Reddy in 1983. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=562InsuringIndia News Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:19:32 GMT Leading private sector insurer Aviva India, on Monday has announced to launch a traditional guaranteed income plan ‘Family Income Builder’. The main attraction of this plan is that the policyholder pays for 12 years and gets back double the sum paid every year from 13th year to 24th year.<br/><br/>The company in its press release said that this plan also comes with ‘built-in waiver of premium’ benefit, which ensures that if the policyholder dies within the policy tenure which is fixed for 12 years, no further premiums are required to be paid by the nominee while the income remains guaranteed between 13th to 24th year.<br/><br/>Aviva India is a joint venture between Dabur Group, one of India’s oldest business houses and Aviva Group. Aviva has 26% stake and Dabur has 74% stake in the joint venture.<br/><br/>Mr. T R Ramachandran, MD & CEO, Aviva India said, “Recognising the customer need for guarantee in their investment in the current scenario, we have launched ‘Aviva Family Income Builder’, a transparent insurance plan with a simple proposition of doubling one's premiums and ensuring a regular flow of income. We aim to create value for our customers and deliver on our promise of prosperity and peace of mind.”<br/><br/>This plan is designed keeping a customer survey in mind. The survey - consumer attitudes towards savings was conducted by IPSOS worldwide. <br/><br/>The survey revealed that with low economic confidence nearly 33 % of customers are keen to get a guaranteed return on their investments worldwide. In India, this percentage goes to 56%. The survey also revealed that nearly 44 percent of Indians are not confident about meeting unexpected expenses in the future.<br/><br/>Hence, it’s clear that there a market for such product, which not only gives guaranteed returns but has the proposition of doubling premium ensuring a regular flow of income. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=561InsuringIndia News Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:18:39 GMT As per its prior announcement, the insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has brought out yet another product design draft rule. The purpose to bring new design draft rule is to avert anomalies in the way traditional life insurance products are designed.<br/><br/>Among other things, the latest draft outlines the basic structure of index linked insurance products (ILIPs), a new category that is set to hit the life insurance market soon.So far, the life insurance industry was offering traditional plans and unit linked insurance plans (Ulips).<br/><br/>Ilips, a new category of index-linked plans, will be unbundled products, meaning they cannot be sold with any other financial product.<br/><br/>The returns will be benchmarked to an index — to be approved by IRDA — which will allow the policyholder to get a guaranteed value.<br/><br/>The regulator has suggested levying only mortality (risk cover) charges explicitly. Charges like those for surrender and withdrawal will remain implicit throughout the term of the policy.<br/><br/>“Ilip will be more or less similar to Ulip. The only difference is in the charge structure. Death benefits, lock-in period and surrender norms are in line with Ulips,” said an industry official.<br/><br/>“Prima facie, Ilips look like a less transparent insurance plan where almost all charges need to be levied implicitly,” said another.<br/><br/>According to the draft regulations, an Ilip will operate more or less like a bank account, with each policyholder having a separately managed account. The account value will reflect the premium paid by the policyholder as well as the interest gained from the particular index to which the fund is linked. The account will also show the mortality charges deducted. <br/><br/>Insurance companies will be required to send a statement of policy account to the policyholder at the end of every reporting period.<br/><br/>Minimum death benefit under the new plan will be the same as in the case of Ulips, which is currently 10 times the life cover or sum assured.<br/><br/>The solvency margin — the total amount that an insurance company needs to put aside to meet future claims or redemptions by policyholders — requirements will also be in line with Ulips.Currently, for non-guaranteed Ulips, the solvency requirement stands at 0.8% of the total reserve or 0.2% of sum at risk. And products that come with upfront guarantees, like highest net asset value (NAV), should have a solvency requirement of 1.8% of the total reserve.<br/><br/>The insurance watchdog has also proposed a higher guaranteed surrender value (GSV) for those who are terminating a traditional plan with a life insurer. The revised draft specifies that the policyholder will get 50% of the total premium if the policy is terminated in the second and third years. Insurers are asked to pay 75% of the total premium if the surrender is in the fourth year and 90% during the fifth to seventh policy year.<br/><br/>“This is an unfair move from the regulator as policyholders completing the term will get a lower benefit compared with those who terminate in the middle of the policy tenure,” added the industry official.<br/><br/>The revised draft includes minor changes in the reinsurance treaty, death benefit and micro insurance product structures.<br/><br/> The remaining proposals will continue to remain as before. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=560InsuringIndia News Mon, 13 Aug 2012 15:57:00 GMT The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is planning this month a wide-ranging reforms in its rules for mutual funds and initial public offers (IPOs) ), including a ‘safety net’ guarantee and tax incentives for new investors.<br/><br/>Along with various proposals, it’s also expected to include introduction of e-IPO which would allow investors to bid for IPO shares electronically and without any physical paperwork. Different proposals would be discussed and approved at the upcoming SEBI board meeting which is proposed to be held on 16th August, 2012. <br/><br/>If sources are to be believed, the key proposals for reforms in primary market include introduction of a 'safety net' guarantee for the investors buying shares through IPOs.<br/><br/>As per the proposed mechanism, a certain portion of the investment made by retail shareholders in the IPOs could be guaranteed for a fixed period, which could be of six months, even if the shares' values plunge below the IPO allotment price during this time.<br/><br/>This 'safety net' mechanism is being considered only for the small retail investors, who would be compensated by the promoters and other entities selling shares through IPOs in the event of the company's shares plunging below a certain threshold limit within six months of listing or the time frame set by SEBI, sources said.<br/><br/>As per the current regulations, the companies are allowed to provide such 'safety nets' during their IPOs, but it is not mandatory for them to make such provisions and only a few companies have provided such facility for investors in the past.<br/><br/>SEBI is of the opinion that a mandatory 'safety net' provision would also help in fair pricing of IPOs, besides providing investors some sort of capital protection guarantee.<br/><br/>Many companies and investment bankers have come under the criticism of over-pricing of IPOs after their shares fell below the public offer price levels in several cases.<br/><br/>Sources said the companies could be allowed to pass on the costs of 'safety net' provision to the investment bankers, who are primarily responsible for fixing the price of shares to be sold through IPOs.<br/><br/>At the upcoming board meet, SEBI is also likely to discuss a new definition for 'small or retail investors' as there are some ambiguity in current regulations.<br/><br/>For IPOs, the investors putting in up to Rs two lacs are considered retail investors, while already listed companies distinguish small and large individual shareholders as those holding shares worth up to Rs one lac and those holding shares worth more than Rs one lac, respectively.<br/><br/>For mutual funds, the regulator will consider giving the fund houses flexibility in using their expense ratio. At present, the fund houses are required to divide their expense ratio (an amount deduced from investors' funds) as per a fixed formula between the fund management fees and other expenses.<br/><br/>There have been demands from some section of the mutual fund industry to allow levying an additional charge of 2 per cent from investors. However, the demand has faced opposition from within the industry and was being seen as return of the controversial entry-load (a charge levied on new investors), which was scrapped by SEBI in 2009.<br/><br/>The introduction of any fresh charge could be seen as an anti-investor move and therefore SEBI is not very comfortable with any such idea, the official said, while adding that there could be certain tax incentives to attract investors to mutual funds, while measures would be discussed to help the mutual fund distributors as well.<br/><br/>In his first press conference after taking over as the country's new Finance Minister, P Chidambaram had also said last Monday that a number of decisions would be taken soon to encourage more people to invest in mutual funds, insurance policies and other instruments.<br/><br/>A major tax incentive proposal relates to the stock investments as well, as SEBI would consider finalising the fine prints of Rajiv Gandhi Equity Scheme, which was announced in this year's Union Budget and provides for tax benefits to first time investors in the stock market.<br/><br/>Besides, SEBI is also considering changes in the profitability eligibility criteria for companies allowed to come out with IPOs, while some changes could be made in FPOs (Follow-on Public Offer) and other methods of share sale by already listed companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=559InsuringIndia News Mon, 13 Aug 2012 15:54:23 GMT In a public interest move, the Kerala high court has directed three state-owned oil companies as well as the state government to take adequate steps to avoid incidents of LPG blast at households.<br/><br/>On the basis of an anonymous letter received by justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan, the Keral high court registered a suo motu case.<br/><br/>The letter suggests to set up a group insurance scheme of Rs 8 lacs for the benefit of LPG consumers. Furthermore, it suggests that the majority of premium (60%) for the insurance can be contributed by the oil companies whereas consumers and distributers can contribute 40% and 10% respectively. <br/><br/>In the letter, the court blames oil companies and distributors are handling the cylinders in an irresponsible manner, leading to blasts.<br/><br/>The division bench of acting chief justice Manjula Chellur and justice A M Shaffique ordered to send notices to BPCL, HPCL, Indian Oil and the state government. The case would come up for hearing by a division bench headed by justice C N Ramachandran Nair. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=558InsuringIndia News Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:45:00 GMT Insurance employees, on Wednesday, threaten to go on nationwide strike, if the government passes the Insurance Law Amendment Bill -2008 in Monsoon Session of parliament. The Insurance Laws Amendment Bill, 2008 is ready for Cabinet nod with amendments in the Monsoon Session of parliament which has started on August 8.<br/><br/>Mr. S. Choudhury, All India Working Committee member,All India Insurance Employees Association said, “We will go for one day token strike throughout the whole country if the central Government passes Insurance Law Amendment Bill -2008 in Monsoon Session of parliament. The token strike will be followed by many other protest steps.”<br/><br/>Furthermore, Mr. Choudhury said, "This will be followed by several campaigns, gate meetings, street cornering etc. on 16th and 17th August. We had protest demonstration in insurance office gates today.”<br/><br/>The bill suggests to raise the foreign direct investment ceiling to 49 % from existing 26%.The Bill amends the Insurance Act, 1938, General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 and Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority Act of 1999.<br/><br/>Government has already introduced the Insurance Laws (amendment) bill, 2008 in the Rajya Sabha in December 2008.<br/><br/>Following the strong protest of opposition, the government, in May this year, postponed its decision to pass the bill. But if the report is to be believed, now the government is all set to push through all the bills for economic reforms in the monsoon session. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=557InsuringIndia News Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:38:00 GMT The finance ministry has asked the four state-run non-life insurers to raise premiums for property insurance cover.<br/><br/>In a letter dated 1st August’ 2012, sent to the chairman and managing directors of the four state-run non-life insurers, the ministry has warned the insurers to stop competing with each other and raise premiums on property insurance cover. Earlier, the insurance watchdog, IRDA had pronounced the competition ‘self killing race’. The letter said that after pricing was liberalised in year’ 2007, the four insurers resorted to unhealthy competition among themselves to grab market share, as a result of which, some of the four insurers had been incurring huge losses in the fire business with consistent regularity.<br/><br/>The letter has suggested the insurers to raise the average premium per policy by 20 per cent in different sum insured bands (less than Rs 50 crore, Rs 50-100 crore, Rs 100-500 crore, Rs 500 crore and above), in such a manner that the combined ratio of the portfolio does not exceed 100 per cent and an increase of 20 per cent of total annual premium is achieved for each band of sum insured separately, and also, overall for the portfolio. Combined ratio means the total outgo on claims paid, administrative costs and commission paid to the broker.<br/><br/>Although, the ministry has suggested public sector insurers to raise premium rates on property insurance but also warned not to raise premiums on individual retail policies because it goes against the principles of financial inclusion.<br/><br/>Quoting to an example, the ministry said, “A stage has come when companies are offering a ridiculous level of 100 per cent discount on standard fire policies by not charging premium at all for the basic policy, but only for add-on covers,”<br/><br/>Over 60% of non-life insurance market share is owned by the four public sector insurers, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance.<br/><br/>The ministry has also asked the insurers to evolve common underwriting guidelines by August 17. They also have to integrate their respective data for each class of product/risk separately by end of December, so that a pricing policy can be determined more scientifically for the next financial year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=556InsuringIndia News Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:58:01 GMT The employees retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), on Tuesday, at Central Board of Trustees’ (CBT) meeting gave its nod to Reliance Capital Asset Management Limited (RCAML) to sell its 26% stake for Rs.1,450 crore to Japanese insurance giant Nippon Life.The deal is so far the largest foreign direct investment in the Indian mutual fund sector.<br/><br/>On the sideline of CBT’s meeting, Mr. AD Nagpal, Secretary, EPFO trustee and Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) said, “At today's (Tuesday) meeting, the proposal of Reliance Capital Asset Management has been approved.”<br/><br/>The meeting was chaired by Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.<br/><br/>The company Reliance Capital Asset Management Limited assured the members that there will not be any change in the overall company policy or in the management. And,hence the company managed to convince the members appeared in the meeting.<br/><br/>"It is only a stake sale. We have not imposed any condition earlier that the company should not have any foreign equity holding. Further, the company had got permission from other authorities," Mr. Nagpal added.<br/><br/>The approval was needed because as per contract with the EPFO, its fund managers "shall not undertake any corporate action including mergers, amalgamations, take over, acquisition, divestment etc, without the prior written approval of the Trust".<br/><br/>Following the final deal between RCAML and Nippon Life, the later would be entitled to appoint a member on the board of the company.<br/><br/>The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) have already approved the deal.<br/><br/>In July’ 2011, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation had appointed RCAML, State Bank of India, HSBC Asset Management (India) Private Ltd and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd as its fund managers for 3 years to manage its huge corpus of over Rs 3.5 lakh crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=555InsuringIndia News Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:57:22 GMT The union finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram has assured the government will announce a number of decisions in coming days to boost the insurance sector and the mutual fund industry.<br/><br/>Speaking to reporters, Mr. Chidambaram said, "Both the mutual funds industry and insurance sectors have turned sluggish. In the next few weeks, we will announce a number of decisions to attract more people to invest in mutual funds, insurance policies and other well-designed instruments.”<br/><br/>“The government will also work towards removing supply side bottlenecks in the manufacturing and export sector”, he added. Further he said Manufacturing and exports are two key drivers of the economy. Both have registered low or negative growth in recent months. It is imperative that we reverse this trend.<br/><br/>According to the finance minister, “investment is an act of faith, it is a must to remove any apprehension or distrust in the minds of investors.”<br/><br/>Aiming to remove the perceived difficulties in ‘doing business in India’, including fears about undue regulatory burden or regulatory over-reach, the government will improve communication of policies to potential investors, he said.<br/><br/>Domestic companies, especially state-owned companies, which have large cash balances, will be encouraged to restart investment. And, the proposals pending with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board will be processed and the decisions will be taken efficiently.<br/><br/>The implementation of large infrastructure and other projects with an investment of Rs.1,000 crore or more will be monitored closely under by the cabinet committee of economic affairs (CCEA), the minister said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=554InsuringIndia News Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:14:25 GMT European sanctions hit Iranian oil importer gets breather as the shipment ministry of India has asked private shipment company Great Eastern Shipping Company (Gesco) to provide tankers to import Iranian oil for public sector refinery Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL).<br/><br/>Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) had cut imports drastically from Iran in July as the shipper Gesco refused to lift cargoes for MRPL because of the lack of insurance cover after European sanctions came into effect barring insurance and reinsurance for Iranian shipments.<br/><br/>The Iranian shippers have been facing European sanctions because the western countries suspect Iran is developing nuclear weapon. Although, Iran says the nuclear development is for peaceful purposes.<br/><br/>An official, close to the development said India has now allowed state-owned insurers to provide insurance cover to Iranian shipments and told the shipper to provide vessels for MRPL. However, the country's biggest private shipper Gesco, said it has not yet received any letter from the shipment ministry and had told MRPL that insurance in its current form was not adequate to voyage to Iran.<br/><br/>Gesco spokesperson Anjali Kumar said, "We have conveyed to MRPL that we will not be able to lift cargoes from the sanctions-hit country due to inadequacy of the insurance cover offered by the Indian insurer United India Insurance Company.” <br/><br/>An official from the ministry said, "Finance ministry has notified insurance policy for Iran oil imports on 30thJuly, 2012.”<br/><br/>Indian insurers have agreed to provide insurance cover of $50 million each against pollution and personal injury claims, also known as protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance, and for hull and machinery to protect ships against physical damage.<br/><br/>Other public sector Iranian oil buyers- Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil Corp - have signed direct contracts with state-owned Shipping Corp of India. The Shipping Corporation of India is the biggest shipping firm in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=553InsuringIndia News Tue, 07 Aug 2012 17:36:18 GMT One of the former SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) chairmen Mr. C.B. Bhave, at a mutual fund summit three years ago had criticised the mutual fund industry for introducing products without caring about their performance. He further alleged that the mutual fund industry served only distributors and not investors by launching products with sub-optimal returns, SEBI tightened the process of regulatory clearance for mutual fund schemes.<br/><br/>“Do customers really need so many products?” Mr. Bhave added at the summit.<br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has the same complaint. Mr. Hari Narayan, Chairman, IRDA said, “Today products available in the market are designed in such a way that they build a certain corpus in a certain period. But in reality they have not been able to do that. Why can’t companies pick up the designs of only those products that are the best in the stable?”<br/><br/>“While clearing products, we are going to carefully examine if the product design matches expectations”, he added.<br/><br/>It is to be noticed that the money put into ULIPs are mostly invested in equity to maximize returns. Like mutual funds, their performance is linked to the market.<br/><br/>India’s life insurance industry is estimated at Rs.16 trillion.<br/><br/>In view of the changing market scenario, the regulator is all set to relax investment norms and amend certain financial norms. IRDA will release 3 exposure drafts in couple of days on the industry’s financial aspects. The regulator is also planning to move the industry to a risk-based solvency regime.<br/><br/>Mr. Narayan said, ““The exposure draft will look at the introduction of certain hedging provisions for insurance companies through instruments such as swaps, derivatives and so on apart from investment norms for insurers.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=552InsuringIndia News Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:34:26 GMT Following the inclusion of new foreign partner in Max Life Insurance, the insurer has announced first ever dividend to its shareholders. The insurer becomes the 4th private sector life insurer to announce dividend. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co Ltd, ICICI Prudential Life and Birla Sun Life Insurance are other three private sector life insurers to announce dividend to their shareholders.<br/><br/>Talking to reporters, Mr. Rajesh Sud, CEO & MD, Max Life Insurance said, “The board has in-principle agreed for an interim dividend for its shareholders for the half-year ending September 2012, subject to requisite approvals”.<br/><br/>During the FY’ 2011-12, the insurer recorded a 159% jump in enterprise profit to Rs 733 crore. The total revenue increased by 10 % to Rs 6,391 crore. As of March 2012, the paid-up capital of the joint venture insurance firm promoted diversified conglomerate Max India and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance of Japan stood at Rs 2,127 crore.<br/><br/>Max Life Insurance is a joint venture between Delhi based India’s Max India Ltd, one of India’s multi-business corporations; which controls Max Healthcare, a hospital chain and Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. In June this year, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance picked up 26% stake in Max Life Insurance for Rs 2,731 crore after the exit of US based New York Life Insurance from the joint venture.The transaction valued the life insurer at Rs 10,504 crore. Max India Ltd. continues to own nearly 70% stake in the joint venture after the induction of new partner. As per the current laws a foreign partner cannot own more than 26% stake in the joint venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=551InsuringIndia News Fri, 03 Aug 2012 17:31:47 GMT The Haryana government has announced to cover paddy crops under Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) for 2012-13.<br/><br/> Haryana, along with several Indian states are facing drought like situation this year. According to a report, a huge percentage of farmland is still unsown due to late monsoon and lack of rain.<br/><br/>Sensing the situation, the state agriculture department of Haryana issued a notification to bring paddy crops under crop insurance scheme during Kharif 2012-13 for the purpose of the crop insurance.<br/><br/>According to the notification, this insurance scheme will be implemented in all villages or village panchayats in districts of Karnal, Kaithal, Jind and Rohtak. Indemnity level will be 90% and Sum Assured will be Rs 45,700 per hectare in all the districts covered under the scheme.<br/><br/>The scheme will be implemented by Agriculture Insurance Company of India in Karnal, Kaithal and Jind districts whereas IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Company Ltd will be implementing indistrict of Rohtak.<br/><br/>The crops and areas getting the benefits of insurance cover under the Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme will not be eligible to get benefits under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme or Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme. Under the scheme, all farmers including share-croppers, tenant farmers growing the paddy crop in defined areas will be eligible to get coverage benefits.<br/><br/>Even though, the scheme is voluntary for non-loanee farmers growing the crops; but it will be compulsory for the farmers who have availed crop loans from financial institutions for notified crop in their notified areas, said the notification. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=550InsuringIndia News Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:20:52 GMT Concerned over the low penetration of insurance, the insurance watch dog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has proposed to sell micro-insurance products through chemists, kirana and petrol pumps to increase penetration.<br/><br/>Micro-insurance is product which targets people of low income segment from urban as well as rural areas.In an exposure draft on Micro Insurance Regulations, IRDA said, “In order to broadbase the micro insurance business there is a case to expand the micro insurance agency base by adding few more distribution partners or Individuals.”<br/><br/>The regulator has proposes to allow individual owners of kirana shops, fair price shops, medical shops, petrol pumps,PCOs to be categorized as micro insurance agents. At present some NGOs, Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), District Co-operative Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies and individual agents are working as insurance agents.<br/><br/>"Since, these individuals have a physical presence and standing in these specific market segments as those of the existing Standalone Micro Insurance Agents, it is considered that they stand on similar footing along with standalone micro insurance agents," the IRDA said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=549InsuringIndia News Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:16:30 GMT Targetting the younger section of the society, one of the private sector insurers Aegon Religare has launched an online health plan – iHealth. Aegon Religare iHealth Plan is a comprehensive health insurance plan that covers 849 surgeries and also offers a fixed-benefit with a smooth claim-settlement process.<br /><br />Rajiv Jamkhedkar, MD & CEO, Aegon Religare Life Insurance said, “Our customer research showed us that key concerns among buyers of health insurance are - worries about getting the full claim amount, increase in premium in case of a claim and worries about coverage of all surgeries.”<br /><br />Yateesh Srivastava, Chief Marketing Officer, Aegon Religare Life Insurance said, “The Aegon Religare iHealth Plan is targeted to the 'new age' customer, who prefers a direct and convenient process while buying any financial product.”<br /><br />This plan is divided into two sub-categories – Gold Plan and Platinum Plan. Under the Gold Plan Sum Assured is Rs 3 lacs whereas under the Platinum Plan it is Rs 5 lacs.<br /><br />Some of the salient features of the plan are it covers all surgeries except cosmetic surgeries. Cashless facilities equal to the sum assured is provided at more than 3,000 hospitals across the country. <br /><br />Mr. Jamkhedkar also said the company is planning to launch 4 protection and traditional plans very soon.AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) is a life insurance joint venture between AEGON, Religare and Bennett Coleman & Company. ARLI launched its pan-India operations in year 2008. AEGON is an international life insurance, pension and investment company whereas Religare is a global financial services group and Bennett, Coleman & Company is largest media house of India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=548InsuringIndia News Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:47:23 GMT The India's central banking institution, Reserve Bank of India, yesterday, invoked for autonomy of public sector financial institutions and banks. The governor of RBI, Mr. Subbarao said the government should not exercise control outside the boards of the state-run banks and financial institutions.<br/><br/>Mr. Subbarao was answering the questions of the audience at the 30th foundation day function of NABARD in Mumbai. He said, “The government ownership mechanism, which is not through the boards but outside the boards is not good governance. One thing for the government could be to show exemplary behaviour of corporate governance and exercise their ownership rights through the board. I think that would be good for all the financial institutions, including NABARD.”<br/><br/>The autonomy of financial institutions in India has been the subject of debate for a while now.“There are questions about how the government will play out its ownership role. This is not restricted to Nabard, it is something which is being played out in a number of institutions including commercial banks,” Mr. Subbarao added.<br/><br/>The government is majority stake holder in 26 public sector banks and financial institutions like IIFCL, IDFC, insurance companies and other PSUs. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=547InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Jul 2012 17:42:14 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has suggested Indian insurers to spread their business abroad; as foreign insurers do.<br/><br/>During the speech at a seminar organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, Member (life) of IRDA said, “If foreign companies can come to India in a big way, why can’t we expand our wings abroad? Look at (German insurer) Allianz. Around 60 per cent of their business is from markets outside Germany.”<br/><br/>Further, Mr. Chowdhury said if foreign insurers could come India, form joint-ventures with Indian insurers then why don’t the Indian insurers look at the opportunities abroad? They should also walk out to form joint-ventures in overseas to expand their business.<br/><br/>According to the present law, a foreign partner cannot invest more than 26% in Indian insurance companies. However, there is a bill which permits foreign investors to invest up to 49% in Indian insurance sector is likely to be presented. Government is all set to pass the bill to give a push to Indian insurance sector. And, according to the latest updates, senior BJP leader and former finance minister Mr.Yashwant Sinha has given an indication to support the bill. Once the bill is passed, foreign investors can be able to invest up to 49% in Indian insurance market. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=546InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:20:51 GMT Private sector life insurer IDBI Federal Life Insurance, on Tuesday, launched a participating endowment plan ‘Suvidha Savings Insurance’.<br/><br/>This plan is very simple and affordable which requires no medical tests. This plan can be bought in 3-easy steps-Select, Sign and Submit. The salient features of the plan are-simple to understand, easy to buy, less documentation and affordable price. The simplicity and less documentation reduce time taken to acquire a life insurance cover. This plan ensures protection of the life insured along with savings.<br/><br/>Under this plan there is a tax benefit for the premiums paid up to a limit of Rs 1,00,000 per annum.In a release, Mr. G.V. Nageshwara Rao, MD & CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance said, “Lifesurance Suvidha Savings is a simple and affordable life insurance product that offers a hassle-free issuance process, with no medical tests. The plan is designed to help customers start their long term savings to meet their responsibilities in life.”<br/><br/>IDBI Federal Life Insurance is a joint-venture between three financial institutions- IDBI Bank, Federal Bank and Ageas (formerly Fortis). IDBI is an industrial development bank whereas Federal Bank is a leading private sector bank of India and Ageas is a European insurance giant. In the joint venture, IDBI Bank holds 48% equity while Federal Bank and Ageas hold 26% equity.<br/><br/>"This hassle-free plan is designed to provide a life cover of up to Rs 3 lacs till the age of 65 years with guaranteed additions, plus bonuses that may accrue during the policy term. The plan also insures customers against accidental death during the policy term," said Mr. Aneesh Khanna, Head-Marketing & Product Management, IDBI Federal Life Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=545InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:20:21 GMT Goa government is all set to raise health insurance cover ceiling from Rs 60,000 to Rs 2 lacs. The state health minister, Laxmikant Parsekar said today, the government will make over the universal medical insurance scheme covering its population.<br/><br/>According to the state health minister, ICICI Lombard, which has bagged the contract to implement this scheme for entire Goa population, will be approached with the reworked rates.He said, “If ICICI Lombard is okay with the reworked rates, then we will continue the agreement with them or else we will have to re-bid it.”<br/><br/>In the scheme 'Swarnajayanti Arogya Bima Yojna' was launched last year by former Digambar Kamat-led government. In the scheme, it had the provision to empanel private hospitals where cashless health insurance cover up to the sum of Rs 60,000 per family was provided for all diseases.<br/><br/>Mr. Parsekar said the reason behind the raising the current ceiling from Rs 60,000 to Rs 2 lacs is to empanel all hospitals across the state. At the current ceiling, several private practitioners had expressed their unwillingness to endorse the scheme as it had prescribed a little amount for various diseases.<br/><br/>The government has also decided to pay extra remuneration depending on the cases handled by them, once universal medical insurance scheme is implemented.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=544InsuringIndia News Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:02:59 GMT Government may get support from BJP on much debated FDI raise in insurance if it reaches out to the opposition. The government is willing to raise FDI raise from existing 26% to 49% to push reforms in insurance sector.<br/><br/>In reply to a question, former finance minister and senior BJP leader Mr. Yashwant Sinha said, “We will see. They have to reach out to us with their concrete proposals. We'll look at it. If we find it worth supporting, we will certainly support.”<br/><br/>In an interview with Karan Thapar, Mr. Sinha was replying to a question whether BJP would support the government if it comes out with a proposal that goes up to 49 per cent FDI in the insurance sector the way the BJP-led NDA government had proposed earlier. He replied, “"Well, you are asking me a hypothetical question. When I had discussed it earlier with the then finance minister, he agreed with us that it should be restricted to 26 per cent.”<br/><br/>"They will have to reach out to us", Mr. Sinha replied when asked, if there is room for BJP to support the government if it goes up to 49 per cent in the way the BJP thought of 49 per cent.<br/><br/>It is surprising that during the NDA government, BJP had proposed to raise FDI to 49% in insurance if the balance of 23 per cent equity was given to NRIs, PIOs, OCBs, FIIs, but the largest party of UPA version-2 coalition Congress had opposed it then and demanded 26 per cent FDI instead.<br/><br/>Further, the former finance minister criticized Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He accused him of being ‘dishonest’ by trying to distance himself from the actions taken by the finance ministers in his Cabinet. He also said the current economic situation in the country is very serious and it is worse than it was in 1999. He blamed current finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and his predecessor P Chidambaram for the situation. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=543InsuringIndia News Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:02:04 GMT With the increase in number of internet savvy in India, a huge number of people have started preferring to buy almost everything online. Online life insurance policies became very popular last year; now health insurance policies too gaining preference over the offline.<br/><br/>Earlier it was a common practice to research and compare products online but when it came to buying, people prefer to go for the traditional medium which includes an agent. But the mind set of customers are being changed and they don’t hesitate to buy policies online.<br/><br/>According to an expert, so far, the online route was the preferred one for renewals of policies and not purchase. But, it makes sense for customers to complete the entire transaction online given the ease and transparency.<br/><br/>The major benefits of buying policies online over offline are transparency of the products. The benefits offered under the policies can be seen by customers. The second and most important reason is save on premiums. In most of the products, premiums for online products are 25%-50% cheaper. Also, customers have various payment options, such as net banking or credit card, instead of paying by cheque in the case of buying a policy from an agent An ICICI Lombard official says, “While buying a health insurance plan online, the customer can see what is he opting for. It offers transparency.” For ICICI Lombard, 70 per cent of its e-channel business comes from those who buy plans online and also renew it, and the remaining from only renewals.<br/><br/>Mr. Gaurav Garg, MD & CEO, Tata AIG General Insurance, “Our website has seen a strong trend where customers research and buy the products online, which are relatively more standardised structurally and have a lower ticket size like overseas medical and travel insurance.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=542InsuringIndia News Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:47:34 GMT A strong growth is registered in sales of online term plans in recent times. Term insurance, the pure life product which is the cheapest cover plan has found great acceptance in India through online platform. People has started understanding the fact that online route is cheaper than the traditional means. In some online term plans premiums are as low as 50% compared to offline plans.<br/><br/>Mr. Gaurav Rajput, Director (Marketing), Aviva India said, "We have seen a great response to our first online term plan Aviva i-Life, through which we have covered over 22,000 lives in less than a year. It contributes nearly 71% to our pure term plans portfolio (FY 2012). "<br/><br/>Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, EVP (Head Marketing & Direct Channels), HDFC Life said, "Our online term insurance plans sales since launch in December 2011 has grown 182% during the last six months. The volume and customer response has surprised us as well. This can be credited to significant leap in growing awareness about term insurance plan over the last few years.”<br/><br/>Mr. Rituraj Bhattacharya, Head (Market Mgmnt.), Bajaj Allianz also seemed excited about online term plans but he mentioned that in tier 2 and tier 3 markets, the concept of buying large sum assured for protection without maturity benefit is yet to catch on. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=541InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:55:29 GMT Private sector general insurer Future General India, yesterday, launched a micro-insurance policy ‘Future Sampoorna Suraksha’ for the rural segment. As its name suggests, it’s a complete protection (Sampoorna Suraksha) policy for the people of rural India. Through this policy, the company aims to provide protections like- hospital cash benefit, personal accident cover, building and furniture, robbery and burglary, farm products, agricultural pump set, cart protection and liability and pedal cycle.<br/><br/>However, the company refused to provide premium option under the policy.Future Generali is a joint venture between India's Future Group and Italy’s Generali Group.<br/><br/>In rural India, insurance penetration is considerably low. It’s far lower than the national average of 4% (both life and non-life together).<br/><br/>Mr. K G Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD & CEO, Future Generali India Insurance said, “It presents a huge untapped opportunity, which can be leveraged with suitable products customised for these markets.”<br/><br/>Further he said,"We are confident that this comprehensive product and its viable price will make a compelling proposition, which will help our partners attract many first-time buyers who would otherwise stay away. We also intend to distribute this product through our bancassurance network.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=540InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:55:03 GMT As per the data released by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, the Indian non-life insurance sector has registered an overall premium growth of 18.27% in May’12 as compared to the same period in previous year.<br/><br/>In May this year, the all 24 non-life insurers registered a total premium of Rs. 4,880.81 crore an up from previous year of Rs. 4,005.96 crore. The premium growth was higher in state-owned insurers as compared to the private sector insurers. Six state-owned non-life insurers- New India Assurance Company, National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, United India Insurance Company, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation and Agricultural Insurance Company together wrote a premium of around Rs.2,836 crore as against the remaining 18 private sector insurers who had booked around Rs.2,044 crore.<br/><br/>United India collected the highest premium of around Rs. 773 crore whereas New India stands at the 2nd position in the public sector club with total premium collection of Rs.707 crore in May. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=539InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:09:03 GMT The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) is worried over the low third-party motor insurance. The ministry has ordered all states and union territories to start special drives and to take corrective steps to ensure all the vehicle owners abide by law under the Motor Vehicle Act. MORTH is gathering data to estimate the exact number of wrongdoers.<br/><br/>According to the Motor Vehicle Act, third-party motor insurance is mandatory in India. Running uninsured vehicle on road is a punishable offence under the Motor Vehicle Act and it could leads to serious implications in case the vehicle is involved in an accident. Third-party insurance protects against damage or injury done to another person due to an unfortunate accident. <br/><br/>Regardless of the rule, third-party insurance rate in India is very pathetic. According to the data compiled by general insurance companies, approximately 40-50% of motorbike owners do not bother TPI whereas about 10% of cars and 7% of commercial vehicles run on roads without third-party insurance. “Although the percentage of cars and commercial vehicles without having TPI done are lesser than that of bikes, the number is still significant when it is taken into consideration the sheer number of cars and commercial vehicles plying on the roads,” a senior executive of a general insurance company said.<br/><br/> According to a MORTH official, vehicle owners get the third-party insurance during the time of purchase as the automobile agencies themselves provide the insurance to buyers. “However, the problem starts in the subsequent years when vehicle owners fail to renew the insurance due to either ignorance or some other reasons,” the official added.<br/><br/>India is the fifth largest vehicle producer in the world with having around 10 crore registered vehicles. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=538InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:08:25 GMT Tata AIG Life Insurance Company, the joint venture between Tata Sons and AIA Group, yesterday, announced that it will like to be called by a new name ‘Tata AIA Life Insurance Company’ now. Following the exit of American International Group (AIG) from the joint venture, Hong Kong-based AIA Group enters in the JV.<br/><br/>Tata AIG Life Insurance Company was first formed in the year’ 2001 as a joint venture between Indian business empire Tata Sons and American International Group. In the joint venture, Tata holds 74% stake whereas its foreign partner AIA holds the rest 26% stake in Tata AIA Life Insurance Company. AIG had the same 26% stake in the joint venture.<br/><br/>According to the current FDI ceiling, a foreign partner cannot have more than 26% stake. Although; government is planning to raise this limit to 49% to give a push to reform in insurance sector. Once the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill is passed, a foreign partner can hold stake up to 49% in any insurance company in India.<br/><br/>Speaking on the name change, Mr. Farrokh K Kavarana, Chairman, Tata AIA Life said, “While we make this transition in our name, nothing else will change. The promoters, the distribution network, the teams, the products, the technology and more importantly, our commitment towards putting the customers at the centre of everything we do, remain unchanged.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=537InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:12:43 GMT The government is all set to raise much discussed FDI ceiling in insurance sector. The cabinet is considering raising present ceiling from 26% to 49% to give a push to reform in insurance sector.<br/><br/>The opposition parties have been opposing the raise. Feeling the heat of opposition, the cabinet in its meeting on 10th May’ 12 had postponed a decision on FDI ceiling in insurance. But once again the cabinet will try to hike the limit to push the reform in the sector. According to a senior official from finance ministry, the cabinet will consider 49% FDI in insurance sector once again in the coming days.<br/><br/>It is important to mention that the standing committee had rejected the government’s proposal to raise FDI ceiling to 49% in insurance in December last year. The committee in its report on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, had said the proposal to increase the FDI cap to 49% in insurance sector seems to have been decided upon ‘without any sound and objective analysis of the status of the insurance sector following liberalisation’.<br/><br/>The committee refused there would be any positive impact of greater role of foreign capital in the insurance sector. It also said, “Increased role of foreign capital may lead to the possibility of exposing the economy to the vulnerabilities of the global market ...Flight of capital outside the country and also endangering the interest of the policy holders.”<br/><br/>Although, the panel, headed by ex-finance minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had agreed on the need to bring in comprehensive changes in the archaic laws governing the insurance sector.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=536InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:12:05 GMT <b>MUMBAI:</b> Following the Japanese insurance company, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance acquired 26% stake of New York Life in Max New York Life Insurance as the overseas partner of Max India Group, the company will be rebranded as ‘Max Life’, subject to the IRDA approval.<br/><br/>The company Max New York Life Insurance has announced the completion of 26% of its stake transfer to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. The transfer was made after obtaining the requisite approvals from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the Reserve Bank of India and Competition Commission of India earlier this month. However, the majority stake of 70% of Max India remains unchanged.<br/><br/>As representative of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, the company has appointed Toshinara Tokoi and Hideaki Nomura into the board of directors of Max Life Insurance. "For the next stage of Max Life Insurances growth and development, we view Mitsui Sumitomo as an ideal partner. I am confident that the rich experience, financial strength and risk management expertise of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, coupled with our inherent strengths of people and processes we have an even brighter growth journey in years to come," said Analjit Singh, Chairman, Max India.<br/><br/>Rahul Khosla, MD, Max India said, "Life insurance is the most profitable business in Max India's portfolio and forms about 80 per cent of group revenue. We are committed to this business and will continue to nurture it."<br/><br/>Both the representatives for Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance into the board of directors of Max Life Insurance, Toshinara Tokoi and Hideaki Nomura are highly experienced. Toshinara Tokoi carries a huge 30 years of experience in the field of insurance with governance and administration of international business operations; whereas, Hideaki Nomura has 26 years of experience in financial sector, including insurance, banking and investment banking. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=535InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:05:08 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> In a recent course of event; the central government of India has ordered all public sector insurers to provide insurance cover to the Indian ships ferrying Iranian oil. The government has taken this step to ensure uninterrupted commodity supply. Because of the sanctions imposed on Gulf countries by the United States and the European Union; western insurers are all set to withdraw cover from Indian ships carrying Iranian crude oil from 1st July.<br/><br/>India imports about 80% of petroleum requirements from Iran; but over the nuclear programme, the United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Iran. Earlier, Indian ships ferrying Iranian oil were provided insurance cover by western and European insurers. But now from 1st July the western insurers are going to lift insurance cover from Indian ships ferrying Iranian crude oil to tighten sanctions. Concerned over the issue, the government directed public sector insurers to provide cover to the Indian ships carrying Iranian crude oil.<br/><br/>A senior executive of General Insurance Corporation said, “We have received confirmation from the finance ministry that we can provide insurance cover, subject to due diligence of assets and fixing of premium as in the normal course.”<br/><br/>An official from finance ministry has also confirmed the development.The finance ministry in its directive to the general insurers said they can seek re-insurance from other re-insurers operating in countries those are importing oil from Iran. There are some countries in south-east and central Asia those are importing oil from Iran, and re-insurance cover from insurers based from those countries is being explored.<br/><br/>The finance ministry official said no decision had been taken on GIC’s request for a $100-million sovereign guarantee. Earlier, GC Chaturvedi, Oil Secretary had said that the government was considering sovereign guarantee for India vessels.<br/><br/>“We are providing for contingency. We are taking all steps to ensure supplies are not hit," Chaturvedi said.An executive from the industry said that the cost of insurance cover for hull and machines and protection and indemnity insurance, works out to about $200-million. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=534InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:04:15 GMT <b>Nagpur:</b> On Thursday, the Vidarbha Sarpamitra Sanghatana demanded insurance cover and recognition to their community. The community is involved in rescuing snakes; during which they risk their lives and save people.<br/><br/>At present, compensation is paid to the victims attacked by wild animals only and not in case of snakes; although they are at the highest risk mostly of biting furious serpents. The sanghatana leader Mr. Chandrapratap Singh raised this issue before district collector Saurabh Rao, Mayor Amit Sole and standing committee chairman Dayashanker Tiwari in his separate meetings with them. He also demanded I-cards and snake kits for them.<br/><br/>However, in year 2008, the then forest minister Babanrao Pachpute had announced to give I-cards and to provide insurance cover of Rs 10 lacs to each sarpamitra in a state-level convention of sarpamitras (snake friends) in Aurangabad; but the promise has remained unfulfilled.<br/><br/>Currently, according to an estimate, there are approximately 1,000 sarpamitras in the state, who play a lead role in conservation of reptiles and spread awareness among the masses. At times, they lose lives due to snake bites but save people.<br/><br/>The sanghatana leader Mr. Chandrapratap Singh said, “We need to recognise sarpamitras as 50,000 people are bitten by snakes in the state. Of this, about 1,200 die due to lack of knowledge and facilities. I'm in favour of banning live snake shows and their display, but it's high time genuine sarpamitras are recognized.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=533InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:03:17 GMT Life insurance companies have speeded up their claims settlement arising out of the unfortunate death of policyholders. Most of the insurers have settled most of their claims within a month of the filing claims by the nominees of policyholders.<br/><br/>An analysis was conducted by a Financial Chronicle Research Bureau on the data released by the seven large life insurers for the first quarter of the fiscal 2012-13. The analysis was done on the data of Reliance Life, Bajaj Allianz Life, ICICI Prudential, SBI Life, Birla Sun Life, HDFC Standard Life and Max New York Life. According to the data, death claim settlement within one month of filing claim has reached to 88.5% from 83.4% in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. These seven companies jointly had settled more than 2,000 death claims in total.<br/><br/>Although it’s already been mentioned in the IRDA guidelines that the death claims must be settled within 30 days of the receipt of complete claim documents. And if, there is any document pending, the insurer must inform the nominee of the policyholder about it within 15 days of the receipt of the claims.<br/><br/>The data revealed that Reliance Life and Birla Sun Life settled their entire death claims within the first month of the registration of claims. HDFC Standard Life is not far behind in settling death related claims within the first month of the receipt of claims. HDFC Standard Life has settled 96% of its total death related claims within one month in the first quarter of the fiscal 2012-13.<br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=532InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:09:41 GMT On Tuesday, Liberty Videocon General Insurance Company has said that the company has received final approval from IRDA to start its business in India. With the entry of Liberty Videocon General Insurance, the total number of general insurance companies in India reached to 27<br/><br/>Liberty Videocon General Insurance is a joint venture between Videocon Group and US-based Liberty Mutual Group. Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and third largest property and casualty insurer in the United States based on 2010 net written premium. It is the 82nd company on the Fortune 500 list for the year 2011.<br/><br/>In a release, Mr. Roopam Asthana, CEO-designate & Director, Liberty Videocon General Insurance said, “We have received the mandatory clearance from IRDA and are gearing up to launch Liberty Videocon General Insurance operations in India."<br/><br/>“Supported by a strong and experienced leadership team, which is already in place and market expertise of our parent companies in their respective domains, we are looking forward to making a substantial difference in the Indian Non-Life Insurance market”, Mr. Asthana added.<br/><br/>The company which is headquartered in Mumbai will start its business with an initial capital of Rs 300 crore. As the company waiting for the IRDA approval, it is yet to finalize its products and file for approval to IRDA.<br/><br/>Mr. Asthana says his company will focus sharply on the customer and in the process of implementing a state of art technology platform for a completely seamless and speedy buying experience.<br/><br/>Mr. David Long, President & CEO, Liberty Mutual said, “India’s rapidly rising personal income levels mean more and more Indians will be buying insurance to protect their property and possessions. We have an exceptional partner and a very professional management team in place. We believe the combination will enable us to provide high-quality products and service in the growing Indian Insurance market place." <br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=531InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:07:15 GMT The sanction to cut all trade ties with Iran over its nuclear programme has affected India to import crude oil from Iran. Although a six-month waiver has been provided from the USA. India imports 80% of its crude oil requirement from countries like-Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait. After Saudi Arabia, Iran is the second biggest supplier of crude oil to India. It generates 10 shipments per month to India.<br/><br/>In recent time, there was a problem in payments, but now the problem is sorted out. Now Iran accepts 45% of the bill in rupees, which is the great relief for India as rupee is falling steadily. But due to the imposed sanction started from July 1, Indian shipping companies have stopped taking orders for delivery. The state owned General Insurance Corporation has agreed to provide third-party liability cover of USD 50 million, but there isn’t sufficient clarity yet. The shipping companies therefore don’t feel that the risk is low enough and will not take any further orders until proper insurance cover is provided. The current cover provided by Protection and Indemnity Clubs offers a much higher cover of USD 1 billion, including pollution damage.<br/><br/>The current method of shipping the oil is done by the ‘Free-on-board’ method, by which India has to organize transport and insurance. The option is ‘cost, insurance and freight’ imports, where the seller – Iran, in this case – will organize all three and India has to pay the all-inclusive bill. With more and morecompanies cutting trade relations with Iran, this cost is bound to go north, meaning a bigger oil import bill for India, and at current prices, an even bigger deficit.  The oil ministry has requested the government to allow Iranian ships to ferry crude oil to India, but a final decision is yet to be taken. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=530InsuringIndia News Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:32:40 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> On Monday, The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has launched an exclusive website- for consumer education. The sector regulator aims to educate consumer so that they can be convinced to buy insurance products. The insurance watchdog is deep concerned over the relatively low insurance penetration in India.<br/><br/>At the beginning, the website will be in English only but later it will be enabled in Hindi and in other languages as well.<br/><br/>To make people aware of insurance needs, it is significant to have portals like this. Through this portal, one can understand the basics of complex insurance terminologies. This portal will become more advantageous once it’s translated in other languages too.<br/><br/>In a statement, IRDA said, “Consumer Education Website -- www.policyholder.gov.in-- will provide useful information for the benefit of policyholders and prospects.”<br/><br/>The website will be able to provide all information to a consumer. It will provide buying tips, standard claim procedures and documentations. It will also provide general alerts to consumers, ways to deal with intermediaries and answer general queries.<br/><br/>Even after nationalization of insurance sector in 1956, its penetration has just increased to 5.1 % in year 2010, from 2.71% in 2001 due to the financial vulnerability across most of the income segments; which is definitely not a satisfactory growth in context to India’s economic rapid growth. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=529InsuringIndia News Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:32:09 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> The central government has asked all state to launch a special drive to check and enforce third party insurance of all vehicles.<br/><br/>The transport ministry, in a recent circular to all the state transport secretaries and commissioners has that lack of insurance cover for a vehicle is not only illegal, but it also has serious implications if it gets involved in an accident.<br/><br/>The centre has ordered states to undertake the drive after issuing public notification to vehicle owners to get insurance cover for their vehicles. The government says that the third party insurance of all vehicles has become all the more important for efficient operation of cashless treatment of road accident victims. If the vehicle meets any unfortunate accident, the victim gets compensation from the third party insurance company.<br/><br/>According to the Motor Vehicle Act, third party insurance is mandatory to all vehicles barring few exceptions. Hence, it becomes compulsory to produce third party motor insurance certificate when it is demanded by the traffic police. The motor vehicle rule says that one who fails to produce the certificate, he/she deserves either an imprisonment of three year or Rs 1,000 fine or both.<br/><br/>The centre has also written to Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), General Insurers' Public Sector Association (GIPSA) and General Insurance Council (GIC) to extend full support to state governments. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=528InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:04:55 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> ING (International Netherlands Group) Insurance is all set to exit Indian insurance market. ING holds 26% stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Company.<br/><br/>ING Group is a Dutch based financial institutions offering retail banking, commercial banking, direct banking, investment banking, asset management and insurance services. According to Fortune magazine in 2010, ING was the largest banking/ financial & insurance group in the world by revenue.<br/><br/>However, ING Vysya spokesperson refused to comment on the matter; the sources closed to the development said, “ING is definitely looking at exiting, it’s just a matter of time. They are at the moment concentrating on selling the rest of Asia business. Once that’s taken care of, ING will exit from India too.” <br/><br/>One reason for putting the India exit shelving is that some issues are left to be settled down. ING Vysya Bank is seeking bancassurance partnership for distributing insurance products even after the exit of the foreign partner.<br/><br/>If industry sources are to be believed, the bank wants to negotiate this with foreign partners who are lined up for the stake sale. Even battery giant Exide who is the biggest shareholder with 50% stake, wants to exit; which will lead to a great trouble to the company as they will have to seek both domestic and foreign partner or go for a merger.<br/><br/>ING has decided to sell off its insurance and asset management business by year 2013 as part of global restructuring plan. The move will help the company to pay back $ 7 billion that it received from European Union in year 2008. During that financial crisis, the company received $ 14.6 billion through a bailout plan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=527InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:04:30 GMT The insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked all life insurance companies to refile all existing products according to its new product design guidelines. As a result, from October onwards, a very little life insurance products can be left in the market.<br/><br/>In a recent letter to CEOs of all insurance companies, the regulator has directed them to complete the refilling of all products by 30th September’ 2012 and to withdraw the products which are based on earlier product design guidelines by 1st October’ 2012.<br/><br/>The life insurers fear that the IRDA is yet to come out with final guidelines on product design, in absence of which the insurers would not be able design any product, due to which it will be very difficult to offer any products either linked or unlinked to customers from October.<br/><br/>ources close to the industry said that it generally takes two weeks to file a product. And the insurer which has numerous products will not be able to file all products within the deadline of three months. And also, the regulator normally takes 2-3 months to approve a product, due to which it would be very difficult to an insurer to offer more than one or two products from October. As a result, this segment of insurance will be adversely affected and the growth of new business premium in the second half of the financial year’ 2012-13 would be lesser.<br/><br/>A senior official of a private life insurance company said, “There are no pension plans in the market today, as the regulator is yet to approve any products based on the new guidelines. Now, it is doubtful how many products the regulator would be able to approve in time, even if we refile the existing products.”<br/><br/>The situation is similar to what pension plans had to go through. After the new guidelines on pension plans came into force from December 1 and all the earlier products were to be withdrawn by January 1, the insurance regulator could not approve a single pension product in time. The impasse continues in the pension sector, as the Irda is yet to approve any products on the new, revised guidelines. As a result, there are no pension products in the market today.<br/><br/>However, a senior IRDA official said that the regulator would issue the final guidelines very soon and the regulator would fast-track the product approval process.<br/><br/>Further he said, “We are trying to fast-track the product approval process. If the insurers refile in time, we would approve the products as soon as possible.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=526InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:16:33 GMT Private sector insurer, Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC) today, launched its first ever online term plan ‘Reliance Life Insurance eTerm’ to meet the protection needs of every individual with higher insurance cover at low premium rates. The plan is simple and cost effective risk protection product. It offers instant life insurance cover through a transparent and hassle-free online purchase.<br/><br/>The launch of its first ever online term plan was announced by Mr. Malay Ghosh, President & Executive Director of Reliance Life Insurance.<br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance eTerm plan offers cover of Rs 1crore on premium payment of just Rs 700 per month. Age group for this plan is from 18 to 60 years and minimum premium is as low as Rs 3,500 per annum. The online plan starts with minimum sum assured of Rs 25 lacs and no upper limit, policy term is 10-30 years. The plan offers lower premium rates for women and special rates for non-tobacco users.<br/><br/>This plan comes with two options. Option l offers death benefit equal to the sum assured whereas option ll comes with accidental death benefit as a rider where additional sum assured of up to 50 lacs is paid to the nominee of the policyholder in case of death due to an accident. The maximum maturity age for the plan is 70 years.<br/><br/>''The digital platform is a growing distribution channel in the insurance market and still untapped in India. Through eTerm Plan, we are targeting the ever-expanding internet user base in the country, as part of our plans to tap and grow the domestic online insurance market. We see a great potential opportunity in the online space and would introduce a slew of insurance products in a couple of years”, said Mr. Ghosh.<br/><br/>In previous fiscal year which ended on 31st March’ 2012, Reliance Life Insurance recorded its first full-year net profit of Rs 373 crore by selling 1 million policies. The company collected a total premium of Rs 5,498 crore during the fiscal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=525InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:06:39 GMT Finally, after long debate, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has decided to soften its stance on bundled insurance products. Unlike earlier, now the ban would be imposed partially and the regulator would decide which products can be bundled and which cannot.<br/><br/>Bundled insurance products are referred to the practices when two or more insurance products are sold together as a single product. When motor insurance or personal accident insurance covers are offered with the purchase of a vehicle; the product will be pronounced as a bundled insurance product.<br/><br/>“Simple products with pricing transparency are likely to be allowed to be bundled as the scope for mis- selling is very narrow there. Complex products with multiple coverage may be banned as they confuse the customers,” said an insurance official.<br/><br/>Last year, several cases of mis-selling were reported. Hence, the regulator had decided to crack the whip on the practice. If the sources are to be believed, the regulator’s stance was so firm on these covers that they were all set to be scrapped. However, the insurers were against the complete ban and they seem to have convinced the regulator.<br/><br/>A senior industry official said, “A bundled-in insurance cover helps in increasing penetration and a complete ban would hamper business. So instead the regulator has decided to impose a partial ban. In this case the regulator can direct which products can be bundled and which can’t.” <br/><br/>The regulator had floated a discussion paper in which it said that a dealer shouldn’t be pushing products but a customer should instead be given more options.<br/><br/>The regulator cited that the customers too were misled through tied-up products. Cases of misleading where the bundled feature was made the selling point and advertised more than the core product were reported. In fact, there were instances where because of the bundling element the customers didn’t even know what they were buying. Also, it led to people thinking they had adequate and proper insurance when the fine print said something else.<br/><br/>Besides in auto, travel, personal accident and home loan segment, bundling of insurance products are also becoming common in health and life insurance segments http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=524InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:06:07 GMT <b>Ahmedabad:</b> This year, Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra along with the chariots, expensive ornaments will be insured for Rs 1 crore by the temple committee. On Rath Yatra day, the deities wear gold and silver ornaments, expensive dresses and head gear.<br/><br/>On Thursday, 135th Rath Yatra will be rolling out on the city roads in Ahmedabad where Lord Jagannath along with brother Balram and sister Subhadra will be riding the chariots in expensive clothes and ornaments. The Rath Yatra is a major event in the city people desperately wait.<br/><br/>According to the trustees of Jagannathji Temple, Jamalpur, the final arrangements have been made for the important event. Also the city police commissioner will award prizes for the trucks and tableaux participating in 1.5 km long Yatra.<br/><br/>Mahendra Jha, trustee of the temple said, “The award will acknowledge the hand work of akhadawalas. The announcement has raised their enthusiasm. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=523InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:27:30 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> The Insurance Regulatory and Development and Development Authority has approved the 26% stake transfer in Max New York Life Insurance (MNYL) to Japan's insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company.<br/><br/>Following the stake transfer, the US-based New York Life will exit from the joint venture with Max India. Max India is the holding company of Max New York Life Insurance which is a joint venture between Max India and New York Life. According to the share purchase agreement, Mitsui Sumitomo will acquire 16.63% equity share from New York Life and 9.37% from Max India.<br/><br/>In a separate agreement, New York Life has sold its 9.37% shares in MNYL to Max India.<br/><br/>Resultant to the proposed share combination, New York Life would completely exit from Max New York Life Insurance and India’s Max India and Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo would control MNYL with Mitsui having 26 percent shareholding. Max India would be the largest shareholder with 69.78 % of equity capital share of MNYL. And the Axis Bank will continue to hold the rest 4% share.<br/><br/>Mitsui Sumitomo is a Japan-based leading general insurance company. Mitsui and its subsidiaries are mainly engaged in non-life insurance business across the globe. Though it is not engaged in life insurance business in India; but through its investment in Cholamandalam-MS General Insurance Company with 26 percent equity shares and in Cholamandalam-MS Risk Services with 50 percent share, it’s present in Indian Insurance industry. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=522InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:26:47 GMT <b>Kolkata:</b> The largest body of insurance employees has asked the government for merger of four public sector general insurers- National Insurance Co., New India Assurance Co., Oriental Insurance Company and United India Insurance Co. into a single organization like LIC.<br/><br/>The President of All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA), Mr. Amanulla Khan, has demanded the merger of insurers. He said that the merger would help bring down costs. He also said that an unhealthy competition among the public sector insurers might turn out to be detrimental to the interest of the public sector institutions. <br/><br/>Further Mr. Khan said, “The government should initiate immediate steps for merger of the four insurance companies into a single corporation akin to LIC.”<br/><br/>These four PSUs together collected a premium of Rs 30,560.74 crore in the fiscal year’ 2011-12, an increase of Rs 5,408.49 crore over the previous year and registered a huge combined growth of 21.50 percent. These four PSUs registred a combined gross profit of Rs 1334.19 crore for the fiscal year’ 2011-12 as against a loss of Rs 24.73 crore in the previous year. The public sector general insurance companies are dominating the industry with apparent share of 58.46 percent, Mr. Khan said. The association also opposed the proposed move of the government to disinvest public sector general insurance companies.<br/><br/>He said that PSU insurers were financially very sound and they have a large asset base and reserves. They are capable of meeting the capital needs through internal resources as and when required. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=521InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:25:04 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> The largest insurer of the country has been asked by the Union Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee to design a Kisan Bima Yojna for framers. This scheme would be on the lines of Janashree Bima Yojana, where cover can extend up to 65-70 years of old. The Janashree Bima Yojna is a social security scheme.<br/><br/>Mr. Pranab Mukherjee suggested Life Insurance Corporation of India to borne the additional premium by the farmers covered under the scheme. Mr Mukherjee's advice to LIC came during his meeting with the chief executives of public sector insurance companies here on Wednesday.<br/><br/>On the coverage of farmers under agricultural insurance, Mr Mukherjee noted that the number of non-loanee farmers has been coming down over the years. Agricultural Insurance Company of India Limited should work towards bringing not only all loanee farmers under cover but also as many non-loanee farmers as possible, he said.“I feel this is the most marginalised group requiring agriculture insurance and should be covered on priority”, he added.<br/><br/>Finance minister congratulated LIC for being the trust factor among the people. In the life insurance sector, LIC continues to be the market leader. The company posses a market share of around 81% in terms of new business policies and 71.3% in terms of new business premiums in year 2011-12.<br/><br/>“The insurance giant had no plans to reduce equity investments this fiscal year in the wake of a slowdown in the economy”, Mr D.K. Mehrotra, Chairman, LIC told the reporters. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=520InsuringIndia News Fri, 15 Jun 2012 16:51:24 GMT <b>Hyderabad:</b> The insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is deep concerned over the growth of single-premium group policies. Even though the life insurance business is slowing down; however, the group single-premium policies segment is growing significantly.<br/><br/>Speaking to the reporters, Mr. J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, IRDA said, “This is a problem and how we define groups needs to be looked into.”<br/><br/>As per the IRDA’s data, a total premium of Rs 33,223 crore was collected by life insurance companies under single-premium group policies in year 2011-12, out of which Rs 5,023 crore was collected by private sector insurers and Rs 28,200 crore was collected by LIC (Life Insurance Corporation). In previous year, Rs 3,467 crore was collected by private sector insurers and Rs 22,889 crore was by Life Insurance Corporation.<br/><br/>The same trend has been continuing in April 2012, the first month of the new fiscal year. In most of the cases policyholders are laymen and they don’t even know the offerings and benefits of the policies. Lack of consciousness and knowledge, they are receiving very poor services, which is a major concern.<br/><br/>The reasons for the growth of group insurance policies are varied. “The cost of group policies has come down due to competition, which is also driving growth,” said Mr. Narayan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=519InsuringIndia News Fri, 15 Jun 2012 16:50:13 GMT The ‘Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)’ scheme has been extended by the Ministry of Labour and Empowerment, Government of India to domestic workers to provide health insurance facilities to domestic workers.<br/><br/>In a release, the ministry said, “The Ministry of Labour and Employment has extended the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) to domestic workers. Under the scheme, smart card based cashless health insurance cover of Rs 30,000 per annum is provided to a family of five.”<br/><br/>The main objective of this strategy is to inform the beneficiaries regarding enrollment procedures and benefits of the scheme. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=518InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:10:45 GMT The leading private sector life insurer SBI Life Insurance has grabbed two prestigious awards "Under-served Market Penetration Award 2012" and "Claims Service of the Year Award 2012" at Indian Insurance Award 2012. The awards were announced by SP Media Pvt. Ltd.<br/><br/>The award "Under-served Market Penetration Award 2012" was given to SBI Life Insurance Company for its far-reaching geographical coverage within India whereas the second one "Claims Service of the Year Award 2012" award for demonstrating overall leadership and commitment towards effective and speedy claim settlements. <br/><br/>The awards were presented to Mr. Anand Pejawar and Mr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, Executive Director of SBI Life Insurance by Mr. R. Chandrasekaran, Secretary General, General Insurance Council.<br/><br/>The Indian Insurance Awards, announced by SP Media were presented to honour performance and the commitment of top Indian Insurance Companies. The awards were given out in various categories ranging across growth, claims servicing, product & technology innovation, social contribution and geographical coverage.<br/><br/>The esteemed panel of jury members included Mr. S. B. Mathur, Secretary General, Life Insurance Council; Mr. R. Chandrasekaran, Secretary General, General Insurance Council; Mr. Vepa Kamesam, Managing Director, Institute of Insurance and Risk Management and Mr. Shirish Pathak, CEO, Fintelekt. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=517InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:09:26 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> Showing deep concerned over the rising losses year per year of public sector insurers, the cabinet Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee asked them to move even to smaller towns up to Tier-IV classification as per the Census. <br/><br/>In a much awaited meeting of the finance minister with the chairmen of public sector insurance companies, Mr. Mukherjee directed all public sector insurers including LIC to re-organise their branches network and open offices in smaller towns by month end to serve customers. He later said that this move would help in increasing premium collection in unserved areas.<br/><br/>According to the finance minister, the per-capita income has grown over the years and a large number of people in smaller towns are saving and are looking for insurance products.<br/><br/>Later Mr. Mukherjee said, “A re-organisation of the existing loss-making branches, especially those of non-life general insurance companies, and also decongestion of branches which are concentrated in metros can help this expansion in un-served areas.”<br/><br/>He also urged the insurers to immediately take the e-governance route and ensure that all policies, both new and renewal are available online. This would help tap the growing segment of insurable population who is IT savvy.He said insurers invest massively in infrastructure projects and the total investments of the PSU insurance companies in infrastructure (as on March, 2012) was to the tune of Rs 14.26 lakh crore.<br/><br/>"While the loss of Rs 2,490 crore during 2011-12 is largely attributable to the natural catastrophes in Japan and Thailand and also due to the provisioning on account of motor pool, diversification of risk," Mukherjee added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=516InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:08:04 GMT <b>Tiruchi:</b> State run insurer United India Insurance Company Limited, announced that it plans to deploy nearly 50,000 agents across the country to in the next couple of years to strengthen its marketing team.<br/><br/>Mr. G. Srinivasan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, United India Insurance said, “Within the next couple of years, the state-owned insurance company will deploy 50,000 agents across the country in addition to the same number of agents on roll.”<br/><br/>He also said that the company will only train those candidate who have cleared the IRDA stipulated examination.<br/><br/>The company would concentrate on Tier III and Tier IV cities. “We will focus on Category 4 locations as defined by Indian Census Operations. In the subsequent phase, we will look at Category 5 and 6 locations”, he added.<br/><br/>The company has also planned to hire 350 officers in general and specialist categories this year. At present, there are approximately 17,000 employees and 1,500 offices across the country.<br/><br/>Mr. Srinivasan also said that the company would also launch a new product across the country by the end of this month, which will cover hospitalization and medical expenses for workers who come under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. Under the policy, industrial workers will get benefit, if any unfortunate happens to him at his job. <br/><br/>According to Mr. Srinivasan, the company is targeting Rs 10,000 crore business this year against Rs 8,179 crore in the previous fiscal year. He also said that 30 per cent of total business is from the corporate segment and the rest from retail and individual policies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=515InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:56:10 GMT <b>Bhopal:</b> In a populist move, the Madhya Pradesh state government has insured the lives of its 42.61 lacs farmers. These farmers, who are attached and associated with the 4,526 primary agriculture cooperative credit societies operating in the state, have been covered under the group insurance through the Mukhyamantri Krishak Suraksha Beema Yojna (Chief Minister Farmers Security Cooperative Insurance Scheme).<br/><br/>The main significance of this insurance is that the entire premium amount is paid by the state government and no financial burden of the scheme is borne by farmers. The chief minister’s office said that nearly Rs 6.5 crore annual premium is being paid by the government through district banks and the farmers' co-operative Apex Bank. Farmers aged between 18 to 70 years have been covered under this insurance scheme.<br/><br/>Under the scheme, insurance company pays Rs 50,000 to the family of the farmer who dies in an accident. And family of the farmer who suffers from permanent disability after an accident gets a compensation of Rs 50,000 whereas the family of the farmer, who suffers from partial disablement, gets Rs 25,000 as a compensation amount. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=514InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:55:18 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> Due to lack of insurance cover, the Indian shippers have refused to transport oil from Iran. Consequently, the State-owned Indian refiners have decided to stop planned oil imports from Iran when European sanctions take effect in July, unless the government permits them to use insurance and freight arranged by Tehran, said sources.<br/><br/>According to the sources from industry, in July, the State-owned refiners were planning to buy about 173,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran with Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a subsidiary of ONGC, aiming to import five aframax cargoes in July, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) planning for two suezmax cargoes. Purchase volumes fluctuate from month to month.<br/><br/>India’s biggest refiner, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was not planning to buy any cargo from Iran in July, said the sources. <br/><br/>India is the world’s fourth-largest oil importer and second biggest customer of the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) member nation.<br/><br/> Unlike private refiners, state-run companies need government permission to import oil on a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) basis as federal policy requires refiners to favour Indian insurers and shippers by buying only on a Free on Board (FOB) basis.<br/><br/>“It is becoming difficult. You settle one clause of the sanctions, then you realise you are trapped in the second,” said one of the sources.<br/><br/>The government aims to buy 310,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran under contracts during the fiscal year, which includes 100,000 barrel per day of purchases by Essar Oil, the only private customer. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=513InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:54:41 GMT Country’s disappointing economic growth and depreciation of rupee have forced foreign investors to pull out over Rs 1,000 crore in first 8 days of trading this month from stock market. According to the market regulator SEBI, during the period, 1st June-8th June, Foreign Institution Investors (FIIs) made gross purchase of equities worth Rs 16,954.10 crore and sold shares valued at Rs 18,021 crore, which resulted into a net outflow of Rs 1,067 crore. <br/><br/>Earlier, the FIIs had pulled out out Rs 347 crore from the equity market in May and Rs 1,109 crore in April.According to the market experts, the main reasons for outflows are depreciating rupee, slowing economic growth, high fiscal and current account deficit and lack of reform momentum.<br/><br/>Commenting on the outflows, a broker said, “Foreign investors are staying away from the Indian equity market, despite having an attractive valuation, mainly on account of volatility in rupee, which is hovering around the 56-level against US dollar. In any country, foreign investors get badly hurt if the local currency continues to depreciate because FIIs bring in dollar to invest and take back less of it when they sell.”<br/><br/>In fiscal year 2011-12, the country's GDP growth has dropped to 6.5 per cent, and, even worse, the growth in the January-March quarter was only 5.3 per cent. It was even lower than the economist projections.<br/><br/>The BSE benchmark's Sensex has lost 500 points or three per cent in the first week of the month to close at 16,718.87 on Friday. In the first three months of the calendar 2012 witnessed FIIs pumping huge capital into the equity markets, while in the the next two months of the second quarter saw foreign investors pulling out funds from the country.<br/><br/>However, in the first three months of 2012, FIIs had invested a record Rs 43,951 crore and in the next two months they withdrew a total of Rs 1,456 crore. After taking the latest withdrawals into account, FIIs have made an investment of Rs 41,427 crore into the equity market so far this year and Rs 21,107 crore into the debt market during the same period. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=512InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:08:15 GMT <b>MUMBAI:</b> Leading health insurer, Max Bupa has been named by the ‘health insurer of the year’ at the Indian Insurance Awards 2012. The ceremony was organised and attended by the industry leaders here in Mumbai. The company also recognized for Excellence in Growth in the Health Insurance category for its exemplary service, phenomenal growth and exceptional product innovation. It also received a special mention for its innovative and pioneering offering Health Companion Health Insurance Plan. Health Companion is an individual and family oriented health insurance cover which is simple to buy and easy to understand. In addition to comprehensive health insurance cover to suit customer needs, this plan helps them to care for their health proactively over time.<br/><br/>Damien Marmion, Chief Executive, Max Bupa said, “It is a moment of great pride for us at Max Bupa to be recognized for our commitment to offer the best in health insurance to Indian customers. This is a great achievement for a team as young as ours and will motivate us to raise the bar further and move closer to our vision of becoming the most admired Health Insurance Company in the country.”<br/><br/>Heartbeat Family First, one of Max Bupa’s plans also won the Best Product Innovation Award for 2011 at the India Insurance Awards 2011.<br/><br/>The jury panel were constituted from renowned members from the Indian insurance industry. S B Mathur, Secretary General, Life Insurance Council, R Chandrasekaran, Secretary General, General Insurance Council and Vepa Kamesam, Managing Director, Institute of Insurance and Risk Management were in the panel. The jury conducted detailed research and assessment on market performance of the qualifying companies.<br/><br/>“We have been growing at a rapid pace. Our customer base has already crossed 2, 50, 000. Our product portfolio is expanding and now has six products. We are present wherever our customers are, through our vast sales and hospital provider network. It is heartening to witness that many of the industry firsts that we introduced at the time of our launch like any age enrolment are now being advocated by the IRDA to be followed as an industry practice,” Mr. Damien added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=511InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:06:51 GMT <b>MUMBAI:</b> The insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has given an indication that the prospective entrants in insurance sector will now need more Start-up Capital. At present, the mandatory capital for new entrants is Rs100 crore; which is according to the bill passed more than a decade ago in year 1999. Now, insurer will have to start with at least Rs 200-250 crore.<br/><br/>Reason behind the increase in mandatory Start-up Capital is that the capital was fixed more than a decade ago when the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Bill was passed, since then the start-up expenses of a insurer have increased considerably.<br/><br/>Videocon, joint venture with Liberty Mutual has announced its intent to start with a capital base of around Rs 350 crore. Whereas auto leader Mahindra & Mahindra is in talks with US insurer Travellers to set up a general insurance company.<br/><br/>Most of the private insurers have invested more than the mandatory Start-up Capital of Rs 100 crore. For instance, at the end of their first year of operations in 2009, Canara HSBC Life, Aegon Religare and Star Union Dai-ichi had invested Rs 400 crore, Rs 300 crore and Rs 150 crore of capital respectively. Also in non-life segment where the companies do not have to wait long for profits, companies have started with a higher capital base than what was mandated. Bharti Axa began in 2009 with a capital of Rs 152 crore and Future Generali with Rs 150 crore. In the decade since the industry was opened up, 15 private general insurers have invested Rs 3,955 crore. The investment by 22 life companies has been almost six times higher than that of the non-life with a total capital base of Rs 23,656 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=510InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:05:54 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> Italian insurer Generali Group is in negotiation with Indian insurer Reliance General Insurance, which is the non-life subsidiary of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital Ltd to buy 26% stake. The sources, close to the development said that some other insurers are also in process of talks and deal is yet to be finalized.<br/><br/>Generali is an Italian insurance giant, which has joint venture with Kishore Biyani’s Future group under the name of ‘Future Generali Insurance’. If the deal is finalized, the Generali Group will have to move out from the non-life joint venture with Future Group because; under Indian law a foreign firm can have a stake in only one domestic insurer in the same segment. <br/><br/>UBS Securities India Pvt. Ltd is advising Reliance General on the deal.Canada’s insurer Intact Insurance Co. and Germany’s HDI-Gerling International Holding AG are also in talks with Reliance General Insurance to buy 26% stake for approximately Rs 1,500 crore, in Indian Insurance giant, said the report.<br/><br/>Reliance Capital is scouting for foreign partners for its various financial services ventures to help lower its debt. Under Indian regulations, insurers can sell up to a 26% stake to a foreign partner.“Between October and March 2011, we have managed to reduce our debt byRs.2,700 crore.<br/><br/>Another around Rs. 1,500 crore that we will get from Nippon Life in lieu of the asset management company’s stake will also be used to reduce debt,” a Reliance Group executive said.<br/><br/>The stake sale in Reliance General is expected to bring down Reliance Capital’s debt to around Rs.1,000 crore from around Rs.4,000 now.<br/><br/>Generali Group has assets of at least €460 billion with a total premium income of around €69 billion in 2011, according to its website. There are 26 general insurers in India that underwrote a gross premium ofRs. 6,506.51 crore in April. Future Generali underwrote a premium of Rs. 108.68 crore from its non-life business during the month. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=509InsuringIndia News Fri, 08 Jun 2012 18:33:10 GMT <b>Lucknow:</b> With view to promote institutional deliveries in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has all set to launch a unique scheme named ‘Jananishree’ for foetus or unborn babies of pregnant women.<br/><br/>The scheme will start under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). As the main objective of the scheme is to promote institutional deliveries, only those women will be benefited who will deliver babies in government hospital or a recognised private hospital.<br/><br/>According to the officials from medical & health department, the government has made all the necessary arrangements required to implement the scheme. The state government has set aside Rs 50 crore for the scheme. The draft of the scheme has been sent to the central government for approval and the scheme will be launched as soon as the central government approves the draft. <br/><br/>The government said that the scheme will be able to check neonatal and maternal death because people will move to the institutional deliveries rather to domestic or unqualified practitioners. The data suggests that the neonatal and maternal mortality rate is less in deliveries done in hospitals in comparison to household. But a section of experts did not agree with the government. They said that incentive should be to give money to the women who go for institutional delivery as it is in case of Janani Surakha Yojna (JSY), already being run under NRHM. The government can increase the amount of Rs 14,00 given under JSY to the women who deliver babies in government hospitals. Experts also warned about misuse of the scheme.<br/><br/>An activist, Dr. Shashi Kumar said, “In the state where female foeticide is assumed a menacing proportion, the insurance cover scheme can lead to a situation where people will kill daughters after birth for the insurance money.” <br/><br/>Commenting on the experts opinion, the government officials said, "In case of institutional deliveries, health staff will keep a track record of the child after birth, hence it would be impossible for people to kill the baby. It would be figured out easily whether the neonatal has been killed or has died due to some disease or any other factor.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=508InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:55:56 GMT In a recent judgment, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has said that the grace period for payment of premium can be even 31 days. According to the existing norms, consumers have been given a grace period of 30 days for payment of premiums.<br/><br/>After the West Bengal State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission dismissed the appeal of a state-owned insurer against the March 2010 order of the Birbhum District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, the insure made an appeal before the apex consumer forum, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). In its judgment, the apex consumer forum ordered the insurer to pay the claim amount after deducting the premium amount, to the nominee/claimant.<br/><br/>The insurer had rejected the claim of the widow of an insured on the ground that the policy had lapsed due to non-payment of the insurance premium, which was due the month before her husband's death.<br/><br/>"The grace period for payment of the premium has to be taken as 31 days in which event the insurance policy was valid and subsisting at the time and date of death of the life assured and the sum assured would, therefore, be payable after adjusting the unpaid premium," the commission said referring to its own ruling in a similar case. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=507InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:54:53 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> Despite the ongoing Euro Zone debt crisis and political trouble in West Asia and North Africa, state-owned credit insurer, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) has decided not to increase premiums for extending credit insurance cover to exporters. <br/><br/>Ms Geetha Murlidhar, Executive Director, ECGC said, “There is no case for upward revision in premiums. However, we are constantly monitoring the global developments.”<br/><br/>The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited(ECGC) is a company wholly owned by the Government of India. It is the fifth largest credit insurer of the world in terms of coverage of national exports. It provides export credit insurance support to Indian exporters and is controlled by the Ministry of Commerce. In fiscal year 2011-12, it collected gross premium aggregating Rs 1,005 crore compared with Rs 885 crore in previous fiscal.<br/><br/>In Indian exporters’ interest, the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India has not hiked premiums for providing credit insurance cover to exporters for the last decade.<br/><br/>Mr. N. Shankar, Chairman & MD, ECGC said that the corporation will set up a dedicated recovery unit to improve recovery from claims already settled.<br/><br/>A senior official from the corporation said that in case of global credit insurers, the recovery from claims already settled is 20-30 per cent. However, in the case of ECGC it is 2-5 per cent. <br/><br/>“The dedicated recovery unit will help us catch up with the global recovery benchmark,” he added.In fiscal year’ 2011-12, the corporation made recoveries of Rs 169 crore, against Rs 136 crore in previous fiscal. It has paid total claims of Rs 713 crore to exporters and banks in fiscal year’ 2011-12, against Rs 621 crore in fiscal year’ 2010-11. The corporation earned net profit of Rs 225.21 crore in fiscal year’ 2011-12, against Rs 85.66 crore in the previous fiscal. The profitability was boosted by lower claims provision, higher investment income and recoveries, and reduction in expenses. <br/><br/>Mr.Shankar said, “In fiscal year’ 2011-12, the Corporation's capital base will be augmented by Rs 100 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=506InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:53:13 GMT <b>Kolkata :</b> The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is all set to bring new product designing guidelines for life insurers in a month.<br/><br/>The regulator is very much concerned over the mis-selling of life insurance product by the insurers. Keeping consumers’ interest in mind, the insurance watch dog has decided to bring product designing guidelines. For the purpose, IRDA has set up a product design committee which has representatives from the industry. According to industry sources, IRDA has also circulated draft guidelines to initiate discussions.<br/><br/>If sources are to be believed, maintaining minimum premium payment term at five years; capping the maximum commission that can be charged for the first year and subsequent years; and phasing out products guaranteeing highest NAV are some of the proposals included in the draft. The guideline defines minimum death benefit applicable in the case of participating (wherein policyholders are entitled to a share in the profits or surplus) and non-participating (wherein the returns are guaranteed and benefits disclosed upfront) products.<br/><br/>Mr Rituraj Bhattacharya, Head, Product Development and Market Management, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said that most of these guidelines focus on the technical aspects of product designing in order to bring some similarity among the products offered by various insurance companies.<br/><br/>Mr S. Roy Chowdhury, Member (Life), IRDA said, “We are not looking at micromanagement, however we plan to put in place certain broad guidelines to determine how products should be developed with a view to help customers. The IRDA is also looking at introducing a comprehensive unified proposal form to streamline systems and processes” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=505InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:31:50 GMT <b>New Delhi :</b> Private sector insurer, Reliance Life Insurance Company, on Wednesday, conferred with a national award for reducing branch expenses through the use of innovative technologies from the Quality Council of India (QCI). The company has been using lean six sigma methodology to address various business complexities in a structured manner for over three years now, has achieved a significant cost saving of Rs.37.5 crore by applying quality management initiatives and involving employees across the organisation in the process.Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited (Reliance Life Insurance) is a part of Reliance Capital Ltd. of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Reliance Capital is one of India’s leading private sector financial services companies, and ranks among the top 3 private sector financial services and banking companies, in terms of net worth.<br/><br/>Minister of Tourism, Subodh Kant Sahay presented the D.L. Shah National Award on Economics of Quality to Reliance Life Insurance Company at the 7th National Quality Conclave of Quality Council of India.<br/><br/>In a statement, Malay Ghosh, President & Executive Director, Reliance Life Insurance said, “Quality has been adopted as a way of life at Reliance Life Insurance. We are honoured to have won this recognition from a prestigious organization like the QCI for our continuous efforts in efficiency and productivity enhancements through application of quality management practices.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=504InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:30:50 GMT <b>Kochi :</b> GIOAIA (General Insurance Officers All India Association) has welcomed the Government’s move to put a cap on motor vehicle accident claims compensation amount. Keeping ‘third party insurance’ losses in mind, the Central Government has taken this step.<br/><br/>“The four public sector general insurance companies – United India Insurance, New India Insurance, Oriental Insurance and National Insurance – would benefit most by the new step,” said Mr P.P. Mohanan, General Secretary, GIOAIA (Kerala unit).<br/><br/>These insurers have been facing loss in third party insurance year after year. Situation is gradually getting worse. The regulator became clueless and forced to hike the third party premium of motor vehicles for the betterment of the segment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=503InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:29:54 GMT <b>Thiruvananthapuram :</b> SBI General Insurance Co. Limited has expands its business. The company has gained more than 10 thousands customers in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala during its first full year of operation. The company's premium income across the corporate, SME (Small Medium Enterprise) and retail segments during this period was Rs 7.54 crore.<br/><br/>SBI General is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). SBI owns 74% of the total capital and IAG the remaining 26%. SBI General is in the process of setting up a unique multi-distribution model encompassing Bancassurance, Agency, Broking & Retail Direct channels. “The focus would now be on the retail (motor, health, home) and SME segments in the region,” said Mr. N. Krishna Murthy, Assistant VP & Branch Head.<br/><br/>“We have also successfully established our footprint in nearly 400 State Bank of India branches situated in around the city,” he added.<br/><br/>The company is overwhelmed by the response of the consumers and has opened one more branch in Kochi to target business in central and north Kerala. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=502InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:28:35 GMT Anti-trust body Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved 26% stake transfer in Max New York Life Insurance (MNYL) to Japan's Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company.With the stake transfer, the US-based New York Life will exit from the joint venture with Max India.<br/><br/>Max India is the holding company of Max New York Life (MNYL) which is a joint venture between Max India and New York Life.<br/><br/>Competition Commission of India is a body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India. It was established on 14 October 2003.<br/><br/>In a notification, CCI said, “"...The assessment of the proposed combination, the Commission is of the opinion that the proposed combination is not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India and therefore, the Commission hereby approves the proposed combination.”<br/><br/>According to the share purchase agreement, Mitsui Sumitomo will acquire 16.63% equity share capital of Max New York Life from New York Life and 9.37% from Max India.By way of a separate agreement on April 12, 2012, New York Life has sold its 9.37% shares in MNYL to Max India.<br/><br/>"Subsequent to the proposed combination, New York Life would completely exit from MNYL and Max India and Mitsui Sumitomo would control MNYL with Mitsui having 26% shareholding," it added.<br/><br/>Post combination, the shareholding of other shareholders in MNYL would remain unchanged with Max India being the largest shareholder holding 69.78% of equity capital of MNYL while Axis Bank holds the balance 4%.<br/><br/>The Japanese insurance giant, Mitsui Sumitomo is present in India through its investment in Cholamandalam-MS General Insurance Company with 26% equity shares and in Cholamandalam-MS Risk Services with 50% share. It is mainly engaged in non-life insurance business across the globe. Whereas Cholamandalam-MS General Insurance is engaged in general insurance business in India and Cholamandalam-MS Risk Services is engaged in risk management and engineering solutions in the fields of safety, health and environment.<br/><br/>The present rule permits FDI up to 26% in the insurance sector under automatic route. Indian insurance sector has 42 private players in life and general insurance business sharing about 30% of the market share in life insurance and 41% of the market share in general insurance sector.<br/><br/>In 2010-11, the top five companies in India accounted for around 87% of the business. While, LIC is the largest player with about 69.78% market share, the market share of MNYL in life insurance industry is only 1.99%.<br/><br/>Shares of Max India today closed at Rs 186.55 apiece on the BSE, up 1.3% from the previous close. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=501InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:49:47 GMT The finance minister is deep concerned over the poor performance of public sector insurers. To review the reasons behind the declining profits of these insurers, the finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee is set to meet the chiefs of these companies on 13th June. Insurance companies are likely to raise issues related to taxation and the third-party motor pool in the meeting.<br/><br/>The meeting would be held a day after the finance minister's annual meeting with the heads of public sector banks and financial institutions on 12th June. The last such meeting was held in 2009. Officials from the four public sector general insurers - National Insurance, Oriental Insurance, New India Assurance and United India Insurance - along with those from the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, the General Insurance Corporation and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) are likely to attend the meeting.<br/><br/>Recently, the finance ministry had written a letter to the insurers asking them to raise premiums to strengthen their performance, but some insurers have shown their annoyance at the ministry’s proposals. <br/><br/>Largest general insurance company (by gross premium), New India Assurance recorded a huge loss of Rs 422 crore in FY’ 2010-11, while the net profits of National Insurance and United India Insurance fell during the year. It is estimated the performance of some of these companies deteriorated further in FY’ 2011-12.<br/><br/>A senior executive from a non-life insurer said, “"We will discuss some income tax issues that are leading to litigations. Also, there are issues regarding profits on the sale of investment. If the finance ministry can provide some relief, it would help the companies.<br/><br/>Insurers would also discuss the high provisioning for the third-party motor pool, which led to profits declining last year. The regulator had earlier raised provisioning rates for the third-party motor pool. Despite the decline in market share of public sector general insurer to 60% after the entry of private insurers in the last decade, premiums underwritten by public sector insurers have increased.<br/><br/>While the market share of public sector general insurers declined to 60 per cent following the entry of private insurers in the last 10 years, in absolute terms, premiums underwritten by public sector insurers have increased. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=500InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:48:34 GMT Non-life insurers are all set to revise individual health insurance premium. According to the sources close to the industry, premiums are likely to go up.<br/><br/>A senior official from the industry said, “Any hike in the premium of health policies should be justified by the concerned insurer before the regulator. Health insurers who are having a stress at their loss ratio and have completed three years of business in this portfolio may go for a price correction”.<br/><br/>Health insurers have been facing huge loss ratio which is growing year by year. Loss ratio is the amount that insurers need to pay out of their own pocket for claim settlement. “Top players are having a loss ratio of around 80-90% which is not healthy for the smooth running of the business,” said an official.<br/><br/>Health insurers are doing hard to get rid of this loss but despite all that they have not picked up as per their expectations. According to the data released by the regulator, the premium mop up of health insurers went down to 18.6% during the FY’ 2011-12 as against 34% in FY’ 2010-11. The premium collection from the health sector was at Rs13,354 crore during the last fiscal.<br/><br/>According to the sector experts, the shrink is because of the fall in sales of group policies. Corporate group policies started losing its sheen as companies cut budgets on employee health plans. This in turn has put greater pressure on the margins of insurance companies. As a result, they have also hiked the premiums of corporate policies following high claims ratio. Public sector insurers are also supposed to hike premiums for health insurance because the finance ministry has sent them a letter directing them not to underwrite policies causing heavy losses. Also, the insurers were asked to reduce discounts on individual as well as group policies. The combined loss ratio (loss ratio plus expense ratio) of public sector insurers is now above 100% and it is a matter of worry for the industry.<br/><br/>An official from the industry said, “Medical inflation, on an average, is 17% year-on-year, and the premium has to go up in order to cope up with the rise in cost.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=499InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:47:47 GMT Mumbai: On Monday, one of the leading private sector insurers, Aviva Life Insurance launched an online health plan named ‘Aviva Health Secure’. This plan is specially designed keeping critical illness in mind. Under this plan 12 critical illnesses are covered and the policyholder gets a lump sum amount on diagnosis of any of the covered critical illnesses.<br/><br/>Premium for this plan starts from Rs 2,000 per year. Sum assured ranges from Rs 5 lacs to Rs 50 lacs. The minimum entry age for the plan is 18 years and maximum goes up to 55 years. Policy term is minimum 10 years and maximum 30 years.<br/><br/>Unlike other health insurance products offered by the non-life insurance companies which are indemnity based, Aviva Health Secure offers the policyholder a lump sum based on the sum assured for the illnesses irrespective of the hospital bills.<br/><br/>“It is estimated that the total healthcare expenses in India will rise to $425 billion by 2016. Even now 79 per cent of Indians fund their own medical expenses compared to 17 per cent in the UK,” said Mr T. R. Ramchandran, CEO & MD, Aviva India,<br/><br/>Aviva Life Insurance already has an online health product named ‘Aviva i-Life' launched in June’ 2011.<br/><br/>Mr Gaurav Rajput, Director( Marketing & Products), Aviva India said, “We sold 22,000 policies (about 10 per cent of the total policy sales) in eight months. For ‘Aviva Health Secure’, we're targeting the younger generation in the 25-45 age group typically in the top eight cities.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=498InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:47:03 GMT Private sector insurer Shriram General Insurance has registered a huge profit of Rs 64 crore for the fiscal year’ 2011-12 on an equity base of Rs 123 crore. Underwriting profit contributed Rs 20.86 crore to the net profit. More than 90% of its premium collection of around Rs 1,300 crore has come from motor insurance.<br/><br/>Mr. R. Thyagarajan, group’s chairman, Sriram General Insurance has always maintained that motor insurance can be a profitable portfolio, if managed well. The company pays less by settling claims quickly, thereby also helping the claimant — the accident victim — get the money to move on in life.<br/><br/>Mr. Thyagarajan had started his career with New India Assurance.<br/><br/>Sriram General is a joint venture between the Chennai-based Shriram group and Sanlam of South Africa, which holds 26 per cent in the venture. It was founded on 5th April’ 1974, by 3 people. Mr. R. Thyagarajan, Mr. [[Raju ] and Mr. T. Jayaraman. This group has grown to become a major player in the Financial Services space.<br/><br/>Generally ‘motor third party’ is considered as area of headache by the general insurers. Insurers have been suffering losses in ‘commercial vehicles third party’. Fearing that this segment would be declined by the private sector insurers, the regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority had brought it in a ‘motor pool’ arrangement. Under the arrangement, the insurance will be done by the pool fund and losses or profit would be shared by all insurers in the same percentage as their overall market share. <br/><br/>Now, hoping that private insurers will also underwrite commercial third party, the regulator, since 1st April’ 2012, has been abolished the ‘motor pool’.<br/><br/>Further, Mr. Thyagarajan, told the reporters, “We will accept truck third party business”. He expects Shriram General to earn premium income of around Rs 700 crore this fiscal year from ‘truck third party’. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=497InsuringIndia News Mon, 04 Jun 2012 19:00:27 GMT If media reports are to be believed, non-life insurers have reduced discounts on commercial and private own-damage motor policy by as much as 20%, as third-party motor risk moves to ‘declined pool’.<br/><br/>Recently, the sectoral regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had replaced the ‘third-party motor pool’ with ‘declined pool’. The ‘declined pool’ will have lower contribution from industry for the insurance cover at about Rs. 12 billion against over Rs. 60 billion earlier.<br/><br/>Further, the report said, ““Third-party motor risk, which earlier went to the third-party pool, will now put pressure on insurers and they will have to take the claim on their balance sheet. This will prompt insurers to emphasise on better underwriting and management of risk.”<br/><br/>IRDA has increased premium on third-party motor rates by 10% this year after a huge increase of 68% last year. This move is in-line with IRDA’s directive that third party motor premium will be revised annually using a formula which will be based on the inflation and claim experience.<br/><br/>Motor insurance policy includes two components—‘third-party liability’ and ‘own-damage covers’. According to the law, it is mandatory for a vehicle owner to buy third-party insurance, but own-damage portion is optional. Third-party cover comes into play when a vehicle owner has to settle claims of a third-party for any bodily injury or property damage caused in an accident involving the insured vehicle. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=496InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:53:40 GMT The government of India has approved the Pension and Life Insurance Fund (PLIF) for Overseas Indian workers having Emigration Check Required passports in January, 2012.The objective of PLIF scheme is to encourage and enable overseas Indian workers by giving co-contribution to (a) save for their return and resettlement, (b) save for their old age (c) obtain a low cost Life Insurance cover against natural death during the period of coverage.<br/><br/>Overseas Indian workers with emigration check required (ECR) passports and aged between 18 and 50 years who are emigrating overseas or have already emigrated overseas on an employment/contract visa are eligible to join the PLIF scheme. The scheme will benefit overseas Indian workers with ECR passports in ECR countries. These countries are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.<br/><br/>Overseas Indian workers will be able to withdraw their accumulated Return and Resettlement savings as a lump sum upon their return to India.The savings of PLIF subscribers in National Pension System (NPS)-Lite shall remain invested in a PFRDA regulated pension fund and shall be returned to them when they reach the age of 60 years in the form of pension as per PFRDA rules. The Lump sum Return and Resettlement withdrawals as well as pension benefits through NPS-Lite shall be paid into the bank account of each individual PLIF subscriber. The workers would also be given life insurance cover against natural death during the period of coverage.The co-contribution by Government available under the PLIF scheme for a period of five years or till the return of workers to India, whichever is earlier, are:<br/><br/>a) A co-contribution of Rs.1000 per annum in line with Swavalamban platform for all PLIF subscribers who save between Rs.1000 and Rs.12000 per year in NPS-Lite;b) An additional co-contribution of Rs.1000 per annum by MOIA for overseas Indian women workers who save between Rs.1000 and Rs.12000 per annum in NPS-Lite;c) A special Return and Resettlement co-contribution of Rs.1000 by MOIA to overseas Indian workers who save Rs.4000 per annum towards Return and Resettlement.<br/><br/>This scheme is implemented using the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) regulated products as per their institutional architecture. There will be an integrated enrolment process for the subscribers who will be issued a unique PLIF Account number upon enrolment. On their return to India, the subscriber can withdraw the Return and Resettlement savings as a lump sum. However, the subscriber would be able to continue savings for their old age in NPS-Lite and the same shall remain invested with a PFRDA regulated pension fund. The PLIF subscriber can withdraw pension corpus as per the guidelines prescribed by the PFRDA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=495InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:52:52 GMT Reading the pulse of the market, some more non-life insurers felt the need of offering cover for alternative treatments. Currently, out of 24 non-life insurers only seven are offering such cover.An alternative treatment is considered as non-allopathic treatment. All together it is also called ‘Ayush’-which includes ayurveda, unani , sidh and homeopathy. It may be based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence.<br/><br/>If media reports are to be believed, many non-life insurers are in process to launch retail health insurance policies which will provide cover for alternative treatments. And those who are already proving such cover with certain limits and conditions are aiming to increase the limit. Some of the insurers that cover hospitalization under alternative treatments are New India Assurance, United India, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and Tata AIG. <br/><br/>According to the reports, New India Assurance, which covers alternative treatments up to 25% of the sum insured, has already filed a product with IRDA. The product would cover a higher amount for alternative treatments against the existing limit of up to 25% of the sum insured. ICICI Lombard General Insurance has also filed a product with the regulator for approval. The product will provide cover for OPD (Outdoor Patient Department) under alternative treatments but without hospitalization benefit.<br/><br/> In April, another private sector leading insurer, Tata AIG launched a plan named ‘MediPrime’ that will pay for alternative treatment with limit. The plan will provide benefit for 140 day care procedures which do not require 24 hrs hospitalization due to technological advancement.<br/><br/>Definitely, policies with cover of alternative treatments will give a new height to health insurance segment. Also, the inclusion of alternative treatments under cashless facility will give policyholders more relaxation from financial burden. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=494InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:51:55 GMT The insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has proposed to make it mandatory for health insurers to provide health cover to people up to 65 years of age and settle all claims within a month.<br/><br/>According to the draft guidelines for health insurers, the insurance watchdog said that there will be no exit age for policy renewals and all policies will allow treatment across the country. It is mandatory for insurers to provide cashless treatment to policyholders undergoing treatment in a particular hospital even after it is removed from the preferred service providers’ list. Also, life insurers can offer products with a four-year term while non-life companies can offer up to three years. The IRDA has asked all stakeholders to send in their feedback by June 30.<br/><br/>These provisions form part of IRDA's exposure draft on Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Health Insurance) Regulations 2012.<br/><br/>The proposed regulation also says that the policyholders can port their policies from one insurer to another without losing any policy benefit. A special provision for senior citizens, whose need for health care is pressing, is also proposed. The regulation also says that insurers will have to provide all relevant information to the customers in a very simple language in a single page. If any claim is denied, the insurer will have to give proper reasons. Further the draft says that if the policyholder is already undergoing treatment at a hospital, and such hospital is proposed to be removed from the list of Network Provider, then insurers shall provide the benefits of cashless facility for such policy holder as if such hospital continues to be on the Network Provider list.<br/><br/>The regulator wants to address the problems of the health insurance sector which came into light in 2010 after the all state-run insurers removed private hospitals from their preferred list citing over charging by them under the cashless scheme.<br/><br/>According to the draft regulations, the regulator has asked insurers to make sure the network hospitals where cashless treatment is offered for the policyholders are spread across the country and not limited to the metros only. It also says that there must be an adequate number of private and public providers shall be empanelled.<br/><br/>The insurance watchdog has also suggested that insurers should at all time keep policyholders informed on nearest hospital where cashless facility is available. The insurers should also display the updated list of network providers on their websites. The draft norms also say that for the purpose of claim settlement, insurer shall make direct payments to the network provider and to the policyholders by integrating their banking system platform with the network provider or the insured, as per the case.<br/><br/>"For the purpose of claim settlement, insurer shall make direct payments to the network provider and to the policyholders by integrating their banking system platform with the network provider or the insured, as the case may be," the draft said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=493InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:50:50 GMT The world’s largest re-insurer has virtually pulled out of the Indian market. Its exit was partly triggered by the low prices quoted by domestic insurers in the face of fierce competition and will stay out unless premiums increase considerably.The company’s premium income is about $50 billion per year. The re-insurer has been providing reinsurance support to both public sector and private sector non-life insurers in India for over more than 30 years.<br/><br/>“We have very strict risk management and pricing requirements that also apply to the Indian market. To offer stability in the long run, prices need to be risk adequate,” said Nikola Kemper, Spokesperson, Munich Re-insurer.<br/><br/>Re-insurance is an insurance that is purchased by an insurance company from another insurance company as a means of risk management. The insurer and the reinsurer enter into a re-insurance agreement which details the conditions upon which the reinsurer would pay the insurer's losses. The reinsurer is paid a reinsurance premium by the insurer and the insurer issues insurance policies to its own policyholders. The main reason for insurers to buy reinsurance is to transfer risk from the insurer to the reinsurer.<br/><br/>The price of profitable businesses like engineering and fire risk covers has fallen by 90 per cent since the deregulation of risk pricing by the regulator in 2007. Munich Re-insurer’s restricted presence was also partly on account of the record $105 billion losses it suffered due to worldwide catastrophes. The premium drops in the country have triggered fears that reinsurers’ losses will mount.<br/><br/>Munich Re-insurer pulled out does not mean that it has completely left the Indian market. The company is present in joint ventures HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company and Apollo Health Insurance. Its exit does not mean domestic insurers have no reinsurance support. Such support is now provided by GIC under an arrangement referred to as obligation cession. This implies that at least 10 per cent of risk business would have to be passed on to GIC to gets its reinsurance support. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=492InsuringIndia News Thu, 31 May 2012 18:08:45 GMT The finance ministry has asked the state-owned general insurers to increase premiums on health insurance, motor insurance and other policies. The ministry has also suggested the insurers not to undercut premiums to get new business. The insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has already been asked by the government to take adequate steps to contain such tendency within the insurers and pronounced it a ‘Suicidal-Competition’ among the insurers.<br/><br/>In a recent letter to all 4 state-run insurers, National Insurance, Oriental Insurance, New India Assurance and United India Insurance, the ministry presented a strategy for underwriting group health insurance policies. It said premiums on all stand-alone group health insurance policies coming for renewal this year should be revised upwards, keeping in mind the total expenses. Despite growth in premium, state-run non-life insurers are seeing decline in net profit. The government asked them to restructure their premiums and turn around loss- making branches.<br/><br/>This move has received some sharp criticisms from the insurers. They are accusing the ministry of ‘micro-management’. They fear this move would take out premiums from their customers, resulting in loss of business to private sector insurers.<br/><br/>Commenting on the move of the government, a top executive with one of the companies said, “In a competitive environment, people reduce prices to get volumes. Pricing is not directed by one single player. The customer is now spoilt for choice. If some private company is giving a lower rate, he will switch over to that. Why should he pay higher premium?" <br/><br/>A PSU insurer won't be allowed to take business of another state-run insurance company, if the sum assured is over Rs 100 for a fire insurance policy. The instruction came after the ministry noticed fire policies were issued at a discount of 80-85 per cent. A shift within the insurance companies will not be allowed for group health insurance policies, provided the existing insurer gives his 'no-objection'. The companies have also been asked to analyse third-party motor insurance and exercise due diligence while offering such policies and increase premiums to pare losses.<br/><br/>The net combined losses of the four insurance companies on group health insurance were estimated at around Rs 1,500 crore in fiscal year ‘11-12. In a letter, the ministry blamed imprudent underwriting and unhealthy & self-destructive inter-company competition among these companies for these losses. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=491InsuringIndia News Thu, 31 May 2012 18:07:57 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> SBI Life has been conferred with the ‘Top Indian Public Sector Enterprise’ under insurance sector in the PSU Awards 2012 by Dun & Bradstreet, a world’s leading provider of global business information and knowledge.<br/><br/>Mr. M. Veerappa Moily, the Union Minister for Corporate Affairs presented the award to Mr. Vincent Sussfeld, Deputy CEO, SBI Life Insurance and Mr Ashutosh Sharma, Regional Director – North 2, SBI Life Insurance, in the presence of Mr. Kaushal Sampat, President & CEO – India, Dun & Bradstreet.<br/><br/>Dun & Bradstreet is a Fortune 500 public company, headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, USA that licenses information on businesses and corporations for use in credit decisions, business-to-business marketing and supply chain management. The company maintains information about more than 205 million companies worldwide. Dun & Bradstreet maintains a database of over 200 million companies globally and over 53 million professional contact names using a variety of sources including public records, trade references, telco providers, newspapers and publications, telephone interviews and others. <br/><br/>The award felicitated leading PSUs through ‘PSU Awards 2012’ across various sectors and categories of business excellence.<br/><br/>Along with its five associate banks, State Bank of India has a strength of over 18,000 branches across the country. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=490InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 May 2012 19:17:29 GMT State owned insurance giant, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), after several years, has finally raised interest rates on loans against policies. The insurer has also raised interest rates on delayed payments. Earlier, the interest rate on policy were charged 9% which provided policyholders an opportunity to earn by taking loans from LIC and putting them into some fixed deposit plans of AAA rate companies like HDFC, which return with interest rate of 9.5% on 15 months deposits. Keeping this trend in mind; the insurer decided to raise the interest rates to 10%.<br/><br/>Speaking on the reason why the company had not revised rates for several years, a senior official of the company said that interest rates have been largely steady in recent years. However, now volatility has compelled LIC to realign rates with the market. "The policy condition states that interest rates on loans would be revised from time to time," he said.<br/><br/>The EPFO allows employees to withdraw their retirement savings only for specific events, whereas Life Insurance Corporation grants loans to the policyholders against the policies for up to 90% of the surrender value of the policies including cash value of bonus with no reluctance. For the purpose, the policyholders only need to assign the policies in favour of the company.<br/><br/>The private sector insurers have already been charging more interest rate on loans against policies. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance charging 10% interest rate whereas some other private sector insurers are charging even up to 12.5% interest rate. Rituraj Bhattacharjee, Head, Market Management, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance still considers this cheaper than other personal loans. "Life insurance policies can be used as a collateral security for raising loans for some emergency funding that can be leveraged without losing the life cover. It is observed that self employed people prefer this mode for their working capital needs," he said.<br/><br/>In the same manner in the case of interest of delayed payments, LIC has hiked interest rates to 10%. Earlier the company was charging interest rate at 8%. Despite the hike in interest on loan against policies, the largest insurer of the country is charging lower than the interest rates charged on loan against Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme.Under the PPF scheme loans are available at 2% over the prevailing rate, which at present is 8.8%. Also under PPF the maximum loan amount is 25% of the balance two years earlier. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=489InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 May 2012 18:22:07 GMT Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) may soon allow insurance ombudsmen to deal with the grievances of individual consumers involving claims higher than the Rs 20 lacs permitted at present. The scope may also be increased to cover all kinds of complaints, including mis-selling, from the issue of a policy to its maturity.<br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is looking into a proposal in this regard. Currently, an insurance ombudsman’s powers are restricted to mainly claims-related grievances concerning insurance contracts of up to Rs 20 lacs.<br/><br/>“Currently, 50 per cent of the complaints received by an ombudsman are outside its purview. Even ordinary people are taking insurance of Rs 50 lacs on the general side. So, there should be some reconsideration on that front,” said an executive with an insurance company.<br/><br/>If the scope of the insurance ambit is increased, there would be more ombudsmen required to dispose increased complaints. All major state capitals will get one ombudsman. At present there are only 12 ombudsmen- in Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. These are drawn from the insurance industry, civil services and judicial services. “If the scope of the insurance ambit is increased, we have to see whether the existing number of ombudsmen can cope with the increased work burden or not,” an official said.<br/><br/>In year 2010-11, total complaints received by the ombudsmen almost doubled at 23,334 from 12,812 in 2008-09. But the same growth is not seen in disposals. Ombudsmen disposed only 17,239 cases in 2010, against 11,417 cases in year 2008-09.<br/><br/>The office of the ombudsman is governed under the Redressal of Public Grievances Rules, 1998.<br/><br/>The ombudsman can entertain complaints regarding partial or total repudiation of claims by an insurer, disputes on premium paid or payable, disputes on the legal construction of policies with regard to claims, delay in settlement of claims and non-issue of any insurance document to customers after receipt of premium. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=488InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 May 2012 18:56:56 GMT Mahindra & Mahindra (M & M), the Indian multinational automobile manufacturer, is in talks with a leading US- based insurance company, Travelers Group to enter fast growing Indian general insurance business. The Indian general insurance business has touched Rs 40,000 crore mark. The leading auto manufacturer of India had appointed global services provider KPMG to find a partner with technical experience for operating a general insurance business.<br/><br/>The international player Travelers is seeking to enter Indian insurance business despite the Indian government constantly deferring decision on the much awaited & much discussed, Insurance Amendment Bill. The revised insurance law suggests to retain Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)in insurance sector at 26% from 49% proposed earlier. The insurance industry believes that the capital-intensive sector requires continuous inflow of funds for expansion. Hence, they feel the need of liberalization of the sector. But in other hand, the Standing Committee thinks that the increased role of foreign capital (49%) may lead to the possibility of exposing the economy to vulnerabilities of global markets which may lead to capital flowing outside the country and also endanger the interest of policyholders.<br/><br/>The Travelers Group is the largest American Insurance company by market value. Travelers has headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota and Hartford, Connecticut with significant operations in New York, New York. It has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since June 8, 2009. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=487InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 May 2012 18:56:24 GMT A steady decline of rupee has compelled insurers of travel insurance portfolios to shake their heads. The leading general insurance companies are likely to meet the insurance watch dog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to refile and restructure the premium charges of their products soon.<br/><br/>Insurance companies pay claims for outbound travel insurance in foreign currencies but collect premiums in Indian rupee; this way, the rupee’s fall has badly affected the general insurance companies in India. The Indian rupee has fallen more than 5% this year against the dollar, making it the worst performing Asian currency.<br/><br/>Sanjay Datta, Head (Underwriting & Claims), ICICI Lombard, affirmed that the leading general insurance company is under pressure and willing to meet the regulator to have a relook the premiums. "The rupee fluctuation has been a matter of concern for us as far as travel portfolio is concerned. Most probably, we will approach IRDA to hike premium charges soon," he added. <br/><br/>One of the leading state owned insurers National Insurance has also showed its deep concern over the fall of the rupee and its impact on travel portfolio. The General Manager of the company, Mr. Subir Bhattacharyya said, “It is certainly affecting our margins”.<br/><br/>The April-June quarter is usually the best for the travel insurance segment, but the presumption by some analysts that the rupee may fall to 60 mark in coming days, has raised the concerns of the insurers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=486InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 May 2012 13:09:19 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has once thwacks its regulatory knout on the insurers for the sake of policyholders’ interest. In a recent draft guideline on product design, the insurance watchdog has instructed the insurers to acquire surrender value on all traditional plans such as endowment, money back etc before completing 3 years.<br/><br/>“Regular pay products and limited pay products with a premium payment term (PPT) of ten years or more will acquire a GSV (guaranteed surrender value) on receipt of the third-year premium” said the regulator.<br/><br/>Unlike earlier, the policyholders won't have to wait to complete three years for surrender value. They can have surrender value just after completion of 2nd year getting relief of one year if they choose to surrender the policies. And if, the selected PPT (Premium Payment Term) is less than 10 years, then the policyholders would be eligible for a GSV (Guaranteed Surrender Value) by the end of second year.<br/><br/>Surrender value is the amount which is paid out for the policy if the policyholder either chooses to terminate the policy or stops paying the premium before the end of the term. In the case, the policyholder gets a total of 30-35% of all premiums paid minus the first year’s premium. With this, insurers offer a special surrender value which is calculated after considering the current market value of assets held against the policy.<br/><br/>The regulator is planning to relax surrender value norms on single premium policies too. So, if the circular comes into effect, all single premium policies will acquire a surrender value at the end of the first year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=485InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 May 2012 15:14:34 GMT Mumbai: Canada’s insurer Intact and German insurer HDI-Gerling International Holdings have emerged as the top contenders to buy a 26% stake in Anil Ambani owned Reliance Capital Ltd’s non-life insurance arm, Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.<br/><br/>Intact Insurance Company is the largest home, auto and business insurer, whereas HDI-Gerling International Holding AG is the third largest insurance group of Germany.<br/><br/>According to the sources close to the development of the deal said the deal value could be something around Rs 1,500 crore. If deal is finalized, this would make it the largest foreign investment in the insurance business in India. Reliance General has appointed UBS India as its advisors.<br/><br/>If sources are to be believed, the deal is almost finalized and it is only the matter of time before ‘a term sheet’ is signed by ‘Reliance Capital, Reliance General and the foreign investors.<br/><br/>However, a Reliance Capital spokesperson termed the news of the potential deal speculation and refused to comment. Gilles Gratton, Vice-president (corporate communication) at Intact Financial Corporation which owns Intact Insurance, also refused to comment on the deal. Martin Schrader press officer at Talanx AG that controls HDI-Gerling, termed it a market rumour and refused to comment.<br/><br/>Travelers companies and Samsung Fire and Marin are also among potential bidders.Recently, Nippon Life Insurance agreed to pay Rs 1,600 crore (approx.) for a 26% stake in Reliance Capital’s asset management unit. The company also owns 26 % in Reliance life insurance business, acquired last year for Rs 3,800 crore(approx.)<br/><br/>“The process for the stake sale in the general insurance business is also on, and once that is completed, debt should come down by another Rs.1,000-1,500 crore” said a senior executive with Reliance Capital. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=484InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 May 2012 19:12:40 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Thursday announced to issue new guidelines on the non-unit linked insurance plans in a month.<br/><br/>There has been a situation of deadlock for two years between the insurance watchdog and the insurance companies. The new guidelines are expected to end the deadlock. “Thenew guidelines on non-unit linked insurance products would be similar to the ULIPs (unit-linked insurance plans) guidelines brought out in September, 2010” said Mr. J. Harinarayan, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.<br/><br/>According to the Chairman, the new guidelines will bring in clarity to the products other than ULIPs. The regulator has already circulated a draft within the industry inviting comments on it and would issue guidelines after considering the inputs. The major disappointments for the industry might come on two fronts-the highest NAV (Net Asset Value) guarantee and the pension products. Mr. Harinarayan said that highest NAV guarantee is a dangerous products and is prone to be mis-sold. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=483InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 May 2012 19:11:17 GMT New Delhi: Diversified business group Max India on Thursday has reported to reduce net loss to Rs 1.39 crore for the fourth quarter ended on 31st March’ 12 from Rs 13.47 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal due to the rich growth in specialty plastic products business.<br/><br/>In a filing to BSE, Max India said, “In the corresponding period of previous fiscal, the company had posted a net loss of Rs 13.47 crore. However, the total income for the Qtr 4 which ended on 31st March’ 12, rose to Rs 194.43 crore against Rs 129.16 crore for the corresponding period of previous fiscal.”<br/><br/>The company’s specialty plastics business in the 4th quarter recorded revenue of Rs 173.72 crore as compared to Rs 117.08 crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal. The company paid a sum of Rs 24.05 crore in advance against equity investments in its subsidiary Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd. On 28th March’ 12, the company acquired 7,142,857 equity shares of Rs 10 each of its subsidiary Max Healthcare Institute Ltd from S&G Investments at an acquisition price of Rs 50 per equity share aggregating Rs 35.71 crore.<br/><br/>For the year ended on 31st March’ 12, net loss of the company stood at Rs 15.44 crore. It was Rs 42.10 crore in the previous fiscal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=482InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 May 2012 17:26:05 GMT Mumbai: India’s largest insurer state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), in order to ease the government’s fiscal burden, has offered to buy up former Unit Trust of India’s (UTI) stakes in ITC, Axis Bank and Larsen & Toubro (L & T) valued at Rs 37,000 crore.<br/><br/>The proposal to buy up these stakes was made to the finance minister officials. Currently, the possession of the stakes is with the government and they are looking for ways to bridge out the fiscal gap. If the deal is finalized, could be staggered over months or even over two years. The officials refused to tell whether the decision of LIC was a voluntary. The deal could help the government side-step hostile public investors, who turned their backs on a share sale by Oil and Natural Gas Corp, forcing LIC to bail out the Rs 12,400-crore issue.<br/><br/>The insurance giant, which has already breached the 10% equity limit in both ITC and L&T, believes the purchase will help give better returns to policyholders, people aware of the proposal said. The government, though, is yet to make up its mind. An LIC spokesman declined comment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=481InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 May 2012 17:25:44 GMT On Monday, the largest U.S. life insurer, MetLife Inc uncovered its strategic plan which said the insurance giant is all set to refocus its U.S. business and will choose emerging markets to grow. The company expects to increase its return on equity to between 12% and 14%, and will aim for emerging markets to account for 20% or more of total operating earnings.<br/><br/>In a statement, Chief Executive Steven Kandarian said, “We have identified significant opportunities for us to continue our growth in a way that is disciplined, meets consumer needs and will position us to achieve return on equity expansion.”<br/><br/>MetLife is one of a number of companies that have submitted first round bids for the Asia life insurance business of ING. The company boosted its presence in international markets in late 2010 when it bought Alico from AIG.<br/><br/>In the United States, the insurer said it would mix its business mix towards protection products, such as accident and health products, and away from more capital intensive products in an effort to generate more predictable cash flows. The company will hold an investor conference on Monday. The company aims to achieve $600 million net pre-tax expense savings by year 2016. The company posted $174 million loss for the first quarter on derivative losses tied to a rise in interest rates, but operating results beat expectations. Its strongest growth came in Asia and Latin America. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=480InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 May 2012 15:26:32 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> Leading insurer AEGON Religare Life Insurance will need approximately Rs100 crore fresh capital infusion this fiscal year, including Rs 25 crore within the next few months, to meet the regulatory requirements. If sources are to be believed, there is no clarity as yet on infusion of the fresh capital amid talks of differences between the partners.<br/><br/>AEGON Religare Life Insurance is a joint venture between Dutch insurance giant AEGON and Indian company Religare. At its recent meeting this month, the board of the insurer asked the two major shareholders to speed up their decisions on much needed capital infusion. The board was informed that the Annual Operating Plan for the fiscal year 2012-13 calls for fresh capital infusion of approximately Rs 100 crore to meet regulatory capital requirement in which Rs 25 crore would be required to infuse by July’ 12.<br/><br/>In a joint statement, AEGON and Religare said, “Religare and Aegon are both committed to life insurance business and to serving the life insurance needs of the people of India. Both partners have worked together and have provided support to the joint venture in their respective area of expertise and continue to support our JV in same manner.”<br/><br/>“We continue to work collaboratively to ensure the best strategic course for Aegon Religare Life Company given the significant opportunities and challenges in the market today,” they added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=479InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 May 2012 15:25:47 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> World renowned musician Oscar-laureate A. R. Rahman’s live concert got insured for Rs 4 crore by one of Indian’s leading private sector insurer Future Generali India Insurance Company. The concert is to be orchestrated at D. Y. Patil stadium in Mumbai on 26th May’ 2012. <br/><br/>Future Generali Insurance on Wednesday, finalized to insure the live concert of the music maestro A. R. Rahman. The company said it has provided Event Insurance Policy, covering the event against the various contingencies such as fire and allied perils, personal accident cover for crew and audience. Premiums on such events range from 0.20% to 0.50% of the Sum Assured.<br/><br/>The company has been insuring such entertainment events and looking forward towards it. It has also insured blockbuster TV quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati, Lalbaugcha Raja during Ganeshotsav and movies like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.<br/><br/>Mr. K.G. Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD & CEO, Future Generali India Insurance Co. Ltd, said, “Future Generali is proud to be associated with A. R. Rahman and event. The average cover for such events is Rs 50 lacs to 5 crore. The policy covers the event against calamity such as fire, personal accident.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=478InsuringIndia News Wed, 23 May 2012 18:25:53 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> Private sector insurer Kotak Life Insurer has registered 109% net profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 211 crore for the fiscal year’12. In previous fiscal year 2010-11, the company had garnered 101 crore PAT. The main reason behind such a huge profit was lesser operating expenses. The operating expenses have reduced to 18.8% from 19.5% of previous fiscal year.<br/><br/>The company has swept away all its accumulated losses and added Rs. 51 crore to its net worth to stand at Rs 613 crore. The company declared bonus of 8% on participating policies with an accumulation fund resulting in total return for the fiscal year’12 for annuity policies and 7% for all other policies. The company also declared reversionary bonus of 20% on eligible products.<br/><br/>The Sum Assured increased by 26% to Rs 1,63,600 crore from Rs 1,29,900 crore the previous fiscal year; whereas , new business Sum Assured increased by 19% to 90,474 crore from 75,909 crore of the previous fiscal year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=477InsuringIndia News Wed, 23 May 2012 18:24:25 GMT <b>Coimbatore:</b> State owned insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) is all set to bring ‘anytime anywhere’ facility to its customers. This feature will facilitate the customers to pay or access its services from anywhere in the country at any given time.<br/><br/>Speaking after the launch of LIC’s new non unit-linked single premium plan ‘Jeevan Vaibhav’, Mr. J. Chakrapani, Senior Divisional Manager, Coimbatore said, “Under the Enterprise Document Management scheme, 98% of total 34 crore policies were scanned and entered into database and once the current policies found place in the scheme, LIC would step into anytime anywhere facility.”<br/><br/>During the previous fiscal year, Coimbatore division settled 1.47 lacs claims, including 7,200 death claims and few lapsed policies for total worth of Rs 403 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=476InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 May 2012 16:04:39 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> Yesterday, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) launched a new non unit-linked single premium product ‘Jeevan Vaibhav’. The minimum premium amount for the plan is approximately Rs 95,000.<br/><br/>The product is based on traditional platform where sum assured is almost double the premium chosen by the policyholder. This plan offers guaranteed returns at maturity which makes this an ideal combination of insurance and savings. The plan would be available for a limited period up to maximum of 120 days.<br/><br/>Some key features of the plan are:-<br/>In a statement, the state owned India’s largest insurer said, “This is an ideal plan for all groups of people, be it youngsters who want to save a nest-egg for following their passion after putting in some years of hard work and gaining experience, or parents who want to save money for funding their young child's, grand children's higher education or for financing other needs of self or children who have grown up.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=475InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 May 2012 16:04:33 GMT The insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has said insurers not to accept premiums in advance beyond 30 days. This circular is passed taking money laundering in view. The regulator is very much concerned over money laundering.<br/><br/>In a circular to chief executives of life insurers, the regulator said this move would also ensure regular payment of premium by policyholders. The circular also said that collection of advance premium under both linked and non-linked products shall not be allowed except in the case mentioned.<br/><br/>If you have opted for monthly premium payment mode, now you will be allowed to pay only three months premiums in advance on the date of commencement of the policy.<br/><br/>According to the current law, a policy holder can make a lump sum payment of premium before the due date and gets a nominal interest or discount on it; which is sometimes even lesser than the interest given by banks under fixed deposit scheme. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=474InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 May 2012 18:15:07 GMT Taking a step forward towards online insurance sale, a leading insurer, IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company has announced the launch of its first ever online product ‘Termsurance Seniors Insurance Plan’.<br/><br/>‘Termsurance Seniors Insurance Plan’ is a unique whole of life insurance plan for the people between 50-85 years of age. Some salient features of the product which will definitely catch the eyes of the customers are: (a) No medical test required (b) Guaranteed Acceptance (c) No need to answer any health related questions (d) Whole life cover (e) Same premiums throughout the term etc.<br/><br/>“There is an increasing awareness for life insurance plans sold over the internet in India, with almost 10 millions search every month”, said Mr. G.V. Nageshwar Roa, MD & CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance at the launch of the plan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=473InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 May 2012 18:14:28 GMT Private sector insurer, Reliance Life Insurance Company has earned net profit of Rs 373 crore for the fiscal year 2011-12. The company had occurred a net loss of Rs 129 crore in the previous fiscal year.<br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance sold 1.1 million policies in fiscal year’ 12 and earned a total premium of Rs 5,470 crore. Now, the total fund under management reached to Rs 18,767 crore at the end of the fiscal year’ 12. The total number of agents during the fiscal year were 1.5 lacs which was a 20% lesser year-on-year. This data approves the productivity and performance of the agents.<br/><br/>On the other hand, the Reliance General Insurance has registered a loss of Rs 342 crore during the period under review mainly on account of strengthening the third part motor claim reserves. Reliance General Insurance gross written premium for the fiscal year’ 12 reached to Rs 1,713 crore from Rs 1,655 crore in the previous fiscal year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=472InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 May 2012 18:12:04 GMT According to the new rule; now no insurer in India will be able to pass its majority of risks to the reinsurers. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is all set to specify the retention limit in this regard for insurers. The regulator has said that those companies which are operational for more than 10 years would not be able to pass more than 30 % of their premiums to reinsurers. And those operational for less than 10 years would have to retain half of their risks in their books.<br/><br/>Presently, most of the insurers are acting as service providers rather than risk bearing insurers by transferring nearly half of their risks to the reinsurers. The regulator has shown deep concerns over the trend. It said that if, an insurer has low retention limit then such insurers only act as service providers than as risks bearing insurers. This amounts to fronting. Fronting insurers only rely on ceding commission without developing national retention capacity and underwriting expertise necessary for development of a viable domestic insurance industry.<br/><br/>The regulator emphasized that each insurer should formulate its retention policy for each type of products based on emerging claim experience, financial standing, underwriting capacity and so on the annual reinsurance programme it gives to the authority. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=471InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 May 2012 13:56:38 GMT The insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked life insurance companies to stop selling products with highest NAV (Net Asset Value) guaranteed. Highest NAV products are those products that guarantee to pay highest value the fund achieves during a certain period. To maintain that NAV consistently, the insurers take risk by investing in the equity and debt market and market performance is always uncertain and sometimes vulnerable.<br/><br/>Following the regulator’s new guidelines on ULIPs (Unit-Linked Insurance Plans); which came in September’ 2010, these highest NAV products had become hotcake and grab 20% share of total life insurance premium collection in no time.<br/><br/>In another move, for traditional products, the regulator has mandated minimum death benefit of at least 10 times of the annualized premiums as there were some products offering limited death benefits. IRDA has also shown its deep concern over policies offering low or insignificant life cover. IRDA has expressed reservation on three types of tradition products:-<br/><br/>1. Products with significantly high initial death benefits but reduce subsequently during the tenure of the policy.<br/>2. Products where the death benefit is defined as the return of premiums (with or without interest) and<br/>3. Products with insignificant cover in respect to the premiums i.e. products which are specially meant for savings.<br/><br/>IRDA said that in most of these products, customers are lured with promise of decent maturity benefits; but in case of claims, the benefits are sometimes lower than the premiums. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=470InsuringIndia News Thu, 17 May 2012 13:55:20 GMT <b>Hyderabad:</b> Soon, there may be a single insurance product to cater all your needs. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked the Life Insurance Council to design such products which will be capable of covering life as well as non-life.<br/><br/>Basically, it is a single product to protect life and also against personal accidents. It protects against the loss of assets-cattle, vehicles.<br/><br/>Speaking on the sidelines of a national conference organized by ASSOCHAM on ‘Financial Inclusion & Integrating Insurance into Total Package’, Mr. J. Harinarayana, Chairman, IRDA said, “It has come to their notice that microfinance institutions were asking for high service charges on the sale of micro-insurance products.<br/><br/>"The whole question of bundling of insurance with other products is a major issue. Not just in India but internationally. So we are also studying this why to allow this kind of bundling. We need to examine the implications further. Then only we will be able to come out with regulatory intervention," he added.<br/><br/>He also released a white-paper prepared by Ernst and Young in association with ASSOCHAM on ‘Need for Financial Inclusion: An Integrated Approach.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=469InsuringIndia News Wed, 16 May 2012 14:04:16 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> Private sector insurer, Bharti Axa Life Insurance, yesterday, launched its new traditional life insurance plan ‘Life Young India Plan’. This plan has targeted the young people segment.<br/><br/>Bharti AXA Life Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and AXA. AXA is a France based global insurance leader headquartered in Paris.<br/><br/>‘Life Young India Plan’ is a unique plan, especially tailored for younger segment; featured with money back in the form of ‘Good Times Money Back’ when required and an option to decide the extent of increase in additional protection at the time of marriage and child birth. Customer can choose any two important milestones in life for money back. It also offers up to 25 times base protection at marriage and child birth. If one opts for increased protection, he/she will not require to go for medical test again. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=468InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 May 2012 12:02:34 GMT <b>London:</b> Lloyd’s of London, Britain’s 325 year-old insurance and reinsurance market has revealed its plan to promote business growth in emerging markets like India, China & Brazil.<br/><br/>According to the report, a strategy named ‘Vision 2025’ was launched on Friday at a ceremony in the Lloyd’s underwriting room. British Prime Minister, David Cameron attended the ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Richard Ward, CEO, Lloyd’s said, “What we are trying to set out is a high-level strategy. With the growth in economies such as China and India, we need to attract capital and business from those economies. This is not something that is going to happen overnight”.<br/><br/>Mr. Ward also mentioned the recent deal between Lloyd’s insurer Catlin and China Reinsurance. China Reinsurance is the largest insurer in China. In November 2011, Catlin, on behalf of China Reinsurer stuck a deal to manage a new syndicate at Lloyd’s of London. This is the first ever deal in which a Chinese company has directly invested its money at Lloyd’s market. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=467InsuringIndia News Mon, 14 May 2012 18:17:13 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> On Thursday, the central government postponed the decision on the much awaited politically sensitive Insurance Amendment Bill, 2008.<br/><br/>Playing a safe game on FDI ceiling, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said to reporters after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, “Foreign investment in insurance companies in India is already at 26 %, therefore, the cabinet felt no urgency to approve the Bill.”<br/><br/>The Union Cabinet was expected to take a decision to retain the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) cap at 26 %. The committee on finance, headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha in its report on the Insurance Bill, 2008, had suggested that FDI ceiling should not be increased to 49 % from existing 26 %. The report says that the increase may lead to the possibility of exposing the economy to the vulnerabilities of the global market, flight of capital outside the country and also endangering the interest of the policyholders.<br/><br/>The overseas insurers and their domestic partners have been demanding an increase in the FDI ceiling to 49 % to fund business expansion.<br/><br/>The government had first tabled the Insurance Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha in December, 2008 with an aim to bring improvement and revision of laws relating to insurance business. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=466InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 May 2012 17:56:27 GMT Government of India has advised the Public Sector Insurers and Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to develop an action plan for turnaround of their loss making branches. In regard to the Central Government’s financial inclusion campaign, the banks have been asked to meet all the targets of financial inclusion which is government's topmost priority.<br/><br/>Even though, the Public Sector Insurers and Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are governed by their board policies and the expansion or closure of branches of these institutions is decided by their board according to the norms laid down by the regulator; the central government advises the public sector insurers and PSBs as a promoter shareholder.<br/><br/>The Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Namo Narain Meena has given this information in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=465InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 May 2012 18:48:19 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has put approval of pension products on hold as some fresh changes are to be made.<br/><br/>In December 2011, most of the insurers filed their pension products with IRDA for approval after the rollback of 4.5 % minimum guaranteed return clause on pension products. The clause was rolled back on the demand of insurance companies.<br/><br/>According to media reports, the insurance regulator has written to the insurance companies that the approval process has been stopped as IRDA has to take some policy decisions.<br/><br/>The insurers will have to restructure their products filings and go for fresh approval once the fresh changes are made. It may take another 6 months to complete the whole process. The launch of new products and delay in approvals from IRDA has been one of the main reasons for slow growth in insurance premiums. The decision to hold the approval of new pension products will add pressure on premium growth.<br/><br/>If the media reports are to be believed; the regulator could again bring the 4.5% minimum guaranteed return clause on pension products which could be a bad impact on insurance companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=464InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 May 2012 16:45:59 GMT According to the report of a leading credit rating and information agency, CRISIL, insurers may have to provide additional Rs 6,500 crore in the third-party (TP) motor pool to comply with the insurance regulator IRDA’s directive.<br/><br/>“We estimate the additional provisionary at Rs 65 billion this time, which is more than twice the provisionary increase that followed IRDA’s rate hike of March’ 2011,” said Rupali Shanker, Director, CRISIL.<br/><br/>Recently, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has increased the provisioning requirements in the third-party motor pool. The extra provisioning in the motor third-party pool coupled with high claims in the motor third-party and health insurance would impact the underwriting performance in the interim.<br/><br/>Industry’s overall underwriting loss is expected to exceed Rs 100 billion each in 2011-12 and 2012-13.<br/><br/>The Credit Rating and Information Services of India expects an annual hike in premium rates for the motor third-party segment to benefit the industry over the long term. Consequently, the underwriting losses in motor TP segment, which has the most adverse claims performance likely to reduce over time. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=463InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 May 2012 17:22:45 GMT The insurance watchdog, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has taken U-tern in its earlier stand on single-premium life insurance policies. In January’ 2012, the regulator had issued an order to stop single-premium policies and warned that such policies were risky products and inexpedient to both the policyholders and the insurers. Now, after several debates between the regulator and the insurers, the earlier agrees to the single-premium life policies.<br/><br/>Single-premium life policies refer to the products for which the policyholders need to pay premiums only once at the time of the inception of the policies. In FY’ 12, the total single-premium, including group and individual, declined by over Rs 10,000 crore as insurers started shifting their focus to regular-premium with the view that those products would offer better valuations. As the result, the share of single-premium in the overall income of the life insurance industry declined by 45% to Rs 51,625 crore from Rs 62,230 crore in last fiscal year.<br/><br/>Mr. MN Rao, MD & CEO, SBI Life, said, “It is catering to specific segment of investors. But too heavy exposure may not be conducive for companies and may lead to lower valuation and profitability. Normally, a company would have to balance between regular and single premiums.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=462InsuringIndia News Thu, 03 May 2012 18:23:03 GMT Private sector insurer, SBI Life Insurance has registered a record profit of Rs 556 crore during the fiscal year 2011-12, an increase of 52% over the last fiscal year. For the first time, since the inception in year 2001, the company proposes to declare 5% of dividend.<br/><br/>As per the latest report from IRDA, SBI Life Insurance is ranked number one amongst the private sector life insurers in New Business Premium (NBP) for the fiscal year ended as on 31st March’12. Among private life insurers, market share of the company increased to 19.9% in FY’12 from 19.2% in FY’11.<br/><br/>The New Business Premium (NBP) collection stood at Rs 6,531 crore, down by 13% as compared to private companies’ de-growth of 17% during the fiscal year. The company collected Rs 6,602 crore Renewal Premium, an increase of 23% over the last fiscal year. Consequently, the gross written premium collection of the company stood at Rs 13,133 crore, up by 1% over the last fiscal year. The Asset Under Management (AUM) jumped by 16% to Rs 46,576 crore from Rs 40,163 crore of last fiscal year.<br/><br/>During the fiscal year 2011-12, the company has opened 85 new branches and added 618 employees. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=461InsuringIndia News Wed, 02 May 2012 17:01:11 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) with emphasis on the importance of insurance education to the consumers, has launched an exclusive website- www.policyholders.gov.in. At the beginning, the website will be in English only but later it will be enabled in Hindi and in other languages as well.<br/><br/>To make people aware of insurance needs, it is significant to have portals like this. Through this portal, one can understand the basics of complex insurance terminologies. This portal will become more advantageous once it’s translated in other languages too.<br/><br/>In a circular, the Chairman of IRDA, Mr. J. Hari Narayan said, “The objective of having an exclusive website is to educate consumers about insurance in particular, regarding buying insurance, making a claim etc. The website is an attempt to reach out to all to give certain basic generic information on the subjects in order that consumers begin to think and seek answer to questions such as what they need to buy, whether they are being offered the right product.”  http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=460InsuringIndia News Tue, 01 May 2012 15:11:24 GMT Insurers are all set to remove sub-limits imposed on room rents, doctors’ fees and operation theatre charges in health insurance policies to attract retail customers. This move of insurers will definitely give policyholders some reason to smile.<br/><br/>These sub-limits were first introduced couple of years ago to reduce losses in the life insurance segment. Some insurers like Apollo Munich and Tata AIG General Insurance have already removed sub-limits from their new health insurance plans, whereas rests are chewing over to move on the lines. The initiatives have been taken from health insurance majors Apollo Munich and Tata AIG General through their latest products Optima Restore and MediPrime respectively.<br/><br/>But, such limits will be continued for group insurance policies because these policies cannot have unlimited benefits.<br/><br/>Antony Jacob, MD & CEO, Apollo Munich, said, “More companies are looking at each line of business separately without cross-subsidy.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=459InsuringIndia News Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:30:17 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> Private sector insurer Tata AIG General Insurance Company, yesterday, announced the launch of its first domestic lifetime renewable reimbursement health insurance plan named ‘MediPrime’. Under the policy, a policyholder can enjoy cashless hospitalization benefit at around 3,000 network hospitals across the country.<br/><br/>Speaking at the launch, Mr. Gaurav Garg, MD & CEO, Tata AIG General Insurance Company said, “MediPrime is specially designed to meet the current requirements of the consumers and ensure their needs from a health insurance policy are met.”<br/><br/>The plan MediPrime, featured with lifetime renewable, total reimbursement or no co-pay, no sub-limit for in-patient hospitalization and non-allopathic treatments like ayurvedic, unani or homoeopathy and 10 % discount on premium if three or more members of the family are insured under the individual plan. Age for individual policy is between 18-65 years.<br/><br/>“Cashless claims would be authorized within 4 hours on receipt of all documents and claims would be settled in 7 working days after the completion of all formalities”, Mr. Garg added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=458InsuringIndia News Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:34:41 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> Private sector insurer Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, yesterday, announced the appointment of Mr. Tapan Singhel as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.<br/><br/>Mr. Singhel, a BHU alumni has been the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of the company and will take over from Mr. Hemant Kaul, who has been relocated to Singapore for an assignment at Allianz Asia Pacific. Mr. Singhel has vast experience of over 20 years in the industry and has been with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for over 10 years.<br/><br/>Showing his immense confidence in Mr. Singhel’s calibre, Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Director, Bajaj Allianz and MD, Bajaj Finserv said, “We are confident that Mr. Singhel, who has been with the company since its inception, will be able to sustain the company’s success going forward.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=457InsuringIndia News Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:53:28 GMT <b>Chandigarh:</b> An insurance claim cannot be honoured if the vehicle is not transferred in the name of the new owner. Not transferring the registration certificate and insurance policy in the name of the new owner may cost both the parties dear.<br/><br/>In the judgment of a case appealed by a consumer, the UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission upheld the decision of the insurance company to refuse the insurance claim of Rs 6.2 lacs to the previous owner after the vehicle got damaged. The President of the Commission, Justice Sham Sunder and Member Neena Sandhu said that since the vehicle was neither registered nor insured in the name of the new owner and none of the owners had a valid claim to the insurance amount. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=456InsuringIndia News Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:36:03 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> On 19th April, healthcare and financial services major, Religare Enterprises announced that its health insurance company has received R2 licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).<br/><br/>In a statement, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Religare Health Insurance, Mr. Anuj Gulati said, “We are pleased to move a step closer to launching our operations, and are in a complete state of preparedness for the same.”<br/><br/>Religare Health Insurance is a Delhi-based joint venture between Religare Enterprises, Union Bank of India and Corporation Bank. It is already in life insurance business in partnership with Dutch insurer Aegon. <br/><br/>After getting the licence, Religare becomes the fourth standalone health insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=454InsuringIndia News Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:04:18 GMT <b>New Delhi: </b>The Supreme Court has ruled that an insurer is bound to pay third-party compensation to a road mishap victim even if the insurer cancelled the policy due to bouncing of the owner’s cheque submitted to the insurer as premium.<br/><br/>A bench of justices R.M. Lodha and H.L. Gokhale gave this ruling, dismissing the appeal by a state owned insurer United India Insurance Company challenging the decisions of the Karnataka Motor Accidents Tribunal and High Court which had held that the insurer was bound to indemnify the claim.<br/><br/>The Supreme Court said, “Where the policy of insurance is issued by an authorized insurer on receipt of cheque towards payment of premium and such cheque is returned dishonoured, the liability of authorized insurer to indemnify third parties in respect of the liability which that policy covered exists.<br/><br/>Further, the bench added, it had to satisfy the award of compensation by reason of provision of section 147(5) and 149(1) of Motor Vehicle Act, unless the policy of insured is cancelled by authorized insurer and intimation of such cancellation has reached the insured before the accident. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=453InsuringIndia News Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:43:41 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> India’s biggest institutional investor, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has increased its stake in Pipavav Defense and Offshore Engineering with buying of 13 lacs more equity shares for Rs 10.42 crore through open market from the National Stock Exchange.<br/><br/>Following the latest purchase of shares of Pipavav, LIC now owns 3, 48, 49,260 shares of Pipavav. This purchase brings LIC’s stake in Pipavav at 5.041%. Prior to this purchase, LIC had 3, 35, 49,260 shares of Pipavav.<br/><br/>Pipavav Defense and Offshore Engineering was the first corporate shipyard to be granted clearance to build warship and other vessels for the Indian Navy. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=452InsuringIndia News Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:52:46 GMT Like other buyings, the insurance sector too has seen a boost in online sales with e-buyers becoming aware of the many advantages of purchasing policies online. Online term policies have already been riding this wave for past years. Now, other insurance products like motor, travel and health too are becoming favoured items to be purchased online grasping additional benefits over traditional means of purchase.<br/><br/>At present, about 11 millions Indian consumers prefer to shop online almost everything from tickets to apparel and even prefer to pay their bills through internet.<br/><br/>According to BerkshireInsurance.com which serves as a corporate agent for online retail sales of policies of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, convenience, speed, and easy accessibility are the key drivers for growth in online insurance sales.<br/><br/>Salient features of buying policies online over traditional means are:-<br/>(a) It enables insurers to bypass intermediary commission and reduce distribution costs. These make policies cheaper.<br/>(b) Convenient and instant<br/>(c) Option to customize product according to the needs and choose out of several plans through aggregators’ websites and<br/>(d) Consumer understands the policy well before he/she buys which results in lowering the risk of ending up with the wrong policy.<br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=451InsuringIndia News Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:39:26 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> One of the India’s leading private sector insurers, Aviva Life Insurance, once again shows big heart for street children extending its support towards International Day.<br/><br/>International Day works to realize the rights of street children worldwide. It was first launched by the Consortium of Street Children (CSC) in April, 2011 in partnership with Aviva with an aim to provide a better life to street children by spreading awareness about their rights.<br/><br/>This year, Aviva conceptualized a special them ‘Challenging Perception’ to build further momentum. As part of Aviva’s international ‘Street to School’ program, this initiative will spread awareness regarding the rights of underprivileged street children and counter the dominant negative attitude towards them. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=450InsuringIndia News Sat, 14 Apr 2012 16:42:44 GMT On Thursday, US-based insurer, New York Life announced its exit from Indian life insurance business venture – Max New York Life by selling its 26 % stake to Japanese insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance at Rs. 2,731 crore. The company is planning to focus on its core markets of the US and Mexico.<br/><br/>It is the second-biggest foreign direct investment in India’s insurance sector after Reliance Life sold its 26 % stake to another Japanese insurer Nippon Life at about Rs. 3,062 crore last year. As per the current regulation, a foreign partner can hold only up to 26% stake in an insurance joint venture.<br/><br/>After the transaction, Max India’s majority stake will remain unchanged at 70 % but the company will be rebranded as Max Life Insurance Company (Max LIC). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=449InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:54:25 GMT On Thursday, the IRDA said no timeframe had been set for Life Insurance Company of India to reduce its holdings in companies in which it has more than 10% stake. The state owned insurer is relaxed to do it at an appropriate time.<br/><br/>As per the existing regulation, no insurers are allowed to hold more than 10 % stake or 10 % net worth of a company. LIC has more than this mandated stake in more than 10 companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=448InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:46:09 GMT Hyderabad: After receiving complaints in huge number from health insurance policyholders, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has directed the Life Insurance Council and industry trade bodies to come out with recommendations to simplify policy documents and terms in the health insurance policies making the common people understand the policies well.<br/><br/>Addressing the newly-formed Health Insurance Forum, Mr. J. Harinarayana, Chairman, IRDA, said, they received 92,898 complaints in the non-life sector, of which 38,891 or 37.48 % were with regard to health insurance.<br/><br/>“Perhaps the lack of clarity in communication and vague terminologies in health insurance policies reflected in the form of huge number of complaints. This is the responsibility of the insurers to make communication on policy related aspects simple,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=447InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:13:04 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> India’s one of leading private sector life insurance companies, HDFC Life, received ‘Life Insurer of the Year’ award at the Bloomberg UTV Leadership Award 2012 that were held in Mumbai on 7th April, 2012. The award was presented to HDFC Life by the Hon. Union Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.<br/><br/>Bloomberg UTV Financial Leadership Awards have been constituted to acknowledge extraordinary contribution of India’s financial leadership and visionaries.<br/><br/>“We are extremely honoured to receive the ‘Life Insurer of the Year 2012’ award. This significant accomplishment is a strong testimony to our relentless focus and effort on our strategy of maintaining all the critical business parameter at healthy levels,” said Mr. Amitabh Chaudhary, MD & CEO, HDFC Life.<br/><br/>“This distinction is a validation of our commitment to excellence in all avenues be it products and solutions for our customers managing operating expenses, persistency and customer retention and services to our policyholders,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=446InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:03:31 GMT <b>Ranchi:</b> One of India’s leading private sector non-life insurers, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company has been awarded as the best insurance company for ‘In-time Claim Settlement for the Year 2011-12’ in the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) scheme run by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.<br/><br/>This award was conferred by Hon. Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Mr. Mallikarjuna Kharge. Cholamandalam MS is the only insurer to bag this prestigious award 2nd year in a row for settling the claims in time for the hospitals offering cashless treatment facilities to the below poverty line (BPL) families in various districts across the country. Approximately, 12 insurers (PSU & Private) are currently participating in the RSBY scheme.<br/><br/>“It is a very proud moment for us that the Government has recognized our claims service for its promptness and responsiveness. It is another milestone in our journey towards customer centricity,” said Mr. S.S. Gopalarathnam, MD, Cholamandalam MS. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=445InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:02:33 GMT <b>Mumbai:</b> One of India’s leading private sector insurers HDFC Life on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mr. Srinivasan Parthsarthy as its new Chief and Appointed Actuary (CAA). Mr. Srinivasan joined HDFC Life in the year 2011 from Canara HSBC Life Insurance with 18 years of experience in Life Insurance and Pension in India and the UK.<br/><br/>In a release, Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, HDFC Life, said, “I am pleased to announce the appointment of Srinivasan Parthsarthy as our Chief and Appointed Actuary. He brings with him a rich experience in Actuarial Science and I am confident that he will add significant value to the organization in rolling our new and innovative products. I wish him all the best in his new role.”<br/><br/>Mr. Srinivasan qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, UK in year 2004 and later became a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India in year 2008. He was one of the two candidates from Asia to be selected by the then president of the Institute of Actuaries, UK In the year 2000 to work for Watson Wyatt, UK where he provided a range of consultancy services to clients on various aspects of company pension schemes. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=444InsuringIndia News Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:33:21 GMT Mr. S. Hariharan has taken charge as Chief Executive Officer of LIC Pension Fund Ltd with effect from 2nd April, 2012. He takes over from Mr. V. Manickam who retired on 31st March, 2012.<br/><br/>LIC Pension Fund Ltd is a public limited company approved by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) for managing funds of Central and State Government employees (excluding Armed Forces).<br/><br/>Mr. S. Hariharan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and a Chartered Accountant by qualification. He started his career with Life Insurance Corporation of India in year 1983 and held various prestigious positions in Life Insurance Corporation of India. Mr. Hariharan is a well experienced professional in insurance sector and has served various top level management positions in insurance marketing & finance.<br/><br/>Prior to this appointment, Mr. S. Hariharan was Executive Director in charge of Investment, Monitoring & Accounting of Life Insurance Corporation of India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=443InsuringIndia News Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:10:45 GMT Mumbai: To facilitate faster and transparent claim settlement process, private sector insurer HDFC Ergo General Insurance, yesterday, launched Health Claim Services (HCS) here in Mumbai. It is in-house health claim servicing department with single window for customers for all health care related services.<br/><br/>Mukesh Kumar, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Head-Strategic Planning Group, in a release issue, said, “With this internal mechanism we are planning to establish better control on the overall claim settlement process and improve the Turn Around Time (TAT) with seamless, hassle free and transparent services in health claim settlements.”<br/><br/>Along with personalized claim settlement services to its customers, it will also provide guidance for all health related queries.<br/><br/>The company has partnered with NSPs (Network Service Providers) like Pharmacies, Diagnostic Centres, Ambulance and Wellness Centres under this initiative to provide their customers best in class health services in addition to existing spread of over 3,000 network hospitals. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=442InsuringIndia News Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:09:38 GMT The demand for outpatient treatment cover is on the rise. Keeping this in mind the insurance companies are looking to provide coverage for such treatments.<br/><br/>With the cost of outpatient treatments including consultation and diagnostics charges on the rise, now it is time for insurers to consider seriously covering such treatments under a health insurance policy. Some of the insurers are providing OPD treatments through different ways. Some are offering as add-on covers with the inpatient policy, whereas some are offering discounts at network hospitals and some are providing reimbursement.<br/><br/>Mr. Neeraj Moorjani, Head-product and brand management, Chola MS, said, “Insurance companies try to offer this as a service to their customers. This is because unlike life insurance, health insurance policies do not pay you back. So a customer who does not claim anything during a particular year, often considers the policy as a waste,”<br/><br/>But, there is a big challenge offering this coverage lies in operational part of it. “Potential of misuse or overuse is high and insurance companies find it difficult to administer. Unlike hospitalization, OPD has multiple transactions and managing them could be an issue for insurers,” said Mr. Neeraj Basur, Chief Financial Officer, Max Bupa. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=441InsuringIndia News Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:10:12 GMT Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has called the competition among insurance companies to lower premium rates to get maximum market share, a ‘Suicidal Competition’.<br/><br/>Yesterday, addressing the IRDA board meeting, the Finance Minister directed the insurance regulator to take adequate steps to stop the insurance companies’ tendency of undercutting one another by offering policies at lower premium rates to grab the maximum market volume.<br/><br/>“While de-tariffing (freedom to fix premium) has resulted in significant lowering of premiums for the consumers, the adverse impact is being felt on the insurance company's balance sheet", said Mr. Mukherjee.<br/><br/>Further, he noted that despite the vulnerable competition among the insurers for a bigger market volume, the penetration of insurance covers in India still remained at a low level.<br/><br/>“There are a few concerns that need to be addressed. In spite of India’s rapid growth in recent decades, it has largely remained an underinsured market with financial vulnerability across most of the income segments”, he added.<br/><br/>The minister praised IRDA’s efforts to dematerialize accounts and set up grievance redressal mechanism and asked to continue these efforts in the near future which would strengthen the sector. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=440InsuringIndia News Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:18:06 GMT The my:health Medisure Prime Insurance of L & T Insurance has won prestigious ‘Product of the Year 2012’ award for its unique and sublime features. The policy my:health Medisure Prime Insurance was declared the winner in General Insurance category as per the largest face-to-face, national survey conducted by a prominent global market research company, Nielson.<br/><br/>‘Product of the Year’ award is a global consumer recognition standard rewarding innovations in 32 countries through ‘Consumer Voting’ mechanism. It was first launched in France about 25 years ago and in India in year 2008.<br/><br/>The overjoyed CEO & Wholetime Director of the company, Mr. Joydeep Roy said, “This award is especially significant as it is a choice made by over 30,000 consumers across 36 markets in India. This policy has been designed after conducting extensive consumer research across various consumer segments and geographies.”<br/><br/>Keeping different consumers base and their needs, different expenses in different cities etc in mind, this plan is drafted to offer 22 unique features. Consumers of smaller cities need to pay lesser premium than those live in metros for the same sum insured. Also the policy is not constrained by any sub-limit on the amount that can be spent under various heads like room rent, medicines, surgeries etc. The sum insured is also automatically doubled on diagnosis of the specified critical illness. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=439InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:39:32 GMT Akshaya, a Kerala Government initiative for rural empowerment & economic development now will act as medium to reach the Government’s ‘Aam Aadami Bima’ scheme. Mr. Korath V. Mathew, director, announced here in Thiruvananthapuram.<br/><br/>Aam Aadami Bima is a low-cost insurance scheme that is targeted at people with marginal holdings of five cent or even less. Student of class 9th to 12th, including those studying in ITI, are eligible to get a monthly scholarship of Rs.100. A maximum of two children from a family can avail the scholarship benefit under the scheme. The scheme seeks to extend ex-gratia allowance of Rs 30,000 in case of death from natural causes of the policy holder; Rs 75,000 in case of accidental or permanent disability from accidents; and Rs 37,500 for partial disability.<br/><br/>Application forms are available at Akshaya centres free of cost. Completely filled in forms can be submitted at the Akshaya centres after getting certified by the village officer or the panchayat secretary or the village extension officer. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=438InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:57:58 GMT Delivering the judgement of a case, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (NCDRF) said that if a person has taken several life insurance policies from the same insurer, each at the different stages of life, payment against the first policy on the death of the life insured does not mean the other policies too should be honoured without any question.<br/><br/>The insured had taken three policies. The first two policies not being vitiated by non-disclosure of the insured. But the third policy was vitiated as after the first two policies were taken and before the third, the insured got serious head injuries in an accident which he did not disclose while insuring for the third time.<br/><br/>The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (NCDRF) overturned the decision of the State forum in which the insurance company was ordered to pay up the sum insured under all three policies. The nominee of the life insured received the insured amount only under first two policies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=437InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:55:54 GMT From 1st April, the premium rates for motor third party insurance will go up by 5-20 %.<br/><br/>The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has upwardly revised motor third party premium rates from different categories of vehicles for the year 2012-13. 'The claims payout showed an upward trend because of increase in court awards, wages and inflation,' said Mr. J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, IRDA.<br/><br/>Compare to the last year’s hike, the increase for private vehicles is lower whereas for the commercial vehicles of different categories the hike is more.<br/><br/>The Chairman said that the insurers were not permitted to cancel the current insurance policies and issue fresh ones to effect new rates. He also directed the insurers to ensure its availability at their underwriting officers with speedy processing.<br/><br/>Last year, the hike was by 10-70 % for various categories of vehicles. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=436InsuringIndia News Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:28:26 GMT With increasing demands in ayurvedic treatments, the insurers have started offering coverage for ayurvedic treatments under group health insurance and individual health insurance as well.<br/><br/>Earlier, the insurance companies used to cover only allopathic treatments under a health insurance policy, but the recent trends of leaning towards ayurvedic treatments have guided them to include ayurveda in the segment. The rising stress levels caused by present lifestyles are prompting people to look at alternative forms of medicine, especially ayurveda. Chronic diseases related to spinal cord, bone disorder, arthritis and cancer are some of the common ailments that are covered under such plans.<br/><br/>'Insurers have started realizing that ayurveda is good for outpatient. Approximately 60 % of the country’s spends on healthcare is on outpatient,' said Mr. Sanjay Datta, Head – Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=435InsuringIndia News Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:27:51 GMT Kolkata: The common mechanism for motor third party claims settlement which was initiated by public sector insurers-National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance has been able to settle approximately 85 claims here in Kolkata.<br/><br/>The examinations of approximately 132 cases were done by the Executive Committee of the Conciliatory Forum during three sessions of hearing held between 10th – 24th March this year.The report based on observations of retired district judge Mr Bishnupriya Dasgupta, a member of the executive committee, will be submitted to either the Lok Adalat or Tribunal for speedy disposal of claims.<br/><br/>Mr. S.Sen, Regional Manager, United India Assurance Company said, 'In case of a regular court, the settlement of claims takes about 4-5 years, whereas it can be as quick as a few months.'<br/><br/>This faster redressal of motor third party claims settlement will be done on a mutual consent between the insurance companies and accident victims and their kin. The four public sector insurers underwrite nearly 70% of the third party motor claims in the Indian market. This will not only speed up claims settlement process but will also help bring down the insurers’ losses by reducing interest cost. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=434InsuringIndia News Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:21:35 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has given some relief to loss hit general insurance industry. The general insurance industry is facing a Rs 10,000 crore hit due to third-party motor pool losses.<br/><br/>After the exit of the comprehensive motor insurance policy from the ambit of the pool, it is expected the corpus of the pool to go down to Rs. 1,000 crore from the next Fiscal Year when the pool gets effective. At present, the pool corpus is Rs 4,000 crore.<br/><br/>According to the new directive, companies will be allowed to provide for their losses in three parts by 30th June, 2014. They have to provide for the liabilities of 2007-08 and 2008-09 by 30th June, 2012. Similarly, the losses of 2009-2010 should be provided for by 30th June, 2013. The losses for the Fiscal Years 2010-11 and 2011-12 will have to be provided for by 30th June, 2014. However, all insurers have an option to settle the entire liabilities at one time by the end of this month.<br/><br/>The insurers may maintain lower solvency norms at 1.3 for the FY 2011-12 and 1.4 for the FY 2012-13. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=433InsuringIndia News Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:53:47 GMT One of the private sector life insurance companies, IDBI Federal Life yesterday launched a plan that guarantees to return an attractive lump sum along with tax benefits for the person interested in short to long term investment.<br/><br/>In a release here in Mumbai, Mr. G.V. Nageswara Rao, Managing Director & CEO, IDBI Federal Life said 'IDBI Federal Bondsurance Plan is specially designed for the people interested in one time lump sum investment that delivers attractive tax-free guaranteed return along with the promise of life insurance protection'.<br/><br/>Under this plan, minimum premium is Rs 20,000.<br/><br/>In the release, it has been said that its buying process is very simple and a discount will be offered if premium paying mode is single and the guaranteed maturity benefit is at least Rs 150,000 and liquidity before maturity through special surrender value after the first year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=432InsuringIndia News Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:19:05 GMT The leading private sector insurer, ICICI Lombard is conferred with prestigious ‘iAAA’ rating from an associate of Moody’s Investors Services, ICRA for the sixth consecutive year.<br/><br/>Boasting on the achievement, Gopal Balachandran, Chief Financial Officer of the company said, 'The iAAA rating by ICRA to our company for the sixth consecutive year is highly reassuring for our customers and partners. It reflects ICICI Lombard’s commitment to building a sustainable long term business with strong customer orientation.'<br/><br/>The rating was conferred taking ICICI Lombard’s leadership position amongst private sector general insurance in India, prudent risk management, strong parentage, balanced and diversified portfolio and overall long term performance into account.<br/><br/>ICICI Lombard continues to hold its leadership position amongst private sector general insurance companies with a fair market share of 10% in the Fiscal Year 2011, little ahead from last Fiscal Year’s 9.4%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=431InsuringIndia News Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:04:59 GMT The government is keen to move the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2011 during this budget session.<br/><br/>Presenting the Union Budget for the financial year 2012-13, Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee said, 'The government has received the reports of the parliamentary standing committee on finance that looked into the bills'.'The official amendments to these bills will be moved in this session of the parliament,' he added.<br/><br/>The interim PFRDA would be fully replaced by the PFRDA Bill to make a full fledged authority defining its powers and duties. The interim PFRDA was set up in the year 2003.<br/><br/>The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill will enable to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian insurance companies to 49% from the current ceiling of 26%. The bill also does away with the provision of Indian promoters of insurance companies to reduce their stake to 26% over a period of time. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=430InsuringIndia News Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:17:13 GMT From financial year 2012-13, expenses incurred on medical check-ups will be eligible for tax deduction under section 80 D of Income Tax Act.<br/><br/>Presenting the Union Budget for the FY 2012-13, the Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee introduced a tax deduction of Rs 5,000 for expenses incurred on preventive health care. This will include various medical tests that individuals are asked to undergo at hospitals. Citizens can also get an enhanced deduction limit of Rs. 60,000 (earlier Rs. 40,000) for the medical treatment of specified diseases and ailments under section 80 DDB.<br/><br/>Till now, citizens get tax deduction benefits only on premiums paid for health insurance under section 80 D of Income Tax Act, but with the amendments in section 80 D, they will be eligible to get tax deduction on the expenses incurred on health check-ups.<br/><br/>However, the cap is too small given the cost of such check-ups, the Rs. 5,000 cap will be applicable for the entire family (self, spouse, 2 children & parents). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=429InsuringIndia News Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:16:35 GMT The insurance giant, Life Insurance Corporation of India has paid Rs 1,137.99 crore to the Government as dividend for year 2010-2011.<br/><br/>Yesterday, in a statement, the state-owned insurer said, “The dividend cheque was handed over by LIC current-in-charge Chairman, Mr. D.K. Mehrotra, to the Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherji.”<br/><br/>“After the annual actuarial valuation done and all liabilities were accounted, LIC had declared a valuable surplus of Rs 22,752.71 crore for the financial year ending 2011. The balance amount after paying dividend, Rs 21,614.72 crore would be ploughed back to the policyholders as bonus,” said in the statement.<br/><br/> For the FY 2010-11, Life Insurance Corporation of India received a total premium income of Rs 2,03,358 crore, against Rs 1,85,986 crore the previous year, up by 9.34 percent. And, the total life fund of LIC increased by 15.18% from previous year fund of Rs 9,99,517.59 crore and stood at Rs 11,51,200.58. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=428InsuringIndia News Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:18:24 GMT New Delhi: In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the government was considering seriously introducing a health insurance scheme for central government employees and pensioners with special focus on non-CGHS areas.<br/><br/>The minister said the serving central government employees in non-CGHS areas are provided health care facilities under the CS (MA) Rules, 1994, but pensioners are not covered under these rules. However, the pensioners entitled to a fixed medical allowance of Rs. 300 per month.<br/><br/>He again said, “Pensioners residing in non-CGHS areas have the option to become a CGHS member in any CGHS-covered city of their choice to avail the medical facilities under the scheme.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=427InsuringIndia News Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:49:01 GMT Mumbai: Private sector insurer Edelweiss Life Insurance, yesterday, launched a non-linked, participating endowment assurance money back participating plan, Cashflow Protection which will enable the consumers to plan various important phases of their life more effectively.<br/><br/>In present era, a huge percentage of people are engaged in either private sector or in own business where income for whole life is not certain, keeping this into account, this plan is designed. “This plan aims to cover the need of wealth accumulation, retirement and legacy transfer,” the company said in a release issue.<br/><br/>The entry age of this plan starts from 5 years and there is flexibility to choose maturity age from 85, 90, 95 and 100 years to protect the whole life. The minimum basic sum assured is Rs. 75,000 with no upper limit and premium depends on the sum assured, premium paying term, entry age and gender of the life to be assured. The plan offers premium discounts for higher sum assured and also special discounts for female and loan against the policy to meet unforeseen needs. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=426InsuringIndia News Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:45:21 GMT Mumbai: The Standing Committee on Finance has recently released a report giving the insurers a reason to cheer. The report recommends that for insurance policies to be eligible for tax exemption, the sum assured should be 10 times the annual premium.<br/><br/>In the Direct Taxes Code, the limit was set higher, at 20 times the annual premium.The committee cited that increasing the ratio of premium paid to sum assured to 20 times is too drastic a change and will have an adverse impact on the life insurance sector. Hence, it has recommended a more reasonable multiple/ratio of 10 times the annual premium, which will fulfil the desired objective of ensuring adequate protection in insurance.<br/><br/>Most insurance companies have welcomed the recommendation and hope that if the recommendation is accepted, it would help the insurance companies as well as the customers.Mr. Kamalji Sahay, Director & CEO, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance said, “Earlier, companies were selling policies which offered a sum assured of just 5 times the premium. Now, they would have to increase it to 10 times, so the tenure of the policy too would have to increase to at least 10 years. This will suit both consumers and companies.”<br/><br/>The recommendation would also ensure that consumers who have already purchased policies, where the ratio between premium and the sum assured is less than 20 times, would not suffer. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=425InsuringIndia News Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:54:22 GMT Once the hospitalization bills used to be within affordable limits, but now-a-days it’s been a dream for common people to be treated in super specialty hospitals unless either the employer or an insurance company pays the bill.<br/><br/>To turn this dream into reality, 23 private sector and 3 public sector general insurance companies are offering some innovative insurance products.The salient objective of these plans is to allow the insured to coincide expenses from the first policy into the other if the sum assured is exhausted. If you are insured under a group health insurance policy for the sum assured of Rs. 3 lacs by your company and the sum assured is exhausted during the hospitalization for any major disease, you can get cashless treatment for an additional Rs. 3 lacs by taking a personal health insurance policy from another insurer.<br/><br/>While motor, health and risk covering for homes and industries have been part of general insurance sector, covering trade credit for exporters,allowing health insurance abroad at cheaper rates for High Net worth Individuals, liability insurance for company officers and directors are some of the innovative products.<br/><br/>While Max Bupa and Apollo Munich are offering these HNI health policy, Bharti Axa is all set to launch.<br/><br/>With the opening up general insurance sector to private companies in 2000-2001, best practices from foreign underwriters have come into India and turning earlier ‘Tariff’ regime into ‘Competitive’ premium era bringing cheers to consumers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=424InsuringIndia News Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:36:12 GMT Hong Kong: Europe’s biggest bank HSBC has agreed to sell its General Insurance business to French Insurer AXA Group and Australia’s QBE Insurance Group for a cash of USD 914 million and moves ahead with its plan to divest non-core assets.<br/><br/>The deal, the latest in the series of cost cutting under new HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver, includes 10-year bancassurance agreements with AXA and QBE.<br/><br/>Regional Chief Financial Officer of AXA, Franois-Valry Lecomte is hoping that this deal will speed up to achieve the 2015 targets which were based on organic growth. The company also hopes to double its gross revenues and triple its underlying earnings by year 2015 for its general insurance business. The company also aims to clinch no. 1 ranking in Hong Kong and Mexico and the 2nd ranking in Singapore after the deal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=414InsuringIndia News Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:17:53 GMT New Delhi: India’s biggest insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation of India, yesterday launched a new plan ‘Jeevan Vriddhi’, keeping young professionals and parents who wish to assure better future to their kids in mind.<br/><br/>It’s a single-premium non-linked plan with the risk coverage of 5 times of the premium opted by the customer. Through this plan the company guarantees a maturity sum assured along with loyalty additions besides a one-time payment. This policy also facilitates its customers to get loan up to 70% of the sum in case of any financial need.<br/><br/>The guaranteed sum assured will be paid back after 10 years of insurance whereas five times of the single premium would be paid on the death of the customer. Entry age for this plan is from 8 years to 50 years. The minimum premium is Rs 30,000 and the minimum sum assured is Rs 1.5 lac and there is no upper limit.<br/><br/>'The company aims to sell about 20 lacs policies in this month in four southern states. We hope this will be a mega hit among the youngsters,' said Mr. D.D. Singh, LIC Zonal Manager (South). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=413InsuringIndia News Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:31:16 GMT Taking a step forward in technology, a leading life insurance company, ICICI Prudential Life comes closer to the customers with the launch of its mobile website: www.iciciprulife.com .<br/><br/>With the launch of mobile website, any individual can reach to the company by simply typing in it’s url on the mobile browser. Through the mobile website, the company has successfully enabled customers, prospects and its distribution network to avail various service facilities via their mobile phones.<br/><br/>Category wise features available on mobile website are: <br/><br/>Customer - Fund value, Online renewal premium payment, Premium due information, Get Premium Paid Certificate (PPC) and Unit statements.Prospects - Claims information, Product quote, Application tracker, Branch locator.<br/><br/>Speaking on the launching ceremony of the website, The Executive Director of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Mr. Madhivanan Balakrishnan said, 'Our endeavor has been to introduce technological innovations across our various processes as well as engagements with our customers to insure increased convenience and efficiency. We closely monitor the changing preferences of an increasingly technology savvy audience and its need to transact ‘on the go’. The ICICI Pru mobile website will enable customers to access information regarding their policies as well as enable premium payment through the mobile phones. We are confident that this innovation will be of value to our customers as well as partners.' http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=412InsuringIndia News Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:04:22 GMT One of the public sector banks, Indian Bank has decided to roll back it’s earlier decision to set up a separate subsidiary for taking up life insurance business. Instead, the bank will focus on building a multiple-agency relationship system to augment business, Chairman & MD, Mr. T.M. Bhasin, said.<br/><br/>The decision to give up the idea to setting up separate life insurance venture came after the bank decided to conserve capital and use it more appropriately in bank’s core business.<br/><br/>'We will be working on multiple-tie-ups to augment business so that competition increases. We’ll also go in for white-labelling of products so that Indian Bank’s name appear on products being offered by various agency partners,' Mr. Bhasin added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=411InsuringIndia News Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:14:18 GMT Max New York Life Insurance has launched a limited premium payment term plan ‘Premium Return Term Plan’ with 100% return of premium paid on survival of the policyholder.<br/><br/>Keeping Indian market in mind, where people are increasingly becoming aware of the true value of life insurance and willing to secure their financial future and also don’t wish to relinquish premiums paid in case of survivals, the company has launched a comprehensive protection plans, which covers not only the risk of life but also refunds total premium paid. It’s also the first plan to have an in-built accidental death benefit rider in an affordable rate.<br/><br/>Speaking on the launch,<b> Rajesh Sud, CEO & MD, Max New York Life Insurance</b> said, 'Life Insurance is the foundation of a sound financial plan and at Max New York Life Insurance we keep the consumer needs at the forefront when designing our products.'<br/><br/>As per data published by State Crime Records Bureaux (SCRBx), the incidence of accidental deaths has increased to 50% in the year 2010 as compared to year 2000.This plan of Max New York Life Insurance has been designed keeping consumers requirements in mind. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=410InsuringIndia News Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:04:56 GMT Following a letter from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority to the Life Insurance Council, the insurers have decided to meet the council to bring clarity on products.In the letter, the regulator clearly mentioned that the complex products are not aligned with the best practices and often lack clarity. IRDA has asked the Life Insurance Council, a statutory body of life insurers to smoothen the structure of insurance products.<br/><br/><b>Important areas of concern mentioned in the letter are:-</b><br/>(a) <b>Low Insurance Cover:</b> However, in Ulips, the minimum sum assured or death benefit that insurer can offer is defined but in case of traditional policies, the minimum sum assured is not defined.<br/>(b) <b>Ulips:</b> In case of Ulips, the regulator has pointed out the proliferation of funds as key concern. Several funds offer to customers, vary minutely.<br/>Another concern is the capital guarantee products that guarantee the highest NAV. These Ulips promise maturity benefit or fund value at the highest NAV (Net Asset Value) during the policy term and by some miracle to fetch the highest return but it’s not true.<br/>(c) <b>Illustration Benefits:</b> The regulator allows the agents to show illustration of different insurance policies on an assumed rate of growth of 6% and 10%. In all Ulips, the benefit illustration must be calculated at a percentage which is less than the median return of the fund value calculated for all funds in force in the last two years. For traditional products this median should be calculated on the basis of the returns of the traditional plans which have matured and for companies who do not have any plans that have matured, the median return of the paid up value of the last two years can be calculated. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=409InsuringIndia News Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:18:14 GMT MUMBAI: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has shown deep concerns over the maximum limit of sum assured on life insurance policies. IRDA wants the insurance company to set a maximum limit of sum assured so that they take maximum risk on themselves rather to heavily depend on the reinsurers to honour insurance claims.<br/><br/>'Most products filed for clearance assign ‘no limit’ to the maximum sum assured, which leads to fronting that means dependency on the reinsurer. Insurers that have reinsured very little risk may find it difficult to honour claims, which will damage the trust built on the industry,' said IRDA in a letter to the insurers.<br/><br/>'The authority also insisted that the insurers must make a clear distinction between group and individual policies. And group policies can only be sold by licensed intermediaries and not through bancassurance channels. Banks, acting as corporate agents, mostly offer policies to bank customers. It results in many complaints of premiums being deducted without the specific consent of the policyholder,' a senior executive of a large insurance company said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=408InsuringIndia News Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:41:49 GMT <b>New Delhi:</b> Motor and health insurance prices likely to go up as the government has suggested the insurers to raise premiums to cover their deficits.<br/><br/>The Ministry of Finance advised the national reinsurer General Insurance Corporation, not to provide reinsurance cover to individual insurers on policies in the loss making segment. According to the letter issued by the Finance Ministry earlier this month, 'GIC is also advised not to give reinsurance for such policies which are loss making as they lead to claims on GIC and for such business, let the insurers take risk or raise premiums.'<br/><br/>The ministry has also directed GIC to reduce commission by 50%, paid to insurers for reinsurance business to 5%.<br/><br/>'The GIC may pay 5% commission on obligatory cession and no such restriction is imposed on cession beyond 10% obligatory cession,' the letter said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=407InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:51:08 GMT <b>Port of Spain:</b> India’s insurance giant, New India Assurance, all set to open it’s new multi-million-dollar head office in Trinidad and Tobago by this year, an official said.<br/><br/>'Recently, the company has drawn up a new strategic plan 2012 which visualizes to reach premium around $33 million and to double the profit by 2015,' chief executive of the company (Trinidad and Tobago), Aswatha Narayana said.<br/><br/>'The company’s 70% of business comes from Trinidad and Tobago itself and the rest from the other islands. As of 31st December’2010, New India Assurance’s premium exceeded 100 million Trinidad and Tobago dollars and so is the total equity and they are over 106 million Trinidad and Tobago dollars,' he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=406InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:47:33 GMT With a view to improve transparency in reinsurance contracts, the supreme authority IRDA today said that it is planning to introduce an electronic re-insurance platform for insurers.<br/><br/>"We are going to come out with re-insurance platform for both local and foreign re-insurers," Insurance Regulatory Development Authority chairman J Hari Narayan told reporters here on the sidelines of a global meet on actuaries in Mumbai.<br/><br/>The IRDA had taken up an ambitious programme of designing an exchange or an inter-faceted, interlinked, electronic platform on which reinsurance broking transactions can be executed.<br/><br/>"The entire operation on the reinsurance side will be done through this particular platform once it is in place," Narayan said. <br/><br/>He said that there is a need to widen and deepen the insurance distribution system."Out of the 90,000-odd bank branches, only 13,000 branches offer insurance products today. 43 general and private insurance companies have entered into partnership with various banks for distributing their products.” He said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=404InsuringIndia News Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:50:48 GMT Public sector insurer Life Insurance Corporation is to buy 5% stake in Dena Bank Ltd. in order to help the bank prop up its capital base and boost its shares.<br/><br/>The Bank's board has approved the allocation of shares to LIC, amounting to approximately 1.5 billion rupees.<br/><br/>Many state run banks are in the need of capital desperately to strengthen their balance sheets.Dena Bank’s Chairwoman Nupur Mitra said, "We don't have plans to raise anymore funds. We will take a view of any further raising depending upon the market."<br/><br/>Earlier, Dena Bank has asked the government for 5 billion rupees in the next three-four years to meet its basic needs. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=401InsuringIndia News Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:08:01 GMT India’s leading private insuring company - SBI Life Insurance has come out with its multi-lingual website in 9 major Indian languages to promote communication with clients in the language of their choice.<br/><br/>The languages are Hindi, Punjabi Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali.<br/><br/>In a press release, Mr. M. N. Rao, SBI Life MD and CEO said, “In line with our customer centric business philosophy, the multi-lingual website has been created to facilitate communication with customers in the language, they are most comfortable with. The initiative is aimed at further simplifying customers’ understanding about our products and services so as to enable them to make well-informed decisions before investing their hard-earned money." <br/><br/>With the number of Indians, using the internet, crossing 100 million mark, SBI Life’s initiative acquires a big importance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=400InsuringIndia News Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:07:33 GMT Complying with instructions from the Delhi High Court on providing health insurance to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), the IRDA has issued the draft norms to insure PLHA.In the draft, IRDA has given directions to all life and general insurers to develop a product insuring the health of individuals suffering from HIV and under their health insurance policies.<br/><br/>IRDA said that the risk could be covered through a rider under a critical illness policy that would provide a lump-sum just in case the insured contracts the disease.<br/><br/>Insurers will have to particularly take into consideration individuals who are not showing the symptoms but are in first and second stage of HIV infection. The policy should furnish clear guidelines. <br/><br/>IRDA has asked the Insurers to file with the regulator within next months and seek its approval. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=403InsuringIndia News Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:59:28 GMT Changes in the perspective about insurance products, increasing awareness and rising use of the internet is compelling insuring companies to look at on-line channels for insurance distribution. Many leading insurers, including market leader LIC, are considering online distribution to increase sales.<br/><br/>Thomas Mathew, MD, LIC of India said, "on-line may not be very profitable right now, but it will be definitely be unprofitable not to be online. One option that insurers could look at is selling pre-approved through business correspondents of banks with whom they have a tie-up. This is of course subject to regulatory approval.” As per Mathew, insuring companies will need to use technology to build a cheap distribution model that is practically reachable as sales pick up.<br/><br/> In year2010, the IRDA tightened norms, which compelled companies to decrease the commission amount to insurance agents. IRDA also made it compulsory for agents to reach a minimum level of productiveness and persistence in business. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=402InsuringIndia News Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:58:03 GMT On Thursday, insurance watchdog IRDA started a forum to help promotes health insurance. The forum would in the end become a self-regulatory organization to promote the health insurance sector.<br/><br/>The panel would have as members, Chief executive officers of health and health insurance companies, TPAs, representatives of health service providers and officials from labour and health ministries.<br/><br/>The forum would play the role of consultative agency for insurers and other concerned parties and would also help IRDA in gathering data for increasing the efficiency of health insurance business in India. Forum members would have an office period of two years and meet at least twice a year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=399InsuringIndia News Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:14:06 GMT Private life insurance company Aegon Religare has announced the launch of its new online protection plan 'iTerm'. The company is expecting to sell minimum 15-20 percent of its policies through online delivery channel.<br/><br/>CMO Yateesh Srivastava said, "We ventured into the online distribution segment in 2009 with launch of the Aegon Religare iTerm plan. Now we have a new and improved version of the plan. Currently around 10% of our business, with regard to total plans sold, comes from the online segment. With the new and improved version we expect the numbers to go up to 15-20% within 18-24 months." <br/><br/>Anyone between age group of 18 years to 65 years can purchase iTerm and the maximum maturity is 75 years. The minimum sum assured is Rs. 10 lakh and the policy term is between 5 to 57 years.<br/><br/>The minimum premium is Rs. 1675 for regular policy and Rs. 7075 for single policy and could be paid in single or annual instalments.<br/><br/>The original iTerm was launched in year 2009 has sold over 19,000 policies amounting to Rs. 9410 crore in total sum assured. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=398InsuringIndia News Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:10:23 GMT Life insurance Company, IDBI Federal, has launched Termsurance Grameen Suraksha in association with IDBI Bank. The product which is first-of-its-kind insurance plan for rural customers of IDBI Bank was launched in Surli village in the district of Satara, Maharashtra.<br/><br/> Speaking on the occassion, R. K. Bansal, ED, IDBI Bank said, “Last year, we initiated our drive to extend our services to the unbanked regions. Our Ogalewadi Branch is one of the oldest in this region, making Surli an important village for us to reach out to. With IDBI Federal rural plan, we can offer the villagers a comprehensive set of financial solutions customised for them.”<br/><br/> Termsurance Grameen Suraksha is a low-cost, simple insurance plan that will help provide financial security to the clients of IDBI Bank at Surli and other nearby villages. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=397InsuringIndia News Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:07:35 GMT Private insurer Birla Sun Life Insurance, with its new ad campaign with Yuvraj for their Wealth with Protection Solutions is continuing on with its dedicated marketing strategy to stimulate common man of India into recognizing the importance of insurance in their life.<br/><br/>Before also, cricketer Yuvraj has done one Ad campaign for BSLI. In this TV commercial, the ace cricketer discusses his personal triumphs, his tribulations and trials frankly.<br/><br/>Ajay Kakar, CMO– Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group said, “Today’s Indians have tasted never-before success in the early years of their working life. This unprecedented material success gives them the confidence and belief that the good times will continue, uninterrupted, and they will live and enjoy all their ambitious dreams, one by one.”<br/><br/>He further said, “We have used Yuvraj Singh as our Philosophy Ambassador to share his personal belief and experience – also a reality of life – that ‘Jab tak balla chaltha hai, thaat  hain. Jab balla nahin chalega tho…’  (‘You rule, only till your bat rules’). We aim to provoke and inspire mass India with the personal triumphs, trials and tribulations of Yuvraj, who like a Phoenix, never accepts defeat. He just keeps working to combat the challenges that life and cricket have thrown his way, to bounce back.”<br/><br/>The TV Ad campaign started yesterday and will be telecasted on all top television channels. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=396InsuringIndia News Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:44:20 GMT IRDA chairman Mr. J. Hari Narayan has directed the health insurers to prepare insurance products to cover day-care procedures.<br/><br/>He said, “The number and scope of day-care procedures have to expand within the context of insurance policies to enable these kinds of procedures to take effect and be incorporated.”Presently, insurance companies allow treatments only if the patient stays for minimum 24 hours in the hospital. This leads to increase in costs without any useful function. <br/><br/>In India, the total expenditure on healthcare is about Rs. 3 lakh crore out of which about Rs. 1 lakh crore is spent in the hospitals. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=395InsuringIndia News Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:44:43 GMT The finance ministry has set up four panels to scrutinize and develop norms for insurance business in the country. The committees will have representatives from finance ministry, industry bodies, insurance companies and rating agencies. <br/><br/>The finance ministry in a meeting last week with industry bodies and insurance companies, asked for their feedback on the IRDA. <br/><br/>A finance ministry official said, “It is a consultative exercise. We want to know what the issues are plaguing the insurance industry and the kind of road map that can be envisaged for the sector. We want the industry’s view on how to increase penetration, and steps that can be undertaken in the short and long term.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=394InsuringIndia News Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:43:32 GMT The Bihar government ready to launch its insurance scheme soon for unorganized workers and craftsmen substituting the Centre government's “Aam Admi Bima Yojana” that has been implemented in the country from the financial year 2008-09.<br/><br/>The Bihar Government has named this scheme “Bihar Shatabdi Asangathit Karyakshetra Kamgar Evam Shilpkar Surakasha Yojana” as state's centenary year will be coming in March of this year. <br/><br/>Under the scheme, the state government would provide cover of Rs. one lakh for accidental death, Rs. 75000 for total disability, Rs. 37500 for temporary disability and Rs 30000 for death in harness. The liability on the state government would be around Rs. two crore per year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=393InsuringIndia News Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:42:30 GMT In the first three-quarters of the financial year 2010-12, premium amount from sale of new life insurance policies has fallen down by 17 percent from Rs. 86698 crore to Rs. 71953 crore. <br/><br/>Life insuring companies are attributing this drop, mostly to the non availability of pension plans from the life insurance segment. <br/><br/>According to the data from life insurance industry, for the last three quarters ending Dec, 2010, life insuring companies gathered Rs. 18417 crore from sale of pension plans coming to about 31.54% of premium from individual policies. <br/><br/>Compared to this, for the 3 quarters ending December 2011 the premium collected from pension plans was Rs. 1008 crore. The contribution of pension plans within individual policies was between 23% - 40% in the last 5 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=392InsuringIndia News Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:41:36 GMT Nippon Life Insurance Company has signed a MoU with Reliance Capital for acquiring 26% shares in Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM). RCAM is 2nd biggest asset management company in India. <br/><br/>The Memorandum of Understand was signed by President of Nippon Life, Mr. Yoshinobu Tsutsui and Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Capital. <br/><br/>Nippon Life is a 122-year Global Fortune 100 companies and is the seventh largest life insurer in the world and manages over Rs.30 lakh crore in assets. <br/><br/>Commenting on the occasion, Anil Ambani said, “We are delighted to have Nippon as our strategic partners in the mutual fund business. They are already our partners in the Life Insurance business. The mutual fund partnership cements and strengthens the relationship between Reliance Group and Nippon Life further and takes it to a new level.” <br/><br/>Nippon Life Insurance is also a partner in Reliance Life Insurance. The insurer acquired 26% per cent stake in Reliance Life Insurance at a value of Rs.3062 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=391InsuringIndia News Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:40:16 GMT Punjab National Bank is in the final stages of getting regulatory approval from IRDA for its purported buying of 30 percent stake in Metlife insurance company. PNB has declined to disclose financial details until Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority gives permission to go ahead.<br/><br/>K. R. Kamath, MD & Chairman, PNB said, "We are waiting for regulatory approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for the deal and unless that comes through, we will not disclose the details and strategy." Kamath also declared that PNB does not anticipate any problem for the approval.<br/><br/>In case the deal goes through, Punjab National Bank would be the biggest investor in the company.<br/><br/>Talking about abroad expansion, the MD said, "We have applied with Reserve Bank of India for Maldives and after receiving positive feedback from a survey, we will soon move to our regulator to foray into Bangladesh." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=390InsuringIndia News Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:55:31 GMT Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched a new plan by the name of ‘Jeevan Ankur’ particularly customized to meet the educational and other needs of the child.<br/><br/>Jeevan Ankur is a conventional plan with profits and is most suited plan for parents having a child aged up to seventeen years. This insurance plan for kids assures that the parents’ obligations are met under all conditions, without having to depend on anybody.<br/><br/>In this plan, the life of the parent is covered and the child is made a nominee. In the case of death of the parent during the policy term, the basic sum assured is payable at once to the child nominee. <br/><br/>Furthermore, 10% of the basic sum assured is payable as the income benefit till the end of the policy term, starting from the policy anniversary, concurrent with or next following the date of death so that the child's education doesn’t. <br/><br/>The nominee child will also get a payment equal to basic sum assured on the pre-defined maturity date of the policy along with loyalty additions. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=389InsuringIndia News Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:18:08 GMT A.M. Best, world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating agency has revised its ratings for the New India Assurance Company Limited from negative to stable and confirmed the issuer credit rating of 'a-' and financial strength rating of Excellent (A-). <br/><br/>The ratings portray insurer’s prominent business profile in insurance market, solid risk adjusted capitalization, and company's dedication to meliorate its underwriting performance. New India's business visibility is strong in domestic market besides its continuing growth in overseas market. In Indian market, New India remains at the top in generating premiums from health, fire and marine insurance. <br/><br/>New India's gross premium from domestic market grew by 17.5% and from overseas market by 12.7 in fiscal year 2010-2011. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=388InsuringIndia News Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:30:07 GMT The LIC of India has achieved ‘one-million’ mark in total lives covered under its health insurance schemes. <br/><br/>Jeevan Arogya- a benefit health insurance product launched last year is the main contributor. LIC has sold over 5.44 lakh health insurance policies worth premium Rs. 395 crore and total lives covered 1004525. Out of Rs. 395 crore premium, Jeevan Arogya alone contributed premium of Rs. 63 crore inside seven months of its launching. Until now, the numbers of Jeevan Arogya policies sold are 1.84 lakh.<br/><br/>To boost sales, LIC is making effort to sell health insurance to its own agents and employees beside others. The insurer is also looking forward to capitalizing on the rising client preference for benefit plans. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=387InsuringIndia News Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:05:42 GMT The Catholic Health Association of India has brought out an insurance scheme for religious and other members of its institutions such as Catholic priests and nuns. This insurance scheme will also be available to non-Catholic members and staff of CHAI.<br/>CHAI will launch the scheme in March of this year.<br/><br/>Sundar Bunga, Manager, (Strategic Planning, CHAI) said, “Priests and religious are not covered under any health insurance scheme in the country, so we decided to introduce such a scheme. Priests too need an insurance cover, keeping in mind the increase in private hospitals and medical cost.”<br/><br/>Hospitalization, treatment in any authorized health care nursing home/hospital will be covered under this insurance plan. All CHAI member hospitals having minimum 20 beds will become empanelled hospitals. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=386InsuringIndia News Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:04:34 GMT Private General Insurer, Bharti AXA General Insurance Company has shown an extraordinary growth in year 2011 against the general trend of a slump in the insurance sector.<br/><br/>Bharti AXA is among the fastest growing insurance companies in India. The insurer has shown a growth of 47% in its Gross Written Premium (GWP) for year 2011, taking it to 7,760 million from 5,280 million in 2010. In year 2011, the company has sold about 6.5 lakh policies and settled 1.2 lakh claims. <br/><br/>The insurer has achieved this huge growth through aggressive marketing strategy that concentrates on innovative products, portfolio improvement and best in-class services. The company is actively working to improve the service potentialities of its team. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=385InsuringIndia News Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:43:12 GMT Soon there would be some changes in the Unit Linked Insurance Product (ULIPs) structures, with the Direct Tax Code (DTC) coming into effect. <br/><br/>According to a clause of the DTC-2010, only those insurance policies of which the annual premium does not exceed five percent of the capital sum assured will be certified for deduction, meaning that the minimum cover should be twenty times the annual premium paid. <br/><br/>At present, insurers are expected to offer a minimum life cover of ten times the annual premium. <br/><br/>With this move, ULIPs would be more of an insurance product. The new changes will make ULIPs more protection oriented. ULIPs have always been investment oriented and have been marketed as investment products. <br/><br/>Almost all insurers are prepared to accept the new changes, as majority of the ULIPs are offered in the name of tax savings. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=384InsuringIndia News Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:19:29 GMT Cigna, Global Health Insurance and Health Service Company Cigna has announced its plan to market health insurance products in India in association with Indian consumer goods company, TTK Group.<br/><br/>The name of the company will be Cigna TTK, and it will have its headquarters at Mumbai. The company is expected to start its operations in year 2013 as the joint venture still has to get approval from various regulatory authorities.<br/><br/>David Cordani, Cigna CEO said, "We have proven expertise in offering solutions that seek to improve customers' health while managing cost. We recognize the value of TTK's deep insights into the Indian consumer's interests and needs as well as their ability to reach these consumers across the country."<br/><br/>For TTK, this venture is its first step into the insurance sector. The TTK Group is an Indian business conglomerate with a presence across several segments of the industry, including kitchenware, pharmaceuticals, condoms, medical devices, food products, etc.<br/><br/>Cigna is a US based global health Service Company, operating internationally in 29 countries. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=383InsuringIndia News Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:03:10 GMT After insurance and mobile number portability, the government is going to introduce savings bank accounts portability from one bank to another. Under the portability, the account number of customer would be the same.<br/><br/>This move is directed at permitting customers to change their bank to best service suppliers and ensure higher returns on their saving deposits.<br/><br/>The finance ministry has started working on the process of account number portability. For implementing account number portability, banks would have to work on ‘core banking solution’ (CBS) and ‘know your customers’ (KYC) norms.<br/><br/>After implementation, the customers would be able to change banks without the necessity of going initial verifications again. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=382InsuringIndia News Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:31:17 GMT According to a new report published by A.M. Best Company, India's insurance market has great future and fast growth is predicted. Though, the report also said that reaching profitability is a fight for many insuring companies. <br/><br/>A.M. Best Company is the world's most authoritative insurance rating source.<br/><br/>The report by the name of "Growth Anticipated for Indian Insurers, But Frustrations Remain," expresses that continuous economic progress, flourishing middle class and increasing demand for health insurance is ensuing greater participation by foreign insuring companies and reinsurers in the country. Nevertheless, in spite of positive growth outlook, there are obstacles and frustrations. <br/><br/>The insurance sector is anticipated to grow, but is characterized by acute competition. The report also analyzes the means that general insurers are undertaking to improve performance and how the life insurers are adapting to rules reconstituting unit-linked insurance policies.<br/><br/> The report also describes reasons why the country’s insurance sector is appealing to overseas insuring companies and the hurdles they face. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=381InsuringIndia News Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:50:19 GMT Very soon in the future, an index would be there to indicate the rate at which insurance premium for health, general and motorcar insurance is rising in synchronization with rising prices. <br/><br/>An expert panel under Sriram Taranikanti, Financial Adviser of IRDA is being constituted to calculate the index. The committee will also have officials from the Reserve Bank and central government. The committee would decide on the cycle of the index and also the products to be covered under the cost barometer. <br/><br/>These types of indicators are common in countries like UK, US, Japan and Australia. Service price index for insurance is in line with the proposal to cover services like health, banking, telecom and aviation sectors into the inflation indices. <br/><br/>The committee would take into consideration the services cost data from year 2007 onwards. The logistics support will be provided by IRDA to the committee. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=380InsuringIndia News Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:47:36 GMT Private insurer Aviva Life Insurance is planning to increase its presence in north east India by foraying into the rural markets as the company consider the north east region as an all-important market for growth.<br/><br/>The company sees good growth potential in this region's rural markets and tier 3 cities and which till now are under penetrated. <br/><br/>Aviva is planning to recruit almost 1000 agents to increase its penetration and bringing in a large part of underinsured and uninsured people under the insurance protection. <br/><br/>The company is also concentrating on enhancing the productivity of agents in order to provide better service to its clients in the north east.<br/><br/>Munish Sharda, director-direct sales of Aviva said, “The industry has realized that there is growth potential in the region's Tier 3 cities and the rural markets which are under penetrated till now. The company is focusing on managing expenses and claims, controlling frauds and looking at selective risks where the pricing is appropriate in this market. <br/><br/>"The N-E market contributes significantly to Aviva's business but the company also sees a lot of potential for growth here. Our top performing branches are from the North East," He added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=379InsuringIndia News Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:47:12 GMT The Dental health care industry in India is going through a transformation on account of the rising health-care quality demand. At present, approximately 50% of Indians has never ever visited a dentist and approximately 70% percent suffers from dental diseases. The dentist to population ratio in India is abysmal; in urban areas, it is 1: 10000 and in rural areas, it is 1: 250,000. <br/><br/>With increasing income and awareness, the dental-care market in India is gaining importance at a very fast rate. There is an increased demand for cosmetic dentistry like tooth reshaping, whitening, etc. <br/><br/>In spite of increased awareness, nonetheless over 50% of Indians are ignorant of remedies for dental problems. Lack of specific dental insurance is a big challenge that stalks this industry. Thus, there is a need for a comprehensive dental insurance plan.<br/><br/>There are only few dental insurance plans available in India. But, the Indian Dental Association (IDA) is in the process of bringing out a comprehensive dental insurance scheme soon. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=378InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:46:01 GMT In November of 2011, IRDA has directed all insuring companies marketing pension products to mention clearly in the policy document maturity benefits for policy holders or else pull them out from the market from 1st January onwards. <br/><br/>According to the IRDA guideline, policy documents must clearly define guaranteed benefit in case of death of the policy holder.<br/><br/>Now the insurers have filed 22 revised products with IRDA and have requested it to review these products and confirm whether these follow the prescribed guidelines. The insurers have also requested several clarifications.<br/><br/>Clearing up the doubts, IRDA said “during the term of the contract, the successor to the policyholder shall be entitled to receive a sum equal to the premium paid at the guaranteed rate of return.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=377InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:29:13 GMT Public sector general insurer United India Insurance Co. Ltd. has been awarded the Tamil Nadu’s health insurance scheme. It is expected that more than one crore families in Tamil Nadu will benefit from the Health Insurance Scheme.<br/><br/>DMK first introduced a public health insurance scheme during its tenure, which was scrapped by current CM Jayalalithaa. The previous contractor, Star Health Insurance, was asked to end its operations and a makeshift scheme was set up by the C.M. Afterwards it was decided to allow only public insurers United India, Oriental Insurance Company, New India Insurance Company and National Insurance Company to bid.<br/><br/>The new health insurance scheme is likely to bring in a premium amount of approximately Rs. 600 crore. <br/><br/>The new scheme provides medical cover up to Rs. 1.5 lakh as compared to the previous scheme which gave a cover of Rs. 1 lakh only. The new scheme provides cover to about 950 different types of medical interventions, including medical treatment, surgical procedures as compared to previous one’s 642 types.<br/><br/>The TN Government is expected to roll it out on Wednesday. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=376InsuringIndia News Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:40:28 GMT Private insuring company Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Limited (SUD Life) has announced the launch of a traditional endowment plan by the name of ‘Dhan Suraksha Platinum’.<br/><br/>This traditional endowment product is a good plan that has a strong combination of guaranteed protection and guaranteed savings for the future. The company is targeting to sell about 30000 policies.<br/><br/>Dhan Suraksha Platinum is a single premium non participating traditional endowment plan and is available until March, 2012. It offers an assured return at the end of ten years and an assured death benefit of five times the premium amount paid. The age to take the policy is minimum 8 years and the maximum 55 years. The exit age ranges from 18 years to 65 years. The minimum premium is Rs. one lakh with a sum assured of Rs. five lakh. <br/><br/>Dhan Suraksha Platinum is aimed towards higher-income group and the upper-middle income section. SUD Life is a joint venture between Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Dai-ichi Life Insurance company of Japan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=375InsuringIndia News Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:36 GMT In Year 2011, insurance companies witnessed a steady decline in insurance sales even as they tried to cope with IRDA’s new stringent rules and regulations.<br/><br/>As per the data issued by IRDA, income from the new business premium from individual policy sales of life insuring companies, especially that of private insurers decreased by 33.57% during the period April-November, 2011 as compared to the same period a year ago. The sale of the total number of individual policies also went down by a 32% during the same period by private insurance firms.<br/><br/>Following new stringent rules on ULIPs by IRDA in September 2010, the premium income and the number of policies sold plunged. IRDA’s annual report also disclosed that in FY 2010-11, policy-holders ceded policies worth Rs. 76,712 crore; almost double that of in the previous fiscal year.<br/><br/>Furthermore, any chance of an increase in sales of pension plans in year 2012 is doubtful as the IRDA has further tightened its rules & regulations on these plans from Dec, 2011. <br/><br/>Insuring companies are not certain what the year 2012 will bring for them. They are waiting for the first three months’ sales as this period is the best period for sales for the life insurers as people invest for saving taxes. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=374InsuringIndia News Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:17:50 GMT Indian health insurance industry makes up one of the fastest-growing and second largest general insurance sectors in India. This colossal growth is due to the rising health awareness and fear over ascending health care costs. <br/><br/>Health insurance industry sustained its double-digit rate of growth during FY 2010-11. Furthermore, with the government’s increasing efforts to promote the health insurance penetration in India, the health insurance sector is expected to grow at a very fast pace from FY 2011-12 to 2013-14.<br/><br/>As a result of this fast pace of growth and rising incursion of health insurance in the country, the TPA (third-party administrator) industry is also witnessing a sound growth. Today, TPAs are an important link in the health insurance services delivery chain. Furthermore, in the future, TPAs will keep on playing an all-important role in health insurance services. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=373InsuringIndia News Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:49:10 GMT IDBI Federal Life Insurance has set in motion their latest ad blitz to publicize their Child Plan “IDBI Federal Childsurance® Dreambuilder Insurance Plan”. <br/><br/>Childsurance® is a ULIP product with forward-looking features that assure an ideal combination of optimal returns and protection that helps parents to formulate a child plan that gives the maximum benefit at maturity. <br/><br/>The campaign’s tagline is 'Plan jo Fail na ho' meaning the plan that does not fail. The ads show people who missed their true calling in life as they were unable to pursue higher education due to lack of funds through a humorous plot line. <br/><br/>The campaign is conceived by Ogilvy & Mather and enacted by Curious Films. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=372InsuringIndia News Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:48:23 GMT Star Health Insurance Company has improved its existing Family Health Optima policy; it has added some new features and altered some in the product to accommodate the market demand and to offer new benefits to its clients. <br/><br/>The Family Health Optima product has been improved such that in case of Rs. 3 lakh onwards sum assured, if the total sum insured was used up, 50% of the sum insured will get restocked automatically and can be used for maladies other than those for which the policy amount was previously used. This facility is however available to. <br/><br/>The company has also increased the number of day care processes to 101 from 12. It has also increased the amount of room rent in various categories. <br/><br/>Addressing the press, V. Jagannathan, Chairman and MD said, “The premium would be marginally higher in the zones where the loss ratio was higher than the zones where the claims ratio was less. Zone 1, applicable for Mumbai, Delhi an entire Gujarat State, would carry a higher rate while zone 2, applicable for the rest of India, would carry a slightly lower rate. The premium variation between the zones was between 4 per cent and 11 per cent. He said the company had collected premium of Rs.840 crore in April-December 2011 against Rs.1,200 crore in 2010-11.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=371InsuringIndia News Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:44:44 GMT The Indian government has cleared a proposition for establishing a Pension and Life Insurance Fund (PLIF) for Indians working in the Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries. This move would benefit all Indians working overseas especially those in the Gulf countries. <br/><br/>Generally, the overseas Indian workers do not have any access to retirement savings schemes and formal social security accessible to residents of the ECR countries.Under this scheme, the government will co-contribute Rs. 1000 per year for all PLIF endorsers who contribute between Rs. 1000 and Rs. 12000 per year in the new national pension scheme- NPS Lite.<br/><br/>Also, overseas Indian affairs ministry will specially put up Rs. 1000 per year overseas Indian women workers who contribute between Rs 1000 and Rs 12000 per year in NPS-Lite as about 20 percent of Indian workers in ECR countries are women who are more susceptible to old age poverty due to lower income, shorter working age and other family responsibilities. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=370InsuringIndia News Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:54:55 GMT A 5-member committee is set up by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority to look into the functioning of an insurance pool intended for third-party insurance of commercial vehicles of which insurance cover had been declined because of their high-risk profile. <br/><br/>All commercial vehicles whose insurance cover has been denied will be covered under the declined pool and financial burden will be divided between all general insurers.<br/><br/> This insurance pool for commercial vehicles is being established to assure just and fair sharing by all insuring companies and to bring efficiency in claim management. The 5-member committee will have a duration of two years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=369InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:16:47 GMT Private insuring company IndiaFirst Life has partnered with regional rural bank Vidharbha Kshetriya Gramin Bank in Maharashtra to serve customers in rural areas. Vidharbha Kshetriya Gramin Bank is sponsored by Central Bank of India.<br/><br/>The insurer is expecting to cover nearly 100000 accounts in three years. MD and CEO P Nandagopal of IndiaFirst Life Insurance said, “This new tie-up will help us serve our customers in rural areas in a better and effective way."<br/><br/>Through this partnership, IndiaFirst will reach over 100 branches over five districts in Maharashtra.<br/><br/>IndiaFirst has already a big presence in Maharashtra via over 455 branches of Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank.<br/><br/>IndiaFirst promoters are Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and UK's Legal and General. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=368InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:20:17 GMT General insurance companies saw underwriting losses of Rs. 9,969 crore in 2010-11 as compared to Rs. 5,944 crore in the previous year. The FY 2010-2011 saw a substantial jump in underwriting losses at 67.72% as compared to 11.64% increase in 2009-10, according to data released by IRDA. <br/><br/> The raise in underwriting losses was for public as well as private sector general insurance companies, IRDA’s annual report 2010-2011 released this week disclosed.<br/><br/>Underwriting loss means the insurance firm disbursed more in claims than the premium brought in from selling those policies.<br/><br/>The country’s largest general insurance company ‘New India Assurance’ posted highest underwriting loss at Rs. 2,643.34 crore. Other companies reporting high underwriting losses are Future Generali, Bharti Axa, Universal Sompo General, Raheja QBE, SBI General Insurance, L&T General and Reliance General Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=367InsuringIndia News Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:11:34 GMT According to IRDA, in spite of having affiliation with many public sector banks, brokers and corporate agents to sell its insurance products, LIC is not using these channels efficiently. Instead, it is getting maximum percentage of its business from its agents.<br/><br/>As per the IRDA annual report for 2010-2011 released this week, out of individual new business premium of Rs. 52,732.09 crore, about 97.45% came from its network of 13.37 lakh agents. Through banks, it was 1.81%, corporate agents added 0.59%, brokers contributed 0.04%, and through direct selling it was only 0.11%.<br/><br/>LIC has affiliation with banks with a large branch network such as Bank of Maharashtra, Corporation Bank, UCO Bank and United Bank of India.<br/><br/>But then, around 13 lakh agents of all private insurers brought in 46.89% of the new business premium, banks brought in 33.21%, corporate agents added 8.7%, brokers contributed 4.77% and direct selling contributed 6.43%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=366InsuringIndia News Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:09:42 GMT Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has insured his five-story dream house in Bandra for Rs. 100 crore which is one of the largest insurance deals by a single person. The insurance is provided by a consortium of general insuring companies.<br/><br/>As per one official of a public sector insuring company who doesn’t want to be named, all the four public sector general insuring companies along with a private insuring company have furnished the insurance cover.<br/><br/> The official further added that the annual premium would be around Rs. 40 lakh.<br/><br/>The insurance cover has two parts. First is the fire insurance policy for Rs. 75 crore and an additional cover of Rs. 25 crore for household items like electronic gadgets, furniture and cricket accessories among others.<br/><br/>Tendulkar’s residence stands on the plot which he had purchased for Rs. 39 crore in year 2007. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=364InsuringIndia News Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:19:38 GMT The IRDA has announced that the LIC of India has got a much better performance in claim settlement as compared to private life insurers. <br/><br/>In its annual report published this week, IRDA said, "The claim settlement ratio of LIC was better than that of the private life insurers. Settlement ratio of LIC increased to 97.03 % during the year 2010-11 when compared to 96.54 % during the previous year" IRDA said in its annual report released this week. <br/><br/>As compared to LIC, private life insurers rejected a large number of claims. Private life insurers have bettered their performance, but their settlement ratio is still much lower than LIC. <br/><br/>During fiscal year 2010-11, the life insurers settled 8.13 lakh claims on individual policies giving a total payout of Rs. 7,595 crore. The number of claims pending at the year-end were 16,415 amounting to Rs. 306 crore. The number of claims renounced were 17,350 amounting to Rs. 336 crore. <br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=363InsuringIndia News Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:16:56 GMT Travellers going abroad might have to dole out more money as travel insurance premium may rise due to the slipping rupee. <br/><br/>Insurance companies had set the rates of travel insurance premiums when the value of the rupee was around 44/45 per dollar. Now in view of the currency’s depreciation, the insurers may reconsider travel insurance premiums.<br/><br/>The reason being, the claims for outward-bound travel insurance are paid out by insurers in foreign currency while they collect premium in rupees. <br/><br/>The Indian rupee has seen a depreciation of 22% against US dollar, from 44.46 in January 2011 to 54.29 in December. Industry analysts are predicting that year 2012 would continue to be tough for rupee, and some analysts are predicting that it might touch 58. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=362InsuringIndia News Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:12:54 GMT Government of India’s health insurance scheme- Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families is ready to bring health benefits to millions of domestic workers. <br/><br/>RSBY was started by Ministry of Labour and Employment to provide health insurance for BPL families.<br/><br/>The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPL households from financial liabilities arising out of health shocks that involve hospitalization.<br/><br/>Families covered under RSBY are entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs. 30000. Up to five members of the family including family head, spouse and 3 dependents are covered under this scheme. <br/><br/>The family has to pay only Rs. 30 as registration fees and rest of the premium is paid by Central and State Government to the insuring company partnering with the state Government. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=360InsuringIndia News Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:26:29 GMT Insurance premiums for vehicles are set to rise from coming April as IRDA has decided to substitute the 3rd party motor pool by a ‘declined pool'.<br/><br/> In all likelihood, the premiums will go up because of risk-based pricing; the increase could be anywhere from 20% to 70%. <br/><br/>In India, motor insurance covers damages to insured and damage to property or life of third party. Clients have the option to choose third party cover or the comprehensive cover. Third party cover is mandatory by law. <br/><br/>The third party pool was started in April 2007 by all general insuring companies to provide 3rd Party Insurance to all commercial vehicle owners at reasonable rates. <br/><br/>Under the proposed declined pool mechanism, every general insurer will have to issue policies to all who approach it. Only, the liabilities springing up from a stand-alone third party cover will be shared among general insuring companies from the pool. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=359InsuringIndia News Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:24:53 GMT The Insurance regulator IRDA has ordered scraping of the motor insurance pool. motor insurance pool was created to share liability claims by all general insuring companies no matter if they were motor insurance or not. <br/><br/>The move will push insuring companies to be more effective in handling liability claims. Motor insurance pool will be substituted by a syndicate of declined proposals in which only insurance claims from vehicles regarded to be uninsurable will be shared. <br/><br/>Public sector companies will be most affected as they have the highest motor third-party claims and it will be a positive for private insurers which now will not have to fully share public sector insurers’ losses. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=358InsuringIndia News Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:23:42 GMT United India Insurance for the health scheme. More than one crore families in Tamil Nadu will benefit from the Health Insurance Scheme. <br/><br/>DMK first introduced public health insurance scheme during its tenure which was scrapped by current CM Jayalalithaa. The previous contractor, Star Health Insurance, was asked to end its operations and a makeshift scheme was set up by the C.M. Afterwards it was decided to allow only public insurers United India, Oriental Insurance Company, New India Insurance Company and National Insurance Company to bid.<br/><br/>The new scheme covers family up to Rs. 1.5 lakh per annum and includes medical management, against surgical interventions and treatment to newborns. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=361InsuringIndia News Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:40:43 GMT A.M. Best Co. has substantiated the issuer credit rating of ‘bbb+’ and financial strength rating of ‘B++’ of United India Insurance Company Limited. The vantage point for both ratings is stable.<br/><br/>These credit ratings portray United India's strong business profile and strong capitalization in insurance sector and management's obligation to enhance the organization's underwriting functioning.<br/><br/> United India is a public sector insurer and has 1340 offices, 18300 employees and covers more than 1 crore policy holders.<br/><br/>A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative credit rating organization for insurance industry.  Best's ratings are used as means of evaluating the creditworthiness and financial strength of risk-bearing entities and investment vehicles.<br/><br/> A.M. Best assigns three types of ratings; Best's Financial Strength Rating, Best's Issuer Credit Rating and Best's Debt Rating. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=357InsuringIndia News Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:12:09 GMT IRDA Chairman Mr. J. Hari Narayan has warned the insurance industry against unhealthy business practices.<br/><br/>He said, “This was driving down premium incomes raising fears of the health of the insurance industry,'' he said while inaugurating the 8 summit of the Insurance Brokers Association of India. “The broking industry too would get affected if this goes on.” <br/><br/>He pointed out that the responsibility for fair practices plainly lies with the insurers. He stated there were no reasons for the companies to compete on the prices in these times when the market is growing at a very fast pace.<br/><br/> He warned that if this unhealthy trend is not stopped, then there would be grave fiscal trouble for the insurers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=356InsuringIndia News Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:59:08 GMT Indian pharmaceutical industry will get new opportunities when South Africa will implement its purported National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.<br/><br/>In a seminar organized by Indian High Commission of South Africa in Johannesburg, delegates discussed a various topics related to this issue.<br/><br/>On the occasion, Virendra Gupta, High Commissioner to South Africa said, "The idea was to create a sensitisation about our engagement in this very important sector.” <br/><br/>The High Commissioner further added, "I'm also happy to see a qualitative shift that is taking place, which is that Indian companies have reached a certain threshold in volume terms and are now beginning to expand their linkages by creating joint ventures, establishing manufacturing facilities and engaging in transfer of technologies."<br/><br/>South Africa is India’s 4th largest market, after UK, America and Russia. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=355InsuringIndia News Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:04:02 GMT Shriram Capital is planning to repurchase Sanlam Group's 26 percent share in the insurance joint ventures - Shriram General Insurance and Shriram Life Insurance to abide by FDI rules imposed by the Indian government on the insurance sector.<br/><br/>Shriram Capital will also raise its share in Shriram Transport Finance from to 25 percent from 21 percent.<br/><br/>In September, Sanlam Ltd. announced a Rs. 1200 crore investment in the joint ventures.<br/><br/>This investment gave Sanlam extra collateral holding in the insurance business, transgressing the FDI limit of 26 percent allowed in Insurance business. Therefore, Shriram Capital is repurchasing Sanlam's stake in insurance Joint Ventures.<br/><br/>Shriram Capital is the holding company for the insurance companies of the Shriram Group, namely Shriram Life Insurance Company Ltd and Shriram General Insurance Ltd. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=354InsuringIndia News Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:27:32 GMT Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee has directed LIC and general insurers to open at least one branch in all districts in South India in next year.<br/><br/>In South India, out of the 156 districts, 18 do not have a branch of LIC. 4 districts are without branches of general insurance companies. Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee addressed the issue at a press conference after chairing the meeting with the CMs of south zone States and Union Territories and leaders of public sector banks in Bangalore on Sunday. <br/><br/>According to Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, the southern India has a healthy credit-deposit ratio. Andhra Pradesh has demonstrated an imposing growth of 114.9%, Tamil Nadu 177.2%, Kerala 75.9% t and Karnataka has shown a growth of 74.6%. Credit-deposit ratios of Andaman and Nicobar, Pondicherry and Lakshadweep are slightly less than the 60%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=353InsuringIndia News Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:00:36 GMT After the fire at Kolkata’s AMRI Hospital last Friday, in which at least 90 people were killed, insurance companies are in the mood to increase fire insurance premiums for hospitals all across the country.<br/><br/>Insuring companies are diligently inspecting fire safety arrangements at hospitals to which they have sold policies. Those hospitals not following proper rules and measures would be put under the high-risk class. All companies under the high-risk category have to pay a high premium of about Rs. 3 per Rs. 1000 of insurance cover. Presently all hospitals are paying approximately Rs. 1.80 on the average.<br/><br/>Hospitals found lacking in fire hazard rules will be asked to follow the regulations within an explicit time period, and failing to do so, will result in cancelling of their insurance cover. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=352InsuringIndia News Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:57:14 GMT MetLife India Insurance Company has launched a new ULIP plan in the market by the name of Met Smart Child. The plan will cover child’s higher education.<br/><br/>Previously, MetLife India had a Child Savings Plan in its portfolio by the name of Met Bhavishya. Met Smart Child is the second child saving plan introduced by the company. In this plan, the funds will remain locked away till the child attains 18 years.<br/><br/> The plan is available for 10, 15 and 20 years. The minimum premium is Rs. 18000. The amount covered will be equal to ten times of the premium and will remain fixed during the full Policy term. The plan covers six unit linked funds for policy holders from which they can choose.<br/><br/> MetLife India Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings, M. Pallonji and Co. Private Limited and The Jammu and Kashmir Bank, and some private investors. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=351InsuringIndia News Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:09:28 GMT Soon Indian insuring companies are going to increase their influence all over the world. The IRDA is planning to permit Indian insurance companies to launch overseas JV subsidiaries with foreign insurers.<br/><br/>Recently, IRDA issued draft guidelines to permit all types of insuring companies and reinsurers having ten years of operations to set up insurance subsidiaries, joint venture companies or branches abroad. The foreign partners in these joint ventures cannot set up their branches in India.<br/><br/>Presently, private insuring are not allowed to set up branches abroad or buying stakes in foreign companies to establish a joint ventures but foreign insurers can purchase up to 26% stake in an Indian insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=350InsuringIndia News Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:10:15 GMT Indian insuring companies can insure only 78 million dollars out of the 320 million dollars liability insurance as directed by the government for N-plant operators. This is forcing General Insurance Corporation (GIC) to look abroad for buying insurance cover from international markets. In this scenario, N-plant operators will be required to open up their reactors for inspection.<br/><br/>Chairman of GIC, Yogesh Lohiya said, "India is at an incipient stage of private participation in power. We had a meeting with local insurance companies to create a nuclear insurance pool. But we have managed to get commitments from only 7-8 insurers for capacity of $78 million as against the target of $320 million."<br/><br/> General Insurance Corporation has been given the responsibility of arranging the compulsory 320 million dollars liability insurance cover for nuclear plant operators. GIC presented a demo to Department of Atomic Energy officials, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation. Also present were experts and underwriters from Russia and China, who explained how reactors in their countries are inspected by global nuclear pool agencies and its benefit to the plant operator. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=349InsuringIndia News Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:19:23 GMT On Monday, Lok Sabha passed the LIC?(Amendment) Bill, 2009.<br/><br/>The Bill seeks to raise the paid-up capital of LIC to Rs. 100 crore from Rs. 5 crore besides and making the public sector insurer comply with the same regulatory rules as other life insuring companies.<br/><br/> The act will put LIC on equal footings with private insuring companies. The amendments in the bill were recommended by IRDA.<br/><br/>Several members of Lok Sabha emphasized the need to secure the interests of employees and customers of LIC under the new law.<br/><br/>Minister of state for finance assured the members that the new law will not have an effect on present policyholders, and the government will keep on to providing the sovereign guarantee to the policies sold by LIC.<br/><br/>The Bill was first introduced in December 2008 in Lok Sabha, but couldn’t be put to vote. It was reintroduced by FM Pranab Mukherjee in year 2009.<br/><br/> Once passed by both the houses of Parliament, it will be sent to President for her approval before becoming a law. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=348InsuringIndia News Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:32:38 GMT Reliance Capital is in negotiations with three offshore companies to sell 26 percent of the stake in its general insurance firm. These three companies are Samsung Fire? and Marine Insurance Co. Ltd., include Travelers Companies Inc. and the general insurance arm of Samsung Group.<br/><br/>At present, Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. is working without a foreign partner. According to Indian regulatory rules, a foreign company is permitted to hold up to 26 percent stake in an Indian non-life insuring company’s business.<br/><br/>A major percentage of Reliance General’s income comes from motor insurance. During the fiscal 2010-11, the company posted a loss of Rs. 310 crore, as compared to the loss of Rs. 91 crore previous fiscal.<br/><br/>If Reliance-Cap is able to sell 26% stake in the general insurance business, it will be its second such tie-up lately. In September 2011, Reliance-Cap sold a 26 percent stake in its life insurance business to Nippon Life for Rs. 3,062 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=347InsuringIndia News Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:28:09 GMT Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has brought a new unit linked plan in the market by the name of “Guaranteed Maturity Insurance Plan”. At maturity, the product will provide a secure life cover along with minimum 200% returns on the principal invested.<br/><br/>The product is the lowest single premium ULIP in India with the minimum single premium as low as Rs. 5000.<br/><br/>The plan provides life cover all across the total term of 10 years and gives the flexibility of partial withdrawal after five years. There are no allocation charges. The policy holders can avail tax benefit under section 80C. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=346InsuringIndia News Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:49:37 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority have issued guidelines for authorization and renewal of Agents Training Institutes (ATIs).<br/><br/>The verification and granting of licences to these institutes will be done by a Standing Committee established by IRDA in 2010.<br/><br/>In a statement, IRDA said, "Only (those) entities registered as a company under the Companies Act and society and trusts under Societies Registration Act shall be eligible to apply for accreditation as Agents Training Institutes."<br/><br/> IRDA has also declared that only those institutions which have been in the field of training for insurance products for more than 3 years would be entitled to start an ATI.<br/><br/>Those institutes which want to start a new ATI can apply twice a year. ATIs will also have to register with Provident Fund Commissioners. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=345InsuringIndia News Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:18:53 GMT In a move welcomed by industry, IRDA has given permission to insurance brokers to offer consultancy for insurance claims. Now the policy holders can approach insurance brokers not only for purchasing insurance but also for claim settlements.<br/><br/>Insurance brokers have been demanding for long allowing them to set up a claim consultancy service. Insurance brokers can offer consultancy for claim settlement up to Rs. One crore if they are not based on polices, which have been placed by any other broker.<br/><br/> In a circular issued by IRDA, Mr. J. Hari Narayan said, “It will be in the interest, particularly of the relatively smaller policyholders, to provide an avenue to such policyholders to obtain more competent advice, particularly in the matter of settlement of claims.”<br/><br/> Insurance brokers will have to get a written permission from the policyholder while conducting claim negotiations with the insuring company.<br/><br/>The fee for consultancy will be mutually decided by the broker and the policy holder. In case of any conflict between brokers springing up out of such consultancy arrangements shall be mediated by the Insurance Brokers Association of India. The association would forward the same to the IRDA with its recommendation for final disposal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=344InsuringIndia News Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:40:49 GMT SKS Microfinance is working out to cut down its exposure in microfinance and increase income from associated operations to protect itself from the on-going upheaval in the finance sector. SKS Microfinance recently wrote off a Rs. 1200 crore loans in Andhra Pradesh.<br/><br/>SKS Microfinance started its journey in year 1998 as an NGO and today is a for-profit NBFC regulated by Reserve Bank of India. SKS loans out small amounts beginning from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 12000 to poor women so that they can have sustainable income. The micro-endeavours range from raising cattle for selling milk, to starting a small kirana store.<br/><br/>CFO of the company, Dilli Raj said, “We are going to have non-microfinance operations contributing to the balance sheet from the next financial year. These include gold loans, loans disbursed for buying mobile phones, insurance and funding Sangam stores (small kirana stores).” <br/><br/>SKS Microfinance planning to project its return on assets at 3 percent for microfinance business and 1 percent of return on assets from non-microfinance business.<br/><br/>For pursuing the non-microfinance operations, the company is planning to set up a wholly owned subsidiary shortly. The subsidiary will initially focus on gold loans and operations including lending to small kirana stores and mobile phone buyers would be scaled up later. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=343InsuringIndia News Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:06:09 GMT Life Insurance Corporation of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dhanlaxmi Bank to facilitate policy payments through electronic funds transfer for policy-holders.<br/><br/>According to the agreement, the bank will provide e-payment services to the LIC via National Electronic Funds Transfer system to deposit funds in the policy-holders` accounts.<br/><br/> Besides customers of Dhanlaxmi Bank, this association will also benefit LIC policyholders which are customers of other banks.<br/><br/> Sidhartha Routray, head, cash management service sales group of Dhanlaxmi Bank said, “LIC`s decision to tie-up with Dhanlaxmi Bank highlights the bank`s advancement in terms of technology, transaction processing systems and its superior delivery mechanisms. With this tie-up, LIC policyholders can expect immediate disbursal of payments in a convenient and secure environment.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=342InsuringIndia News Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:22:21 GMT Terror insurance premium rates may soon come down as the terror pool corpus established for this function has expended and it has received very few claims after its foundation. This terror pool is handled by GIC of India.<br/><br/>All insurance claims originating from terrorist activities are settled through this terror insurance corpus established by general insurance companies in year 2002.<br/><br/> Presently, the terror pool has around Rs. 2000 crore in its coffers, even after a loss of Rs. 400 crore on account of 26/11 attack.<br/><br/> There are developments to revise the pool rates by the underwriting committee since the premium rates in India are much higher than international rates.<br/><br/> There are three broad categories of terror risk and all three have separate premium rating structure. These are residential, non-industrial and industrial risks. For residential, the premium is 10 paisa per Rs. 1000, non-industrial it is 20 paisa, and for industrial, it is 30 paisa. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=341InsuringIndia News Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:05:30 GMT The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has put in a proposal wherein all volunteers taking part in clinical trials will be covered by insurance and in case the anything goes wrong, they will be compensated.<br/><br/>ICMR has now proposed to make compensation mandatory for volunteers if they suffer any harm in the trials. The compensation amount has yet to be worked out.<br/><br/> The ICMR with Forum for Ethics Committees have formulated draft guidelines for research linked injury compensation.<br/><br/> The new guidelines will be applicable to all clinical research, including trials by government, pharmaceutical companies, academia and individual researchers.<br/><br/> The need for remuneration for clinic trials volunteer was felt after a number of pharmaceutical companies violated ethical guidelines and used illiterate people as Guinea pigs.<br/><br/>The participants would get the compensation if they are temporary or permanent injured on account of participation in the research. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=340InsuringIndia News Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:43:59 GMT Public sector bank- Bank of India has agreed to purchase 51% stake in Bharti AXA Mutual Fund. With this move, Bharti Enterprises will no longer be in the asset management business.<br/><br/>The companies issued a joint statement, “Bank of India and AXA Investment Managers Asia Holdings (a subsidiary of Axa Investment Managers, part of the AXA Group) have agreed to enter into a joint venture in asset management business carried on by Bharti AXA Investment Managers.” <br/><br/>After the necessary approval from regulatory bodies, Bank of India will acquire 26 percent from the AXA Investment Managers Asia Holdings and 25 percent stake from Bharti Enterprises.<br/><br/> After the completion of the deal, the fund house will be renamed ‘Bank of India AXA Investment Managers’. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=339InsuringIndia News Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:40:21 GMT On Friday, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) and South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in which LICI would provide micro-insurance to customers of SPBD.<br/><br/>SPBD is a group of micro-finance organizations based in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa which is dedicated to eradicate poverty by providing poor women in villages with the opportunity to grow and maintain sustainable income.<br/><br/> In its first year of operations, the group has provided opportunities to 3000 women in Lami, Suva, Nausori, Tailevu and Navua.<br/><br/>Now with the assistance of LICI, the company will provide low-cost insurance benefits to poor households.<br/><br/>SPBD’s clients will get a $5000 life insurance cover and an additional death cover of $5000 at a premium of less than $2 per week for people in the age group of 18 to 65 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=338InsuringIndia News Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:36:51 GMT On Thursday, IRDA notified guidelines for life insuring companies to raise capital through IPO.<br/><br/>As per the IRDA notifications, only those insurers having a 10 years track record can raise the capital but the companies must first receive IRDA's approval and after that they have to seek the approval of SEBI.<br/><br/>The IRDA's approval will be effectual for one year and insuring companies will be required to file their papers for IPO within that period with SEBI.<br/><br/>Besides having a track record of 10 years, IRDA will also assess the applicants on certain other criteria such as the company’s financial strength, history of compliance with regulative requirements, corporate governance and solvency margin.<br/><br/>Although the regulations have not defined the limit below which domestic promoters of the insuring firms cannot dilute their stake, the IRDA has held back its discretional powers to determine how much, the promoters can dilute their shareholding.<br/><br/>Presently, FDI is allowed up to 26% in a life insurance company. So, a domestic promoter can have equal to 74% stake in a life insurance venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=337InsuringIndia News Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:40:42 GMT Leading travel services company, Thomas Cook has partnered with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd. as its corporate agent through its subsidiary 'Thomas Cook Insurance Services (India) Ltd'. This business relationship will allow Thomas Cook to provide general insurance products and travel insurance from Bajaj Allianz to its customers all across India.<br/><br/>MD of Thomas Cook India Ltd, Madhavan Menon said, “"We are proud to be associated with Bajaj Allianz, and our tie up will enable us offer a truly diverse range of customer-centric insurance products—customised and bundled travel insurance, motor insurance, health insurance and other general insurance products (both retail and corporate) to our customers countrywide. This association also gives our customers access to superior customer and claim settlement service that Bajaj Allianz is known for."<br/><br/>Tapan Singhel, CMO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said, "It is a matter of great privilege to be associated with Thomas Cook, one of the leading travel and travel related financial services company. This association will enable us to reach out to a wider customer base besides offering them protection beyond travel insurance." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=336InsuringIndia News Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:57:22 GMT The IRDA has asked LIC of India to settle all the claims within the specified time. On Tuesday, J. Hari Narayan, Chairman of IRDA released an order asking the public sector insurer to clear all insuring claims within the specified period and also to install effective system to promptly settle the claims.<br/><br/>The order was released after receiving a complaint by a policyholder regarding claims settlement of a death claim.<br/><br/>When IRDA inspected the complaint, it noticed that LIC took more than 6 months to reject the group insurance claims of 24 death cases.<br/><br/> IRDA also detected that about 1400 maturity claims were settled after 6 months throughout this period.<br/><br/>In the order, IRDA also noticed that LIC has a comparatively better track record in claim settlement as compared to other insurers, but added that there is still scope for improvement. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=335InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:50:52 GMT Metlife India Insurance is expecting to complete its capital restructuring by the end of December after the introduction of Punjab National Bank as its new partner. PNB will hold 30% stake in the company.<br/><br/>The inside sources said that the restructuring is on track and should be finished by the end of December. After that the company will be named PNB Metlife. According to the deal, 30% stake will be collected by issuing fresh shares.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, Metlife has made a mutual arrangement with present shareholders, which will empower it to hold 26% interest in the life insurance venture.<br/><br/>Stakeholders in Metlife India are Shapoorji Pallonji, Jammu and Kashmir Bank and s Metlife. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=334InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:14:14 GMT For all those insured with PSU companies, cashless medical facilities are now available in 560 hospitals in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore and the hospital network will be expanded in very near future to Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.<br/><br/>Public sector insurance companies have sanctioned a network of hospitals by the name of Preferred Provider Network (PPN), which provides cashless facility for health insurance services. The hospitals to be included are decided through an agreement between the insurers, TPAs and the hospitals.<br/><br/> The four public sector insurance companies - New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India Assurance and Oriental Insurance had stopped cashless facility in many private hospitals in July of last year, claiming over billing.<br/><br/> Many hospitals were charging the insured patients at higher rates than the non insured patients.<br/><br/> As many policy holders were left in predicament after the suspension of cashless facility, the IRDA issued a circular saying that the policy holders having treatment would get cashless benefit even if their hospital is delisted by insuring companies from cashless cover. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=324InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:17:06 GMT On 24th November, the government sanctioned foreign direct investment of 100 percent in single brand retail and up to 51 percent in multi brand retail. The act is seen as a big move for improving foreign investment in favour of India. There are estimates that this move will attract at least 10 billion dollars in foreign direct investment.<br/><br/>Also, the insurance experts are of the view that insurance sector has more potential to attract foreign investment immediately than retail.<br/><br/>As per Life Insurance Council of India, in the life insurance sector alone, total investment is about Rs. 31,557 crore and if we add investment in the non-life insurance sector, the total investment would be more than Rs. 40000 crore.<br/><br/>The capital inflow in the insurance sector if foreign direct investment in insurance is liberalized to 49 percent would be much higher than 23 percent of the capital deployed presently. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=323InsuringIndia News Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:51:51 GMT Reliance Industries and Bharti Enterprises have agreed to end negotiations with mutual understanding regarding Reliance’s decision to buy stakes in Bharti’s two insurance joint ventures with France's AXA Insurance.<br/><br/>Both the companies were unable to reach agreement on the joint governance and long-term vision.<br/><br/>Reliance industries had planned to buy along with its associate Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd, 57% and 17%, respectively, in both Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co Ltd and Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd.<br/><br/>Bharti Enterprises which is the parent company of the top Indian telecom firm Bharti Airtel had partnered with AXA, Europe's second biggest insurer, in 2006 to form two partnerships- Bharti AXA Life Insurance and Bharti AXA General Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=322InsuringIndia News Sat, 26 Nov 2011 11:18:32 GMT IRDA is in the process of drafting a new road map for bancassurance business, under which insurers will be permitted to collaborate with various non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and banks in different states for marketing their insurance products, but with one condition; NBFCs and banks will not be permitted to sell insuring products of competing insurers in one particular state.<br/><br/>Draft regulation is named IRDA (Licensing of Bancassurance Agents) Regulations, 2011. IRDA has invited remarks and comments maximum by 12th December. <br/><br/>The draft norms have divided the country into three different zones; Zone A (13 states), Zone B (9 states) and Zone C (17 states).<br/><br/> The draft norms have specified that no insuring company shall partner with any bancassurance agent in more than 9 states/Union Territories in Zone A and 6 states/Union Territories in Zone B.<br/><br/>According to draft proposals, an insurer will only be permitted to nominate one bank partner in a limited number of states. <br/><br/>Furthermore, in case the general insurer doesn’t have any health insurance product to sell, the bancassurance agent may associate with one more general insurer dealing purely in health insurance.<br/><br/>As per the existing practice, a bank is permitted to market insurance products of a life insurer, a general insuring company and a health insurance company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=321InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:40:17 GMT The insurance watchdog IRDA has issued new guidelines for insurance aggregators to ascertain that customers do not get cheated while buying insurance products online.<br/><br/>But, aggregators are not happy with this view and are of the opinion that these new guidelines will endanger their very existence and deny customers of crucial comparison tool.<br/><br/>Insurance aggregator sites are widely used by costumers to compare policy rates for insurance products such as term insurance and auto insurance.<br/><br/> The insurance sector has been, for the most part, are in support of these aggregator sites since they help customers to compare products before buying. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=320InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:37:32 GMT Life Insurance Corporation of India has partnered with Federal Bank for paying maturity proceeds of its policies. This move will improve the payment system and will save costs for LIC.<br/><br/>Until now, LIC used to pay policies’ maturity proceeds by cheques through its different branch offices across the country and sent to the policy-holders one month prior to the maturity date. Forthwith, the payments will be credited straight to the policy-holders bank account via National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) on the maturity date.<br/><br/> Now the clients will not have to wait for clearance of the cheque as the maturity proceeds will be directly credited into the clients’ account and thus having a trouble less and convenient claims options. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=319InsuringIndia News Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:08:59 GMT Cigna, the US based health insurer is all set to foray into the Indian insurance market in a joint venture with consumer goods company TTK Group to sell a range of insurance, wellness and health products.<br/><br/>Cigna is one of the largest health service companies in the USA with offices in 29 countries. It has about 66 million customers all over the world. The company is headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, USA.<br/><br/> TTK Group is an Indian business conglomerate having a presence across various industry segments such as durable goods, pharmaceuticals, bio-medical devices, health care services, maps, consular visa services and virtual assistant services. The TTK group has revenues of approximately Rs. 10 billion with a presence across India and international markets.<br/><br/> Both the partners have started the process of seeking regulatory approval from IRDA and are planning to submit a filing in the early part of next year and are hoping to sell insurance policies from 2013 onwards.<br/><br/>The company is planning to sell insurance products at 1,500 retail stores, through the internet, telephone and through partner banks. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=318InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:22:05 GMT Three years ago, when India’s Satyam corporate fraud surfaced, the demand for D&O liability insurance saw a big surge in India.<br/><br/>Directors and Officers Liability (D&O) Insurance is a liability insurance payable to the organization to cover defence costs and damages in the case organization suffer such losses due to lawsuits for supposed wrongful acts while working in their capacity as directors and officers for the company. The insurer bears the burden of payouts if an insured executive is found liable.<br/><br/>Head of underwriting, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd., T.A. Ramalingam said, “Post the Satyam crisis, there was a temporary spurt in the interest and demand for this policy. The insurer received many enquiries from companies about D&O policies after the Satyam case surfaced, but the interest slowly tapered off.”<br/><br/>The reason was corporate apathy and the hesitancy on the insurers’ part to invest the time and effort needed to sell these policies.<br/><br/>As compared to 95% of Fortune 500 companies, only 5% to 6% of publicly traded companies in India have taken D&O policies.<br/><br/>The Satyam scandal produced awareness about these D&O policies, but this didn’t translate into business, despite a steep decrease in premium charges. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=317InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:20:56 GMT The Tamil Nadu government has finally decided to start the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The health scheme would benefit 1.34 crore families in the state.<br/><br/> The health insurance scheme is now being revamped by replacing the earlier private health insurer with a PSU company.<br/><br/> The enforcing agency for this revised scheme, Tamil Nadu Health Society, held a meeting to clear up the doubts. Only four PSU firms - New India Insurance Company, United India Insurance Company, National Insurance Company and Oriental Insurance Company took part in the bid after the state government limited it to public sector companies.<br/><br/> The cabinet took the decision to choose only from public sector firms. Rs. 750 crore has been allotted for the current fiscal year. In the scheme, the sum assured is Rs. 1 lakh per year per family, and Rs 1.5 lakh for specified procedures like cardiac valve replacement. A family having an annual income of maximum Rs. 72,000 is permitted to avail the benefits. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=316InsuringIndia News Sun, 20 Nov 2011 11:17:24 GMT The insurance watchdog, IRDA has chided private insurer, Future Generali India Life Insurance to rigorously abide by regulatory guidelines. IRDA has ordered the insuring company to efficiently conclude life insurance proposals within the specified time period.<br/><br/>IRDA had received several complaints against the insuring company from policy-holders who hadn’t received their policy documents even after finishing documentation formalities. Furthermore, there were delays in policies cancellation under the free look period.<br/><br/>IRDA analyzed three separate complaints, and it was seen that insurer has failed to make cancellation refunds to the policyholders under the free look period, as prescribed by IRDA.<br/><br/>IRDA also discovered that bulk of the complaints against the Future Generali was related to delays and irregularities in processing. 99% of complaints were of non receipt of the policy papers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=315InsuringIndia News Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:14:05 GMT Asian insurance industry has bestowed Indian information Technology Company RMSI with the 'Technology Initiative of the Year' award for formulating an exceptional software for risk assessment.<br/><br/>The award was given at the fifteenth Asia Insurance Industry awards held at Singapore for its innovative software “profiler for insurance exposure and risk” (PIER).<br/><br/> RMSI is a CMMi level 5 and ISO 9001:2008 certified company. RMSI develops innovative solutions that integrate geographic information with niche business applications. Today, RMSI's resource base comprises over 1,200 software, data and technology specialists.<br/><br/> According to the RMSI, the software is India's first geospatial based risk assessment tool that allows users with a unified view of hazard, exposure and business data for the whole country.<br/><br/>In a statement, company said, "PIER uses the latest GIS technologies to help insurance companies improve identification, assessment, pricing and management of risk across various lines of business. It enables insurers to create risk indices for various hazards and these indices help companies develop risk-based ratings. Helping underwriters better understand the location, underlying geography and susceptibility to natural hazards." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=314InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:20:45 GMT Keeping in mind government’s government's objective of all-inclusive growth, the National Advisory Council is deliberating for ways of bringing in India’s unorganized labourers under its social security net.<br/><br>National Advisory Council (NAC) is headed by Sonia Gandhi. A new panel on social security is working on a draft that will attempt to furnish basic insurance coverage to organized labourers with the target to provide life cover, accident cover, health coverage, maternity benefits and pension in old age. The scheme is expected to cover approximately 43 crore workers.<br/><br>In year 2008, Parliament passed the ‘Unorganized Sector Workers’ Social Security Bill’ with a view to cover the unorganized labour segment through several social schemes of the central and state governments.<br/><br>According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, the full penetration of insurance (evaluated by premium as % of GDP) is approximately 5.2 percent in India.<br/><br>NAC member and convener of the working group on social security, Mirai Chatterjee said, “The NAC is examining whether the social security benefits are reaching the unorganized sectors or not. We are going to give our final recommendations in the NAC meeting on 29 November." <br/><br>The panel will present its proposals to NAC, after which proposals will be put up on the website for general public’s comments. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=313InsuringIndia News Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:03:54 GMT According to a study, by year 2020, India will be among the top three life insurance markets and top fifteen general insurance markets. The Indian insurance industry will proceed to outperform the fast economic growth to reach 350-400 billion dollar in premium income.<br/><br/>The study also said that the penetration of insurance in India has increased from 2.3 percent in year 2001 to 5.2 percent in year 2011. Furthermore, insurance coverage of population has vastly increased in recent years.<br/><br/> The number running life policies has increased nearly twelve times in over ten years and health insurance policies nearly twenty-five times.<br/><br/> This increase has been helped by an increase in the availability of products. Over the past decade, the insurance industry has come a long way. The report also mentioned the growth of various multiple channels. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=312InsuringIndia News Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:35:09 GMT Future Generali India Life Insurance Company has come out with a new insurance product by the name of ‘Secure Income Plan’. The product is a blend of annual income benefits and traditional endowment.<br/><br/>The ‘Secure Income plan’ is available for people of 0 to 60 years and for a time period ranging from 15 years to 65 years. On the culmination of the payment period, accumulated compounded reversionary bonuses will be paid.<br/><br/> After the completion of the premium payment time period, each year 5.5% of the sum assured will be paid as assured annual cash-back and a cash bonus till the completion of the policy term. On the maturity date, the policy-holder would get the sum assured in addition to terminal bonus. The plan could be bought from Rs.10000 onwards. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=311InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:03:48 GMT U.S. Based LeapFrog Investments is planning to purchase stakes in insurance companies in Philippines and Indonesia to tap their under-penetrated markets.<br/><br/>LeapFrog Investments was founded in year 2008 with 135 million dollar capital. It was launched to seek means to capitalize on the micro insurance sector in Africa and Asia where a major part of people does not have any kind of insurance.<br/><br/>LeapFrog Investments has the billionaire George Soros and e-bay founder Pierre Omidyar as its promoters and have a presence all over the world. The fund has back-up from a syndicate of development and commercial banks, reinsurers and pension funds.<br/><br/>LeapFrog's president and founder, Andrew Kuper said that both countries' economies are rising, and their micro credit industry’s historical performance is well. He also said that fund is expected to close a deal to buy an insurance company in Philippine in the early part of next year.<br/><br/>So far, LeapFrog has made 3 investments; 7 million dollar in South Africa's AllLife, 14 million dollar in Apollo Investment in the Kenya and 15 million dollars in India's Shriram Group financial services business. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=310InsuringIndia News Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:48:11 GMT Private insurer, Max Bupa Health Insurance is hoping to reach break-even in its operations by the year 2015. Max Bupa Health Insurance started its operations in year 2010 and is one of the latest entrants in the health insurance sector in India. It is a joint venture between Max India and UK-based BUPA in the ratio of 76:24.<br/><br/>CFO Max Bupa, Neeraj Basur said, “We hope to break even in the fifth year of operations as we had targeted.”<br/><br/>Being a new player in the business, Max Bupa is trying to create a niche for itself by bringing out unique products and providing special services. For example, the company became the first to offer health insurance policy of a sum insured of Rs. 15 Lakh to Rs. Lakh. Before that, average size of the sum insured in health insurance was Rs. 2 Lakh.<br/><br/>After the launch, many customers have taken Max Bupa’s Rs. 50 Lakh policy. Max Bupa’s insurance products became a big hit as due to rising medical costs, people are attracted to health policies with a higher insured sum to assure that they have plenty of medical coverage. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=309InsuringIndia News Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:45:07 GMT The Indian government has initiated discussions on listing public sector general insurers as well trading shares on a small scale.<br/><br/>The finance ministry has begun discussions on listing of the 4 general insurance companies - National Insurance, New India Assurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance.<br/><br/>The government will not list these four companies together. Rather, listing will span a period of time. As New India is the biggest player in the market, it is likely to be the first to be listed.<br/><br/>Listing of these PSUs will also set the way for private sector general insurers to tap the markets.<br/><br/>However, listing of these public sector companies is not going to be easy, as their accounts are generally delayed. Over the last few years, the government has tried to amend their corporate functioning and started an organizational restructuring of these four general insurers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=308InsuringIndia News Sat, 12 Nov 2011 11:07:07 GMT Diligenta, a subsidiary of India’s biggest IT outsourcing company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has won a 2.2 billion-dollar contract for running the 3.2 million investments, pensions, and insurance policies of Friends Life.<br/><br/>Friends Life is a leading provider of financial products and services in U.K. Friends Life is owned by the British takeover specialist “Resolution”.<br/><br/> The deal is TCS’s second biggest deal after its 2.5 billion-dollar contract with Citigroup in year 2008. The partnership will save 230 million dollars by year 2013.<br/><br/>This deal is a welcome sign for India’s outsourcing companies who were worried about prospects in the Europe, which is their 2nd most important market after USA.<br/><br/>Vice chairman, Diligenta, Phiroz Vandrevala said, “We are quite confident there will be more opportunities coming up in the UK market in the future.”<br/><br/>TCS gets 15% of its revenues from UK and 9.3% from continental Europe. 54% of its revenues are from North America. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=307InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:12:22 GMT A recent report has revealed that Prudential Life Insurance has posted huge profits in the third quarter of current fiscal year. This was after the company has further expended its business in Asia. The company reported that this has been their highest ever recorded in the third quarter.<br/><br/> The Q3 profits and sales increased as much as 24% and there was a growth of 20% recorded in new business profits.<br/><br/>Prudential also disclosed that Indian markets were shaped by changed in the regulations which cut down the business growth in Asia to a bare 16%.<br/><br/>The report also disclosed that growth was recorded in the US by 17%.<br/><br/>Tidjane Thiam, CEO Prudential Life Insurance said, "Our strong balance sheet, proactive risk management and our leading position in Asia have allowed us to continue to grow profitably", revealed. It was further added by him that the firm has been able to give shining results despite the pressures put on it by the dynamic and varying environment.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=306InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:20:06 GMT According to Mr J. Hari Narayan, Chairman of insurance watchdog IRDA, Indian insurance industry in set for some serious changes.<br/><br/>Speaking to students of Institute of Insurance and Risk Management at their graduation ceremony on Tuesday, Mr Narayan said the Indian insurance industry had matured from its state of childhood to early adulthood.<br/><br/>He said that in countries like UK, the agents have adopted themselves to latest form of marketing and very soon such changes will also be introduced in India.<br/><br/>The students were also addressed by MD & CEO of ICICI Prudential Life, Mr Sandeep Bakshi, who suggested to students to be adept in customer related functions like front-office management and latest technology. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=305InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:12:24 GMT Apollo Munich’s Maxima has become India's first 360 degree health plan offering across-the-board coverage for both outpatient and inpatient and cashless treatment in the Apollo Munich hospitals network. In case the patient is admitted in non-network hospitals, reimbursement facility is also available. <br/><br/>Maxima offers in-patient hospitalization cover worth Rs. 3,00,000 covering pre-post hospitalization, domiciliary treatment, organ donor expenses, maternity expenses, new born baby, day care procedures and even emergency ambulance charges.<br/><br/> The policy also provides insurance coverage for dental treatment, contact lenses, annual health checkups and diagnostic tests.<br/><br/>The policyholder can choose an optional Critical Illness Cover, depending on his needs. The policy allows for additional coverage against eight defined Critical Illnesses.<br/><br/> There is no age limit for its lapse, and the policyholder can avail the tax benefits as per the section 80 (D) of the Income Tax act. For every claim-free year, the insured is entitled to certain bonus.<br/><br/> The OPD benefits include OPD Consultations, Dental Treatments, Pharmacy benefits, Spectacles and Contact Lenses.<br/><br/>Apollo Munich is a joint venture between India’s biggest healthcare provider, The Apollo Hospitals Group, and Germany’s Munich Health. The company has its headquarters in Gurgaon with a big national presence. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=304InsuringIndia News Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:59:29 GMT India’s Public sector bank, Central Bank of India, in all probabilities is likely to postpone its decision of entering into the life insurance sector until March, 2012 in the aftermath of doubtfulness over capital infusion from the government.<br/><br/>In the beginning, the bank has expressed interest to enter the life insurance sector and even invited interested parties for partnership in this regard. It also received bids from around a dozen interested parties.<br/><br/>Central Bank of India having a tier-I capital of less than 8%, has asked the government for a capital infusion of around Rs. 700 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=303InsuringIndia News Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:29:45 GMT Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance is planning to launch low-priced housing projects for senior citizens in the capitals of all Indian States.<br/><br/>The corporation has already started building houses for senior citizens in Bhubanehwar. Next year, the corporation will start construction in Bangalore and then Jaipur. The houses will be in the price range of Rs. 6-8 lakh.<br/><br/>LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICHF) is a subsidiary of Life Insurance Corporation of India. It is planning to bring out a Rs. 750 crore real estate venture capital fund in the very near future.<br/><br/>LICHF CEO V.K. Sharma said, “It should happen in two-three months. We have got all the necessary approvals and permission from the government. For this, the company will seek funds from domestic institutions, high net-worth individuals and banks. The venture capital’s focus will be to invest primarily in urban real estate.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=302InsuringIndia News Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:27:33 GMT Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Insurance, which started its operations in India in March 2011, is now ready to get into the life insurance sector with an on-line term plan.<br/><br/> Indian consumers prefer on-line term plans because of the hassle-free and convenient process and the low premiums. As there are no agents involved in the sale of on-line plans, insurance companies save on several costs, and therefore, these plans are cheaper by at least 30% than the off-line term plans.<br/><br/> CEO of Berkshire Insurance, Mr. Arun Balakrishnan said that they will launch an online term insurance plan in one month.<br/><br/>Berkshire India is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc and is a licensed corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company. Berkshire India lately added travel insurance products to its portfolio. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=301InsuringIndia News Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:24:43 GMT A survey conducted by ING Investor Dashboard brings out that due to rising income, better education and health conditions, more than 80 percent of middle-class people in India feel a bigger need for insurance to protect their existing life-styles.<br/><br/>As per the ING Investor Dashboard Survey for the 2011’s second quarter, above 75 percent of surveyed believed that they have less insurance cover than they need and wish to buy additional insurance in the next one year.<br/><br/>The survey also revealed that within among the people of Asia-Pacific region, more Indians feel the bigger need to conserve their life-style and mean to buy additional insurance policies in the next twelve months. <br/><br/>Insurance policies having investment part are attracting the maximum customers. Indians are also giving highest significance to the children’s education. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=300InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:51:13 GMT The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently put out a proposition to separate the role of an insurance agent and a financial advisor. SEBI took this step as there have been scores of charges about wrong selling of insurance and investment products by these so-called advisors. <br/><br/>When it comes to investing, we generally deal with a single person who keeps us informed about investment products as well as insurance products. For example, if we want to invest in some mutual fund, we follow his recommendations. This also applies to insurance products as well. We have faith in him and all we do is write the cheque and sign the forms and the rest is attended by the advisor. <br/><br/>This is because our investment advisor is generally a distributor of insurance products and mutual funds both. This prejudices their recommendations. <br/><br/>As per SEBI paper, this creates a conflict of interest. The divided loyalties are not in the best interest of customers. The paper proposes that the advisor must declare openly whether he is an agent of the manufacturer or a financial advisor. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=299InsuringIndia News Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:48:59 GMT Reliance Life Insurance announced on Friday that it has induced Takeshi Furuichi as non- executive director and a nominee of Nippon Life in Reliance Life Insurance board. Nippon Life has 26% stake in the Indian life insurance firm.<br/><br/>Takeshi Furuichi is the senior managing executive officer, representative director and chief investment officer of Nippon Life Insurance.<br/><br/>In the early part of this month, Reliance Capital sold 26% stake sale in Reliance Life for Rs. 3062 crore.<br/><br/>Furuichi's joining Reliance Life Insurance Board is part of sale agreement between Reliance Capital and Nippon Life.<br/><br/>Nippon Life is the 7th largest life insuring company in the world and the largest private life insuring company in Japan. <br/><br/>Reliance Life is one of the largest private insuring companies in India with assets calculated at about Rs. 18,000 crore as of March 31, 2011. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=298InsuringIndia News Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:48:12 GMT Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has pronounced that profitability of the life insurers will not be the final criteria for allowing the companies to float IPO for raising money. <br/><br/>Alternatively, the embedded value of minimum twice the paid up equity capital of the company would be considered a significant criterion. <br/><br/>Embedded Value can be defined as the current value of the future profits anticipated from the insurer from the present-day block of business. IRDA board has sanctioned the final guidelines for IPO of life insurance companies. <br/><br/>The regulator also declared that there has not been a significant change between the earlier draft and the final guidelines. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=297InsuringIndia News Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:47:02 GMT Life Insurance Corporation of India has partnered with a regional rural bank, Paschim Banga Gramin Bank in West Bengal, to make its insurance products available for customers in remote rural areas of the state.<br/><br/>Paschim Banga Gramin Bank which has 216 branches in Howrah, Burdwan, Birbhum and Hooghly districts of the state, will be supported by 19 satellite offices and 35 branches of LIC.<br/><br/> LIC zonal manager, S.K. Roy said on the occassionof signing the MoU, "This bank has 216 branches in four districts. LIC or any commercial bank cannot have this kind of reach in rural areas. Through this tie-up, we can reach out to those areas where we cannot reach alone. Through this MoU, we will get a reach... it is also good for the customers. The rural economy is now a thriving economy. The bank has a total business of Rs.3,500 crore in four districts." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=296InsuringIndia News Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:47:21 GMT HDFC Ergo, India’s one of the leading private sector general insuring company, is going to get a capital injection of approximately Rs. 80 crore in the near future to enhance business growth.<br/><br/>The company’s promoters, India’s HDFC and Germany's Ergo International, have so far injected approximately Rs. 75 crore in the first half of FY 2011- 2012. As of now, the firm has an equity capital base of Rs. 500 crore.<br/><br/>HDFC Ergo’s CEO Ritesh Kumar said, "We may need a capital infusion of around Rs. 25-30 crore in the current fiscal as around Rs. 75 crore has already been infused into the insurance firm. Similarly, we will require around Rs. 50 crore in the next fiscal."<br/><br/>Kumar also commented that the insurer would not need financial support from the promoters in the future. The company showed a net profit of Rs. 14 crore in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal year and is expecting to continue with the trend for the whole fiscal.<br/><br/> In FY 2010-2011, the company collected a premium amount of Rs. 1,300 crore and is aiming to increase it by 35-40% in the current fiscal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=295InsuringIndia News Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:44:41 GMT The Indian government has extended the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme to reach across 1761 lakh farmers between period of Rabi harvest 1999-2000 and Rabi 2010-11.<br/><br/>Insurance claims valued at Rs. 21459 crore have also been paid under the NAIS scheme throughout last twenty-three crop seasons, which has benefitted 4760 lakh farmers.<br/><br/>According to data released by the government, The NAIS was covering approximately 1050 lakh farmers in 2000-01 which has increased to 17610 lakh in 2010-11.<br/><br/>At present, the scheme is being carried out in twenty-five states and 2 union territories. The scheme’s aim is to provide protection to farmers against crop losses due to natural disasters, such as flood, drought, cyclone hailstorm, diseases, pests, etc. All farmers are eligible for the scheme regardless of their land holding size.<br/><br/>The present scheme has been renamed as ‘Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme’ (MNAIS) and will be implemented in fifty districts from Rabi 2010-11 on a pilot basis. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=294InsuringIndia News Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:04:44 GMT Those ULIP holders whose policies had lapsed are going to get a bigger grace period to revive the policies and also earn better returns for the break period. New rules & regulations permit insuring companies to review these cancelled policies.<br/><br/>IRDA has informed the life insuring companies of the new rules. According to new rules, policyholders will be given the time to revive ceased policies inside two years from the date of discontinuation and not later than the expiration of lock-in time period. The new norms will be effective from next month.<br/><br/> Insurers are also required to ensure that they provide a minimum return equivalent to the savings deposit of State Bank of India which is currently 4%. This is the return that the policy has to receive after the insurance company deducts its fund management charge.<br/><br/>In addition to fixing a floor on the returns that a discontinued fund would earn, RBI has capped the fund management charges on discontinued policies at 0.5% which increases the upside for the policyholder should the markets do well.<br/><br/> "Any policy revival is always beneficial to a policyholder," said M N Rao, MD, SBI Life Insurance. "Until now it was a one-way street for discontinued policies. But the new rules will give them a fresh lease of life," he said. According to Rao, the rules also benefits insurance companies as they will get to earn from fund management charges on the policies.<br/><br/> Insurers say that the downturn in the markets has resulted in some policyholders discontinuing their installments after watching their savings shrink in the form of lower NAV. But since most of the charges in life insurance are front-ended, they lose out on long-term benefits. "Insurance policies will generate good returns only if the policyholder continues for the full-term. Discontinuing a policy is never beneficial for a policyholder since they have already paid for bulk of the charges in the first year," said a CEO of a private life insurer. <br/><br/>IRDA's move comes at a time when the life insurance industry is struggling with sales of new policies in the wake of new guidelines in September 2010 that capped distribution costs. Although numbers on discontinued policies are not available, insurers say that it would run into thousands of crores considering that over 20% of policies lapse for life companies.<br/><br/>"Many representations have been made by insurers to allow a higher revival period to enable the policyholder to revive at a later stage and requests were also made to allow the insurer to levy fund management charge for managing the discontinued linked fund," the IRDA said in a circular. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=293InsuringIndia News Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:52:19 GMT A consumer forum in Mumbai has ordered New India Insurance Co. Ltd. to pay Rs. 3 lakh as compensation to a senior citizen, after the company renounced his claim.<br/><br/> The person, Hemraj Shah was suffering from lung cancer, and the insurer rejected the claims on the basis that he was smoking for last fifty years and as per a new exclusion term, he was not qualified for the claim. <br/><br/>The consumer forum observed that when a policy is renewed, it only entails extending of the original policy. The forum also added that in case of any alteration in terms and conditions of the original policy, then such policy should be called a new policy. According to ruling of the forum, the insurer should have considered only the conditions of the original policy and so was guilty of deficienct service and unjust trade practices.<br/><br/>The forum has directed the insurer to pay Hemraj Shah Rs. 2 lakh with 9% interest for first claim and Rs. 73038 with 9% interest on the second. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=292InsuringIndia News Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:45:50 GMT IndiaFirst Life Insurance has come out with “IndiaFirst Money Balance Plan” which offers insurance cover as well as helps in earning and securing returns on the money that policy holders invest with the insurer.<br/><br/>IndiaFirst Life Insurance is a joint venture between India’s public sector banks - Andhra Bank and Bank of Baroda along with Britain’s leading investment company Legal & General.<br/><br/> The launch was announced by MD & CEO of IndiaFirst Life Insurance, Mr. P. Nandagopal. He said, “Our IndiaFirst Money Balance Plan offers an insurance cover on your life and additionally helps you earn and secure returns on the money that you invest with us. The idea is that our money should not only work hard for us; but should also be kept safe for our future needs." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=291InsuringIndia News Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:41:31 GMT Dutch insuring company Aegon is betting big on online sales in India. Aegon operates via three way joint venture in India.<br/><br/>Its partners are Religare and Bennett Coleman & Co. Aegon Religare Life Insurance has been the innovator in employing the net for directly sale of low cost term insurance to buyers.<br/><br/>Aegon CEO Alexander R Wynaendts, said, “transparency in pricing of distribution costs will compel customers to start searching online for competitive offers. In Asia we are focused on India, China and Japan which are our three largest markets. At the same time, we have a large direct marketing business in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and Philippines where we are not required to have an insurance licence as it is more of data mining and distribution." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=290InsuringIndia News Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:38:16 GMT When mobile number portability was launched in India, it was with rocking campaigns and dynamic promotion by mobile companies, but the launch of health insurance portability has been a rather muted affair.<br/><br/>It seems that health insurers are not been eager to promote health insurance portability for the fear of drawing in pricey, claims ridden clients.<br/><br/>If we consider the promotion for portability, there was only one single advertisement from IRDA on the launching of health insurance portability. After that, not a single insuring company has attempted to promote awareness for the portability. Looking at the cutthroat competition in the health insurance sector, is, it seems rather strange.<br/><br/>In India, health insurance portability was launched on October 1st. It permits a policyholder to change his health insurer, if he is not happy with their current insurer. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=289InsuringIndia News Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:17:45 GMT New India Assurance Company Ltd. has notched double achievement in the 2011 Observer brand awareness survey. It has won No. 1 position in insurance sector and No. 21 in the extensive listing of 180 most outstanding brands in Sultanate of Oman.<br/><br/>In the insurance category, New India beat its nearest competitor with Dhofar Insurance by approximately 1700 points. New India earned 19.6% of the respondents’ votes as compared to 13.7% for Dhofar Insurance.<br/><br/>This is the second time in a row that New India Assurance has won first position in the Oman’s insurance sector.<br/><br/>New India Assurance is the unchallenged front runner amongst the foreign general insurers in Oman. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=288InsuringIndia News Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:14:57 GMT <b>1) How do you see the Indian Insurance market shaping up in the next 10 years?</b><br/>There is immense scope for the Indian insurance market as it is steadily growing and the awareness level is increasing. The rural markets are opening up as large amount of rural areas still remain unexplored. Identifying these needs and requirements of the rural sector, Insurance companies are coming up with innovative products tailored especially for the rural segment. Considering the current scenario in the urban market, the competition amongst private players is increasing as a result of globalization. The competition is likely to be higher in the next 10 years, however on the brighter side Indian insurance market is set to become the world’s third biggest, after China and US, as per a report from Boston Consulting Group. <br/><br/><b>2) What, in your view, are the opportunities and challenges?</b><br/>Post de-tariffication the industry profitability has dipped enormously especially on the commercial lines. The general insurance industry in India is going through a sea change after introduction of Detariffing of Motor Own Damage and of Property Insurance. The premium rates have reduced drastically while the cost of repairing/replacement has gone up considerably leading to high incurred claim ratios. The current state of the Commercial Vehicle Third Party pool is also posing a significant challenge to the growth of the industry. <br/><br/>The Retail lines especially Individual Health insurance and Motor insurance have grown the fastest and have become fundamental aspects in protecting the aspirations of individuals. India, though being the second most populous nation in the world has an underserved health insurance market where over 98% of medical expenses are out of pocket expenses offers huge growth potential for this type of cover. In addition with a rapidly growing Auto industry the motor insurance business will be growing rapidly. The ability to create low cost distribution channels and at the same time having a proper risk selection mechanism will be the key drivers of success.<br/><br/><b>3) What are your expectations from the regulator to strengthen the insurance sector?</b><br/>The regulatory body IRDA has played a vital role in the developments of insurance sector in India. As in the past we look forward to the continuous encouragement by the regulator for coming up with innovative products and services. This kind of support especially with respect to quick turnaround times for product approvals is essential to serve a market that is definitely under-served and requires a lot of product & process innovation to take it to the next level of success.<br/><br/><b>4) What has been your inspiration over the years?</b><br/>The fact that barely two per cent of India's population has any access to insurance products and that high premiums restrict access to most products inspires me to help the underserved population of India. <br/><br/><b>5) How do you see the online insurance market shaping up in India?</b><br/>Online insurance market is considered to be the next big thing by experts across the world. It should aim at giving customers products that suite them the best at a click of a button. From an insurance company perspective it would bring a process that will provide more control from an operational perspective. The internet penetration in rural areas is also growing rapidly and considering this aspect the insurance online channel will play a significant role in the future.<br/><br/><b>6) How do you assess the Health Insurance Portability guideline of IRDA?</b><br/>From a customer’s perspective, portability offers some benefits which were not present earlier. Prior to the issuance of these regulations, customers who were looking to switch insurers were at the losing end when it came to coverage for pre-existing illnesses and time bound exclusions under health insurance policies. It has now been clarified that policyholders shall have the right to transfer the credit gained by them for pre-existing conditions and time bound exclusions if they choose from one insurer to another. The extent of cumulative bonus acquired from the previous insurer shall also be eligible for portability benefits. <br/><br/>The regulations issued by IRDA also clarify that policyholders and their family members covered under a group health policy can migrate to an individual policy issued by the same insurer and one year thereafter, they shall have the right to opt for portability with other insurers. <br/><br/><b>7) What are your plans about adding new products to your existing portfolio? </b><br/>We have a few products in the pipeline either already filed with the IRDA or being worked on internally including Retirement health & Motor Add ons. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=287InsuringIndia News Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:55:36 GMT Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has bought an insurance cover of Rs. 9 crore for India-England ODI to be held at Wankhede stadium on 23rd October. Unexpected rain showers and bomb blasts on July 13th in Mumbai have forced the MCA to take this step.<br/><br/>MCA will pay a premium of Rs. 5 lakh to Oriental Insurance Company for this special contingency policy. The policy will cover financial losses in case of cancellation of matches due to natural disasters, bad weather, terrorism associated occurrences or cancellation on account of death of a president or prime minister. <br/><br/>India is categorized in the 'extreme risk’ category in the terror index of reinsurance market. Besides terror, rain is a major fear for MCA. Previous year, monsoons withdrew as late as October 24th. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=286InsuringIndia News Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:17:57 GMT Max Bupa, on Monday, commenced operations in Eastern India by establishing its branch office in Kolkata.<br/><br/>The branch office was inaugurated by West Bengal Minister of Finance and Excise, Amit Mitra and Max Bupa Health Insurance Chairman, Analjit Singh.<br/><br/> The occasion was also made special as the company as well celebrated the landmark of insuring more than one Lakh individuals ever since the establishing its business last year.<br/><br/> The insurer already has a standing in the semi urban and rural areas in West Bengal through its products like Swasth Parivar and Swasthya Pratham.<br/><br/> Max Bupa also announced insurance portfolio for different categories like individual persons, family, small businesses and corporate with policies like Employee First and Heartbeat Health Insurance.<br/><br/> Max Bupa will provide direct service to customers, without any involvement of third party, through a 24/7 customer service line. <br/><br/>Max Bupa has set up a network of about sixty hospitals in the area, including forty leading hospitals in Kolkata. Furthermore, the company has a network of above 200 hospitals in the semi urban and rural areas. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=285InsuringIndia News Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:37:51 GMT Berkshire Insurance, insurance venture of Warren Buffett is introducing customized travel insurance products in India. After coming out with motor insurance policy in the starting, the firm has brought out travel insurance products and is thinking of launching health and life insurance products.<br/><br/>The company has started selling out customized travel insurance policies for five segments; individuals, students, family, senior citizens and corporate segment. Among each category, there are multiple coverage combinations. The policies are available online with no documentation required.<br/><br/>CEO, BerkshireInsurance.com, Arun Balakrishnan said, “We are evaluating both health insurance and term life insurance. We are at present looking at the value that we can add. We decided to sell travel insurance because it is mainly an online sales-driven product. People want to purchase travel insurance instantly with ease and flexibility.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=284InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:35:24 GMT The Securities and Exchange Board of India has finally given its approval to the proposed guidelines for insurance companies. Until now, insurance companies were not affected from the capital market, but with the coming of new regulations, chances are that it would benefit insurance companies.<br/><br/>With SEBI approval, the first hurdle is cleared. The final decision would be taken by the government, which is expected to come out in next ten days.<br/><br/>SEBI has withdrawn the 3-year profitability clause. It is good news for insurers as most of the private insuring companies have been striving to broaden their sphere. With the absence of the 3-year profitability clause, it’s believed that insuring companies would soon start acquiring profits. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=283InsuringIndia News Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:31:15 GMT The much hyped F1 Grand prix event will be insured by HDFC ERGO. The F1 Race, which will be held at New Delhi on 30th October 2011, is being organized for the first time in India.<br/><br/> The insurance provider, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company is one of the biggest private general insurance companies in India.<br/><br/>HDFC ERGO will provide an insurance cover of 15 million dollars in association with Ace Insurance Brokers. Ace Insurance Brokers is a leading Risk Management and Insurance intermediary company in India.<br/><br/>The insurance policy would protect the F1 event against non-appearance of participant teams, strikes, adverse weather, civil commotion and riots, cancellation of the event or relocation and postponement. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=282InsuringIndia News Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:10:46 GMT Life insurance companies are making a foray into the health segment which was so far the domain of general insurers. Decreasing sales of pension products and ULIPs, which were originally a leading part of their product portfolios, have pushed them to look at other options like health insurance products.<br/><br/> Increasing medical care costs and increased awareness about health care insurance have ensued in a rush for health insurance products in India.<br/><br/> As per latest data released by IRDA, total health insurance premiums posted by general insurance companies grew by 20% in the first quarter of financial year 2011-12, in contrast to the same time period in the preceding financial year.<br/><br/> However, with the growing market for health insurance products, life insurers are trying to fill the remaining gap.<br/><br/> LIC of India launched ‘Jeevan Arogya’ in June. SBI Life Insurance Company has lately launched “Hospital Cash”. IndiaFirst Life Insurance got into the health insurance sector with the launching of ‘IndiaFirst Money Back Health Insurance’ a unit linked health insurance plan. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=281InsuringIndia News Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:59:31 GMT With a view to be a part of India's burgeoning economic growth, many US based corporate houses are campaigning strongly with their Congress to help them get into or expand in this aggressive market. One issue of lobbying is relaxing of foreign investment rules in India.<br/><br/>Some of these major multinationals are New York Life Insurance, Wal-Mart Stores, Starbucks, Morgan Stanley, Prudential Financial, Dow Chemical, Pfizer, AT&T, Alcatel-Lucent, Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.<br/><br/> Besides these large corporate, there is legion of other small size companies tapping the backing of the US government for pushing their business interests in India.<br/><br/>Even the Indian government and many Indian companies have also been campaigning in the US for a long time to showcase their case. India is one of the highest growing economies in the world and despite the global economic slowdown; India has posted an impressive economic growth. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=280InsuringIndia News Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:16:57 GMT India’s largest insuring company, Life Insurance Corporation of India, has increased its share in Bank of Baroda from 4.67% to 7.12% through purchase of shares from stock market.<br/><br/>Life Insurance Corporation purchased around 95 lakh shares for a value of approximately Rs. 150 crore through open market deals in stock market, Bank of Baroda said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.<br/><br/> Preceding the aforementioned acquisition, LIC controlled 4.67% stake in BoB. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=279InsuringIndia News Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:13:05 GMT Customers holding ULIP policies shall get a minimum guaranteed interest even if they discontinue their policies mid-way as per a statement released by IRDA. The interest paid will be equal to SBI savings bank account rates. <br/><br/>The IRDA has also instructed the life insuring companies that those ULIP policies which have lapsed should be permitted to revive within 2 years of closure of premium payment, but not later than the expiration of lock in period.<br/><br/>Also, the policy-holders would be remunerated for the discontinuation charges in case of revival of policies. This refund would be calculated on the basis of the Net Asset Value of the units of a common fund which is produced out of the premium paid and discontinuation charges.<br/><br/>IRDA has also directed the insurers that this fund shall be invested by the rules sanctioned by IRDA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=278InsuringIndia News Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:55:04 GMT Insuring companies have now decided to incorporate customers’ PIN Code into health insurance pricing, besides general health, gender and age. This decision has been taken as insurers have discovered that price of real estate also plays a major role in health insurance costs.<br/><br/>So now, your place of stay will play a big part in deciding your health insurance premium.<br/><br/>The health insurance premium will vary according to your location. For example, a person purchasing health insurance in Riwari in Haryana would end up paying considerably less than someone in Delhi. Nevertheless, if a person from Riwari were to seek treatment in Delhi, he would have to pay a part of his treatment cost.<br/><br/>Joydeep Roy, CEO of L&T General Insurance said, "Hospitalization is more expensive in Mumbai and Delhi compared to other cities. One of the reasons for this is the high cost of real estate in these metros."<br/><br/> He stated that L&T General Insurance has done an analytic study of costs for different postal zones. Notwithstanding, as monitoring of each postal area was very complex, the company has divided the pin codes into three groups. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=277InsuringIndia News Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:09:07 GMT Maveric Systems, one of the India's leading software testing companies, has partnered with SBI General Insurance to provide state-of-the-art IT services. The main aim behind SBI General’s move is to establish itself as a multi segment, multi product and multi channel company propelled by up-to-date IT systems.<br/><br/>Maveric’s function will be to support SBI General Insurance’s comprehensive technology and product launchings. With support from Maveric, SBI General has launched its first set of products throughout the retail and corporate space.<br/><br/>Maveric’s forte is in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) area. The company has been engaged by SBI General to evaluate application quality and serviceability.<br/><br/> Remarking on the association, CEO and Founder of Maveric Systems, Mr. Ranga Reddy said, “Maveric has had a deep relationship with SBI and SBI Life Insurance and the team is now very excited to be partnering SBI General in this prestigious project. There have been rich learnings till date and we look forward to the forthcoming product launches. The challenging scale and intense complexity of this venture make it one of Maveric’s most impressive projects in insurance testing. In the year ahead, Maveric will strengthen its focus on the Indian market and look to expand its clientele in the Insurance space.”<br/><br/>CIO and Head of IT of SBI General Insurance, Mr. Manoj Agarwal also added, “Maveric is a proficient Validation partner and SBI General is benefiting from Maveric’s domain expertise in Insurance, dynamic test strategy and good focus on project governance. We appreciate the commitment to the project displayed by their team. As we gear up to roll out our complex and comprehensive product portfolio, we look forward to Maveric’s critical audit of our technology releases.”<br/><br/>SBI General Insurance is one of the leading private insuring companies in India. It is a joint venture between the India’s public sector State Bank of India and Australia’s Insurance Australia Group.<br/><br/>Maveric Systems is one of the India's leading independent software testing companies having a substantial presence in US, UK and the Middle East. Started in 2000, Maveric Systems specializes in the BFSI sector. The company is headquartered in Chennai and has offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, Dubai, London, Riyadh, New Jersey, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=276InsuringIndia News Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:00:53 GMT One year has passed since IRDA defined new rules and regulations governing sale of ULIPs. Sales plummeted after IRDA’s new norms and still investors are cautious about purchasing these plans.<br/><br/>ULIPs were once preferred product by insurance buyers. In the beginning, ULIPs had over 85% share of the total insurance portfolio, but now face lower customer backing and half-hearted interest from agents.<br/><br/>IRDA had made substantial changes in ULIPs in September of the last year after a row with the SEBI over the regulative jurisdiction. Major changes were a compulsory lock in period of 3 to 5 years and a limit on agents’ commissions.  Since then, the ratio of ULIPs in the total mix of insurance products has been constantly decreasing. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=275InsuringIndia News Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:39:38 GMT Health insuring companies providing the cashless facilities to customers have been instructed to keep their clients updated about any modification or change in the list of hospitals allowing the cashless facilities.<br/><br/>Responding to a question, whether the cashless health facility was being abused by hospitals, Minister of State for Finance, Sh. Namo Narain Meena informed Lok Sabha that cashless facility costs more for all types of diseases. He further told Lok Sabha that to assure that interest of policy-holders, instructions have been issued to insuring companies to inform customers regarding changes in their network of hospitals.<br/><br/>Insurance companies have set rates for major medical treatments and usually take in only those hospitals in the network, who agrees to their rates.<br/><br/>Previous year, many customers were left in an awkward situation following a deadlock between major private hospitals and the four public sector insuring companies and over recommencement of cashless facilities. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=274InsuringIndia News Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:23:36 GMT Reliance Capital has announced the sale of Reliance Life’s 26 percent stake to Nippon Life Insurance. On Sunday, a company spokesman also verified the receiving of the total transaction amount of 680 million dollars from Nippon Life Insurance. The business deal marks the total value of Reliance Life Insurance Company at about 2.6 billion dollars.<br/><br/>In March of this year, Reliance Capital had signed up an agreement with Nippon Life to sell the 26 percent stake in Reliance Life Insurance.<br/><br/>Reliance Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Anil Ambani led Reliance Capital and has a total business premium of Rs. 6600 crore at the closing of financial year 2011.<br/><br/> Nippon Life is the largest private life insuring company in Asia and seventh largest in the world. It posted a profit of Rs. 12199 crore for the financial year ending on March 31, 2011. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=273InsuringIndia News Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:19:26 GMT Life insurance market in India is likely to develop by almost 14% to reach Rs. 5,17,000 crore by year 2015.<br/><br/>The growth in this sector is one of the most prominent in the world and contributes almost 10% of the total share of the premium amount in the world.<br/><br/>During period 2000-10, the life insurance industry has grown at a rate of 28% in new business premiums, 25% in gross written premiums and 27% in annualized premium.<br/><br/>During September 2010 - March 2011, the Life insurance industry recorded a negative growth of 13% in annualised premium equivalent. In F1-2011-12, the depression continued with the industry registering negative APE growth of 23%.<br/><br/>According to ASSOCHAM, demotivation of front-line managers, introduction of short term products, agents focus on new business and restricted profiling of clients’ demands resulted in decrease of profitability. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=272InsuringIndia News Sat, 08 Oct 2011 10:36:10 GMT Small car buyers in India should be ready to pay more as the insurance premiums of small cars are expected to rise in near future.<br/><br/> Out of all cars, small cars have the maximum proportion of smaller parts that are imported from abroad. This is leading to raised costs for motor insurers as they have to dish out more money for substitution of these parts.<br/><br/>This has resulted in a drop in profits of insurance companies, and the insurers are thinking of increasing the premium rates.<br/><br/>Demand for smaller cars in India is on the rise, and many big auto manufacturers are in the process of launching new cars in this segment. Hence insurers are left with no other choice but to increase premium rates to counterbalance the decreasing profits. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=271InsuringIndia News Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:20:41 GMT Banks are opposing the RBI's Damodaran Committee's suggestion for increasing deposit insurance cover to Rs. five lakh from existing Rs. 1 lakh cover as it could cost them dearly because of higher premium expenditure.<br/><br/>In August of this year, the Reserve Bank of India's Committee on Customer Service in Banks headed by erstwhile SEBI Chief M. Damodaran had advocated that the deposit insurance cover ought to be increased five-fold from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh so that people can be persuaded to keep all their saving deposits in the banks.<br/><br/>Indian Banks' Association have submitted a petition to RBI that the existing deposit insurance cover in India is sufficient when compared with the world-wide standards.<br/><br/>The commercial banks are also arguing that a raise in deposit insurance cover will be used by smaller banks, particularly from the co-operative sector to tempt depositors into their fold.<br/><br/> “There is a moral hazard involved in raising the deposit insurance cover five-fold,” said Mr K. Unnikrishnan, Deputy Chief Executive, IBA. Moral hazard could arise because a financial intermediary does not take full responsibility for the consequences of its actions. Hence, it has a tendency to act less carefully than it otherwise would, leaving the other party (depositors) to bear the brunt of its actions. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=270InsuringIndia News Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:03:59 GMT Star Union Daiichi has come out with an online customer portal by the name of ‘E-life’ which will allow its clients to connect with the company right away for handling their insurance policy online. The online customer portal will also offer SMS support service for the clients.<br/><br/>E-life will allow customers to access their policy information online. Main features of E-life are online premium renewal, premium redirection, top-up payment, change of nominee, change of address, change of billing mode and online fund switching.<br/><br/>The company will also provide SMS support service, wherein clients can access product information.<br/><br/> Star Union Daiichi is a joint venture between Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Japan’s Daiichi Life Insurance.<br/><br/> Bank of India holds 48% stake, 26% is held by Union Bank and rest of 26% by Daiichi Life. The company came into life insurance business in December, 2008. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=269InsuringIndia News Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:31:04 GMT In India, in the last few years, the demand for product liability insurance is increasing at a rate of 20% per annum. This increased demand is a result of increasing consumer court cases, growing litigation costs and an increased awareness among companies about the underlying risks in their businesses.<br/><br/>Product liability insurance protects businesses from the risk of getting sued and held legally responsible for injury, malpractice or negligence. This insurance covers both legal costs and any legal pay outs.<br/><br/>Business houses are realising that even with the best of services and intention, there is always a chance that they can be sued by a consumer. Many companies, especially in the field of auto and pharmaceutical have taken a big hit due to litigation.<br/><br/>Mr. R. Shivakumar, DGM, United India Insurance said, “Manufacturing companies exporting to North America and Europe opt for this cover as the litigation costs are huge, particularly in America, where they are charged by the minute.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=268InsuringIndia News Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:26:56 GMT In India, an online term plan is sold every 18 minutes. Every day, insurance policies with a worth of about Rs. 50 crore is sold through internet in India.<br/><br/>With the advent of the internet, net-savvy Indians in cities are purchasing online term plans with gusto. Since last six months, the life insurance companies offering such online plans have sold about 14,500 policies with an aggregated cover of approximately Rs. 9,100 crore. <br/><br/>Aegon Religare, the company which started online term plans with its “AEGON Religare iTerm Plan” in November 2009, has sold more than 17,000 policies with a cover of about Rs. 60 lakh. Aviva Life which launched an online term plan in May has sold 4,857 ‘i-Life online term plan’ policies with a cover of about Rs. 75 lakh. <br/><br/>Online plans are about 50 percent cheaper than offline policies takes about 15 to 20 minutes to process. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=267InsuringIndia News Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:38:20 GMT The students of IIM-Indore have taken a novel initiative to provide insurance cover to villagers of Mhow area in Indore district in Madhya Pradesh. Under this outreach program, every weekend in October, about fifteen students will visit a village to enrol villagers for getting them covered under insurance.<br/><br/>The students will cover villages of Malendi, Gangliya Khedia, Kodaria and Japaw Kuti in Mhow. The initiative is covered under ‘Samanvay’ a novel social initiative by students of IIM-Indore. Samanvay was initialized a year ago with an aim of financial inclusion of remote villages. <br/><br/>Under this initiative, villagers will get a cover of Rs. one lakh in case of death. Poor families will get an annual cover of up to Rs. 30,000 per family. The premium per year is Rs. 450, out of which Rs. 300 will be contributed by government for families below poverty line. IIM-I students will give Rs. 50 for the first year. Thus, the insured family has to give only Rs. 100 for first year and Rs. 150 from second-year onwards. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=266InsuringIndia News Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:37:35 GMT Two years ago, IRDA and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) crossed swords over the issue of commissions. Now once again, tension is rising between both the parties. <br/><br/>The latest point of contention is PFRDA’s act of listing life insuring companies to furnish annuities to subscribers of the National Pension System. National Pension System (NPS) is governed by PFRDA. NPS collects savings of monthly annuity payment for government employees after retirement and of the unorganized sector. However, as per law, the transition of the collected savings into a monthly income stream can solely be done by a life insurer. <br/><br/>At a recent insurance summit, J. Harinarayan, chairman IRDA had said that life insurance companies were not obliged to act as intermediators for third parties.<br/><br/>In 2009, a panel led by former pension regulator D. Swarup had advised that commission for agents be completely disposed of and all agents be converted into independent financial advisers under Financial Well-Being Board of India (FINWEB). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=265InsuringIndia News Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:36:53 GMT The past decade has witnessed an increasing number of women coming out of their roles as housewives to take charge in various industries. Same is the case with the life insurance industry.<br/><br/>As per industry sources, since the start of financial year 2010, the number of women joining as an agent in the life insurance industry is increasing at a rate of 30 percent on average. Moreover, this is happening at the time when the joining of agents is decreasing on an average of 18 percent.<br/><br/> Zonal manager of LIC, R. R. Dash said, “The number of women entering into the insurance business is definitely increasing on a year-on-year basis across the country, but it’s more in the metros. We see the number growing in the coming years too.”<br/><br/>Besides LIC, private insuring companies such as Bajaj Allianz Life, Max New York Life, Bharti Axa Life, Future Generali Life, Kotak Life, Aegon Religare Life and ING Life are also witnessing a similar trend.<br/><br/>In Max New York Life Insurance, there is an increase of 25% rise since 2005 in the number of women as agents. In Kotak Life, the number of women agents have increased by nearly 39% over the previous year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=264InsuringIndia News Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:21:38 GMT According to ‘Million Dollar Round Table’- a global elite group of life insurance agents, India has achieved the number two rank in year 2010, behind USA, which is at number one position. This is a big achievement as in early 2000, India was not even in the top 10 countries.<br/><br/>India’s rating in this elite club of life insurance agents is fast improving, and it is not far when it would be at number one position.<br/><br/>In year 2008, India was at 3rd position among with 3922 MDRT agents and at 4th position in 2009 out of 5034 MDRT agents and currently at 2nd position out of 6126 MDRT agents in year 2010-11.<br/><br/>Many Indian insurance companies have also featured in the top 100 companies in MDRT’s list for the year 2010. SBI Life Insurance with 2661 MDRT agents, LIC with 1993 agents, HDFC Life with 489 agents, ICICI Prudential Life with 341 agents, Tata AIG Life with 207 agents and Max New York Life with 203 agents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=263InsuringIndia News Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:11:36 GMT This year again, the insurance major, Life Insurance Corporation of India has come first in Life Insurance category in Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands Survey. SBI Life is at second slot and Reliance Life at No. 3.<br/><br/>Overall, the corporation has slipped to 12th position this year from 4th previous year. The slide is seen as the acclivity of other service brands; in particular, telcos and banks with their aggressive marketing strategy.<br/><br/>There was a time when LIC was at top for five consecutive years in Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands Survey from year 2003 to 2007 but banks and telecom services bumped LIC from the overall list with their aggressive marketing.<br/><br/>Today, LIC has 78 percent market share in the life insurance sector and covers more than nine crore people and more than three crore families under its various schemes.<br/><br/> However, the competition is getting tough. The survey revealed that in 4 zones, SBI Life was only a little behind LIC in the North zone, and it beats out LIC in Chandigarh. Reliance Life Insurance also managed to come ahead of LIC in Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=262InsuringIndia News Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:28:22 GMT ?India’s biggest insuring company, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is steadily making its mark in the health insurance sector with plans to launch new products in the health insurance section, subject to IRDA approval.<br/><br/>LIC of India, the undisputed leader in life insurance industry made its foray into the health insurance sector with the launch of Health Insurance plan “Jeevan Arogya” in June of this year.<br/><br/>Roy Choudhury, LIC's Executive Director (Marketing) said, “We will, within a short time, position ourselves in the health insurance segment.”<br/><br/>Emphasizing on the necessity to make a mark all over the world, Choudhury said, “the winds of change are blowing everywhere and tomorrow's world would be the world of ‘alternatives'. The stir, therefore, should be towards servicing. Our ‘outstanding claims' ratio is around 2 per cent. We need to further reduce it.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=261InsuringIndia News Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:28:54 GMT LIC of India has a strong standing as a brand in the insurance market, but in the present scenario, is in a state of uncertainty and need to establish a new direction of action. With the coming of private insurers, the insurance market has become very competitive and LIC’s agents need to upgrade themselves with latest knowledge and technology to compete in the market.<br/><br/>Address at inaugural ceremony at the Life Underwriters Guild of India Convention in Coimbatore, LIC’s executive director (marketing) Mr Roy Choudhury emphasized on keeping pace with the changes in industry.<br/><br/> He said, ‘If agents are not suitably equipped with knowledge, there cannot be any standard in this industry, education and awareness would help advice clients better.”<br/><br/>Stressing on the significance of training, Mr Choudhury said, “There is a need for managerial intervention to harness the talent. There could be hiccups en route, but we need to overcome this and influence the environment. We will have to move fast as there has been a total degrowth in the life insurance business. Though the Corporation still holds a 72 per cent market share, we have lost some business to our competitors. Agents will have to train strongly.’ http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=260InsuringIndia News Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:50:22 GMT Reliance Capital Ltd. a part of the Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, is looking for a bigger role in overseas markets with its capital asset-management business through its new partner Nippon Life Insurance.<br/><br/>Nippon Life Insurance Company is world’s 7th largest life insuring company and Japan’s largest. In March of this year Nippon Life acquired a 26 percent stake in Reliance Capital life insurance business for Rs. 3062 crore.<br/><br/>Reliance Capital Asset Management is the biggest asset-management firm in India and manages approximately Rs. one trillion in pension funds, hedge funds, mutual funds and managed accounts. Nippon Life has about 600 billion dollar of investments globally.<br/><br/>In September, Reliance Capital announced its agreement with Nippon Life to increase the range of its partnership across all its financial businesses including asset management and has started operations in overseas markets, including Dubai Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=259InsuringIndia News Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:00:21 GMT Future Generali India Insurance has joined hand with the producers of upcoming Marathi movie 'Dubhang', with an aim to engage with audiences in Maharashtra with an original marketing & branding initiative.<br/><br/>Maharashtra has seen a surge in the popularity of Marathi cinema in recent years, and Marathi movies are becoming popular with the audience.<br/><br/> Dubhang is directed as well produced by Marathi film industry's famous star Mahesh Kothare. It stars his son Adinath Kothare and Urmila Kanetkar. Sonali Kulkarni and Ajinkya Deo are also acting in the movie. The movie will be released around Diwali.<br/><br/>Arnab Mallik, CMO of Future Generali Life Insurance Co. said on the occassion, "Future Generali's brand baseline Ek Shagun Zinadagi ke Naam reflects the customer insight that all of us, in our happiest moments, are always worried that the happiness cannot last - and wish the moment would last forever. Future Generali wants to be a Shagun that helps our customers stay safe, protected & blessed - with our Total Insurance Solutions. The essence of the film 'Dubhang' is inspirational as it is about fighting the odds in life with preparation, determination & honesty. It is about believing in yourself, your aspirations and ambitions and succeeding. And finally, it underlines the importance of protecting your family and the people you love.” <br/><br/>“We all know the stature of Maheshji in the Marathi film Industry - so, when he came to us with a proposal for an association with his movie, and we realized that the message of the movie fitted well with what we wanted to communicate as a Brand, we were delighted to partner him & his team. We wish the team of Dubhang all the very best and are sure that the film will be well received by audiences," he further added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=258InsuringIndia News Sat, 24 Sep 2011 10:32:52 GMT Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co. Ltd. has finally entered into the health insurance sector with the launching of India’s first triple benefit critical illness plan by the name of “Bharti AXA Life Triple Health Insurance Plan”.<br/><br/>“Bharti AXA Life Triple Health Insurance Plan” offers insurance cover of maximum of threefold the sum assured under the policy. Thirteen critical illnesses are covered under it categorized in three different groups. If one of the illnesses is diagnosed, the policy-holder can claim 100% of the sum assured and still have the cover for illnesses under the other two groups.<br/><br/> Moreover, on diagnosis of the disease, the policyholder does not have to pay future premiums.<br/><br/>Sandeep Ghosh, CEO of Bharti AXA Life Insurance said, “Health issues among youth have been on a rise in India. Around 35 to 50 percent cases of heart diseases are reported among people under the age of 50. While advancement in science has brought down deaths due to health issues, increasing cost of healthcare has become a point of concern.” <br/><br/>He further added, “In case of being diagnosed with a critical illness, the family income is the first to be hit. While there are additional expenses in terms of medical costs, the policyholder’s income earning capability is also affected. Bharti AXA Life Triple Health Insurance Plan is designed to not only financially protect the policyholder, but also act as an income replacement in such trying times.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=257InsuringIndia News Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:50:24 GMT Insurance watchdog IRDA is thinking of bringing out norms for rural insurance products, coverage, pricing and servicing as it is not happy with insuring companies’ social and rural responsibilities fulfilment.<br/><br/>The Indian Insurance Act postulates that insurance companies should target a certain percentage of their sales to people below a specified income level and rural areas. According to Indian Insurance Act, after the first eight years of operations, seven percent of the total gross written premium of an insurance company should be from rural areas.<br/><br/>To meet their social responsibility, private insurers have to furnish insurance cover to 5000 people below a specified income level in the first financial year of their operations which should increase to 55,000 by the tenth financial year. Public sector insurers have to provide cover to 550000 poor people or ten percent more than the number of policies covered previous year.<br/><br/>At a health insurance summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries, IRDA chairman, J. Hari Narayan said, “Even though targets and statutory obligations are being met, I am not sure that the objectives with which these provisions were placed by the Parliament are being met.”<br/><br/>He further added, “I don’t see the social benefits that emanate from these schemes. The products should be designed better, companies should offer a better range of services, and the methodology of servicing should be improved.” <br/><br/>Those companies that fail to meet their social responsibilities will be fined by IRDA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=256InsuringIndia News Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:23:43 GMT India’s supreme authority in insurance, i.e. the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is in the process of bringing in many positivistic regulatory changes to tone up the developing insurance industry.<br/><br/>On Tuesday, while addressing the Assocham global insurance summit, IRDA Chairman J. Hari Narayan expressed, “Expect a fair amount of continued regulatory activity in the insurance sector.”<br/><br/>Mr. Narayan further said that there is a need to bring changes in the insurance agents' training curriculum to enhance their strength and productiveness. He also addressed the issue of increasing the insuring companies’ reach to enhance the reaching ability of insurance products to common man.<br/><br/> Assocham President Dilip Modi also remarked on the emerging insuring sector. “Boosted by other favourable factors such as better terms, availability of wide variety of products and tax benefits, the insurance sector could emerge as one of the fastest growing insurance markets in the coming decade,” Mr. Modi contributed. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=255InsuringIndia News Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:24:39 GMT A surging economy and newborn awareness about insurance in India, has brought the country among the world's fastest growing insurance market, ahead of many developed countries. The annual gross written premiums are forecasted to rise about 14% from Rs. 2,680 billion in 2010 to Rs. 5,170 billion by financial year 2015.<br/><br/>According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), India will chip in ten percent of total worldwide premium growth in this period of time and will be one of the few main insurance markets to develop at double-digit rates.<br/><br/>During the years 2000 and 2010, Indian life insurance industry grew by 25% in gross written premiums, 27% in annualised premium equivalent and 28% in new business premiums, bringing India among top ten markets worldwide. Furthermore, with the advent of the internet, web transactions are figured to grow 3 to 4 times over the next five years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=254InsuringIndia News Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:03:15 GMT The Reserve Bank of India has given permission to Indian residents to pay back housing loans EMI in Indian rupee on behalf of their NRIs (non-resident Indians) relatives or people of Indian origin (PIO), the only condition being the relation should be close.<br/><br/>At present, this repayment facility is permitted only for housing loan.Presently, an Indian resident person can pay bills of their NRI relatives for travel, lodging, and boarding only.<br/><br/>The RBI said in a notice, "It has been decided that where an authorised dealer (bank) in India has granted loan to a non-resident Indian..., such loans may also be repaid by resident close relative of the non-resident Indian by crediting the borrower's loan account through the bank account of such relative."<br/><br/>Reserve Bank has also granted permission to Indian citizen individuals to pay for medical expenses of their close NRI relatives, when they are in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=253InsuringIndia News Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:02:24 GMT ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, India’s one of the leading private insuring company, is all set to launch a consumer awareness campaign with an aim to make consumers aware about life insurance products.<br/><br/>Recently, a research carried out by the insurer indicated that consumers are not even aware of important yet basic information about life insurance products and are able to get the utmost benefits from his policy. <br/><br/>The aim of the campaign is to address this issue and create awareness among customers through a series of ten to twelve lessons ‘insurance mantras’. <br/><br/>ICICI Prudential Life has constantly endeavoured to educate customers through several campaigns to assure that customers select those insurance products that best answer their needs. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=252InsuringIndia News Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:01:06 GMT India’s largest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India, has since last two years, changing its focus from ULIPs (unit-linked insurance plans) to its traditional products with a view to improve sales, fast growth and to reach out to the new generation.<br/><br/>In the beginning, the ratio of traditional products and ULIPs sales was 60:40, which is now turning. As the insuring industry went into a slowdown cycle, sales were hit but the trend is reversing and the industry is bouncing back. <br/><br/>LIC was the first to come up with a ULIP product ‘Bima Plus’ but was never aggressive about it as the insurer’s main focus is to provide insurance for risk cover rather than selling insurance as an investment product. The corporation became aggressive in ULIPs marketing when private insuring companies entered the market. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=251InsuringIndia News Sat, 17 Sep 2011 11:59:37 GMT After so many hurdles, IRDA is all set to implement Health insurance portability service from 1st October, according to a statement from IRDA on Thursday.<br/><br/>Previously, July 1st was set as the date of launching by IRDA, but insurers were not ready and wanted more time. On 8th July, representatives of all health insurers assembled in Mumbai to study feasibleness and issues associated with health insurance portability.<br/><br/>IRDA, after considering all the factors, settled in favour of the insuring companies and deferred the date to October 1st.<br/><br/>Health portability will allow policy owners to exchange their insurer without losing the basic health insurance coverage. According to rules, policy owners will get the time with the former insurer will be accredited, and pre-existing disease will also be covered beside the bonus accumulated from the former insurer.<br/><br/>IRDA has already issued guidelines for Health insurance portability. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=250InsuringIndia News Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:11:39 GMT LIC of India has brought down its stake in Raymond Group from 11.61% to 9.59% by selling its shares in the open market. Last Wednesday, LIC sold 12.41 lakh shares having a net value of Rs. 45.26 crore.<br/><br/>In Raymond group, promoters control 39.09% stake, Foreign Institutional Investors' shares were 6.30% at the end of June and retail investors control just above 21% shares in the company.<br/><br/>According to a business analyst, the future aspect of the textile industry is looking unsure as the government is considering the option of getting rid of forty-eight textile items from the list of protected goods that India keeps under free trade accord with SAARC members.<br/><br/>The exclusion of these forty-eight items will have a negative impact on the domestic textile industry as more inexpensive goods are imported duty free. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=249InsuringIndia News Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:08:31 GMT In a move that is going to have a negative effect on the sales of ULIPS (unit-linked life insurance plans), the insurance watchdog, IRDA is ready to dispose the highest Net Asset Value (NAV) guarantee products.<br/><br/>Following the tight regulations and norms on ULIP products from September 2010, NAV guarantee products were making almost one-fifth of ULIP sales as the sales of the pension plan reduced significantly. Under this scheme, clients are assured of the returns based on the highest NAV that the policy has attained during the total insurance plan term.<br/><br/>As per the industry sources, IRDA is wary of the systemic risk linked with the manner the funds are handled. Such products place more stress on debt instruments, and in case of a fall in the stock market have the risk of a heavy sell-off in equities.<br/><br/>LIC of India had brought two such products ‘Wealth Plus and Samridhi Plus’ but had withdrawn both from the market. Leading private insuring companies like HDFC Life, Bajaj Allianz Life, Birla Sun Life, and ICICI Prudential Life, all have at the least one such product in their portfolio, but the chances of launching a new one is very unlikely. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=248InsuringIndia News Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:19:22 GMT Aviva Life Insurance has announced an affiliation with Axis Bank to start its new Renewal Premium Payment service through 1,400 branches of the bank all across the country.<br/><br/>The insurance company has started this service so that Aviva customers do not have any inconvenience in renewing their policies. The customers can visit any of the Axis Bank branches, show some identity proof, and simply pay the renewal premium employing any of the payment modes. After that, they can get an acknowledgement of the premium paid.<br/><br/>With this partnership, Aviva India has increased its customer reach as Axis Bank has a presence in more than 700 locations all over India. Besides Axis Bank branches, the customers have also the old options of paying premiums at Aviva's branches, through online bank transfers, credit cards and ECS facilities.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, COO of Aviva Life Insurance, Snehil Gambhir said, “Customer centricity is the foundation for all initiatives that we undertake at Aviva. This arrangement provides a facility to our customers to make renewal premium payments across the large network of Axis Bank branches. It also provides an added convenience to our customers to help strengthen our long term relationship and safeguard their financial interests.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=247InsuringIndia News Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:30:17 GMT The general insurance industry has posted a healthy 22 percent growth in Motor third-party premium collection during the first quarter of FY 2011. The industry has collected a total premium of Rs. 14,046 crore as compared to Rs. 11,478 crore in the same period in FY 2010.<br/><br/>Insurance watchdog, IRDA granted permission to insurance companies to hike premium on the third-party cover by ten percent for cars and by up to 65 percent for commercial vehicles starting from April 2011. This raise has ensued in the third-party premium collections increasing to Rs. 2,043 crore in the first quarter from Rs. 1,467 crore in the same period in FY 2010, an increase of 39.2 percent.<br/><br/> One reason for the increase is also the increase in the number of vehicles being purchased. This is apparent from the increment in motor ‘own-damage’ cover. Motor ‘own-damage’ provides compensation to the vehicle owner for accidental damage to the vehicle. The ‘own-damage’ premium for the first quarter increased to Rs. 3,201 crore from Rs. 2,600 crore in the previous year; an increase of 23 percent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=246InsuringIndia News Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:04:34 GMT A decade has passed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on US. This attack has given new perspective to the meaning of Terror insurance. After the terrorist attack in the US, many countries in the world started setting up an ‘insurance pool’ to cover insurable losses.<br/><br/>The Indian insurance industry is well placed to deal with terror-risk covers and has a sizeable insurance pool. The ‘Indian Terrorism Pool’ is run by the public sector ‘General Insurance Corporation of India’. It was set up in year 2002 with an initial principal amount of Rs. 200 crore.<br/><br/>The total premium gathered by the industry under terrorism risks is deposited in this pool. This amount is set aside by general insurers to assure that in case of a terror attack, all insurance claims are settled. The insurance pool covers parties for a total liability of Rs. 750 crore, including loss or damage of property.<br/><br/>Nowadays, almost all important events carry a terror cover. For example, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was covered for Rs. 600 crore and IPL-4 for Rs. 900 crore, in which Rs. 450 crore insurance was against terrorist attacks. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=245InsuringIndia News Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:02:03 GMT Last Friday, on the occasion of its 55th anniversary, LIC of India announced higher bonus rates for the financial year 2011-12 for its seven ‘With Profit Plans’.<br/><br/>The seven plans are Jeevan Tarang, Jeevan Anand, Child Future Plan, Jeevan Madhur, Jeevan Shree I, Jeevan Pramukh and Jeevan Bharati I. Rs. 215.8 billion has been allocated for the bonus.<br/><br/>In terms of the number of policies, LIC’s market share stands at 78.41% and in terms of premium, it is 72.43%. For financial year 2012, LIC has set a target of Rs. 540 billion in premium income. LIC is planning to bring new products before long.<br/><br/>Last fiscal year, LIC’s investment in equity markets was about Rs. two trillion. This year, the corporation is expecting to increase the investment above this. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=244InsuringIndia News Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:55:29 GMT U.S.-based financial and insurance services-focused LeapFrog Investments is planning to invest fifteen million dollars in India’s Shriram Groups financial services.<br/><br/>LeapFrog started its operations in 2008 with 135 million dollars to invest in companies providing insurance to low-income people in Asia and Africa. The fund was launched by President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2008, with an aim to generate strong profits for its investors.<br/><br/>The fund aims to target poor people in countries, including India, Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya. The fund is supported by e-bay founder Pierre Omidyar, billionaire George Soros and a consortium of development and commercial banks, reinsurers and pension funds.<br/><br/>Shriram's financial services provide insurance, savings and investment products to the low-income and developing consumer market in India. The Shriram Group is the first provider to over 98% of its clients. Its association with the LeapFrog will benefit ten million people in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=243InsuringIndia News Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:56:14 GMT Aviva Life Insurance is likely to put up for sale 30% of its stake to state run Syndicate Bank. Aviva Life Insurance has 26% stake while Dabur India owns 74% stake in the insuring company.<br/><br/>Director of Dabur Group, Mohit Burman has confirmed that the negotiations are in the process. Aviva Life Insurance holds paid-up capital of Rs. 2,004 crore.<br/><br/> Throughout the world, Aviva is the leader in Bancassurance model. In India, the company started its operations in May 2002 and sells its insurance product through IndusInd Bank, DBS and Punjab & Sind Bank. The insuring company is definitely going to gain from its association with Syndicate Bank, as it has over 1,500 branches, through which the company can expand its reach.<br/><br/>In fiscal 2010-11, the company posted a profit of Rs. 29 crore. It took in Rs. 2,345 crore in premium and the total assets were Rs. 7,654 crore. Syndicate Bank short-listed a dozen insurers for its entrance into life insurance but is likely to finalize Aviva Life Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=242InsuringIndia News Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:10:37 GMT Aviva Life Insurance confirmed on Tuesday that the company has been awarded ISO 9001: 2008 certification for excellence in quality. Aviva Life Insurance is one of the few BSFI organizations in the country to achieve this landmark.<br/><br/>ISO 9000 is a category of quality management systems standards. ISO 9000 is maintained by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 9001:2008 is a globally acclaimed quality management system standard. ISO 9001:2008 certification establishes Aviva Life’s dedication to meet globally recognized management system requirements.<br/><br/> Aviva worked hard to qualify for ISO 9001: 2008 certification. It fulfilled stringent standards in quality management system, pre-audit, management system documentation review, initial assessment and clearance of all non-conformities. The process went on for about six months and concluded in a all-inclusive two day registration audit by BSI.<br/><br/>Remarking on the occasion, Mr. T R Ramachandran, CEO & MD of Aviva India, said, "We are happy to achieve this accreditation and more importantly establish an internal focus and commitment to quality and of continuous improvement. It has been a great experience and we look forward to delight our customers even more in the future.”<br/><br/> “We have analysed and enhanced multiple aspects of Aviva’s operations resulting in many improvements to both what we do and how we do it. I believe that we are now a more efficient and agile organization as a result of the quality journey we have embarked on" Mr. Snehil Gambhir, COO, Aviva India also commented. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=241InsuringIndia News Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:19:50 GMT One of the India’s largest private life insuring company- SBI Life Insurance, has brought a new health insurance plan in the market by the name of “Hospital Cash”. The plan offers a fixed daily payment to policy-holders for each day of hospitalization no matter what the hospital bill amount is.<br/><br/>This plan safeguard the degradation of policy-holder’s accrued savings in case of medical emergency. Medical expenses incurred before, during and after hospitalization are covered through this allowance.<br/><br/> CEO & MD of SBI Life, M. N. Rao said, “Providing holistic, health and wealth protection, solutions to all customer segments, our foray into health insurance is also aimed at addressing the issues of rising health care costs and acute under penetration of health insurance in India. As a consequence of accelerated usage of the internet, in the recent years, the availability of health product on the online platform will offer our customers added convenience and choice supplementing our existing robust multi-distribution network.”<br/><br/>Hospital Cash’s Daily Hospitalization Cash Benefit (DHCB) provides policy-holder bother free vantage of receiving 100 percent fixed payout from first day of hospitalization without any deduction. In case the insured person is admitted to ICU, the amount will be doubled.<br/><br/>Customer has the option to purchase the Hospital Cash online through www.sbilife.co.in. here is no need for physical documentation. The customers can also purchase the policy through insurance advisors, corporate agents and State Bank branches. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=240InsuringIndia News Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:19:52 GMT The insurance watchdog, IRDA has given permission to life insurance companies to invest in venture capital (VC) funds. This act is likely to result in venture capital funds approaching LIC of India which has approximately Rs. 30,000 crore to invest in such funds.<br/><br/>So far, life insuring companies were permitted to invest in venture capital funds but on the condition that the investment funds would be primarily used in base infrastructure.<br/><br/>Life insuring companies are welcoming this move and are of view that this will open further investment opportunities for them. Even though most private companies’ size of the traditional portfolio is comparatively small, it is developing progressively and ought to be having a bright future. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=239InsuringIndia News Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:14:19 GMT Reliance Capital Ltd. (R-Cap) and its business partner in life insurance Nippon Life Insurance Co. has signed an agreement to look at more partnership opportunities throughout all financial services.<br/><br/>In March 2011, world’s seventh largest and Japan’s largest life insurer Nippon Life bought twenty-six percent equity stake in Reliance Life Insurance Co. Ltd. for Rs. 3,062 crore.<br/><br/>Confronted with feeble growth aspects in Japan on account of slow economy, Japanese insuring companies are intensifying their efforts to expand their operations abroad. The companies said in a joint statement, “Nippon Life will be evaluating collaboration opportunities, including strategic partnership, across all R-Cap promoted financial businesses.”<br/><br/>Reliance Capital has a big presence in general and life insurance, broking, mutual funds, and commercial finance. Reliance Mutual Fund is India’s biggest asset manager with Rs. 1.01 trillion of assets. Nippon Life, apart from life insurance, also sells medical and defined-contribution pension plans.<br/><br/>India’s fast economic growth and the high savings rates are attracting international groups where growth has slowed. The country offers a substantial opportunity for investment in the financial sectors. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=238InsuringIndia News Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:07:41 GMT After a break of two years, LIC has increased annual bonus by up to 15% for fiscal 2010-11. LIC has allocated Rs. 21,580 crore for annual bonus to pay to its policy-holders. Last year the bonus payout of LIC was Rs. 19,557 crore.<br/><br/>The life insurer has posted a 10.3% rise in net actuarial surplus from Rs. 20,586 crore in 2009-10 to Rs. 22,716 crore in 2010-11.<br/><br/>The corporation has approved seven plans for changed bonus rates. These are Child Future Plan, Jeevan Anand, Jeevan Madhur, Jeevan Tarang, Jeevan Shree I, Jeevan Pramukh and Jeevan Bharti I. There is no change in the bonus rates for its other plans.<br/><br/>In financial year 2010-11, the insurer gathered Rs. 86,444.7 crore by marketing new policies, 22% more than the previous year.<br/><br/> The insurance behemoth is also hoping to generate 5% of its new business income through Bancassurance channel. The LIC has affiliations with more than twenty banks for selling insurance products. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=237InsuringIndia News Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:04:10 GMT The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) completed its 55 successful years on 1st September, yesterday. The event '55th Foundation Day' was celebrated with much fanfare.<br/><br/> In India, LIC is synonymous with life insurance and represents trust and faith of almost all Indians. The company is the market leader in life insurance having 78% share in terms of the number of policies. LIC is the biggest insurance company in the world covering three crore families, nine crore people and 28 crore individual polices.<br/><br/>Besides India, LIC has offices in various offshore locations including Mauritius, Fiji, UK, Nepal, Bahrain, Singapore and Kenya.<br/><br/>LIC is always at the forefront on corporate social responsibility. It has joined forces with many states to furnish social security to BPL families. In year 2006, the corporation started a public trust by the name of ‘LIC Golden Jubilee Foundation’ with an initial principal amount of Rs. 50 crore which have now swelled to Rs. 100 crore. The foundation aim is to give financial support to the poor.<br/><br/> In year 2010-11, the corporation's total assets were Rs. 1.3 lakh crore and the income generated was Rs. 2.99 lakh crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=236InsuringIndia News Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:01:20 GMT Global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy- Boston Consulting Group has forecasted that by year 2020, India will be among the world's top three life insurance markets with an annual premium income of about 350 billion Dollars.<br/><br/>However, there is an obstacle – India’s problematic regulatory framework. India’s 1938 Insurance Act specifies that promoters of insurance companies cannot disinvest their stake for at least ten years.<br/><br/>Some time back, Japan’s Nippon Life agreed to buy a twenty-six per cent stake in Reliance Life; had the deal gone ahead, it would have been the biggest foreign direct investment in India's insurance Market.<br/><br/>But, according to regulations, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Life cannot sell his stake for at least ten years, i.e. until January, 2012.<br/><br/>India’s policy-makers declared in August that they are ready to lighten up equity dilution norms for insurers, allowing companies to strip their stake at any time, an act that will finally open the way for Reliance and Nippon to become partners.<br/><br/> The Indian Government has repeatedly faced criticism from business houses for its hard stand in bringing in reforms. But the good news is that government is accelerating reforms and opening new vistas for foreign capital inflows.<br/><br/>Recently, the government has sanctioned foreign investments in equity and debt schemes in the mutual funds market, up to a cap of ten billion dollars. It is also expected that cap on foreign investments is likely to be upgraded from twenty-six per cent currently to forty-nine per cent. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=235InsuringIndia News Thu, 01 Sep 2011 11:37:57 GMT The interim regulator Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) is planning to involve LIC agents to sell its New Pension Scheme Lite (NPS Lite). LIC has an army of about 14 lakh agents.<br/><br/>National Pension System (NPS) is a scheme of PFRDA, the apex body founded by Indian Government to develop and regulate the pension sector in India. With effect from 1st May 2009, NPS has been extended to all citizens of India.<br/><br/>NPS-Lite is planned for economically weaker sections of the society and borderline investors in order to make small investments viable. It aims to rein in the Government operated schemes, NGOs, NBFCs, MFIs etc. in serving the old age savings needs of low-income workers.<br/><br/> Till date, NPS has 23.56 lakh subscribers and a total principal of Rs. 9924.72 crore and NPS Lite have 7.43 lakh subscribers. To engage the services of LIC agents, PFRDA needs the IRDA’s permission. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=234InsuringIndia News Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:01:06 GMT The death of a key person in any establishment may generate turmoil among investors and clients. There are many companies that depend heavily on certain people. This is commonly seen in small establishments, but even big companies are also inclined to depend heavily on only certain people.<br/><br/> These people are called ‘Key man’ meaning a person who is an employee in an organization at an important post whose demise would lead to financial loss to the organization. In such events, 'key man insurance policy' comes in useful.<br/><br/> In India, key man insurance is presently an employer-employee policy, where the premium on such policies have to be paid by the employer and is the nominee and collects the amount in case of the employee's death.<br/><br/>Presently, such policies are more popular among small private companies rather than large organizations. Many private companies insure their CEOs and directors.<br/><br/> SBI Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and LIC are the key players in this segment in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=233InsuringIndia News Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:23:02 GMT The Indian Government is planning to rope in India’s biggest insuring company, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), to fund infrastructure projects for ports, roads and highways.<br/><br/> LIC is likely to partner with India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL) to buy out long-term commercial banks’ loan portfolios. The government is planning to spend over one trillion dollars in twelfth Five-Year Plan (2012-17) on making new infrastructure and updating the existing infrastructure.<br/><br/> The program to bring in LIC for infrastructure financing was discussed in a meeting convoked by the finance ministry which was also attended by the heads of IIFCL and LIC.<br/><br/> The purported undertaking will permit LIC and IIFCL to buy out forty percent of any bank's loan with each taking a responsibility of twenty percent. The IRDA guidelines require life insuring companies to invest at least fifteen percent of their funds in social and infrastructure sectors. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=232InsuringIndia News Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:01:43 GMT Health insurance in India is the second largest sector in the non life vertical of the insurance industry. Health insurance has increased its presence in the last two fiscal years and is expected to achieve new heights in the next few years.<br/><br/>Due to increasing awareness about healthcare and rising healthcare costs in India, health insurance sector is expected to grow 28-30 percent during next four years.<br/><br/>Health insurance market in India is dominated by four public sector insuring companies- National Insurance Co. Ltd., Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., New India Assurance Co. Ltd. and United India Insurance Co. Ltd having major presence in rural areas.<br/><br/> The private health insuring companies are also more and more infiltrating the rural segment with the hope of outperforming the public sector companies in coming years.<br/><br/>Though the Indian health insurance sector has been expanding rapidly during last few years, it continues to remain predominately unexplored due to several defects such as low awareness, inefficient cost management, poor distribution model, to name a few. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=231InsuringIndia News Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:11:25 GMT In May 2010, Air India Express flight from Dubai to Mangalore crashed while landing and 158 of the 166 on board died in the crash. Almost fifteen months later only forty percent of the passengers have received full settlement. There is a legal fight going on between Air India and victims’ families about higher compensation according to the Montreal Convention which is argued intensely by the airline.<br/><br/>While the Air India has received its insurance claim of 50 million dollars, insurance firm has yet to give compensation to all the victims.<br/><br/> Among the passengers were also four cabin crew of which none survived. Their families have still to receive final compensation and their families are alleging that Air India is treating them as workmen and applying the law meant for ground staff in a fatal crash.<br/><br/>The crews’ families are alleging that the law firm engaged by national carrier has been bargaining with them over the compensation amount. AI is being offering Rs. 35 lakh against Rs. 75 lakh according to the Montreal Convention. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=230InsuringIndia News Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:26:08 GMT Haryana government is going to implement National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) during this Kharif 2011 season. The state government has decided to bring down the size of the insurance unit under this scheme from the thus far existent blocks.<br/><br/> This policy will benefit farmers in the event of disease outbreak, natural calamities and pest outbreak.<br/><br/>During this season Bajra Crop of Fatehabad, Hissar, Sirsa, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Rohtak, Sonepat, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mewat, Kaithal, Palwal, Jind, Riwari and Mohindergarh districts, cotton crop of Hissar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Kaithal, Rohtak, Jind, Riwari and Mohindergarh districts, Maize crop of Panchkula and Ambala districts and Arhar Crop of Jhajjar, Sonepat, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Jind and Mewat Districts are included.<br/><br/> National Agricultural Insurance Scheme also known as Rashtriya Krishi Bima Yojana (RKBY) was started with the objectives of providing financial support and insurance cover to the farmers in the case of failure of any of the listed crops as a result of pests, diseases and natural calamities. To support farmers in adopting higher technology, progressive farming practices and high value in-puts in Agriculture. The scheme help stabilizes farm incomes, especially in calamity years.<br/><br/>The crops covered under National Agricultural Insurance Scheme are Food crops, Oilseeds, Sugarcane, Potato and Cotton. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=229InsuringIndia News Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:20:09 GMT Some time back Pakistani Dr. Asher Hasan formulated an insurance model in which people from the low socioeconomic background can get good-quality healthcare at heavily subsidized rates. Dr. Hasan roped in large business houses, non-governmental organizations and educational institutions to provide group insurances for their low-income workers, such as peons, office boys and drivers so that they can also have same quality of healthcare as their employers.<br/><br/>In year 2007, Dr. Asher Hasan in a survey found that the flourishing private health care systems in urban India and Pakistan were not accessible to the majority of low-income people. This prompted him to think of something, and he came up with this model.<br/><br/>Dr. Hasan founded a NGO ‘Naya Jeevan’, which provides subsidized health insurance to economically weak individuals in Pakistan. The NGO has affiliations with eighty corporations.<br/><br/>Hasan is hoping to launch an insurance model based on ‘Naya Jeevan’ model in India soon. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=228InsuringIndia News Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:00:13 GMT LIC is in the process of bringing a new single premium policy after a break of two and a half years. Keeping in view volatile markets and judging market sentiments, LIC is ready to launch its best-selling insurance product in the form of a single premium policy.<br/><br/>Almost two and half years back, LIC launched a single premium policy “Jeevan Astha”. Investors responded eagerly to Jeevan Astha. In fiscal year 2009, around 1.8 million policies were sold amounting to Rs. 10,235 crore in just forty-five days.<br/><br/> LIC is now waiting to get the permission from IRDA and is aiming to launch it in the first week of September.<br/><br/>The product is expected to give a fixed return of 7% - 8% per year with insurance cover also. The policy also offers tax exemption and has a tenure choice of 5-10 year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=227InsuringIndia News Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:37:08 GMT India’s national carrier-Air India will have to pay 15% more for renewing of its insurance policy, which is coming up for renewal on 1st October. This will amount to Rs. 160 crore, 24 crore more than last year. It would be the highest premium paid by any airline fleet in India.<br/><br/>Despite no claims made by air India during 2010-2011 and having the same fleet size, insuring companies are asking for more due to the AI's functional inefficiencies. In 2010-11, the Mangalore air-crash in which 158 passengers were killed also played a key role in the increase in premiums.<br/><br/>Air India paid an insurance premium of Rs. 136 crore during 2010-11 for insuring its aircraft fleet, whose total value is estimated at 9.1 billion dollars. ICICI Lombard General was the major insuring company and the rest of 40% of the premium was shared by four public sector general insuring companies.<br/><br/>Air India is now losing appeal among insurance companies. Previous year, all major private insuring companies and public sector insurers entered in the Air India tender. This year there were only two bidders, existing insurer, ICICI Lombard and a syndicate of public sector insurers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=226InsuringIndia News Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:07:33 GMT UP’s Department of Medical and Health has decided to hire an independent agency to monitor Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana As compared to other states, Uttar Pradesh is one of the lowest performing states in implementing the RSBY. This decision was taken to improve the implementation of RSBY in the state.<br/><br/>RSBY was earlier handled by the Department of Rural Development, but now Health Department has taken over the implementation of the RSBY.<br/><br/> In a meeting held on Saturday with central government officials, the state decided to employ an independent agency to supervise RSBY. Department of Health will also nominate a regular officer to address the insurance scheme in each district of the state.<br/><br/> The state has also asked the three insurance companies, ICICI Lombard, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance to appoint an officer in each of their nominated districts. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=225InsuringIndia News Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:01:24 GMT Soon, you can buy insurance from your local post office. The 1.55 lakh post offices across India are being modernized and will soon become useful outlets providing facilities like insurance and banking.<br/><br/>Sachin Pilot, Union Minister of state for Communications and Information Technology told reporters in Srinagar, "We are applying to the Reserve Bank of India for a license to start banking facilities at all the post offices across the country." Pilot also said that all post offices will also provide other facilities like insurance.<br/><br/> "These facilities at the post office will largely benefit rural population of the country which does not have easy access to them compared to urban residents," he said.<br/><br/> IRDA has granted permission to post offices to distribute insurance products in October last year. Each circle of the Department of Post (DOP) will act as a corporate agent of insurers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=224InsuringIndia News Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:58:44 GMT Credit history provider Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd (CIBIL) has now decided to target insurance and telecom sectors to provide data.<br/><br/>CIBIL’s MD, Arun Thukral said, “We have decided to focus on insurance and telecom sectors for growing our membership base. A life insurance company can decide the value of insurance coverage based on the data available with us about an individual.”<br/><br/>At present, CIBIL has over 600 members, including Credit-card companies, banks, housing finance companies and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) which use CIBIL’s services.<br/><br/>CIBIL was incorporated in the year 2000 with an aim to fulfil the demand of credit granting institutions for complete credit information by gathering, comparing and circulating credit information relating to both consumer and commercial borrowers to its Members.<br/><br/>CIBIL’s data sharing is founded on the ‘Principle of Reciprocity’, meaning that only members who have rendered all their credit data, may access credit information reports from CIBIL. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=223InsuringIndia News Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:56:53 GMT Max Bupa Health Insurance, one of the leading private insuring companies in India, released Bupa Health Pulse 2011 international survey, highlighting people's perceptions and attitudes on diseases. The survey study claims that 40% Indians are unhealthy and one individual out of every ten is obese.<br/><br/>57% of those surveyed responded that they spend maximum two hours on exercise in a week. 61% gave the excuse that their work pressure keeps them from exercising.<br/><br/>About 20% Indians are of view that their work commitment is the biggest roadblock in making their lifestyle healthier decisions. 76% agree that if they have a goal, then the exercise is more motivating.<br/><br/> The study also found that the 25 to 35 age group looses the most productivity because of illness as compared to other age groups.<br/><br/>83% Indians in the 45 to 54 age group regard themselves to be more healthy as compared to 72% in the age group 35-44. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=222InsuringIndia News Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:00:55 GMT Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) has selected IT services provider, Mahindra Satyam to develop and implement an IT system for monitoring surveyors.<br/><br/>Mahindra Satyam will be implementing agency for the development and implementation of Integrated Surveyor Licence Management System (ISLMS).<br/><br/>The decision was taken after a detailed scrutiny of the proposals presented by the various IT companies. The shortlisted companies were CMC, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), NIIT Technology, NSE IT, L&T Infotech and R Systems.<br/><br/>The project’s aim will be to have an efficient license creation, monitoring and renewal mechanism. IRDA’s aim to implement ISLMS is to provide facilities to surveyors to register online and check their license e and renewal status. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=221InsuringIndia News Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:25:41 GMT Birla Sun Life Insurance Company, one of India's leading private life insurance companies has decided to keep hotshot cricketer Yuvraj Singh as its brand ambassador for the next two years. Birla Sun Life is confident that the company will continue to gain from the tie-up Yuvraj Singh.<br/><br/>Remarking on the occasion, Yuvraj Singh, brand ambassador for Birla Sun Life Insurance said "Having been through the highs and lows in my cricketing career, I strongly believe that good and bad phases are a part of every individuals life. And, it is only in our interest to follow a disciplined approach towards planning a secure future. Am hoping that through my continued partnership with Birla Sun Life Insurance, I will be able to help spread this message across to many more individuals and help make a difference in their life".<br/><br/>CMO (Financial Services) of Aditya Birla Group, Mr. Ajay Kakar added, "The game of Cricket has a strong emotional connect and rules the heart of every single Indian consumer.<br/><br/>Millions of cricket fans in India closely follow cricketers and their lives. Like any other individual, a cricketer's life too is governed by periodic highs and lows. Yuvraj Singh, who has been our brand ambassador for the last two years, has been through rewarding as well as testing times in his recent past and resonates the brand philosophy of 'Jab Tak Balla Chalta Hain, Thaat Chalte Hai Warna.' As a brand, we encourage our customers to plan systematically in order to protect their future and Yuvraj Singh will continue to partner us in this journey". http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=220InsuringIndia News Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:39:03 GMT IAG (Insurance Australia Group Limited) has announced its plan to purchase a 20 percent stake in China’s Bohai Property Insurance Pty Ltd (Bohai Insurance), for a price of approximately 100 million Australian dollars. This strategical stake in Bohai Property Insurance will allow IAG to put its representative on the Bohai Insurance's board and a deputy general manager.<br/><br/>The transaction will take place subject to regulatory approval and is anticipated to be finished by the end 2012. AG is into general insurance in Australia, New Zealand, and a developing presence in Asia, in Malaysia, India and Thailand.<br/><br/>In a statement, IAG chief executive Mike Wilkins said, "Bohai Insurance is an attractive partner and provides an exciting opportunity for us to meet our long-held ambition of entering China's general insurance market." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=219InsuringIndia News Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:24:15 GMT Hero Cycles, the world's largest bicycle manufacturer announced on Independence Day, its plan to provide health insurance to its rural customers as part of the company’s social initiative to support the poor. <br/><br/>Hero Cycles has partnered with Sonata Finance, an Allahabad-based finance company for financing the bicycles. The company will provide loans of Rs. 100 per week in rural areas and is considering paying premium for health insurance for the poor customers on purchase every bicycle. <br/><br/>Hero Cycles is presently in talk with one private sector and one public sector health insurer for tie up. The health insurance services will be started from next month onwards. <br/><br/>Hero Cycles Managing Director Pankaj Munjal said, "Hero Cycles want to contribute with its limited strength by giving them a sense of security. These people will be given health insurance policies when they come to buy our bicycles." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=218InsuringIndia News Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:23:30 GMT The Indian general insurance with a combined turnover of about Rs. 42,000 crore, posted a loss of approximately Rs. 10,000 crore in the fiscal year 2010-11 and the future path to profitability appears not to be easy. The future challenges for the insurers are tremendous. <br/><br/>Chairman and MD of United India Insurance, G Srinivasan said, “ Over the years, the general insurance industry may be making underwriting losses but the companies have huge investment income by which they have been able to cover up those losses and have been able to show reasonably sound balance sheet over the years.” <br/><br/>“The situation will no longer continue because the quanta of losses are increasing. In 2009-10, the general insurance industry had made an underwriting loss of Rs 5900 crore, whereas in 2010-11 the estimates is that the industry would cross Rs 10000 crore underwriting losses. The general industry may have to record net losses in 2010-11,’’ he said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=217InsuringIndia News Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:22:45 GMT Amitabh’s latest release “Aarakshan” will have to run in the cinemas without any insurance cover as not a single insurance company has come forward to provide insurance cover. It is no wonder that with so much controversy and the debate the film has generated, it would have been a real surprise had it managed to get insurant cover.<br/><br/> Generally, the film distributors purchase “Loss of Profit insurance policy” in case there is any trouble in the screening of a film. Nevertheless, as the film Aarakshan generated so much controversy due to the kind of debatable topic it deals in; all insurers have declined to provide insurance cover for the movie.<br/><br/>The film was banned by the courts from releasing in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. The insurance companies’ explanation is that they can’t cover the losses endured due to political disruptions. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=216InsuringIndia News Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:21:14 GMT India is built on the foundation of relationships. Relationships are an integral part of our culture. Keeping this in mind, Future Generali India has launched a new campaign by the name of ‘Ab Nibhao Rishtedari’ with an aim to attract potential agents to Future Generali family of insurance consultants.<br/><br/> The logic behind the campaign is this; an insurance consultant touch the lives of thousands of people and ultimately, he becomes a member of their family on whom the family has full faith. Future Generali’s campaign will emphasize how a Future Generali agent builds up new relations and develops into a significant part of their daily life.<br/><br/> Becoming an insurance agent is not an attractive carrier choice among the new generation and one of the biggest challenges facing insurers is to recruit agents. The new campaign will demonstrate agents as human relationship builders.<br/><br/> The campaign will show the benefits of becoming a Future Generali (FG) agent and reasons to trust and buy from an FG agent. There are two radio commercials and two TV commercials as part of Future Generali’s ‘Ab Nibhao rishtedari’ campaign. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=215InsuringIndia News Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:50:34 GMT Children are becoming the new point of business focus for India’s insuring industry. All insuring companies are creating customized insurance products keeping children in view. All of them are spending money, time and energy on creating interactive ads to attract them.<br/><br/> There are many ad campaigns running focussing on “the child space” as insuring companies view this as the newest point of connect with their clients.<br/><br/>Aviva Life is showing Sachin Tendulkar as the parent in its latest advertising campaign. Max New York Life is producing interactive programs on social media for parents for blogging, tweeting and chatting. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is organizing contests for father-child where they can take part and win prizes.<br/><br/>In a survey, it was found that 69% policy holders had purchased insurance to meet the educational demands of their children.<br/><br/>Child Plans have become important earners and are making a significant contribution to all companies' coffers.<br/><br/>As two-thirds of India's population is less than 35 years of age, ‘child plans’ are the next big opportunity for insuring companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=214InsuringIndia News Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:56:42 GMT Public sector commercial bank, Central Bank of India on Tuesday announced its partnership with Private sector general insurer Cholamandalam MS to market insurance products from its branches all over India.<br/><br/> Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd. is a Joint Venture between Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group of Japan and Murugappa Group of India. Central Bank of India is one of the leading Public Sector commercial Banks in India. It has 3728 branches all across the country.<br/><br/>Insurance products will be customized according to bank customer’s need. The products will be marketed through its branches spread across urban, semi-urban, metro and rural bank branches. The bank will also take initiatives like customer outreach programs, health camps and tele-marketing to enhance this tie-up.<br/><br/>Speaking about the partnership, M.D of Chola MS, S. S. Gopalarathnam said, “We will use our vast experience in financial inclusion schemes like RSBY, expertise in other Bancassurance partnerships and meet Central Bank’s expectations in terms of products and customer service enabled by technology and empathy embedded in our business philosophy.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=213InsuringIndia News Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:20:30 GMT United India Insurance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vijaya Bank to sell its general insurance products. Few months back, the bank also signed a similar MoU with LIC of India.<br/><br/>Chairman and MD of Vijaya Bank, HS Upendra Kamath said that with a customer base of more than 8 million, a loan book of Rs. 51,000 crore and with 1,200 core banking solution (CBS)-networked branches all over India, there is an enormous reach for insurance business for the bank in-house, in both general and life insurance sector.<br/><br/>Since its partnership with LIC, Vijaya Bank has sold more than 3,717 LIC policies and gathered a premium of Rs. 12 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=212InsuringIndia News Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:04:25 GMT Deven Sharma, an Indian by birth is one of the key people at the centre of affairs surrounding the historical demotion of the United States of America's creditworthiness. Deven Sharma is the president of Standard and Poor’s (S&P’s), the credit agency that downgraded the US long-term sovereign credit rating from the top 'AAA' level for the first time in financial history.<br/><br/> When the US administration reacted angrily to the S&P’s rating, Sharma defended S&P's move and said US’s reaction was normal.<br/><br/> Deven Sharma joined Standard and Poor’s in 2006 as Ex. VP (Investment Services and Global Sales) and was appointed President in year 2007. He is also chairman of S&P's Indian subsidiary CRISIL. Before that, he was Executive Vice-President (Global Strategy) for five years at The McGraw-Hill Companies. Sharma has experience in global corporations in the Europe, US, Latin America and Asia. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=211InsuringIndia News Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:19:29 GMT Life insuring companies marketing pension plans will now have to give a minimum assured benefit, either in the form of a guaranteed minimum maturity amount to be paid at the end of the accumulation phase or in the form of a minimum guaranteed return on the premium paid by policyholders during the accumulation phase, or as a guaranteed annuity from the starting date of the policy.<br/><br/>Earlier, IRDA had instructed the insurers to ensure a guaranteed return on investment, at 0.5% point over the reverse repo rate of the Reserve Bank of India.<br/><br/> IRDA, in an exposure draft issued on 1st August, proposed two very significant changes in pension plans. The first is that all insuring companies will now have to guarantee a minimum benefit at the time of selling a pension policy instead of previous minimum 4.5% return. The second change is that policy-holders will have to purchase pension income or annuity from the same insurer from which they purchased the pension plan in the beginning. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=210InsuringIndia News Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:16:43 GMT The Country’s four public sector insurers on Saturday launched a Common Mechanism for Compromise Settlement of Motor Third Party Claims (CMCSTPC) Centre in Kochi. There is a plan to launch fifty such more centres all over the country to cut down pending motor accident cases and ascertain rapid claim settlements.<br/><br/>Kerala High Court judge, Justice Ramachandran Nair inaugurated the Kochi centre. This is the second centre in India. The first centre was launched in Cuttack in March 2011. About 200 cases were settled on the inaugural day.<br/><br/>G. Srinivasan, Chairman and MD (United India Insurance company Ltd), also chairman of GIPSA (General Insurers'' public sector Association) told reporters, “Two other pilot centres would be opened at Mehsana and Jaipur. India is considered the world's accident capital and has overtaken China in rate of accidents. About 1.2 lakh fatalities take place, and this was a matter of concern."<br/><br/>At present, about 10 lakh accident cases are pending against these four public sector insuring companies. These CMCSTPC centres will help in fast dispersal of these cases. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=209InsuringIndia News Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:13:43 GMT In April 1985, former Chief Justice of India, P.N. Bhagwati took an initiative of starting Lok Adalats for settlement of motor third party claims. Since then a number of Lok Adalats have been set up all over India for third party claim settlement. This platform has gathered momentum as both insurers and claimants are benefited.<br/><br/>The insurers are interested in settling Third Party claims through Lok Adalats because there is a backlog of pending cases in Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) and in Lok Adalats the cases are quickly disposed of.<br/><br/> The affiliation of public-sector general insurance companies, The General Insurers Public Sector Association (GIPSA) comprising of New India Assurance, United India Insurance, National Insurance and Oriental Insurance have brought all its cases to Lok Adalats.<br/><br/> In south India, the first-ever Lok Adalat for motor accident claim cases will hold its court at Kochi on 6th August. Pending cases with a claim amount up to Rs. 10 lakh would be taken up in the Adalat.<br/><br/>The Adalat will sit every month and about 400 cases are expected to be settled in every sitting. A senior insurance company officer will coordinate the sitting. A panel of a retired senior medical officer (Orthopeadics), retired district judge and a retired senior officer of a public sector insurance company would settle the amount of compensations to be paid.<br/><br/> Once decided, the payment will be paid within one month. The insuring company would deposit the amount with the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals (MACT) which then will release the amount to the claimant. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=208InsuringIndia News Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:02:17 GMT A Reserve Bank of India committee has advocated an increase in the deposit insurance cover to promote people to keep their cash deposits in banks. The committee has recommended the raise in insurance cover from Rs. 1 Lakh to Rs. 5 Lakh.<br/><br/>The panel was constituted under the chairmanship of erstwhile SEBI chairman M. Damodaran in June, 2010 to look into banking services rendered to retail and small customers, including pensioners.<br/><br/> The report submitted by the panel stated, “A possibility may be explored to enable full insurance cover for bank deposits by making necessary amendments in the relevant Acts. In case of sick banks, where the accounts are frozen, a possibility to enable customers to immediately avail themselves of a part of their insured deposits before the final fate of sick banks is decided may be explored.”<br/><br/> The committee also recommended setting up a common toll-free telephone number for customer redressal. It has also advocated that banks should provide customers savings accounts without minimum balance limitation. Currently, minimum balance in banks is from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 25,000.<br/><br/> The panel has also proposed zero accountability against online transactions and loss in ATMs. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=207InsuringIndia News Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:24:59 GMT You never know when trouble comes knocking on your door. Anyone can be a target of kidnapping. It is not only famous or rich to be a kidnap target. In India, snatching for ransom money has become pretty common. The young upper class flushed with money in India has become the new target for criminals.<br/><br/>Some precautions can be taken against kidnapping attempts, but there is no guarantee that you will not be kidnapped. Nevertheless, you can have the protection of having payment option and a Kidnap response to assist in the unfortunate event of kidnapping.<br/><br/>In year 2006, son of Naresh Gupta, Adobe Senior Vice President, was kidnapped in Delhi by two criminals. The ransom demand was Rs. 1 crore. In these types of cases, Kidnap and Ransom (K&R) insurance could make the difference between a successful recovery and disaster.<br/><br/> This event alarmed many corporate and they took the steps to insure their top officials against kidnap and ransom. Indian insurers also responded with K&R insurance policies in the Indian market for corporate executives and individuals.<br/><br/>Indian Insuring Companies such as Tata AIG, INDIA Inc, National Insurance, ICICI Lombard, HDFC Chubb and Bajaj Allianz have started offering K&R polices.<br/><br/>The K&R polices policies provide money for ransom, fees of negotiators and psychiatrists. K&R insurance product has come as a big relief to families residing in crime prone cities. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=206InsuringIndia News Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:25:58 GMT German luxury auto manufacturer Mercedes-Benz sold more than 5,800 cars last year in India, and is working hard to penetrate deeper into the budding luxury car market in India. 75 percent of Indian customers of Mercedes-Benz opted for vehicle finance for buying their cars; so, keeping this in view, Mercedes-Benz is bringing its very own in-house finance unit, Daimler Financial Services to India. Daimler Financial Services is currently operating in more than forty countries all over the world.<br/><br/>Earlier this year, the company applied for permission from Reserve Bank of India. It has obtained the necessary approval from RBI to set up a ‘Non Banking Finance Company’ for its financial services business.<br/><br/>Daimler Financial Services will be headquartered in Chennai and will function as a 100% subsidiary of Daimler AG. The company is starting with an initial investment of about50 million dollars, and its aim will be to support the sale of Mercedes-Benz cars and Daimler Trucks. It will provide complete finance, insurance products and leasing to dealers and customers of Mercedes cars in India under the brand name 'Mercedes-Benz Financial'. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=205InsuringIndia News Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:18:52 GMT AEGON Religare Life Insurance is soon going to unveil two health insurance products in the market. The company has applied to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for getting its approval.<br/><br/> The company has filed an insurance product ‘iTerm Plan’ and a pre-health insurance product with the IRDA. AEGON Religare has recently launched an online unit-linked ‘iMaximize’ targeting the high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).<br/><br/> AEGON Religare Life Insurance Limited (ARLI) is a joint venture between AEGON, Religare and Bennett, Coleman & Co. AEGON is an international investment, life insurance and pension company. Religare has the presence as a global financial services group while Bennett, Coleman & company is India’s largest media house.<br/><br/> ARLI started its operations in India in July, 2008. ARLI has launched a wide variety of insurance products that are customized to provide the clients to meet their long-run financial aims. ARLI’s insurance products such as ‘AEGON Religare iTerm Plan’ and ‘AEGON Religare Future Protect Plan’ are among the best in the market and has won many honours. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=204InsuringIndia News Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:42:50 GMT Central Bureau of India (CBI) has started an investigation against LIC managing director T. S. Vijayan for supposedly abusing his official powers to give special favour to some corporate houses.<br/><br/>Preliminary Enquiry (PE) has been filed and investigation is being carried on against Vijayan, another MD Thomas Mathew, and two more senior executives of LIC for alleged wrongful conduct while investing LIC money in some companies.<br/><br/>Some of the named companies are JP Infratech, JSW Energy and DB Realty. Earlier, T. S. Vijayan was chairman of LIC but was demoted to managing director in May. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=203InsuringIndia News Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:31:27 GMT The Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL) and the Al Mulla Group of Kuwait have launched a new medical insurance product for Indians living in Kuwait under the motto ‘Insuring a Better future’.<br/><br/>Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL) is one of the biggest general insurance companies in India. Al Mulla Group is one of the business leaders in Kuwait. Both the companies are in partnership since 1985.<br/><br/> The new insurance program is available to all legal Indian residents in Kuwait and their dependants, including parents if they are permanent residents in Kuwait. Maximum age limit for adults is 65 years, and the children are included from 14 days to 21 years old.<br/><br/>The insurance product allows the continuous cover on returning to India. Medical check-up is compulsory for people aged above 50 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=202InsuringIndia News Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:25:25 GMT India’s second largest public sector bank Punjab National Bank has decided to buy 30% stake in private insurance company, MetLife India. This move will make PNB the largest stockholder in MetLife India. Once the agreement is finalized the venture is to be renamed PNB MetLife India.<br/><br/>PNB is rated as the second-largest bank in the country after State Bank of India in terms of number of branches. MetLife India Insurance Comp. Ltd. is a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings, Inc., M. Pallonji and Co. Pvt. Ltd. and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank and is one of the fastest growing life insurers in the country.<br/><br/>Punjab National Bank had invited expression of interest from many insurance companies for partnership in the life insurance sector in December last year. Forty-one companies responded, out of which ten were shortlisted. Out of these, three were finalized. These three were Aviva, Metlife and Bharti AXA.<br/><br/> Based on the financial bids, PNB accepted MetLife India’s offer. Officials at PNB had not revealed the financial details of the agreement. The deal is finalized once it is approved by regulatory bodies such as IRDA and the Reserve Bank of India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=201InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:10:04 GMT One year back, most of the hospitals had a different billing structure for patients having insurance cover; these patients were charged higher as compared to other patients who were paying from their own pockets.<br/><br/> This was a point of debate between insurers and hospitals. The insurance sector reacted to this dual billing system by bringing out its own standardized rate list and depaneled those hospitals that were not willing to abide by. Insuring industry also created its own panel of approved hospitals for cashless treatments by the name of preferred provider network (PPN).<br/><br/>Now, the patients are starting to benefit from the standardized rate list brought in by the industry for medical procedures. If hospitals overcharge, then insurers are getting these hospitals to give back the overcharged amount to patients. The claims are also coming down, and this has reduced the pressure on health insurance companies.<br/><br/> Now cashless is also back. Currently, 456 hospitals in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore are providing this facility. In near future, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Chandigarh and Hyderabad will also be added to the list of cities with cashless facility. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=200InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:14:44 GMT LIC International launched its latest product ‘Gold Plus’ on Tuesday in Oman. ‘Gold Plus’ is a unit linked insurance plan and is specifically customized for the benefit of non-resident Indians living in Oman.<br/><br/>LIC International is a subsidiary of Life Insurance Corporation of India and is headquartered in Muscat, the capital of Sultanate of Oman. The product was unveiled by His Excellency Anil Wadhwa, India’s Ambassador to the Sultanate.<br/><br/>Gold Plus offers insurance cum investment feature with a choice to alter it into a pension/annuity at the time of maturity. The policy-holder has the choice of selecting the insurance cover depending upon the amount of premium he wants to pay.<br/><br/>Gold Plus allows for the opportunity to the policy-holders to invest in Gold Spot and Gold Exchange-traded fund (ETF) and can fulfil financial needs such as children’s education, marriage, etc.<br/><br/>The policy can be bought by people aged up to 72 years. The customers can receive maturity benefits in one lump sum or in instalments over a period of five years as an annuity. The time period for the policy term is 5 to 35 years. The mode of payment is one time single premium, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=199InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:58:35 GMT India’s insurance watchdog IRDA is soon going to permit promoters of life insurance firms to sell their strategic interest after five years instead of the present period of ten years.<br/><br/>The modified rules and regulations are likely to be announced in the month of August. The new norms may change the rule of five year lock in period for those companies subscribing to initial public offerings of insurers.<br/><br/>The subject has been under IRDA consideration for quite some time now.<br/><br/>The decision to bring the ten year locking period was taken as Insurance is a long-gestation business, and demands strong loyalty from its promoters. The decision was taken to discourage those business concerns expecting to make fast windfall gains. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=198InsuringIndia News Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:11:18 GMT Indian Government flagship health insurance scheme “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana” will soon be broadened to cover 7 more unorganized worker sectors; rickshaw pullers, rag pickers, auto rickshaw and taxi drivers, miners, toddy workers and sanitation workers will soon be provided the benefits of this scheme and as the government is gradually expanding its range to include most of the workers pursuing informal vocations.<br/><br/>A Labour and Employment ministry official said, "Our aim is to gradually cover all workers in the unorganized sector."<br/><br/> Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was started in April 2008, after studying other successful health insurance models in the world having same settings.<br/><br/>RSBY is a project of Government of India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment. Its aim is to provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.<br/><br/>Under RSBY, Beneficiaries are permitted to hospitalization coverage up to Rs. 30000 for almost all diseases. There is no age limit and all pre-existing medical conditions are covered from day one. Up to five members of the family are covered, including the head of household, spouse and three dependents.<br/><br/>The registration fee is only Rs. 30, while State and Central Government pay the premium to the insuring company which is selected based on competitive bidding. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=197InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:27:57 GMT Till now in India, only allopathy was covered under health insurance policies while alternative medicine regimes such as homeopathy, ayurveda, unani and naturopathy treatments were left out. Even people having a comprehensive health insurance plan, had to pay from their own pocket if using these systems. <br/><br/>Now many insurance companies have started providing cover to such alternative forms of treatment, especially Ayurveda. Some insuring companies are only offering it under group policies, while others have started offering this facility to individuals.<br/><br/> New India Assurance, Allied Insurance and Star Health have brought ayurvedic treatments under individual policies. Future Generali Insurance offers it under the corporate group insurance scheme and ICICI Lombard covers it under government scheme.<br/><br/> Segar Sampath Kumar, DGM, New India Assurance said, “New India Assurance's extends cover to individuals undergoing treatment with the help of Ayurvedic, homeopathic and Unani systems of medicine. Such claims will be covered only to the extent of 25% of the sum insured. Furthermore, they need to have availed of the treatment at a government hospital to be eligible for the claim."<br/><br/>Chola Individual Health line Insurance policy provides coverage for Ayurveda during, prior and post hospitalization. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=196InsuringIndia News Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:39:50 GMT Now, driving safe in India will soon be rewarded. Being safe on the road and sticking by traffic rules now will not go unacknowledged in India. Before long, incentives for healthy driving habits will be rewarded in the shape of lower insurance premium.<br/><br/>Future Generali Insurance Company is preparing to launch this ‘pay as you drive’ motor insurance policy shortly. In this model, motor insurance premium is calculated on the motor owner’s driving conduct and mileage he clocks.<br/><br/>As bad drivers and those with a higher mileage are more at risk, the insurance premium paid by these drivers would be higher as compared to those paid by good drivers and infrequent users of vehicles. People going on long holidays would be exempted for the whole year; they would only have to pay for the number of days they really use the vehicle.<br/><br/>Future Generali is now formulating the pricing model and will soon apply to the IRDA for approval. The company is hoping to launch it within three months. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=195InsuringIndia News Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:17:32 GMT Future Generali India Insurance has launched two new services “Future Xpress” and “Future Xpress+” for speedy and smooth and motor claims settlements. The services were launched in Chennai city on Wednesday.<br/><br/>The main aim of both services is to offer clients a more customized service for smooth and rapid settlement of motor claims.<br/><br/>It is a general perception among customers that motor insurance claims process is burdensome, wearing and time taking task, so both these services will offer clients a smooth claims settlement process.<br/><br/>Future Xpress+ is for those customers who want to get their loss evaluated and claim settled on the spot with an additional option of getting their vehicle fixed at the workshop of their choice. <br/><br/>Future Xpress is for those customers who want to get their vehicle repaired on high priority and at lower costs.<br/><br/>To begin with, the request for survey of damaged vehicle and verification of documents is a complicate and rigorous process; furthermore, it was compulsory to have the motor vehicle surveyed before and after repairs. Both the insured party and insurer had very little control on the full procedure.<br/><br/> Future Xpress+ and Future Xpress will make this process easy through isolation of smaller claims that will be handled differently at multiple-touch points. This will save significant costs and time. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=194InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:22:50 GMT Almost a year has gone by since the Air India Mangalore crash took 158 lives. Controversy erupted between the relatives of crash victims and Air India over the basis of compensation claims.<br/><br/>The insurance companies had calculated the compensation the basis of 'the loss of livelihood’, whereas the victims' families wanted it on the basis of 'the loss of life’. The victims' families claim was that according to Montreal Convention, compensation should be calculated on the basis of 'the loss of life’. <br/><br/>The Montreal Convention lays down rules & regulations regarding compensation for the victims of air tragedies. The convention also defends passengers' rights to claim compensation without the call for prolonged judicial proceedings.<br/><br/>The flag carrier at first agreed to pay a compensation of Rs. 20 Lakh each to the victims' kin. However, the victims' kin didn’t agree and took the case to the Kerala High Court.<br/><br/>Now, the Kerala High Court has directed Air India is to pay Rs. 75 Lakh each to the families of 158 passengers killed in the Mangalore crash. The court has given Air India a month’s time to pay the compensation.<br/><br/>This compensation will be one of the highest ever paid by any airline in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=193InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:30:13 GMT Piramal Healthcare is in negotiations to buy Enam Financial's share in ING Life Insurance, according to informed sources. ING Life Insurance is a joint venture between ING Insurance International B.V. holding 26% shares, Exide Industries holding 50% and others 24%.<br/><br/>There is still no finality as the transactions are still on. This is the first step taken by Piramal Healthcare in the long term scheme of building up a financial services company. The company has sought the permission from the Reserve Bank of India to start a financial services company.<br/><br/>A year before, Piramal Healthcare, which has reserves more than 3 billion dollars, had announced its intent to invest in financial services.<br/><br/> ING Life is one of the earliest entrants in the insurance industry but has not been able to make a mark in the industry. ING Life Insurance was established in 2001.<br/><br/>ING Life India posted a net profit of Rs. seven crore in the fourth quarter of 2010-11. The company is aiming to break even by the year 2013. The insuring company functions through bancassurance. It has offices in 229 cities, and a force of over 35,000 agents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=192InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:39:22 GMT India's Leading Business Newspaper, The Economic Times is organizing ‘Insurance Summit 2011’ with an aim to bring together, on one platform, some of the best names of Indian Insurance Industry. The dignitaries will share their point of view on the opportunities and fundamental challenges facing the Indian insurance industry.<br/><br/>The Summit will be chaired by D.K. Mehrotra, MD of LIC of India. Mr. J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority will also address the summit.<br/><br/> There will be different interactive sessions in the summit focussing on various topics such as ‘Insuring India in the face of emerging opportunities and challenges’, ‘preparing the Insurance industry to sail through rough seas’, ‘Insurance Industry: Exploring new horizons’ and ‘Pensions to harness growth in the sector’.<br/><br/>Various strategies will be discussed to prompt growth of the Insurance industry in India. Presently, there is very less penetration of Insurance in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=191InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:21:09 GMT According to National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data, every year almost 65% of India's poor people get into debt and 1% fall into BPL because of expenditures on health. In India, health insurance presently covers only 15% of the total population.<br/><br/>Growing number of poor people in India are trapped into debt due to their medical expenses. India’s apex business organization, The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said that steps are needed to raise health insurance penetration. According to FICCI, India’s vision in healthcare should be to include at least 50% of population in health insurance scheme maximum by year 2020 and 80% by the year 2030.<br/><br/> In its crusade to help IRDA in the health insurance sector, FICCI has proposed extensive recommendations on matters such as standardization of critical illnesses definition and details, standard guidelines for treatment, standard billing procedures and standardization of list of non-medical expenses. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=190InsuringIndia News Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:38:32 GMT US health insurance company, Aetna International, making it move into the Indian market, has acquired Indian Health Organization Pvt. Ltd.<br/><br/> Aetna International is one of the largest and most prominent health insurance companies in the world, providing health cover to more than 400000 people all across the world.<br/><br/>The company offers a broad range of consumer-directed and traditional products, including medical, group life, disability plans, long-term care, pharmacy, dental and health care management services.<br/><br/> IHO will function as a separate business concern under Aetna International present leadership organization. Acquisition of IHO has given Aetna direct access to a client base of 80,000 members and a network of nearly 3,000 clinics, labs, dentists, and doctors.<br/><br/>IHO is presently operating across eighteen cities in India, and Aetna aims to keep back the present management and all employees of IHO. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=189InsuringIndia News Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:35:32 GMT Indian Railways, which transports 300 lakh passengers per day, is incurring high losses because of accidents as it has to pay compensation from its own coffer because it has no insurance cover.<br/><br/> The Indian Railways decided to stop buying insurance in year 2009 after realizing it would have to pay Rs. 78 crore as the premium, compared to Rs. 77 crore in the previous year. Since then, it has been paying compensation out of its own pocket.<br/><br/> But the irony is, these compensations are much more than the amount it would have paid for the insurance cover. By not taking the insurance cover, the railways had been saving approximately Rs. 40 crore per annum since last two years. However, it has paid about Rs. 150 crore in compensation for injury, death and loss of booked goods.<br/><br/>Train accidents of Guwahati-Puri Express in Assam and Kalka Mail in Uttar Pradesh have left 70 deaths, and 300 injured, costing the Railways approximately Rs. 10 crore, which will be paid out of its pocket.<br/><br/> The railways claimed that it stopped the policy cover not only to save money, but also because the insurance companies were making excessive delays in the claims process.<br/><br/> According to Indian Motor Vehicles Act, Insurance is must for automobiles. Even airline companies, which are incurring heavy losses, are forced to take insurance cover. If any airline does not purchase cover, its flights are not allowed to rake off. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=188InsuringIndia News Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:31:17 GMT SBI Life Insurance, a subsidiary of State Bank of India, is awaiting the government decision to float initial public offer (IPO). All insuring companies are waiting for the government decision on increasing foreign partners' stake holding from 26% to 49%.<br/><br/>The parent company, State Bank of India is also planning to raise Rs. 20000 crore by various means. SBI is India's biggest lending institute and is awaiting government's sanction for the projected rights issue of Rs. 20000 crore.<br/><br/> The issue of capital might be discoursed at a special board meeting on 6th August. The SBI chairman, Mr. Pratip Chaudhuri said SBI requires Rs. 47000 crore to endorse its business growth in the coming three years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=187InsuringIndia News Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:25:43 GMT The three blasts that shook Mumbai on 13th July are likely to force insuring companies to raise terror insurance premium. Insurance experts are of the opinion that the chances of terror attacks are going to increase over the years, and Wednesday's attacks may raise risk perception.<br/><br/> In India, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) is the body which manages the terror pool and terror loss claims are paid out of this pool.<br/><br/> MD and Chairman of GIC, Yogesh Lohiya said, "We were thinking of bringing down the premium, but after this, we may stick to existing rates."<br/><br/> The terror insurance premium rates in India are controlled by the terrorism insurance pool. Terror occurrences like those of Mumbai on Wednesday increases risk perception and may raise premium rates in reinsurance driven terrorism insurance.<br/><br/>The majority of Zaveri Bazaar shopkeepers took insurance cover after the blast in year 2003. After the Mumbai terror attack on 26th November 2008, claims worth Rs. 600 crore were paid from the pool. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=186InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:22:42 GMT India has now become the eleventh largest insurance market in the World, overtaking Spain. Indian insurance market has climbed up 10 places in the last ten years; yet Indian insurance companies on an individual basis, are yet to make their presence in the world insurance market due to their localized operations.<br/><br/>As per a report by Swiss Re on world insurance markets in 2010, the total global premium amount went up to $4339 billion in year 2010; an increase of 2.7%.<br/><br/> In ten years since the opening up of the Indian insurance sector to foreign investors, the Indian insurance industry has overtaken many developed countries. In the life insurance sector, India has overtaken ten major markets in the last ten years. These include - Spain, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Netherlands, Taiwan and South Africa.<br/><br/> However, the Indian insurance companies have yet to make it to the top 20 list as their operations are mainly limited to Indian market. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=185InsuringIndia News Wed, 13 Jul 2011 11:16:44 GMT The UP government has finalized LIC of India as the official partner for disbursing Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) annuity packages to farmers whose land has been acquired by the state for development projects.<br/><br/>A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between UP government and LIC to distribute the package for thirty-three years. This is the first time in India that annuity distribution has been sourced to a financial organization in the country.<br/><br/> UP government invited bids for disbursement of Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) annuity packages from various financial organizations in the country. Five financial institutions showed interest, including LIC, Bajaj Allianz Allahabad Bank, ICICI Prudential Life and SBI Life Insurance. Bidding process took six months, and LIC was selected as the partner.<br/><br/>Under the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) policy, landowners and farmers whose land has been acquired by the government will be given an annuity of Rs. 23,000/acre/year for 33 years, with an extra sum of Rs. 800 increased annuity per annum. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=184InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:59:17 GMT IRDA has fined SBI Life Insurance for releasing unauthorized payments up to several banks. SBI Life Insurance is among the India’s biggest private life insuring companies and a subsidiary of State Bank of India.<br/><br/> SBI Life has been ordered to pay Rs. 70 lakh by the insurance watchdog for making unlawful payments about Rs. 204 crore to several banks.<br/><br/>Pronouncing the punishment, IRDA said that insurance rules & regulations do not allow companies to make any payment to corporate agents except the commission sanctioned by the IRDA.<br/><br/> In spite of these specific rules, the insuring company paid money to eight corporate agents and six other master policy holders.<br/><br/>SBI Life had argued that these payments were paid for some services rendered by these entities. Nevertheless, this statement was not accepted by the regulator. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=183InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:26:50 GMT Transporters all over India is planning to go on a nationwide strike at the end of July to protest against the increase in third party insurance and rising prices of diesel, tyres, toll tax, etc.<br/><br/>All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has called for a meeting at Hubli in Karnataka on 18th July to announce a date for the agitation.<br/><br/> The meeting will be presided by the AIMTC and more than 500 union members from all over the country will attend the meeting. Decisions regarding future action will be taken at the meeting, and a joint memorandum will be drafted.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Bombay Goods Transport Association general secretary Sunil Kale said, “Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had hiked third party insurance premiums by 68%. It is yet another burden on transporters. Our association strongly opposes the IRDA's decision to increase third party cover without consulting the stake holders (transporters)." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=182InsuringIndia News Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:23:04 GMT Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has confirmed that it will come out with an IPO for its insurance business sector in approximately two years.<br/><br/>At the AGM of the company, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh said, "We are planning to come up with an IPO for insurance in two years." He further added that the new IRDA guidelines allowing life insuring companies to come out with an IPO minus three year profitability clause would be a big help but also added that HDFC would need to talk about it with its partner Standard Life. <br/><br/>He said Standard Life would have to increase its share from 26% to 49%, so that part of its increased stake can be extended to the investors.<br/><br/> IRDA is preparing to permit foreign investors to raise their stake to 49% from 26% in the insurance sector. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=181InsuringIndia News Sat, 09 Jul 2011 11:47:55 GMT HDFC Life, one of the India's top private life insurers, has been declared one of the best companies to work for in India in a study by ‘Great Place to Work®’. The insurance company took part in the Great Place to Work® study and stood first in the insurance class and was placed 40th in the list of Top 50 Best Companies to Work for in India 2011 list. This is the second time in a row that the company has won this honour.<br/><br/>“Great Place to Work® Institute is an innovator in analyzing and distinguishing best workplaces around the world for over twenty-five years in forty-six countries. This is the eighth study, the institute conducted in India. About 470 companies took part in the study. HDFC Life entered the study for the second consecutive time.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Executive Vice President (Human Resources and Administration) of HDFC Life, Mr. Rajendra Ghag said, “Best Companies to Work is a prestigious award and I'm very proud of what we have achieved. Becoming an employer of choice is one of our stated objectives & this recognition is an indication that we are headed in the right direction.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=180InsuringIndia News Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:25:51 GMT India's second largest public sector bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), is all set to enter the Canadian market. The bank will foray into Canada by launching a subsidiary with an approximated working capital of Rs. 100 crore.<br/><br/>Presently, PNB is also operating in Dubai, China and England. In Canada, initially, the bank will provide its services to Indians.<br/><br/>The bank has lately opened a representative office in Norway and is planning to open a similar office in Australia. PNB had also a presence in Kazakhstan. There, it is the majority partner in Kazakhstan-based Dana Bank.<br/><br/>In 2010, PNB received the green light to set up its office in Canada from the Reserve Bank of India. It expected all the formalities to complete by December 2010, but is still waiting for the Canadian central bank to grant permission to start their operations. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=179InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:20:47 GMT India’s private insurance companies had reduced their workforce by 27% in last fiscal year to attain profitability. As on March 31, 2011, the number of people hired by these companies was 60,215, as compared to 81,507 within the same period last year. They also shut down more than 900 branches and about 174 000 agents were forced out.<br/><br/>Within the same period of time, they showed marked improvement in productivity. Bajaj Allianz showed a profit of Rs. 1060 crore and another private insurer ICICI Prudential posted a net profit of Rs. 810 crore. These two companies axed 12,000 employees and closed down 650 branches.<br/><br/>The insuring companies are maintaining that they had to sacrifice their workforce to attain profitability and had no other alternative. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=178InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:56:58 GMT MetLife India Insurance Company has joined hands with the India Unite to End Polio Now (IUEPN) crusade, endorsed by UNICEF for polio eradication campaign. The campaign will employ SMSs and space on public transport buses for circulating Polio eradication awareness messages.<br/><br/>MetLife has joined as a communication partner in IUEPN programme. As part of the campaign, SMS will be sent to all MetLife’s clients to create awareness for polio eradication and also to notify them about the pulse polio due dates. <br/><br/>Specially brand marked public buses with polio eradication messages such as ‘Do boond har bar hai bachav sahi', ‘Polio ka koi ilaaj nahi’, , and 'Pehle Panch saal’, mere bachchon ko do boond har bar' are also launched. HOHO buses in Delhi are also being used for circulating awareness messages.<br/><br/>IUEPN is a programme carried out by Aidmatrix Foundation, supported by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) and UNICEF. Other partners are National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP), World Health Organisation, US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Rotary International. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=177InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:50:17 GMT The new draft guidelines issued by the IRDA for the initial public offering (IPO) by life insuring companies would keep promoters from getting out of their ventures or bringing in new partners within ten years of operations, according to Industry experts.<br/><br/>According to the new rules, life insurance companies’ promoters can dilute or withdraw their holdings after ten years of operations by issuing capital under the inter-corporate deposit regulations or divesting equity through inter-corporate deposit regulations and issuing capital or divesting through other means. <br/><br/>Under the proposed norms, the ten year operations clause may become compulsory for insurers aiming to raise capital through a public issue under inter-corporate deposit norms, or if a promoter intends to reduce stake. Experts assert this could hit promoters’ future plans to raise money.<br/><br/>There are two sections on transfer of shares in the Insurance Act, Section 6A and Section 6AA. First section calls for prior permission for transfer of stakes above 5% and second section addresses divestment or public issue by promoters after ten years to bring down their holding to 26%.<br/><br/>If the regulations come into force, it might limit any stake transfer during the first ten years of the company’s operations. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=176InsuringIndia News Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:43:34 GMT US has once again raised demand for further opening up of the Indian financial service sector to foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in the field of insurance. Presently, there is a cap of 26% on FDI in the insurance sector.<br/><br/>The US demand has come barely days after United States and India had set a schedule to expand economic tie-up, especially in the financial sector. The decision was taken in the second ministerial meeting of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership in Washington between Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and United States secretary of the treasury Timothy Geithner. <br/><br/>Assistant secretary in the US department of commerce, Michael C. Camunez said, “With rising income and growing middle class, India’s need for insurance cover is extremely high and if India liberalizes cap on financial services sector, it would be a win-win situation for both of us as US insurance industry is willing to invest here.” <br/><br/>As per Camunez, there are enormous possibilities for US companies to invest in the non-renewable and renewable energy sector in India as part of India’s projected 1.2 trillion dollars investment in infrastructure growth. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=175InsuringIndia News Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:37:16 GMT The health insurance industry is buzzing with the finalization of Health Insurance Portability becoming effective from 1st October, 2011. IRDA has set October 1st as the maximum date.<br/><br/>Previously, IRDA has set July 1st 2011 as the date of launching. But insurance companies wanted more time as they were not ready. The Insurers believed that there was lack of clarity on various issues related to portability.<br/><br/>Representative body of the general insurance companies in India-General Insurance Council (GIC) wrote to IRDA on behalf of the insurers seeking a delay until all related issues were clear.<br/><br/>On 8th of July, representatives of all twenty-two health insurance companies met in Mumbai to consider feasibility and issues related to health insurance portability. After that, GIC sent the draft copy of the agreement to IRDA.<br/><br/>IRDA, after looking at all the angles, decided in favour of the companies and postponed the date to October 1st. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=174InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:32:54 GMT The Central Government has made it mandatory for customers to submit their PAN card number while paying a life insurance premium of Rs. 50,000 or above from 1st July onwards.Coming into effect from July 1st, quoting PAN will be compulsory for any purchase of bullion or jewellery above Rs. Five lakh or insurance premium of Rs. 50,000 or above, according to the amendments in I.T rules.<br/><br/>Previously, purchase or sale of immovable property valued at Rs. Five lakh or above, purchase or sale of vehicles except two-wheelers, issuance of credit card and bank deposits above Rs50,000 required PAN.<br/><br/>This step is being taken by the finance ministry to tackle the issue of black money. High-value purchase of valuables, including jewellery and bullion is reported to be the favourite route for laundering of black money.<br/><br/>This has inspired the I.T department to make it mandatory for purchasers to quote their PAN numbers to buy gold worth Rs. Five lakh and above. It is anticipated that this step will curb black money transactions. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=173InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:38:08 GMT PSU New India Assurance has come at the top in a customer satisfaction survey of auto insurance companies done by the research firm JD Power. The second position is also held by another nationalized firm, Oriental Insurance and the third position is occupied by private insurer ICICI Lombard.<br/><br/>On a 1000 point scale, New India Assurance achieved a score of 804, Oriental Insurance scored 802 and ICICI Lombard stood at a score of 801. The survey reviewed 15 companies.The auto insurance customer satisfaction index chart ranked Anil Ambani’s Reliance General Insurance at 10th position with a score of 781.<br/><br/>The other insurance companies that found a place in the list are Tata AIG General at 4th, National Insurance at 5th, Royal Sundaram at 6th, United India at 7th, Bajaj Allianz General at 8th and HDFC Ergo at 9th.<br/><br/>All in all, overall satisfaction level score stood at 796, which is eight points lower than that of 2010. Furthermore, the interaction factor has come down in 2011, falling by twenty-eight points from year 2010.<br/><br/>The survey was answered by 5284 auto insurance clients, and it took into account six factors; claims, interaction, renewal and purchase process, product and policy offerings, premium and price for coverage offered and billing and payment process. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=172InsuringIndia News Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:58:16 GMT All Indian private general insurers except ICICI Lombard have abstained from providing insurance cover to India’s official carrier Air India. On May 20, Air India invited insurance bids for itself and its subsidiaries. In response only four PSUs – Oriental Insurance, New India Assurance, United India and National Insurance and only one private insurer ICICI Lombard applied.<br/><br/>Air India insurance policy is the nation’s biggest aviation policy, and it is due for renewal on October 1st. Last year, the bid was won by ICICI Lombard, and the airline paid a premium of approximately thirty million dollars.<br/><br/>The policy covers passenger liabilities, aircraft value and legal suites in case of natural calamities. Like before, PSU insurance companies have applied in a pool since the sums of money involved are high.<br/><br/>Private insurers such as Bajaj Allianz General, Reliance General, Iffco Tokio General and HDFC Ergo had bid last year in a group, but have abstained this year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=171InsuringIndia News Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:56:50 GMT Warren Buffett's India's visit to promote Berkshire Insurance saw a rush among customers to purchase motor insurance policies. The initiative was “Opportunity to meet the Oracle of Omaha”. <br/><br/>There was a rush to meet the legendry investor; many well-known personalities, including fund managers, brokers and CEOs lined up to hear the Buffett on the launching day. Berkshire Insurance sold about 300 motor insurance policies in March cashing on the meeting between Buffett and customers. Gradually, the excitement died down, and the company only managed to sell 10-20 policies in the succeeding months. <br/><br/>When contacted, Berkshire India CEO Arun Balakrishnan refused to divulge the sales number and further added "We are revamping our website. We are coming up with new version, and we will enter other segments." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=170InsuringIndia News Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:58:54 GMT Life insurance companies have seen a decline in the new business premium income in the first two months of the current financial year as rigorous regulations on sale of ULIPS continues to weigh down the industry. <br/><br/>Income from selling new policies went down by 12.3% in April-May as compared to the previous fiscal year period. This plunge in income from new business was seen after the change in rules for ULIP in September. <br/><br/>PSU Life Insurance Corporation of India posted a decline of 8% in new business premium income, while the private sector insuring companies saw 23.3% decline. <br/><br/>However, the industry experts are expecting the industry to return to normal growth in six months. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=169InsuringIndia News Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:17:09 GMT Justice B. Chandra Kumar of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the New India Insurance to pay Rs 3.46 lakh with interest to the parents of a young person who was killed in an accident by a truck. <br/><br/>The judge handed over this decree after hearing the plea of the parents of 19-year-old son Alok Kumar, who was killed by a truck in Hyderabad on August 15, 2003. Although the truck was insured, the insurer declined to compensate the parents of the deceased youth, arguing that the truck driver cum owner did not have a valid driving licence. <br/><br/>The insurance company argued that the lorry owner's policy was not valid since the latter did not have a valid driving licence at the time of the accident; so it was not bounded to compensate the victim’s family. <br/><br/>The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal also exonerated the insurance company of any liability in the case but directed the truck owner to pay an amount of Rs. 1.72 lakh to the parents with 7.5% interest. <br/><br/>Not agreeing, the parents then approached the High Court to increase the compensation. After going through the case, Justice B. Chandra Kumar ordered the insurance company to pay the compensation. <br/><br/> http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=168InsuringIndia News Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:16:15 GMT IRDA has decided to defer portability of health insurance until October 1st. Previously, Health Insurance portability was to be implemented from 1st July. <br/><br/>The decision was taken in view of general insurance companies not yet ready for the portability. The insurers believe that there is a lack of clarity on various issues related to portability. Representative body of the general insurance companies in India-General Insurance Council (GIC) wrote to the IRDA on behalf of the insurers seeking a delay until all related issues are clear.<br/><br/>In the early part of this month, representatives of all twenty-two health insurance companies met in Mumbai to consider feasibility and issues related to health insurance portability. The draft copy of the agreement was also sent to IRDA.<br/><br/>Some of the major issues companies are facing are pricing and the portability timings. According to them, guidelines issued by the IRDA for pricing are not clear. <br/><br/>The second issue is the timing of portability, whether it could be done at the time of renewal or anytime in the year and the timing to start the procedure of changing from one insuring company to another. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=167InsuringIndia News Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:12:33 GMT About 47.5 lakh registered domestic help workers will shortly be covered by Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) in the form of a smart card-based cashless health insurance scheme. RSBY is a flagship programme of the Union government.<br/><br/>The union cabinet sanctioned the extension of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) to all registered domestic helps in the country. The scheme will be implemented between years 2011-2015.<br/><br/>The health insurance scheme will provide smart cashless health insurance cover up to Rs. 30000 in any hospital on the panel in the country. The funds for the scheme will be apportioned from the National Social Security Fund for unorganized workers. The premium will be shared by the state governments and centre and in the ratio of 25:75.<br/><br/>Maximum of the domestic workers are females in the urban areas and are from weak communities. Almost all of them are illiterate, poor, unskilled and vulnerable, making private health care inaccessible to them. The health insurance scheme is anticipated to improve their health status. Social activists and physicians have welcomed the move. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=166InsuringIndia News Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:02:48 GMT Good news for senior citizens! Now, senior citizens up to eighty-five years of age will be allowed to purchase term insurance without any medical check-ups.<br/></br/><br/>Private insurer IDBI Federal Life Insurance has brought a whole-life policy in the market which allows senior citizens up to 85 years of age to purchase insurance cover. This is the first time in India, when a company has brought whole-life policy up to 85 years of age. All insurance companies, including LIC,allows maximum age up to 60 years.<br/><br/>IDBI Federal Life Insurance is a joint venture between IDBI Bank, Federal Bank and European insuring company Aegis.<br/><br/>The policy requires no medical check-ups. Nevertheless, the maximum sum insured is Rs. Five lakh and benefit limit is up to 125% of the sum insured in case of demise in the first two years.<br/><br/>IDBI Federal plans to sell the policy directly to customers. At first, the company will sell the policy only to the customers of Federal Bank and IDBI Bank, but in the time to come, the product will be marketed to everybody. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=165InsuringIndia News Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:16:59 GMT Manipal-based Syndicate Bank has shortlisted twelve insurance companies for JV partnership for its entry into the life insurance sector.<br/><br/>Both Indian Players as well as foreign insurers have shown a big interest . Among Indian insuring companies, HDFC Standard Life, Aviva Life, Max New York Life, Avantha Ergo, Metlife India Life and Birla Sun Life and have expressed interest in a joint venture with the Syndicate bank. Two Japanese insuring companies, Sumitomo Life Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance have also conveyed interest injoint venture with the bank.<br/><br/>Among the twelve insurance companies, Syndicate bank has also shortlisted Avantha Ergo, a JV between Germany's ERGO and Indian Avantha Group. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=164InsuringIndia News Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:04:39 GMT Mukesh Ambani’s entry into the insurance sector is very likely to face stiff competition from the established insurers, including his own brother Anil.<br/><br/>Last week, Reliance Industries declared its entry into the insurance sector by buying Bharti's 74% shares worth Rs. 1,665 crore in Bharti-AXA. This is RIL's first big step in the insurance business.<br/><br/>With this deal, both Ambani brothers will face each other in the battle field. Reliance Life, Anil Ambani's insurance company has about 10% market share among the life insurance companies.<br/><br/>It will be for the first time after their separation that Anil and Mukesh will compete with each other in the insurance field. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=163InsuringIndia News Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:19:29 GMT Max Bupa Health Insurance has declared a target of Rs. 70 crore in first premium collections for this financial year. The company has already crossed Rs. 40 crore within fourteen months of its start-up and has attained the milestone of having insured more than 70,000 lives.<br/><br/>Max Bupa inaugurated its latest branch office in Kerala. This is the company’s 10th branch in the country. Max Bupa has various products in the market such as “Heartbeat Health Insurance Plan”.<br/><br/>The company is a joint venture between Max India Limited having 74% shares and Bupa Group with 26% holdings.<br/><br/>Max Bupa Health Insurance holds presence in Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Jaipur and Surat. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=162InsuringIndia News Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:22:19 GMT Now, with Reliance entering into partnership, private non-life insuring company Bharti AXA General is set to fine-tune its future business plans. The company had intended to infuse Rs. 200 crore by the end of 2010 and grow its top-line business by 60% in financial year 2011-12.<br/><br/>Presently, Bharti owns 745% shares and remaining 26% by AXA of France in the joint venture. Last week, Reliance Industries bought Bharti’s stake in both the non-life and life insurance joint ventures.<br/><br/> During fiscal year 2010-11, the company collected Rs. 551 crore in premiums and incurred a loss of Rs. 170 crore. To cover the losses, the company has decided to strengthen its existing business practices and to amend underwriting practices in both health and motor portfolios. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=161InsuringIndia News Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:16:43 GMT Insurers are getting one more opportunity to bid for the central government’s health insurance project- ‘Central Government Employees and Pensioners Health Insurance Scheme’. The scheme is intended for central government employees eligible for medical treatment under the CGHS Scheme.<br/><br/>Last year, ICICI Lombard General Insurance won the bid to manage the health insurance project, but at the last moment, the bidding process was cancelled by the health ministry due some changes in the terms and conditions. Now, it will have to apply anew to qualify again.<br/><br/>Last year’s unsuccessful applicants such as New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance, United India Insurance, Cholamandalam, Star Health and Ms General Insurance are also allowed to try their luck again.<br/><br/>The CGHS scheme covers over 800,000 families, out of which 500,000 are employees and 300,000 are pensioners, via its web of hospitals and clinics in twenty-five cities and towns across India.<br/><br/>The primary contract would be for three years and the insurer administering the program would have the flexibility to seek a change in the premium every year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=160InsuringIndia News Sat, 18 Jun 2011 10:13:28 GMT According to a survey done by Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance in seventeen countries, 74% of Indians are financially prepared for retirement. Indians have come second best in Asia Pacific with 74% of them are monetarily prepared for their retirement.<br/><br/>However, 51% of survey takers in India are still not sure about their financial security in old age and are expecting to work to support themselves. Currently, India ranks highly in savings rates and does not possess immediate demographic challenges like most of other countries. But, in the long run, India will face the same pressure as other countries.<br/><br/>Presently, majority of Indian population is of working age and after their retirement, India will also face the problems of ageing, and non-working population. It was also noted that those individuals, who plan financially beforehand, enjoy several benefits over those who do not and have fewer worries in later life.<br/><br/>In India, 1,028 people participated in the survey, of which, 778 were men and 250 women. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=158InsuringIndia News Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:02:06 GMT Bank-backed life insurers are opposing the IRDA’s bancassurance working group proposals. According to the committee’s recommendations, each bank can have affiliation with two life insurers to promote life policies.<br/><br/>Bancassurance or the ‘Bank Insurance Model’ is a partnership between a bank and an insurance company whereby the insurance company uses the bank to market insurance products.<br/><br/>Presently, a bank can tie-up with only one general insuring company and one life insuring company for selling insurance products to its clients. IRDA bancassurance committee has advocated that banks can have one partner each in life insurance, health insurance and non-life insurance (excluding health).<br/><br/>Out of 80,000 bank branches in India, only 10,000 branches are used to sell insurance policies.<br/><br/>Bank-promoted life insuring companies such as ICICI Prudential Life, SBI Life and Star Union Dai-ichi Life are wary about LIC tying up with their parent banks. Then again, LIC, which has affiliations with twelve banks for selling insurance products, is worried that such a motion might affect its near-monopoly in the bancassurance channel.<br/><br/>Insuring companies are preparing to take up this issue with IRDA through the Life Insurance Council. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=157InsuringIndia News Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:44:20 GMT Private life insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance has appointment Sandeep Ghosh as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will take over from the interim CEO, Chalisgaonkar, who has now gone back to the parent company AXA group to hold the position of Country Advisor (India).<br/><br/>Sandeep Ghosh has over twenty years of experience in the financial services sector, both in India and overseas. Before joining Bharti AXA, he was working for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) as Managing Director, Commercial Banking Head for Asia Pacific in Hong Kong.<br/><br/>Sandeep Ghosh has done his Masters in Business Administration from IIM, Ahmadabad and Bachelors in Accountancy and Financial Management from Sydenham College, Mumbai University.<br/><br/>AXA's CEO, (South East Asia region), Kevin Wright said in a statement, "We are delighted to have Ghosh on board. We are committed to building a strong franchise in India and I look forward to him to lead the Bharti AXA Life team to newer heights through his leadership, rich experience and market knowledge." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=156InsuringIndia News Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:58:10 GMT General insurance companies are yet to sort out the issues related to health insurance portability and they want IRDA to postpone the launch of portability. IRDA has set July 1st 2011 as the date of launching.<br/><br/>With this initiative, health insurance policy holders will be able to switch insurance company, without losing any of their benefits from their old policy.<br/><br/>Health insurance companies believe there is still lack of clarity on various issues related to portability. Representative body of the general insurance companies in India-General Insurance Council (GIC) is in the process of writing to the IRDA on behalf of the insurers seeking a delay until all related issues are clear.<br/><br/>On 8th of this month, representatives of all twenty-two health insurance companies met in Mumbai to consider feasibility and issues related to health insurance portability. GIC will send the draft copy of the agreement to IRDA this week.<br/><br/>Some of the major issues companies are facing are pricing and the portability timings. According to them, guidelines issued by the IRDA for pricing are not clear. <br/><br/>The second issue is the timing of portability, whether it could be done at the time of renewal or anytime in the year and the timing to start the procedure of changing from one insuring company to another. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=155InsuringIndia News Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:29:08 GMT The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is considering the choice of ‘self insurance’ for compensating victims in case of nuclear accidents. The corporation is weighing this option as negotiations with General Insurance Corporation for setting a nuclear insurance pool are in limbo over nuclear plant inspection issues.<br/><br/> Self insurance is a risk management method in which a calculated amount of money is reserved for future losses instead of purchasing insurance. However, insurance experts are questioning NPCIL’s ability to manage the fund. <br/><br/>Finance director of NPCIL, J. K. Ghai said, “We have the option of self insurance with us under the Nuclear Act and since the liability of Rs 1,500 crore is not enough we can meet it with a cess pool which can grow to the required limit in 8-10 years. In case of an emergency anytime we have a strong balance sheet to meet the contingency requirement.” <br/><br/>According to Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 has fixed the Liability limit at Rs. 1,500 crore per operator per event. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=154InsuringIndia News Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:30:33 GMT The insurance regulator IRDA has penalized New India Assurance Company, National Insurance Company, IFFCO Tokio, ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Royal Sundaram Alliance for allotting corporate agency licences to six of the Maruti Suzuki subsidiaries. Each of these six general insurers has been fined a sum of Rs. five lakh for breaking IRDA rules.<br/><br/>Maruti Suzuki India has six insurance subsidiaries; Maruti Insurance Distribution Services Ltd., Maruti Insurance Business Agency Ltd., Maruti Insurance Agency Solutions Ltd., Maruti Agency Network Ltd, Maruti Insurance Agency Logistics Ltd. and Maruti Insurance Agency Services Ltd. In each of these subsidiaries, Maruti Suzuki holds 99.99% shares and has obtained corporate agency licences to sell policies of these six general insurance companies. <br/><br/>According to IRDA norms, only one licence can be allotted to one company provided that the company does not have any other insurance function, including agency and product manufacturing. <br/><br/>IRDA observed that these insuring companies allotted licences to Maruti subsidiaries, violating the IRDA Regulations (licensing of corporate agents), 2002. Now, the insuring companies are likely to terminate their agency licence to Maruti subsidiaries. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=153InsuringIndia News Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:28:32 GMT Reliance Industries Limited, Bharti Enterprises and AXA on Friday reached an understanding in which Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and its associate Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited (RIIL) acquired Bharti’s 74% share of in Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd. and Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co. Ltd.<br/><br/> According to industry experts, estimated value of the deal is around Rs 3,000 crore. <br/><br/>With this move, RIL and RIIL would in effect own 57% stake in Bharti AXA Life and 17% in Bharti AXA General. AXA would continue to hold its existing 26% shares in the joint venture and would be the active partner in day to day operations. The business deal is subject to the approvals from IRDA and other pertinent approvals. <br/><br/>Reliance said the proposed contract contemplates an option by which AXA would acquire from RIL and RIIL up to 24 per cent shareholding in both the insurance companies in accordance with the applicable regulations as and when the FDI regulations permit such a holding by AXA. <br/><br/>“Upon exercise of such an option, RIL will effectively own 45 per cent, RIIL will effectively own 5 per cent and AXA the balance 50 per cent in both the insurance companies,” the Reliance statement said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=152InsuringIndia News Sat, 11 Jun 2011 12:50:31 GMT Max New York Life Insurance, one of the India’s top private life insurance companies, has come out with a new ULIP product by the name of ‘Fast Track Plan’.<br/><br/>‘Fast Track Plan’ is a flexible plan which can be customized according to the personal needs of customers and thus can help them in planning their savings in a more effective manner to accomplish their goals of getting better savings.<br/><br/>This ULIP product provides build up through the choice of a shorter policy period and a faster secure growth through fund options. Its unique feature is the broad array of protection multiple starting from 1.25 times to 20 times of the annual premium depending upon the age and payment term. <br/><br/>It is available for age group of up to sixty years with coverage up to seventy years. The product covers a broad customer base with a range of payment terms, and sum assured limits. The customers are allowed free switching up to twelve times a year. Its partial withdrawal feature permits the customers to withdraw the fund value after five years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=151InsuringIndia News Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:19:39 GMT The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has announced the regulatory norms for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) for general insurance companies. These rules will immediately come into effect. <br/><br/>The new set of regulatory guidelines is valid only for private companies thus leaving out PSUs Oriental Insurance, New India Assurance, National Insurance Company and United Insurance. <br/><br/>Insurers seeking mergers now require approval from the tribunal or relevant high court before taking the final permission from the IRDA. Besides these, insuring companies would also have to take commendation of the Reserve Bank of India. If the venture partner is an overseas company, approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's would also be needed. <br/><br/>IRDA said in a statement that these guidelines are issued to ensure the streamlining of products, protection of policyholders, projected revenue of the merged entity, rationalization of the branch network and taxation issues. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=150InsuringIndia News Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:37:36 GMT ULIPs (Unit-Linked Insurance Plans), once number one choice in life insurance products, are slowly losing ground in favour of traditional insurance plans.<br/><br/>The sale of ULIPs has gone down considerably in the last six months both among public sector’s LIC of India and private sector life insuring companies. <br/><br/> In the private life insurance segment, the share of ULIPs had dropped from 85% before September last year to 65% now and customers are reverting back to traditional life insurance plans. The reason being, the new rules & regulations established by IRDA regarding ULIPs are not augmenting well with insurers as well as customers.<br/><br/>Since the introduction of new IRDA norms in September 2010, over 270 ULIP products had been recalled by the Insurance companies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=149InsuringIndia News Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:05:42 GMT The association of nursing homes under the banner of the Association of Medical Consultants are in clash with public sector health insurance companies over cashless mediclaim. The association has stopped entertaining insurance claims until insurers agree to their demands.<br/><br/>The main reason behind this tug of war with public sector insurance firms is that small hospitals are finding the rates offered by insurers too small. The problem is only with public sector insurers as the private health insurers are offering good packages to their customers. <br/><br/>Many leading hospital chains have reached an agreement with PSU insurance firms to reinstate cashless mediclaim facilities to patients but small hospitals and nursing homes are still in limbo. This conflict has resulted in small hospitals offering heavy discounts to patients who are not availing of cashless mediclaim facilities. <br/><br/>The four Public Sector insurance companies are Oriental Insurance, New India Assurance, National Insurance Company and United India Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=148InsuringIndia News Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:53:11 GMT HDFC Life grabbed the Top 100 CISO Awards for year 2011 in the event held in Mumbai. This award was presented to HDFC Life for showing noteworthy execution of information security and technology practices. In the function, HDFC Life's Sharad Sadadekar was acknowledged for accomplishing one of the best Information Security practices among Indian companies. Sharad Sadadekar is the Chief Information Security Officer of HDFC Life.<br/><br/>The 'Top 100 CISO Awards’ is an endeavour by InfoSecurity magazine and iViZ Security to acknowledge the contributions of Information Security professionals make in influencing and securing the business integrity. InfoSecurity is India's only published magazine exclusively focussing on Information technology Security and iViZ Security is the world's first company to set up ‘cloud based on demand penetration testing’ for networks and applications. <br/><br/>The awardees are selected by a board of six jury members consisting of IT security specialists from among industry and academia having extensive experience and knowledge. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=147InsuringIndia News Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:36:48 GMT Indian expatriates residing in Oman can now get back their medical expenses incurred in Oman as well as in India as New India Assurance has launched a new portable health cover plan for Indians residing in the Oman Sultanate.<br/><br/>According to this policy, a policy holder in Oman, on return to India, can get enrolled in the medical policy of the NIA without any conditions attached. Until now, a health policy holder in Oman on his return to India was not permitted to join the health insurance scheme of the company in India without losing benefits under the health policy issued in Oman. This was proving to be a big inconvenience to a large number of Indians residing in Oman. <br/><br/>New India Assurance is operating in the Sultanate since 1974. Currently, the insurer was selling two insurance plans, namely ‘Group health policy’ and ‘Family health policy’. Both the policies are huge success in the Omani insurance market. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=146InsuringIndia News Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:32:45 GMT India’s insurance watchdog IRDA announced on Friday that final IPO guidelines for life insurance companies to raise capital from the market will be finalized by the end of June.<br/><br/>The SEBI in October 2010 had given its permission to life insurance companies to come out with initial public offerings (IPOs). <br/><br/> IRDA Chairman, J. Hari Narayan said, “The exposure draft has been released. We are awaiting comments of various stakeholders, including the public. I expect the comments to be available in another week's time.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=145InsuringIndia News Sat, 04 Jun 2011 15:29:58 GMT India’s leading private life insurance company HDFC Life has launched a new traditional plan by the name of ‘Sampoorn Samridhi’; a product offering benefit of both Whole Life Plan and Endowment Plan.<br/><br/>The best thing about Sampoorn Samridhi is that a customer can opt for enhanced cash option or enhanced cover option. In enhanced cash option, the customer gets enhanced maturity amount at the end of the policy term. If he wants to opt for the enhanced cover option, he will get Sum Assured on death up to the age of 99 years in addition to the maturity amount at the end of the policy term.<br/><br/>This insurance product has been designed keeping in mind the needs of customers. Sampoorn Samridhi is a low-priced and flexible life insurance product for all segments of customers giving them prospect of generating a corpus for his family via enhanced cover option. <br/><br/> The mode of payment is yearly, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly. The customers also have the options of deciding the term of the policy. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=144InsuringIndia News Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:26:53 GMT Medical Tourism is a growing concept in health care whereby people from all over the world visit India for their medical needs such as knee transplant, heart surgery, dialysis, dental and cosmetic surgery.<br/><br/>The reason behind this is that India’s medical technology and infrastructure are at par with those in Europe and America and soaring medical cost in countries like U.S. Each year thousands of people are coming to India from overseas for the medical check-up and surgical procedures related to heart, liver, bone and others diseases. The cost of surgery in India is lower by over 30% and treatment cost is almost 50% lower than that of western countries. <br/><br/>Medical tourism in quickly emerging as a big business opportunity for India with its high quality healthcare, low cost benefits and a vast English speaking populace. The medical tourism market in India is being estimated to be around Rs. 11000 crore in a couple of years. <br/><br/> United States Insurance companies are now looking favourably to the concept of medical tourism, and many medical insurers are giving their customers the option of getting medical treatment done in India. Even after adding together the costs of transportation and accommodation, costs of medical treatments and surgical procedures in India are far cheaper than western countries. In this way, insurers save big money and can also offer discounts to their customers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=143InsuringIndia News Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:26:53 GMT LIC of India, the undisputed leader in life insurance industry is all set make its foray into the health insurance field with the launch of its new policy “Jeevan Arogya” today.<br/><br/>Jeevan Arogya is a non-linked health insurance plan. According to the LIC press release, this policy will offer comprehensive hospitalization benefits for the whole family of the insured person. One special feature of this plan is that it will also offer cover to the parents-in-law of the insured person besides parents, spouse and minor children. <br/><br/>The minimum age to take this policy is eighteen years and the maximum age for self and spouse is sixty-five years and for parents and parents in law, it is seventy-five years. For children, the age limit is from ninety-one days to seventeen years. <br/><br/>This policy has the provision to cover the expenditures of one hundred forty various surgical procedures and one hundred forty different disease treatments. It covers hospital expenses of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 4000 per day, if the patient is hospitalized for more than one week. The ICU charges are double of normal. In case of surgery (57 specified major surgeries), there is also provision to receive one-half of the cost in advance. <br/><br/>In the first year, only thirty days hospital expenses will be covered and after that ninety days will be covered. The insured person can collect his reimbursement amount from LIC office by producing the bills and appropriate documents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=142InsuringIndia News Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:51:00 GMT LIC International, a subsidiary of Life Insurance Corporation of India, has brought a unit linked insurance plan ‘Gold Plus’ in the market.<br/><br/>In Gold Plus, customers can invest in gold spot and gold exchange traded fund and can get the benefits of the increase in gold prices in future. <br/><br/>The policy is available for age group of zero to seventy-two years and the term is from five to thirty-five years. The mode of payment is yearly, half-yearly or quarterly and also has an option of single premium. The minimum premium is $1000 for single mode and annual premium mode. The maximum premium is $10 million for single premium, and $1 million per annum for regular premium. <br/><br/>In case of the demise of the insured, the sum assured with fund value is paid to the nominee. In accidental death, additional sum assured is also payable if accidental rider is availed. Partial withdrawal facility is available. The policy can be liquidated after one year from the date of start. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=141InsuringIndia News Tue, 31 May 2011 12:40:40 GMT India’s life insurance industry is desperately seeking to find a proper marketing formula to boost its profitability. Almost a decade has gone by since this sector was privatized, yet for most of the life insuring companies, profits are still a distant dream. Most of the insurers have yet to achieve the break-even point.<br/><br/> As per an IRDA report, India has about 32.5 crore insurance policies, one of the highest in the world. However, the total losses of the top ten private insurers in the past ten years are above Rs. 16,000 crore. Right now the biggest issue in front of the industry is to find a proper distribution channel to convert its low productivity into profit.<br/><br/>Most of the insurance companies are struggling to increase productivity beyond Rs. one lakh of premium collected per month per sales manager. However, according to experts, to break-even, the industry needs Rs. two to three lakh per sales manager per month. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=140InsuringIndia News Mon, 30 May 2011 11:27:40 GMT Dinesh Kumar Mehrotra, one of the LIC's MD was chosen to act as interim chairman of the India’s biggest insurer, Life Insurance Corporation on Thursday. He will be holding this position for a time period of three months or until further notice, which so ever is earlier.<br/><br/>The uncertainty began when in an unexpected move, the finance ministry removed the chairman of LIC, T. S. Vijayan whose five-year tenure as LIC chairman finished early this month. The committee to select a chairman had suggested a two-year extension for T.S. Vijayan. However, the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC) refused to clear his name as he along with a few other managing directors was indicted in a case. <br/><br/>In the meantime, Rakesh Singh, chairman of NABARD and also holding the post of the additional secretary in the department of financial services) was appointed as chairman until a new person was found. <br/><br/>D. K. Mehrotra started his office from 27th May. Mehrotra joined the company in year 1977. He held the position of the executive director (international operations) and was appointed MD in July 2005. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=139InsuringIndia News Sun, 29 May 2011 11:26:02 GMT India’s public sector insurer, Life Insurance Corporation is once again applying for a licence from the Singapore government to open its subsidiary in Singapore. In year 2009, Singapore government had turned down the LIC’s application as the LIC did not have an international credit rating.<br/><br/>Now, the insurer has obtained a rating from the Global ratings agency Moody's Investors Service. Moody’s has allotted A3 for short-term and BBB for long-term. A3 rating judges obligations as ‘upper-medium grade’ subject to ‘low credit risk’. BBB rating judge obligations as speculative and subject to high credit risk. <br/><br/>Moody’s upgraded India’s sovereign local currency from Ba2 to Ba1 in July, 2010, recognizing India's pledge to fiscal and economic reforms. This rating judges a country's political and financial mood, and indicates its capability to repay loans. This up-gradation has improved the trust of investors in the country's economic system. <br/><br/>Presently, LIC has a representative office in Singapore, but with the Moody’s rating in place, the company is ready to apply for a licence to set up the subsidiary. The benefit LIC has over other insurers is that the Indian government guarantees every policy issued by it. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=138InsuringIndia News Sat, 28 May 2011 13:57:23 GMT Zero depreciation policies are the latest fab in motor insurance and are slowly turning out to be a hit within top and mid segment cars. These policies are also known as zero percent depreciation covers. As opposed to comprehensive cover, this cover offers full settlement without any write-off for depreciation. Normal motor car policies pay only 50 percent of Plastic/Rubber parts and 5 to 50 percent deduction on metallic parts in accident claim. The only downside to these policies is that they cost a bit more than the normal policies.<br/><br/>IRDA allowed these policies to make their entry into the Indian market about two years ago. The reason behind the success of these policies is that in standard motor policies the customer has to pay a big amount for fixing fibre and plastic parts and in the case of old cars, a hefty portion of the repairing cost has to be borne by the customer since his vehicle’s old parts are replaced by new parts.<br/><br/>The zero depreciation policy compensates the claim fully for a premium amount which is around 20 percent higher than the normal cover. Despite the benefits and raising sales of zero depreciation policies, majority of the car owners are not aware of this policy. <br/><br/> Many customers after coughing up big amounts towards repairs of their car were upset when they came to know about this policy. All were of view that they should have been told about it and were willing to purchase it in spite of it being costly. <br/><br/>Tata AIG was the first insurance company to get the go ahead from IRDA to provide this insurance plan with Zero Depreciation to its customers. Presently, many insurance companies in India are offering this policy to their customers and others are in the process of offering it in the very near future. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=137InsuringIndia News Fri, 27 May 2011 11:54:25 GMT The last decade saw a boom in the life insurance industry with its total assets over Rs. Fourteen lakh crore, a growth of 700%. This financial year, the industry is expecting a growth of 15% as it equilibrates the challenges of profitability and growth.<br/><br>Recently, Life Insurance Council organized a conference of industry CEOs in Hyderabad, where the industry bigwigs concurred that growth would be about 15%. The Council is now in the process of drafting a white paper highlighting how the life insurance industry will develop in the next decade.<br/><br/>MD of SBI Life, M. N. Rao said, “The new business premium of the life insurance industry should grow by 10-15% during the current fiscal. But the big challenge for insurers would be to ensure that all their earlier policies are renewed. It is an acknowledged fact that renewal premium will be the main driver of profit." <br/><br/>During last financial year, the life insurance industry raised its premium collection from new policies to Rs. 1.25 lakh crore from Rs. 1.09 lakh crore. In this the major share was of LIC. Private life insurers collectively registered a negative growth. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=136InsuringIndia News Thu, 26 May 2011 12:24:01 GMT Punjab National Bank (PNB) is in the final stages of purchasing almost 33% stake in MetLife India Insurance Company Ltd. The move will enhance nationalized bank’s fee income and allow the private insurer to avail the facilities of second largest financial distribution network in India.<br/><br/>PNB is rated as the second largest bank in the country after State Bank of India in terms of number of branches. MetLife India Insurance Comp. Ltd. is a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings, Inc., M. Pallonji and Co. Pvt. Ltd. and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank and is one of the fastest growing life insurers in the country. <br/><br/>An insider intimate with the negotiations said, "PNB is in talks to pick up to 33% stake in MetLife, the deal may be finalised in the next few days." But there is an uncertainty about the deal as the negotiations involve many parties such as Jammu & Kashmir Bank and Shapoorji Pallonji & Company. There is no certainty that the transaction will take place. MetLife MD Rajesh Relan said, "We are one of the three short-listed companies by PNB as per their process and the discussions with the management are yet to begin." <br/><br/>Also, nobody from PNB was willing to comment on the deal either. "It would be premature to say we have zeroed in on MetLife. The bank will take a final decision based on the financial valuation report," said PNB executive director M. V. Tanksale. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=135InsuringIndia News Wed, 25 May 2011 12:41:47 GMT For an insured person, settlement of insurance claim is his biggest concern when he needs it. An individual purchases life insurance so that his family members and loved ones are financially secured just in case something unfortunate happens to him. However, if the claim gets refused, the financial security of his loved ones is threatened. All insurers have different statistics of claims settlement which can be explained by Claim repudiation ratio.<br/><br/>Claim repudiation ratio can be defined as the number of claims rejected (calculated in percentage) by the insuring company. A claim repudiation of 30% would mean that out of every 100 claims, 30 claims have been rejected by the company. <br/><br/> As per the data from industry sources, LIC of India still remains at the top in settling insurance claims. During financial year 2010-11, LIC settled 99.6% of the total claims and 95% death claims were adjudicated inside fifteen days of intimation. Adding together, the PSU insurer settled roughly 18 million claims totalling to Rs. 53,000 crore, including maturity, survival benefits and death claims. Out of this, 721,000 death claims were settled for Rs. 6,000 crore. <br/><br/>Among the private insuring companies, HDFC Life settled around 96 % of the total death claims, while ICICI Prudential settled about 94% of total claims. Among the new private players, the ratio is on the higher side. For example, repudiation ratio for IDBI Federal Life, which started its operations in 2007, was 21% and for India First Life, which started out in 2009, the ratio is 9.4%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=134InsuringIndia News Tue, 24 May 2011 12:41:28 GMT IRDA is set to surrender its financial autonomy to government in the very near future. The funds of both the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) are to be maintained in the Public Account.<br/><br/>According to the sources, both the regulators are in the final stages of forfeiting their financial autonomy. The regulators have funds of nearly Rs. 2,000 crore between them. The government wants to merge the funds with its own accounts and is of the view that the IRDA and SEBI should get whatever financing they need from it. <br/><br/>Previously, the regulators have taken the stand that the loss of financial liberty would affect their working significantly. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=133InsuringIndia News Mon, 23 May 2011 11:55:52 GMT Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India is facing an acute shortfall of skilled actuaries. Member actuary, S. Kannan is going to retire this month and with no applicant in sight for the position, the industry experts fear that various crucial regulatory functions may suffer.<br/><br/>Actuaries are statisticians or somebody knowledgeable in the collection and interpretation of numerical data, particularly an individual who uses statistics to calculate insurance premiums. Actuaries’ services are needed in determining prices of products, valuation of businesses and presumption of future profits. <br/><br/>Some weeks ago, IRDA had advertised for the placement of the member actuary, but it has yet to receive a response. The position of the member actuary is equivalent to the rank of the additional secretary and is regarded as the second-most powerful position in the office of IRDA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=132InsuringIndia News Sun, 22 May 2011 11:51:40 GMT Recently, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) introduced a software by the name of “E-FEAP” to increase its efficiency and make its offices paperless. E-FEAP, developed by Wipro, was first introduced by LIC in Mumbai. A trial run of the software by LIC in its Bangalore branches showed many glitches, but the LIC authorities installed the software in all LIC offices without correcting the errors.<br/><br/>On Friday, there was bedlam in Indiranagar and St Mark’s Road branches as customers were left stranded, due to a glitch in the software. An LIC officer stated, “The whole idea of the new software was to go paperless. But thanks to E-FEAP, paper work has increased and customers are inconvenienced.”<br/><br/>One senior LIC officer formulates a potential worst-case backdrop that the software bug may breed: “Suppose a policy holder comes to pay his premium on the last date of the grace period – 30 days is given as a grace period after the due date to pay premium – and is sent back without accepting the payment due to slow network. If the policy holder dies the next day, his premium payment would not be up-to-date in LIC’s books. Thus, the policy holder’s family will not get 100 per cent of the insurance claims. If the policy is less than three years, no claims are given.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=131InsuringIndia News Sat, 21 May 2011 11:46:13 GMT Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is planning to aggressively spread its presence in southern India by opening more back-end offices for customer support. SUD Life is preparing to open around dozen area offices in the coming nine months. Presently, it is operating four regional offices in south at Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi and 1,150 branches of the partner banks. The company is planning to establish a total of sixty area offices throughout the country in two phases.<br/><br/>Recently, Star Union Dai-ichi Life (SUD Life) launched two new insurance plans, one in the traditional category named 'Growth Endowment Plan' and another in ULIP segment, by the name of “Dhan Suraksha Express”.<br/><br/>SUD Life has become the first life insurer in India to collect about Rs. 1329 crore in new business premiums in its first twenty-six months of operations. During the fiscal year 2010-11, the company has procured about Rs. 758.00 crore new business premium, a growth of 46 percent over the last fiscal year. The life insurer has covered 353,994 lives under group schemes and sold 97,730 individual policies. <br/><br/>Star Union Dai-ichi Life is a joint venture between Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company of Japan and leading Indian public sector banks, Union Bank of India and Bank of India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=130InsuringIndia News Fri, 20 May 2011 11:25:51 GMT Jadavpur University, rated one of the top five universities in India, has collaborated with International College of Financial Planning (ICoFP), one of India’s foremost institution for careers in financial services, to start financial courses. <br/><br/>Students from the eastern part of India can now take courses in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector and launch their career in the financial sector. The Centre for Rural and Cryogenic Technologies, through its partnership with ICoFP would provide job oriented courses to students under the supervision and direction of Jadavpur University. The course will be called “Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (PGDFP)”, which will be collectively certified by Jadavpur University as well as ICoFP.<br/><br/>The duration of course PGDFP is full time one year. The course programme includes specialized subjects like Insurance Planning, Financial Planning, Tax Planning, Risk Analysis, Securities Research, Mutual Funds, Equity Derivatives Commodities Derivatives, etc. and extra subjects like Micro insurance, Microfinance, Social Entrepreneurship, Rural Banking, etc. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=129InsuringIndia News Thu, 19 May 2011 11:15:02 GMT Private insuring company IDBI Federal Life has launched a new single premium ULIP product by the name of “Retiresurance Milestone Pension Plan”. The product is launched keeping in view the vast potential of post retirement needs of the today’s generation and to insure against potential future shocks. This unit linked pension plan helps wealth building by giving an option of guaranteed investment options for an insured life after retirement.<br/><br/>The product has two investment alternatives, first is Guaranteed Return Funds - Pension, which targets a minimum assured maturity value per unit and invests in fixed income instruments and second is Guaranteed Growth Funds - Pension, targeting to give the minimum Guaranteed Maturity Value per unit via investments in debt instruments and also increase returns by investing a small portion in equity. <br/><br/>M.D & C.E.O of IDBI Federal Life Insurance, G. V. Nageswara Rao, said, “India’s population is predominantly young. With the increase in life expectancy, many Indians could be spending a good 20 to 25 years of their life in retirement. While the talented younger generation works hard to meet the increasing cost of living, we at IDBI Federal visualise this generation’s dire need for building wealth to support their standard of living post-retirement as well. This also assumes significance in view of the fact that many of the Gen-Next jobs are contractual by nature and the youth does not enjoy the benefits of traditional options like a Provident Fund.” <br/><br/> IDBI Federal started its business in March 2008, and today it is one of the fastest growing insurance companies in India. It has issued about 2,92,000 policies and a Sum Assured of Rs. 163.84 billion. It has launched various innovative plans like Homesurance, Wealthsurance, Microsurance, Bondsurance, Incomesurance, Termsurance, Healthsurance and the latest Retiresurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=128InsuringIndia News Wed, 18 May 2011 11:33:12 GMT Rajnikanth has always been a sure bet for insuring companies. The legend has yet to give a flop, thanks to his millions of diehard fans. There has been never a problem for his movies to get insured, but this time, the superstar is having troubles for getting his latest movie “Rana” insured.<br/><br/>All the insurance companies were keen on providing insurance for Rajinikanth's latest flick “Rana” after the super-duper box office triumph of Enthiran (Robot). However, now following reports about megastar’s star's health problems and his numerous hospital visits, the insurers are having second thoughts. <br/><br/>As per a report by a Hyderabad based financial newspaper, United India Insurance and New India Assurance, which insured Enthiran, are not willing to cover Rana. <br/><br/>A New India Assurance official was quoted as saying, "Considering that the actor has been going in and out of hospital and with so many rumours floating about his ill health, it is a very risky proposition to provide insurance cover for the film. We will not consider it.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=127InsuringIndia News Tue, 17 May 2011 10:56:00 GMT Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the government’s health insurance scheme for people below poverty line (BPL), is in problem as many state governments has yet to pay their dues to insurance companies. According to insurers, about Rs. 250 crore premium is pending with state governments. <br/><br/>The scheme was formally inaugurated on October 1, 2007 and became functional on April 1, 2008. Hitherto, the RSBY is running in twenty-five states more than 9 crore people have been insured. This scheme allows for Rs. 30000 hospitalization charges for a family of five. <br/><br/>Insuring companies and their TPAs have complained to the central government about payment delays. Anil Swar¬up, joint secretary in labour and employment ministry, said, “Delay in payments to insurers is a problem. It happens as the payment has to be made in advance and also since RSBY has expanded very fast. The bu¬dgetary requirements have increased and processes take time. However, in so¬me cases, 100 per cent premium has been received by insurance companies yet the claims are not settled to hospitals.” <br/><br/>“The central government has just recently cleared all pending bills of insurance companies. It is now only the dues from the state governments that are pending,” added Swarup. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=126InsuringIndia News Mon, 16 May 2011 11:19:59 GMT IndiaFirst Life Insurance is planning to infuse Rs. 120 crore in the business to support the company’s expansion plans and meet the solvency cap requirements. This is the third time the company is infusing the capital since its inception. It will take up company’s total share capital to Rs. 550 crore from Rs 430 crore. <br/><br/>MD and CEO of the company, P Nandagopal said, “Despite the challenges faced by the life insurance industry and the new investments coming in, the company is confident of achieving breakeven by 2014 as targeted or even before that.” <br/><br/> “We plan to increase business from our agency channel to at least 30 per cent of the business in the next two to three years. We plan to recruit 5,000 agents each in the next two years to take up our total agent network to 10,000 by the year 2014,” Nandagopal added. <br/><br/>IndiaFirst Life Insurance is the youngest life insurance company in India. It is a joint venture between UK's leading financial institution, Legal & General and India’s leading banks, Andhra Bank and Bank of Baroda. Bank of Baroda holds a 44% stake, while Andhra Bank and Legal & General hold a 30% and 26% stake respectively in IndiaFirst. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=125InsuringIndia News Sun, 15 May 2011 11:15:05 GMT ICICI Lombard, India’s biggest private sector General Insurer has partnered with Air India Express to provide cost effective travel insurance solutions to Airline’s domestic and overseas travellers. <br/><br/>You can buy the e-policy from the airline’s website www.airindiaexpress.in at the same time while booking tickets. The e-policy is issued immediately without any formalities with straightaway verification through SMS and email. <br/><br/>The policy covers a multitude of predicaments such as loss from trip hold up, loss of passport, medical expenses due to accidents, delay or loss or of checked in baggage, and a great deal more. <br/><br/>“We are committed to delivering unique and convenient risk management solutions to our customers. Our partnership with Air India Express brings together a comprehensive, cost effective travel insurance cover at the time of ticket purchase along with the ease of instant online policy issuance. The product coverage has been carefully designed to meet the needs of Air India Express’ guests and has a convenient claims settlement process,” Neelesh Garg, Executive Director, ICICI Lombard General Insurance said while talking about the tie up. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=124InsuringIndia News Sat, 14 May 2011 11:39:27 GMT The government has provided an exemption to insurance companies from filing their annual results in the electronic format XBRL. XBRL stands for Extensible Business Reporting Language. Other sectors excluded are non-banking financial companies, banking and power companies.<br/><br/>Previous month, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) had issued a notice to all big companies to file their annual 2010-11 result in XBRL format to ascertain better improvement and transparency in corporate administration. <br/><br/>In a circular issued on Thursday, MCA stated that insurance, banking, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), power companies and their overseas subsidiaries will be exempted from this system. Other than the above mentioned, all other companies with a paid up capital of more than Rs. 5 crore, or with a turnover of Rs. 100 crore will have to file their annual returns in XBRL format. <br/><br/>Presently, all companies file their annual results with the MCA in an e-form format. XBRL format would allow the users to digitally retrieve data with much more precision. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=123InsuringIndia News Fri, 13 May 2011 11:27:45 GMT Axis Bank has purchased a 4% stake in Max New York Life Insurance Company from Max India for Rs. 72 crore. The bank has acquired the stake at par value and has entered into a ten year tie-up. The bank has obtained required regulatory approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). <br/><br/>Max New York Life Insurance is a joint venture between Max India and US-based New York Life International in the ratio of 74:26. Max New York Life holds a share base of Rs. 180 crore and a paid-up capital of Rs. 1,976 crore at the end of FY 2010-11.<br/><br/>Vijay Sarathi, analyst at BNP Paribas said, "Axis Bank does not have an insurance subsidiary. At some point of time, Axis would like to extend activities like ICICI Bank and HDFC that get a significant part of the fee income by selling third party products. This is a small investment so Axis may like to increase stake at some point." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=122InsuringIndia News Thu, 12 May 2011 11:36:36 GMT On Tuesday, ING Life India announced its plan to launch eight new insurance products in financial year 2011-12. It is preparing to launch two new products in every quarter of 2011-12. The company has posted 13% increment in operating profits in the fourth quarter of FY 2011 and is planning to raise its premium income by 17% in the current financial year.<br/><br/>These results have been achieved at a time when the industry is seeing sharp decline in new business. ING Life India, a part of the Dutch ING Group is in life insurance business in India since last ten years. Till now, the company has issued over million policies and has a staff of over 6500 employees.<br/><br/>Headquartered in Bangalore, ING Life India is currently present in 229 cities across 251 branch offices. In addition, the company distributes its products in several parts of the country through its partner's presence. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=121InsuringIndia News Wed, 11 May 2011 15:35:57 GMT Dutch financial group Aegon is planning to quit India's mutual fund industry in the very near future. Sources in the mutual fund industry are enunciating that Aegon group no more regards the asset management business fit for its growth plans in India. <br/><br/>Aegon with its venture partner Religare Enterprises has not launched any mutual fund product in India since it received its licence from SEBI in October 2008. Soon after, Religare and Aegon separated. Both of them are continuing as partners in their life insurance venture, Aegon Religare Life Insurance. <br/><br/>Aegon has been looking for a collaborator, particularly a bank, for its asset management business since its breakup with Religare, but had not managed to find one. There is speculation in the industry that the failure to find a JV partner could have led the Aegon to take this step. <br/><br/>Many industry insiders are shocked by group’s group's plan to quit the market, as they feel the company is well equipped to take advantage of the mutual fund business. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=120InsuringIndia News Tue, 10 May 2011 13:27:44 GMT India’s private insuring company-HDFC Life has announced premium collection of Rs. 9,004 crore in the financial year 2011. In financial year 2010, the company posted a total premium collection of Rs. 7,005 crore, thus showing a growth of 28.53%. It registered a 36% increase in the renewal premium and a 28.53% growth in total premium in the fiscal year 2010-11.<br/><br/>Among the top five private life insurance companies in India, the company has registered the highest growth of 26% in individual new business in year 2010-11. The company cut down its losses to Rs. 99 crore in 2010-11 as compared to Rs. 299 crore in the preceding financial year and it also reduced its capital expenses from 16% in 2009-10 to 13.5% in fiscal year 2011. <br/><br/>Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Life, Amitabh Chaudhry said, “I am extremely satisfied with our performance in 2010-11. In spite of significant challenges in the market, we responded extremely well and demonstrated significantly better traction than our competitors. Our proactive efforts on gearing up the organization to face challenges in the market reflect in the early signs of adapting well to the new regime. We ranked 1st in H2 FY2010- 11 in individual business in the industry, and we are one of the very few private insurers to achieve positive growth in FY2010-11. Our consistent focus on creating awareness about life insurance as long-term financial instruments has resulted in our customers exhibiting renewed focus on life insurance reflected in our high conservation ratio of 81%.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=119InsuringIndia News Mon, 09 May 2011 14:36:33 GMT Public sector general insurance company United India Insurance, is aiming towards a business target of Rs. 8,000 crore in the financial year 2011-12. The company has decided to focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) section and rural market. United India plans to open many more micro offices in emerging rural sector.<br/><br/>The general insurer has announced a profit of Rs. 130.54 crore (after tax) for financial year 2011, ending March 31, 2011. It has declared a business of Rs. 6,376.66 crore during financial year 2011, an increase of 21.71% from Rs. 5,239.05 crore in the financial year 2010. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=118InsuringIndia News Sun, 08 May 2011 14:32:41 GMT Religare Enterprises, one of the India’s biggest financial services group, is set to enter the general insurance market in the very near future. The group is in talks with several foreign insuring companies to form a general insurance company which would be offering general insurance services in India.<br/><br/>Presently, Religare is in the life insurance business by the name of AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company Limited (ARLI). ARLI is a joint venture between Religare, AEGON, an international investment, pension and life insurance company and India’s largest media house, Bennett, Coleman & company. <br/><br/>India's general insurance industry has several public, private and foreign players. There are about two dozen general insurance players in the market. Religare Enterprises was launched by brothers, Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh and have an interest in multiple business sectors, including lending, investment banking, brokerage and asset management business. According to Forbes, the brothers are ranked 15th richest in India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=117InsuringIndia News Sat, 07 May 2011 14:29:34 GMT Star Union Dai-ichi Life (SUD Life) has launched two new insurance plans, one in the traditional category named 'Growth Endowment Plan' and another in ULIP segment, by the name of “Dhan Suraksha Express”.<br/><br/>SUD Life has become the first life insurer in India to collect about Rs. 1329 crore in new business premiums in its first twenty-six months of operations. These two products were launched to commemorate this memorable occasion.<br/><br/>During the fiscal year 2010-11, the company has procured about Rs. 758.00 crore new business premium, a growth of 46 percent over the last fiscal year. The life insurer has covered 353,994 lives under group schemes and sold 97,730 individual policies. The company has also improved its ranking from 15th in March 2010 to 12th in March 2011 among the 23 life insuring companies in India.<br/><br/>Star Union Dai-ichi Life is a joint venture between Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company of Japan and leading Indian public sector banks, Union Bank of India and Bank of India. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=116InsuringIndia News Fri, 06 May 2011 16:22:51 GMT The Lucknow district consumer disputes redressal forum has ordered the general insurance company, New India Insurance to pay a compensation of Rs. 75,000 with interest to a complainant for holding up the accident claim for his truck.<br/><br/>The complainant had submitted in his complaint that he owned the truck bearing number-UP32 Z 0588, and its insurance was valid from March 12, 2003 to March 11, 2004. The truck was insured from M/s New India Insurance Company Limited. On July 20, 2003, the truck met with an accident with another truck and was damaged. <br/><br/>The truck owner spent Rs. 75,000 in getting the truck fixed. However, when he approached the New India Insurance for compensation, the company rejected his claim. After that, he registered the complaint with the forum. <br/><br/>The opposite party, New India Insurance communicated to the forum that at the time of the accident, the aforesaid truck was carrying eleven passengers which is against the conditions of insurance. The insurer also admitted that it had insured the truck. <br/><br/> The forum after hearing both the sides, noted that the complainant had surely spent the amount which he was seeking as compensation on the repair of the vehicle. It also found that accident did take place. Keeping in view the fact that the insurance company accepted that the aforementioned vehicle had been insured by them, the Forum bench observed that the insurer unreasonably rejected the claim. <br/><br/>Therefore, in its order dated April 2006, the forum directed the New India Insurance to reimburse Rs. 75,000 to the complainant. It was further stated that interest at the rate of 9 per cent would be payable to the complainant inside a month of acquiring the copy of the order. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=115InsuringIndia News Thu, 05 May 2011 13:11:46 GMT In an unexpected move, the finance ministry has decided to remove the chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), T. S. Vijayan whose five-year tenure as LIC chairman finished on Tuesday. He has been offered the post of managing director. The move is seen by industry insiders as a demotion.<br/><br/>Although Vijayan completed his five-year term as chairman of LIC on Tuesday, he had two more years until retirement and therefore, was likely to get an extension.<br/><br/>The government has started looking for a new chairman for LIC-the country's biggest investment institution. In the meantime, Rakesh Singh, chairman of NABARD and also holding the post of the additional secretary in the department of financial services) will function as chairman until a new person is found. <br/><br/>The committee to select a chairman had suggested a two-year extension for T.S. Vijayan. However, the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC) refused to clear his name as he along with a few other managing directors was indicted in a case. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=114InsuringIndia News Wed, 04 May 2011 11:53:24 GMT With the death of Osama bin Laden, insurance companies are hopeful of lowering of terror insurance rates. Historically, liquidation of terror bigwigs always has a dampening effect on terror activities. However, insuring companies are reluctant to say anything on the immediate effect of Osama’s death on lowering of terror insurance rates as there is some apprehension over the likelihood of possible reprisal attacks.<br/><br/>Terrorism insurance is an insurance product that covers potential losses and liabilities that might take place on account of terrorist activities. It is a difficult product for insurers as the probability of terrorist acts are hard to predict. This policy is exclusively an add-on cover which can be only purchased with the fire insurance policy cover.<br/><br/>India is far ahead of western countries when it comes to terrorism insurance. After the 9/11 attacks on the US, the Indian general insurance companies had set up an autonomous terrorism pool. This terrorism pool is basically funds collected from all insuring companies to compensate potential future losses springing up out of such terrorist activities. In contrast, western countries had to depend on administrations to establish a separate terrorism pool to take care of probable eventualities. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=113InsuringIndia News Tue, 03 May 2011 13:15:26 GMT India’s leading life insuring company SBI Life will invest about Rs. 9,600 crore in Indian share market in this financial year. Until now, the company’s investment in equities was about Rs. 25,000 crore. This step will take the company’s total exposure in capital markets to over Rs. 34,000 crore.<br/><br/>SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between France-based BNP Paribas Assurance and State Bank of India and. SBI owns 74% of the total capital in the joint venture and 36% is controlled by BNP Paribas Assurance.<br/><br/>The company at the end of March 31 has managed assets of about Rs. 40,163 crore and expects to increase assets under management (AUM) to approximately Rs. 60,000 crore during the current fiscal. <br/><br/>The life insurer is planning to launch new products in the traditional segment as well as in the unit-linked segment. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=112InsuringIndia News Mon, 02 May 2011 14:18:20 GMT As per a report compiled by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on health insurance in India, consistency in cost and treatment methods for different diseases can settle disputes between insurance companies and private hospitals over medical claims.<br/><br/>The FICCI team has prepared a list of standardized treatment procedures and cost indices for twenty common diseases, which will be presented to the health ministry in the next 4 to 6 weeks. India's top medical specialists and health ministry officials will frame a standard template and submit it to IRDA. This step is expected to enable health insurers and private hospitals to settle medical claims in a reasonable and faster mode. <br/><br/>However, finalizing the standardized procedure is going to be a tough task as there are many parties which will be affected by this, such as insurance companies, healthcare service providers, consumers, policymakers and regulators whose interests may conflict with each other. <br/><br/>As per the report, the insuring companies are suspicious of rising claims as they believe maximum of them are not genuine. The third party administrators (TPAs) believe that the system does not pay back with a firm return on investment (RoI). The customers are not satisfied by services and are angry over the delay in claim settlement. <br/><br/>The FICCI report is also advocating the portability scheme which allows individuals to change the insurer, if not satisfied. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=111InsuringIndia News Sun, 01 May 2011 14:17:05 GMT The British Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, with almost 80 million pounds being spent on it, is being termed as the wedding of the decade. One of the costliest weddings of the era, it is proving to be a bonanza for the insurance companies.<br/><br/> On Friday, the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey virtually took over the UK, as millions of residents celebrated in honour of the Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage. With wedding fever gripping the country, insurers has turned up with several innovative policies. <br/><br/>London-based Sterling Insurance Company declared free wedding insurance protection (with certain conditions attached) to commemorate the royal wedding. To mark the occasion, the company has announced free extensions on any new executive or executive home policy in the months of April, May and June. <br/><br/>Director of commercial and personal lines of Sterling Insurance, David Sweeney said, “The royal wedding is a wonderful occasion for the country and an opportunity for everyone to celebrate. We thought it was right to mark the occasion by reminding other happy couples that the cost associated with weddings can carry a risk of cancellation or other problems. It is wise for couples to protect themselves against these risks.” <br/><br/>The free cover will include £20,000 cancellation cover and £15,000 re-arrangement cover in the case of postponement. It will also include case-by-case malfunction, such as a problem with the wedding cake or flowers which will be covered for up to £5,000, while the transport including cars would be covered for up to £3,000. <br/><br/>Public liability is covered for up to £2.5 million, photography or videoing up to £3,500 in case of doing it again, wedding stationery up to £1,500 and suppliers are covered for up to £10,000. <br/><br/>Other companies have also come up with unique schemes. Zurich Insurance is offering a unique public liability insurance package covering up to 200 guests for a one-time fee of £63.60. In case of any damage to property, an individual claim of up to £5 million is available to the organizers as well as the guests. <br/><br/> Insurance policies for weddings are also available in India, but they are still in the embryonic stages. The various insurance covers offered are covers on postponements, cancellations, covers on jewellery and gifts and protection against thefts and fire. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=110InsuringIndia News Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:33:19 GMT Indian public sector bank, Dena Bank has tied up with United India Insurance to provide general insurance solutions to its clients all over its branches in the country. According to the agreement, the bank will offer its clients general insurance products such as Medical, Motor, Travel and agricultural at very attractive rates.<br/><br/>According to an official release, the MOU (memorandum of understanding) was signed in Chennai on 20th April by G.M of Dena Bank, Mr. M. K. Sharma and G.M of United India Insurance Company, Mr. B. Krishnamurthy in the presence of Mr. G. Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of United India Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=109InsuringIndia News Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:08:44 GMT SBI Life Insurance Company, currently holding number two position among the private life insurance companies, is planning in a big way to reach the number one position in this sector. Presently, ICICI Prudential is at the number one position. SBI Life plans to expand its branches, augment its employees and increase bancassurance.<br/><br/>Last year, SBI Life added about 135 branches to its existing branches. Now it has a total of 635 branches. The company is also planning to add 74 more branches by the end of fiscal year 2012. <br/><br/>The company’s employees’ strength reached 7,300 from 6000 in financial year 2011 and is planning to reach 8,250 by the end of fiscal year 2012. <br/><br/>SBI Life will also leverage its association with SBI to further increase sales of its product through SBI’s branches. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=108InsuringIndia News Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:24:45 GMT HDFC Life, one of the top private life insurance companies of India, takes its corporate social responsibility seriously. As a gesture, it hosted about fifty volunteers from organization ‘Yuva Unstoppable’ to watch the IPL match of ‘Rajasthan Royals’ against the ‘Kochi Tuskers Kerala’ on 24th of this month. The volunteers were entertained in a royal style and all of them were thrilled to experience this chance to see this IPL match live in Jaipur.” HDFC Life is the principal associate sponsor of Rajasthan Royals.<br/><br/>‘Yuva Unstoppable’ is a leading volunteer organization having about 60,000 young volunteers across India serving more than 100,000 kids in govt. schools and slums through organizational partnerships with corporate, colleges and schools. The organization’s motto is “Young people are not useless, but used-less”. <br/><br/>Speaking on this occasion, Pavan Jain, Vice President of Yuva Unstoppable said, “I would thank HDFC Life for extending this special gift for our volunteers. Such opportunities are a huge boost for our young volunteers and helps imbibing in them positive energy and moral values. The volunteers are all excited to experience this opportunity to see IPL match live in the stadium of Jaipur.” <br/><br/>HDFC Life has plans to associate with several NGOs in Rajasthan to provide this distinctive experience to the under-privileged during this session of IPL for all Rajasthan Royals matches in Jaipur. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=105InsuringIndia News Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:05:44 GMT It has been almost a year since the Air India Mangalore crash took 158 lives. Still the disbursement of insurance compensation to the victims’ relatives has not reached final stages. Compensation disbursal was already in controversy due to charges of unfair settlements, and now it has hit fresh legal hurdles.<br/><br/>There is controversy between the relatives of crash victims and Air India over the basis of compensation claims. The insurance companies had calculated the compensation the basis of ‘the loss of livelihood,’ whereas the victims’ families want it on the basis of ‘the loss of life.’ <br/><br/>The victims’ families are claiming that according to Montreal Convention compensation should be calculated on the basis of ‘the loss of life.’ Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Vayalar Ravi had assured them in January that their demands will be met and compensation would be disbursed speedily. However, now the process has been delayed due to a pending case in the Kerala High Court. <br/><br/>He said, “Since the court has taken over the issue, the ministry was awaiting judgement for taking any further action.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=104InsuringIndia News Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:56:14 GMT New Pension System (NPS) offered by Pension Fund and Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) may become a better success than pension schemes offered by insuring companies as it comes equipped with better returns and design. <br/><br/>PFRDA was founded by Government of India in August, 2003 to act as a regulator for the pension sector. The profile of PFRDA is developing and regulating the pension sector in India. The NPS shows Government’s attempt to find prolonged solutions in providing adequate retirement income. <br/><br/>Yogesh Agarwal, chairman of PFRDA said, “The demand for products offered by the New Pension Scheme (NPS) was likely to outpace the demand for pension products of insurance companies. NPS is a much superior product, both in terms of returns and architecture.” <br/><br/>He further added, “Financial analysts are already saying because of the various facets like the architecture of NPS, the tax treatment exclusively accorded to the NPS, people will gradually move from insurance companies’ pension products to NPS.” <br/><br/>He also brushed aside rumours of a turf battle between IRDA and PFRDA over regulation of pension products. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=103InsuringIndia News Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:08:30 GMT India’s insurance regulator, IRDA is going to change the norms for pension plans in the very near future. Pension plans account for about thirty percent of the life insurance sector’s business. According to an unidentified source in the IRDA, the guaranteed 4.5 percent return portion in a pension scheme may no longer be mandatory under the revised guidelines. <br/><br/>This will assist the industry recover business volumes that have decreased sharply after the IRDA enforced tough guidelines. <br/><br/>Last year in June, IRDA changed rules governing unit-linked insurance plans. The changes also included the pension schemes investing in bonds and equities. The regulator had made it compulsory for insuring companies to offer a 4.5% assured return on all annuity schemes and pension schemes. <br/><br/>Now the policyholders, in all likelihoods will be given options to select from an array of pension products without a guaranteed return but chances of better return in the long run. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=102InsuringIndia News Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:08:03 GMT Public sector general insurance company, United India Insurance has now become the largest insuring company by profits in India. <br/><br/>Three years before it was at a distant second place. Amongst all public sector players, United India has booked largest profits and lowest underwriting losses. <br/><br/>In the financial year 2009-10, the company posted a net profit of Rs. 707 crore. All this was made possible under the leadership of Mr. G. Srinivasan, who took over as the Chairman and M.D of the company about three-and-a-half-years ago. <br/><br/>Mr. Srinivasan brought about a lot of changes in the company in the field of technology, employees training and mentoring. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=101InsuringIndia News Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:07:27 GMT The answer to the question “Who is going to be the PNB’s life insurance partner” is finally going to be answered soon. <br/><br/>India’s second largest public sector bank, Punjab National Bank invited many insurance companies for partnership in the life insurance sector. Forty-one companies responded, out of which ten were shortlisted. <br/><br/>Out of these, three were finalized. These three are Aviva, Metlife and Bharti AXA. The partner will be finalized on the basis of the proposals submitted by these insurers. <br/><br/>K. R. Kamath, Managing Director and Chairman of PNB said, "We hope to finalize the partner this quarter," Chairman and said. <br/><br/>PNB is among the few big banks in India, which has not ventured into the life insurance sector. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=100InsuringIndia News Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:06:34 GMT Insuring companies and transporters are at loggerheads over the decision of IRDA to increase the third-party premiums for commercial-grade vehicles by almost 65%. The all powerful Indian truck lobby is against any sharp increase in premium and truck unions are planning to go on an agitation across the nation. <br/><br/>Significantly, the transport industry is also thinking of launching its own general insurance company to cover nearly seven million commercial vehicles in India. <br/><br/> Top officials of transport unions are meeting soon to determine the future course of action. Chairman of All India Motor Transport Congress, the apex body for transporters, Mr. Gurinder Pal Singh said ''We may go on a nation-wide strike of all transporters.'' He further added, ''Our costs are spiralling on a regular basis mainly due to rise in diesel and petrol prices. An additional rise in premium will squeeze our already wafer-thin margins.''<br/><br/>As per insurance industry experts, insuring companies pay about Rs.120 in insurance claims on every Rs. 100 of third-party premium for insuring commercial vehicles, whereas it comes to Rs. 55 for cars and two-wheelers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=99InsuringIndia News Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:18:04 GMT Insurance Regulator IRDA has permitted PSU general insurance companies to pay their raised gratuity liability in instalments. This action will allow some relief to these companies; otherwise some of them would have been forced to seek financial help from the government. <br/><br/>State-owned insuring companies are facing a higher employee wage liability after the pay revision of 2010-11. Furthermore, the government had also increased maximum limit for gratuity to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs. 3.5 lakh, effective from May 2010. <br/><br/>In a statement IRDA said as there is financial pressure on these companies, the regulator will permit state-owned insuring companies to pay back the additional gratuity liability over a span of five years beginning from year 2010-11. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=98InsuringIndia News Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:25:38 GMT On Monday, Future Generali launched a new Unit Linked Insurance Plan by the name of “Wealth Protect.” The product is being aimed towards those customers who are searching for long term wealth creation. It is being promoted as a plan with an aim to allow the maximum flexibility.<br/><br/>It has flexible payment options of monthly, quarterly, half yearly or on yearly basis and is available for age group of 7 to 60 years. The minimum annualised premium is Rs. 25,000 and maximum Rs. 2,00,000.<br/><br/>The policy holders can also actively handle their investments by choosing up to twelve free switches per year. The premium paid, will get assigned to customer’s choice of the fund, thus, providing flexibility to the customer to put his funds in any of the six unit linked funds of Future Generali. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=97InsuringIndia News Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:28:37 GMT Notwithstanding the increase in the premiums of third-party motor insurance policies by IRDA, general insuring companies are still apprehensive about the profits. <br/><br/>The Insurance Regulator, IRDA announced a hike in the premium rates of third-party motor insurance policies on Friday. The increase in premiums is 10-65% for different categories of vehicles. <br/><br/>Third-party premiums for two-wheelers and personal cars are being raised by 10 percent, whereas new premiums for commercial vehicles are hiked by 65 percent. The new rates will be effective from 25th April. <br/><br/>General insuring companies were calling for 80 percent hike in the premium, but the regulator has allowed only 65 percent. It is not enough to compensate the losses as the loss ratio in the third part pool was approximately 153 percent. Now, private insurers will have to arrange more capital for the pool. <br/><br/>IRDA boss J. Hari Narayan has advised and cautioned the insurers to be mindful as the IRDA will strictly take action against any company using methods to deny or delay insurance cover to the clients. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=96InsuringIndia News Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT Kolkata-based finance company-Magma Fincorp has cleared the first hurdle to start its general insurance business in India. It has obtained the first ‘R1’ approval from the Insurance Regulator IRDA.<br/><br/>There are three stages in the approval process involved for obtaining a licence for starting insurance business in India. In the first stage R1, IRDA assesses the promoters. In the second stage R2, IRDA investigates the business model of the company and in the third and final stage R3, it checks into the constitution of the company. <br/><br/>Magma Fincorp had applied to IRDA for business licence in March 2010 to enter the general insurance business. The company has forged a joint venture with the German insuring company HDI-Gerling International to form Magma HDI General Insurance to conduct general insurance business in India. <br/><br/>“IRDA vide its letter dated April 13, 2011, granted the approval for the R1 application of the joint venture company,” Magma Fincorp said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=95InsuringIndia News Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:33:20 GMT The Insurance Regulator, IRDA announced a hike in the premium rates of third-party motor insurance policies on Friday. The increase in premiums is 10-65% for different categories of vehicles.<br/><br/>Third-party premiums for two-wheelers and personal cars are being raised by 10%, whereas new premiums for commercial vehicles are hiked by 65%. The new rates will be effective from 25th April. The raise for commercial vehicles is first time in four years. <br/><br/>These premiums would be revised annually based on inflation and claim experience, according to IRDA. “This is a welcome move by the regulator and the most significant development is that premiums would be revised annually,” said K. G. Krishnamoorthy Rao, managing director and chief executive officer, Future Generali India Insurance. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=94InsuringIndia News Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:41:22 GMT LeapFrog Investments, the world’s biggest investment fund with a focus on insurance to under-served people, is planning to make major investment in India in the coming months. The company recently announced a Rs. 62 Crore investment in Apollo Investment Ltd. an East African insurance group. <br/><br/>The Indian market is certainly going to benefit from LeapFrog investment into the Indian insurance market and will allow many more Indians access to the insurance. Investment in India will be looked after by LeapFrog co-founder, Dr. Jim Roth. According to him, LeapFrog is on the verge of a major deal in India. <br/><br/>LeapFrog Investments was established by erstwhile American president, Bill Clinton in 2008. LeapFrog Investments is the biggest investor in insurance companies that insure the underserved in Asia and Africa. <br/><br/>LeapFrog has over $135 million in funds from some of the biggest financial institutions, including European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation, J.P Morgan, Finance for Development, Triodos Bank, Accion, Soros Economic Development Fund, Proprarco and Haverford. <br/><br/>The funds are used to invest in insurance business in Asia and Africa with the priority given to countries like India, South Africa, Ghana, Philippines and Kenya. Leapfrog’s target is to provide insurance to twenty-five million people from economically weaker section of society. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=93InsuringIndia News Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:40:11 GMT In view of settlement claims going up, general insurance policies such as health insurance, motor insurance and travel insurance might get costlier, according to IRDA.<br/><br/>As the cases of settlement claims are increasing exponentially, insurers are earmarking higher funds for claim settlements. This may lead to an increase in the cost of insurance cover for policyholders. The IRDA had asked general insurance to tighten their belts and make changes in their strategy to become profitable. <br/><br/>“The demand and supply position in the non-life industry will be such that prices should harden and I expect to see evidence of that in the course of the next few years. It will become even harder as we go along,” IRDA Chairman J Harinarayan told reporters at the ‘FICCI National Conference on Insurance’. <br/><br/>“Because of the requirement of a rise in provisioning, there would be a reduction in capacity and because of that, there would be a hardening of prices,” He further added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=92InsuringIndia News Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:55:10 GMT Life Insurance Corporation of India, the country's biggest financial institution, is set to appoint an advisor to improve its image as a tech-savvy establishment to the public. LIC has invited tenders from consultancy firms to 'create further value for the strong LIC Brand'. <br/><br/>LIC has one of the biggest in-house IT teams in the industry but its image as a tech-savvy company is not good in the market. The company is hoping to improve this situation by hiring the brand consultant. <br/><br/>A senior LIC official said, "When it comes to number of customers, we are the largest life insurance company in the world and we make extensive use of technology to manage such a huge customer database." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=91InsuringIndia News Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:38:06 GMT General Insurance Corporation (GIC) is set to tighten the noose on state-owned general insurers by cutting commissions, offering lower reinsurance capacities and introducing rigorous underwriting terms when renewing their contract. This step is being taken in view of heavy losses being incurred by government-owned general insurance companies.<br/><br/>Public sector general insurance companies-New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance reported losses of approximately Rs. 4,900 crore during 2010-11 April-December period. <br/><br/>Public sector insuring companies place almost 65-70% of their risk with General Insurance Corporation, while private companies place just about 60% of their risk with GIC. <br/><br/>GIC has introduced tight underwriting conditions while giving backup to these companies. GIC has also cut down commissions paid to the insurance companies. <br/><br/> “Motor and health constitutes more than 64 per cent of the total general insurance business in India and both are loss making. The pricing does not reflect the risks, due to which the loss ratio is increasing in these companies. So, we have reduced our participation in the government-owned general insurance companies as our past experience hasn't been very good,” said a senior official at GIC. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=90InsuringIndia News Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:37:39 GMT L&T and Infosys are among the four IT firms that have been finalized by Insurance regulator IRDA for implementation of its Business Analytics Project (BAP) project. The other two companies are Keane India and Mahindra Satyam. <br/><br/>With an aim of achieving effective supervision, IRDA had invited these four IT firms for its project, which is aimed at supplying necessary data and information for analyzing regulatory decision making.<br/><br/>“The IRDA Technical Committee is fully satisfied with the proposal presented by these four firms and is confident that they will be able to meet the targets of the project,” IRDA said in a communiqué. It further said, “The Committee also observed that Mahindra Satyam, Infosys, Keane and L&T Infotech have agreed to all the terms and conditions and therefore these bidders are to be considered for the financial bid evaluation." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=89InsuringIndia News Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:22:55 GMT A district consumer forum in Delhi has ordered United India Insurance Company to compensate a woman for turning down her claim of her husband's treatment against a binding mediclaim policy. <br/><br/>Complainant Veena Singh alleged that she had a valid mediclaim policy for her family purchased from M/s Family Health Plan Ltd. Her husband, Rajesh Singh was hospitalized with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis in a nursing home in Malviya Nagar. He stayed in the nursing home for five days and received a total bill of Rs. 21,000. <br/><br/>Veena alleged that in spite of submitting all the hospital documents and bills, the company rejected her claim in November 2008 claiming that it was "frivolous". <br/><br/>After repeated reminders, when the firm failed to reimburse her, Veena filed the complaint. During the hearing, the firm said that there was no proof on record that her husband was admitted to the nursing home. United India also admitted that the woman's mediclaim policy was in force from 16th August, 2008 to 21st Sep, 2008. <br/><br/>The forum turned down the arguments of the company that as per their survey report, they did not find any proof of her husband being admitted to nursing home. The forum also ordered the nodal agency M/s Family Health Plan Ltd. to reimburse the treatment cost and compensation to the woman. <br/><br/>"We direct M/s Family Health Plan Ltd and United India Insurance Company Ltd jointly or severely to pay Rs 21,338 as treatment expenses and Rs 5,000 compensation for her (Veena Singh) physical and mental harassment along with Rs 2,000 cost of litigation to the complainant," president of the forum U C Tiwari and its member Zahid Husain said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=88InsuringIndia News Sun, 10 Apr 2011 10:22:23 GMT Pratip Chaudhuri has taken over as the new Chairman and M.D of State Bank of India for a term of three years. Before that, he was deputy managing director (International Banking Group) of SBI. Chaudhuri has succeeded O. P. Bhatt, who retired last month. His tenure is up to September 2013.<br/><br/>Chaudhuri has his agenda very clear, to sustain the leading position of the bank in corporate and retail banking. The bank’s focus on special home loans will continue. Focus will also be on longer tenure term loans for companies. <br/><br/>He has also made some changes in the management. Diwakar Gupta takes charge as Managing Director in charge of financial operations, Hemant Contractor will be Managing director, Krishna Kumar will be Managing Director in charge of Retail Banking International Banking Group and R. Sridharan will proceed as Managing Director of Associates and Subsidiaries. <br/><br/>At a press conference, Chaudhuri said, “We will consolidate our gains. There will be no major shifting of gears but we would assess the stress points like the non-performing assets and better them. Topline of the bank is also under attack we would like to tackle this by pushing the bank to grow above industry average.” “We would be aggressive in longer tenure domestic bond market as well. We were concentrating on shorter tenure bonds now it will be longer tenure bonds,” he added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=87InsuringIndia News Sat, 09 Apr 2011 12:09:33 GMT Anna Hazare's anti-graft fight has given a new opportunity to Indian insurance companies. There is a product in the insurance of which very few are aware of. The product is 'denial of access' cover. <br/><br/>Denial-of-access cover is an insurance policy that compensates for loss caused by restriction or prevention of access to a business place, due to an incidence or disturbance such as riot, strike, fire or flood in the adjoining area of the business. <br/><br/>Hundreds of shops in New Delhi's Rajiv Chowk and Jantar Mantar area are seeing a big fall in the customer’s footfall, and their business has dropped significantly in the past two days as thousands of people are crowding the Jantar Mantar in support of Anna Hazare. <br/><br/>Indian general insurance companies have policies that cover against fire, flood, theft and other such everyday events. However, in the western countries, insurers also sell 'denial of access' policies to shopkeepers at a premium added over to the normal policy. <br/><br/>"In India, standard shopkeepers' policy does not cover any loss due to denial of access," said Tata AIG General Insurance managing director and CEO Gaurav Garg. <br/><br/>"Business interruption is mainly a secondary cover," he said. "Globally, shopkeepers buy this policy but it is not covered in India. It covers the third party risk if the area is closed and customers are not able to reach the outlet," said Optima Brokers managing director Rahul Agarwal. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=86InsuringIndia News Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:16:32 GMT Future Capital Holdings, the non banking finance division of Future Group is set to launch hundred financial superstores in next twelve months in integration with its retail outlets like Big Bazaar, Home Town and E-zone. The aim is to develop its financial service sector faster by reaching more clients.<br/><br/>These financial superstores will offer a wide range of loans for various assets like property, gold and consumer durables. Moreover, these stores will also act as distributors for selling insurance and home loan products. <br/><br/>The group has set a goal to give out Rs. 1,000 crore of secured loans for the financial year 2011-12 and have 100,000 customers through these stores. <br/><br/>Vice-chairman and managing director of Future Group, V. Vaidyanathan said, "We are planning to launch 100 such financial branches by 2012 that will meet all four basic financial needs of the customer-borrowing, investment, protection and financial planning.” He further added "We will offer loans for homes, properties, gold loans. Protection for these loans will also be offered through our insurance products. To provide alternate investments to our customers we have tied up with mutual funds. And lastly, financial planning will be delivered through broking and wealth management." <br/><br/>This is a novel idea in India but has been well received abroad in places like Europe, US, Mexico and Brazil. These stores will be managed by Future Group’s subsidiary FCH Centrum Wealth Managers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=85InsuringIndia News Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:07:34 GMT Bajaj Allianz, one of the leading private insurance companies in India, won multiple awards in recently announced Bloomberg UTV Financial Leadership Awards 2011. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has been awarded “General Insurer of the Year-Private Sector,” and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance were accredited with “Best Contribution in Investor Education and Category Enhancement” in the field of Insurance.<br/><br/>The awards were given away by Mr. Pranab Mukherjee to Mr. Hemant Kaul, MD & CEO, V Jeyaraman, Chief Financial Officer, Milind Choudhari, VP-Finance of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, and V Philip, CEO and A S Narayanan, Chief Distribution Officer of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. <br/><br/>Hemant Kaul commented, “This award is in recognition of our customer service levels as well as our core business philosophy, which strongly emphasizes growth with profitability. We are grateful to our 3.5 crore customers who have reposed their trust in Bajaj Allianz over the last several years.” <br/><br/>Bloomberg UTV Financial Leadership Awards were started out to recognize the extraordinary role of the India’s financial sector. Awardees are shortlisted by a panel of jury members which include eminent personalities from financial sector. Presently, jury is formed of Ashvin Parekh, Partner-National Leader, Global Financial Services, Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman, BDO Consulting Pvt. Ltd., Ernst & Young P. Ltd., Dr. Chiragra Chakrabarty, Director-Financial Advisory, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Private Limited, Karthik Srinivasan, Co-Head-Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA Ltd., Jahangir Aziz, Chief Economist, JP Morgan, Abheek Barua, Chief Economist, HDFC Bank, L. Shivakumar, Sr. Group VP & Head – Western Region, ICRA Ltd. and Jairaj Purandare, Executive Director, Markets & Industries Leader/Financial Services Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers P. Ltd. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=84InsuringIndia News Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:41:54 GMT If a proposed legislation is passed, then Indian surrogate mothers will get mandatory life cover. Proposed legislation will call for the intended parents to get life insurance cover for surrogate mothers. <br/><br/>A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child for a couple where the wife is unable to do so. Many childless married couples often engage surrogate mothers without any formal contracts to keep privacy, as the practice is frowned upon in the society. It becomes tough for a surrogate mother to get insurance cover and exposes her to r financial risk if the pregnancy turns out to be unsafe to mother. <br/><br/>Max New York Life has started providing insurance cover to surrogate mothers since last eight months. On the large, many insurers are not forthcoming on this issue. Dr. Nayna Patel, heading biggest surrogacy centre in the country called Akanksha in Anand, Gujarat, has finalized a deal with Max New York Life to provide insurance covers to such mothers. <br/><br/>“The biological parents have to pay a premium of Rs. 20,000 before five months of pregnancy to the company,” said Patel. “In case of death of the surrogate mother, Max New York Life will pay Rs. 2 lakh to the family of the surrogate.” <br/><br/>Supreme Court had legalized commercial surrogacy in India in year 2002 but still there are no clear polices governing such proceedings. Generally, the contracts are informal and are bounded by Law. So it is high time to take some concrete steps in this direction, which the propped bill will take care of. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=83InsuringIndia News Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:16:26 GMT Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited has earned the distinction of being in the top ten private life insurers in India within twenty-six months of its launch. The insurance company is a joint venture between Canara Bank, HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited and Oriental Bank of Commerce. <br/><br/>CEO of Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company, Mr. Harpal Karlcut said, “One of the key metrics of quality of sale and customer satisfaction is persistency. High persistency is a reflection of the customers' trust in the Company and its products and services. Service initiatives like validation calling to capture correct customer data, welcome calling to initiate a human relationship with the customer and ensure he/she has understood the product they have purchased and a multi-lingual resolution (call) centre have helped the Company achieve the highest 13-month persistency ratio for April-June quarter. More interactive features have also been included in the new website and a customer portal launched recently.”The Company under its SMART Solutions umbrella has three insurance products; two ULIPs- Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Dream Smart Plan, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Grow Smart Plan and one traditional endowment plan by the name of Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Secure Smart Plan. <br/><br/>The two ULIPs have investment friendly features and allow for flexibility to raise or dilute the life cover according to their changing needs. The traditional product is aimed at customers who want life cover and also want to build a corpus amount through regular savings. <br/><br/>The products are available all over India through the 5,500 bank branches of Oriental Bank of Commerce, Canara Bank, Shreyas Gramin Bank, Pragathi Gramin Bank, South Malabar Gramin Bank, HSBC, and HSBC InvestDirect Securities (India) Limited. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=82InsuringIndia News Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:15:11 GMT According to US officials, overseas companies holding partnership in Indian insurance firms have to work in adverse business environment due to unfavourable laws governing the sector. An existing insurance regulation stipulates that after completing ten years of operation in India, foreign investment in insurance companies would have to be brought back to 26%. <br/><br/>India opened its insurance market for overseas investment of up to 26% in 1999. Presently, an Insurance amendment bill is pending in the Parliament for raising the foreign investment in insurance joint ventures to 49%. The Bill would allow raising the FDI cap for the industry to 49%. But, this would be meaningless, unless this provision is amended. <br/><br/>"While the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority ( IRDA) said it plans to publish a clarification of these regulations, foreign investors continue to operate in an extremely uncertain environment," the US Trade office said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=81InsuringIndia News Sun, 03 Apr 2011 12:14:21 GMT India’s insurance watchdog, IRDA is going to define the terms to regulate online based insurance aggregators’ business model. Some of these guidelines are: <br/><br/>Only IRDA sanctioned online aggregators can generate leads for insurers. The company should have a minimum net worth Rs. 50,00,000 at any point of time. If the client expresses interest in purchasing insurance but does select an Insurance company, then the lead may be transferred to maximum five companies in the same category of insurance business, or to more than one Broker but this same lead can’t be shared with both. <br/><br/>No advance payments are allowed. Payments shall be made to online aggregators only for those leads that result in the sale. The fee for the lead shall not surpass 25% of the commission payable on the first year premium sold based on the lead obtained from the web aggregator. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=80InsuringIndia News Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:13:54 GMT Rating agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded credit rating of Indian non-life insurance industry from stable to negative. The reason being poor underwriting results and deregulation of rate-setting. <br/><br/>The standing is based on underwriting loss or profit, which is calculated by “The combined ratio”, i.e the ratio of losses and expenses to earned premiums. Ratio above 100 per cent suggests underwriting loss. The combined ratio for Indian general insurance companies for year 2010 was 121%. <br/><br/>The company in a review said, “We believe underwriting performances are unlikely to improve significantly in the next 12 months, despite signs that prices are stabilizing. The overall industry remains profitable through investment income, but that can leave it vulnerable to investment market shocks.” <br/><br/>However, the review also indicated that in spite of the weak pricing, the premium collection growth, in all probabilities, will remain strong. <br/><br/>“Direct premiums rose 14 per cent in the year ended March 2010. We expect such growth to continue because the (low) penetration rate,” the review said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=79InsuringIndia News Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:18:32 GMT While pet insurance is extremely popular in the western countries, it is comparatively unknown in India. Notwithstanding the boom in pet care services in India, the notion of pet insurance has yet to become popular, reason being the unorganized nature of this area. <br/><br/>Pet insurance in India is still at the embryonic level. Generally, the people who keep pets are from the rich sections of society. However, still, very few of them go for pet insurance. Nevertheless, the insuring companies are anticipating a big surge in this sector in the very near future with the increased public awareness about the concerned schemes. <br/><br/>In a survey conducted across twenty-seven main Indian cities, pet insurers estimated the number of pets at over four million, the total value estimated at above Rs. 400 crores. Industry experts expect pet insurance sector to flourish with the enhanced public awareness about the related schemes. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=78InsuringIndia News Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:08:38 GMT Private insurer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is soon going to launch a new annuity product “ICICI Pru Immediate Annuity” which would target the NRI segment. This annuity solution would ensure a steady income to their ageing parents in India. <br/><br/>The product would offer an assured life-time income for the parents and in the event of the parent passing away, the original investment that has been used to buy the annuity will be returned to the NRI. The new product is attractive to NRIs as it is going to offer a higher rate of interest vis-a-vis their present country of residence, simple one-time transaction, immediate issuing with no need of medical check-up. <br/><br/>ICICI Prudential Life Insurance's Ex. Vice-President, Tarun Chugh, said, "we have observed that one of the most important needs of NRIs across the globe is that of gifting financial freedom to their ageing parents in India while ensuring preservation of capital. The ICICI Pru Immediate Annuity is tailored to suit exactly these needs." He further added, "It fulfils multiple financial goals as it not only allows the NRI customer to potentially earn a higher rate of interest than that of term deposits in his country of residence, but very importantly the funds are repatriated on the expiry of the annuity." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=77InsuringIndia News Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:21:24 GMT Bank-promoted life insurers are planning to increase their agent base as they are finding no other substitute to pull in new business. Their bancassurance model has proven to be ineffective in attracting new clients, particularly for unit-linked plans.<br/><br/>These insuring companies are seeing that it is becoming difficult to sell insurance products through their bank branches. New companies such as IDBI Federal Life, IndiaFirst Life and Star Union Dai-ichi are preparing to increase their agent base substantially over the next twelve months to get more customers. <br/><br/>More than 50% of the industry business is coming through the agencies. Bancassurance accounts for nearly 30% of the business, while the remaining 20% is through brokers, corporate agents and direct marketing. <br/><br/>Private insurer Star Union Dai-ichi has already started enrolling 5,000 agents across twenty centres in the country. IDBI Federal Life is ready to increase its agent base to 18,000 over the next year and IndiaFirst Life is set to increase the number of agents to 8,000 from existing 1,000 in the coming year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=76InsuringIndia News Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:38:39 GMT The whole world is shocked by the devastation caused by the twin natural calamities of earthquake and tsunami in Japan. There are no words to describe the huge loss of life. Nothing can bring it back. However, in case of property, steps can be taken to soften the blow the nature has dealt us. This happening in Japan has once again raised the issue of taking insurance...Life as well as property. <br/><br/>Maximum Japanese are insured against property loss, but in India the insurance scenario is bleak. Despite the fact that the cost of house insurance is very low, not many Indians have insured their houses against calamities. "The daily cost of covering your house for Rs 24 lakh is not more than the price of a cup of tea. The benefits far outweigh the cost," says Neelesh Garg, executive director, ICICI Lombard General Insurance. <br/><br/>The yearly insurance cover for a house is around Rs. 50/lakh. And if you opt for multiyear policies, many companies offer good discounts. "It is beneficial to opt for a long-term policy, which not only offers peace of mind but also discounts of almost 50%," says Garg. <br/><br/>In the basic home insurance policy, only the structural damage is included. To cover your house valuables such as furniture, T.V, fridge, computer, jewellery, etc., you will be required to purchase additional cover, depending on the value of the insured objects. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=75InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:39:23 GMT Berkshire Hathaway’s company head (reinsurance), Ajit Jain said on Friday, the company’s designs to enter the Indian insurance market depend on the industry regulation. Berkshire Hathaway is already in the Indian market as the corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General. <br/><br/>The American multinational has big plans for India and as part of its campaign, it has incorporated a company by the name of ‘Berkshire India’ with plans to distribute and sell general insurance products in India. <br/><br/>Presently, foreign investment in Insurance sector in India is limited to only 26%, which is a big deterrent for foreign companies, but it can increase to 49%, if the parliament passes the awaiting bill. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=74InsuringIndia News Sun, 27 Mar 2011 11:38:49 GMT Life Insurance Corporation of India continues to retain its position of the market leader for the eleven month period ended in February 2011. This financial year, LIC has collected a total premium of Rs. 73,122 crore compared to previous year’s Rs 54,320, showing an increase of 35%. Compared to the public sector insurer, private insurers combined together recorded only a slight growth of 4% during the same fiscal period. <br/><br/>LIC alone holds the market share of 70.39% while the other 29.61% share is divided between 22 private insurance companies. Altogether, life insurance industry posted a sound growth of 24% for the eleven month period of the current fiscal year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=73InsuringIndia News Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:36:39 GMT The non-life insurance division of the Bharti group, Bharti AXA General Insurance is preparing a new strategy to cut its losses. The general insurance industry in India is suffering substantial losses.<br/><br/>“The strategy includes changing product/revenue mix, adopting fraud detection measures, and building data that helps assess the risk and rightly price policies,” Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, Bharti AXA’s CEO and managing director said in a statement.<br/><br/>According to Ananthanarayanan, the company expects its premium business to grow at least 60% next fiscal, he said they plan to bring down exposure to motor insurance to around 60% and the personal accident and health to around 20%. “The focus would shift significantly towards SME sector to around 20% from the existing 5%,” he said. <br/><br/>The company will adopt a three-pronged strategy to cut its losses. It is hoping that its claims ratio, will reduce by at least 200 basis points from 68 percent to approximately 66 percent by the end of the next fiscal year. The firm is also planning to add at least Rs. 200 crores to existing capital of Rs. 550 crores. The company is also planning to rope in Punjab National Bank as a partner. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=72InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:26:08 GMT Insurance company Max Bupa Health Insurance is planning to launch three new products in the coming fiscal year. Max Bupa Health Insurance is a joint venture between health care provider Bupa of UK and Max India.<br/><br/>At present, Max Bupa Health Insurance has four products covering both group and individual insurance. Its main product 'Heartbeat' has been well accepted by the public. The Insurer has about 40,000 individual policy holders and the total premium collected by the company in the period March 31- Dec 31, 2010 was Rs. 15 crore, which is expected to increase substantially this year. <br/><br/>Max Bupa CEO, Damien Marmion said, "Max Bupa currently covers 740 hospitals for cashless options and the number is growing and we aim to cover about 1,000 hospitals across the country by year-end." He further added. "It’s very complex and there is a lot to understand about it. We need to understand how this will work from the consumer point of view before filing any recommendations." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=71InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:23:06 GMT With assembly elections of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry around the corner, the task of mobilizing the election workforce has started. Elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry will begin from April 16 and West Bengal assembly elections will begin on April 18. <br/><br/>Taking in view the apparent violence threat in these states during the election period, the insurance companies have decided to increase the premium of insuring polling personnel this year by 25%.<br/><br/>Insurers, as a rule, provide insurance cover for up to Rs. 10 lakh in case of permanent injury or death. Previously, the premium for insuring was about Rs. 200 per personnel, but it could increase up to Rs. 300 this year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=70InsuringIndia News Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:48:32 GMT India’s second largest air service operator, Jet Airways is seeking an insurance cover of around $5.5 billion from the PSU Oriental Insurance. Its present cover will expire on April 16th. As per industry sources, the premium will be 7% higher than the last year which will come around to Rs. 70 crores. <br/><br/>The reason, for the increase in premium, is being attributed to many big aircraft accidents all over the world and specifically Mangalore air crash, which has led to a global hike in aviation reinsurance. The other reason is the increase in fleet size of Jet airways. The insurance policy would cover aviation hull, terror and war cover. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=69InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:44:46 GMT The Indian e-commerce market is expected to achieve a rate of growth of 47% in the year 2011. The Indian e-commerce has seen an incredible growth from Rs. 19,688 crore by 2009 end to an approximated Rs. 31,598 crore in year 2010. This is expected to grow by 47% and touch Rs. 46,520 crore by the end of 2011. <br/><br/>The online travel market comprises approximately 81% of the aggregate e-commerce in India. Financial service sector is also one area that has shown substantial growth. Constituting about 8% of the e-commerce market, this segment is anticipated to grow by 34% and touch Rs. 2,650 crore this year. <br/><br/>Other areas showing promises are e-retailing and online download and are expected to grow quickly. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=68InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:44:24 GMT The Chandigarh Union Territory district consumer disputes redressal forum has enjoined the general insurance company, New India Assurance to pay Rs. 4,37,131 to a complainant for holding up the accident claim for his car.<br/><br/>The plaintiff, Galish Kumar, hailing from Panchkula, had asserted that his Maruti Swift car was insured with the New India Assurance insurance firm from April 2009 to April 2010. On June 22, 2009, his car was involved in an accident near Sirsa. He reported to the matter to the respondent firm that assigned a loss assessor and surveyor. In spite of following all the instructions of the insurance company, the firm neglected the matter, he alleged. <br/><br/>The forum found that there was definitely negligence on the part of the insurer and when the plaintiff had approached the forum, the respondent tried to blame the complainant for delay. The forum, in its order, has directed the firm to compensate the complainant because of unfair trade practice and deficiency in their service. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=67InsuringIndia News Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:43:21 GMT With the help from LIC, the first year total premium collection by life insurers has increased by 23.8% in the April-February period of the current financial year as compared to previous year. <br/><br/>During the period of April-February, 2009-10, the total first-year premium collected by the life insurance industry was Rs. 83,891 crore which has now increased to Rs. 1,03,878 crore which amounts to 23.8% increase. In it, private insurers’ contribution is Rs. 30,756 crore and LIC’s is Rs. 73,122.<br/><br/>LIC posted a 34.6% rise in the premium collection as compared to private companies’ 4%. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=66InsuringIndia News Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:14:53 GMT Global venture capital firm, Walden International has invested $6 million in BankBazaar.com, an on-line shop for insurance products and consumer loans. BankBazaar.com deals in direct-to-consumer services. Presently, the company has a workforce of only 40 employees. <br/><br/>BankBazaar has associations with leading commercial banks such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. It offers consumers minimum interest rates on loans, insurance products and credit cards. <br/><br/>Before also, Walden has invested in Indian companies Co-Options Technologies and Quattro BPO. For BankBazaar.com, this is the second round of funding, as it had previously raised $ 1.2 million from AVT InfoTech. <br/><br/>"We will use this round of funding to aggressively hire and advertise our portfolio of services, including the lowest rates of insurance that we will soon introduce," says Adhil Shetty, chief executive officer of BankBazaar. <br/><br/>Managing Director of Walden India, Rajesh Subramaniam said, "This investment was driven by two factors- the quality of the team and the complete business model that spans from real-time offers on lowest rates to sealing the transaction for the consumer." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=65InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:07:00 GMT ONGC India, the largest insurance policy holder in India, is expected to face a stiff market when it will go for its $28.5 billion insurance policy renewal. Previous year, ONGC got lucky, as it got its policy renewed weeks ahead of BP Deepwater Horizon blow-up, which caused an enormous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. For year 2010-11, ONGC got its offshore assets insured for $30 million. <br/><br/>But then, Reliance Industries, which is the biggest private sector insurance policy holder in India, has managed to get its policy renewed without any substantial increase in rates, as its contract got renewed much ahead of Japan earthquake. The company got its policy renewed by ICICI Lombard and New India Assurance.<br/><br/>This year, ONGC has chosen United India Insurance, which has chosen broking firms- Aon, Marsh and JWT to help it secure insurance cover from international reinsurers. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=64InsuringIndia News Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:28:21 GMT IndiaFirst Life Insurance, a joint venture between India’s Andhra Bank and Bank of Baroda along with Britain's Legal & General, has set up an online website by the name of 'LifeStore'. A complete "Do-it-Yourself" on-line shop for buying insurance. <br/><br/>The aim of this website is to help clients conduct all their insurance requirements at one place from the convenience of their home. "Through LifeStore, we aim to reach out to millions of internet users-a sizable number of whom are either active and/or potential customers, thus widening the scope of the market across the country," the company said in a statement. <br/><br/>This unique platform is full of essential information on all types of insurance products. It will make available highly value-added services and convenience of on-line purchase. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=63InsuringIndia News Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:31:30 GMT Those who want to hear Warren Buffett don’t need to fly 8,218 miles to U.S to meet him. They just have to pay $48 for their car insurance to guarantee an invitation to meet him in New Delhi. <br/><br/>“Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett will meet clients of berkshireinsurance.com on March 25th in Delhi on his first visit to India. Invitations are not transferrable and are limited to one per policy holder and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis. The event will give Indians an opportunity to hear Buffett’s folksy wisdom. <br/><br/>The meeting will be held at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 25th. <br/><br/>Managing director of Enam Securities Pvt. of Mumbai, N.G.N Puranik said, “It’s a great experience. If people are getting an opportunity to meet him by buying a policy, they should definitely do it.” Puranik paid more than $4,000 to attend Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha in year 2007.<br/><br/>Forbes's magazine has declared Buffett’s total worth being $50 billion, ranking him as the third- richest person in the world after Carlos Slim of Mexico and Bill Gates. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=62InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:59:43 GMT Insuring companies are concerned that the proposed five percent service tax on centrally air- conditioned hospitals and diagnostic services would hike the cost of health insurance premium.<br/><br/>In the Union Budget of 2011-12, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has proposed a service tax of five percent on all services furnished by centrally air conditioned hospitals having more than twenty-five beds for in-patient treatment. Furthermore, this tax would also be imposed on consultant doctors functioning from the premises of these hospitals. <br/><br/>Insuring companies are saying that they will pass these increased costs to policyholders."The increase in service tax would have some impact on the insurance premium. But the extent to which policies will turn costly would depend on how much burden the insurers are passing on to consumers," Bharti AXA General Insurance Chief Executive Amarnath Ananthanarayanan said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=61InsuringIndia News Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:01:37 GMT As Japan is hit by tsunami and severe earthquakes, insurers feel that, next year onwards, cost of calamity insurance will increase substantially. <br/><br/>While the magnitude of the damage is yet to be measured, the re-insurers would have to compensate for the loss. The reinsurance firms acts as insurers of last resort for general insuring companies and generally take up the tab when the claim to be settled is too high. These companies would be covering bulk of the losses in Japan. <br/><br/>Future Generali India Insurance MD & CEO, K G Krishnamoorthy Rao said, "Since most of the re-insurance treaties in India are due for renewal in April, there may be some impact on the premium rates, especially for the catastrophic cover." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=60InsuringIndia News Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:01:06 GMT Japan's devastating earthquake has led to unspeakable damages to property and life. Initial figures for the losses for insurers and reinsurers across the globe are being estimated from $10 to $50 billion.<br/><br/>India’s state-owned companies - General Insurance Corporation of India and New India Assurance have some stakes in Japan and may have to cover some claims springing out of the earthquake in Japan. Chairman of GIC, Yogesh Lohiya said, "We are still assessing our exposure to Japan." He added "Right now the only information that we are getting are the images that we see on the television screen". <br/><br/>GIC may suffer losses on account of providing cover to insurers, while New India's coverage is direct. Chairman of New India Assurance, M. Ramadoss said, "We have six branches in Japan and my immediate concern is the well-being of our employees. I have spoken to our local office and I am told that they are all ok although many of them are stuck in their work places" "Our insurance there is largely cars and small shops and we expect some claims. There is reinsurance protection, but the cover kicks in only after claims cross a certain level" he further added. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=59InsuringIndia News Sat, 12 Mar 2011 11:20:03 GMT According to the reliable sources, Japan’s Nippon Life is to buy 26% stake ($720 million) in Reliance Life in a proposal to advance overseas business. If the deal is finalized, this would be one of the biggest overseas investments by a Japanese insurer in Asia. <br/><br/>Nippon Life Insurance Company is the largest life insurer (by revenue) in Japan. Reliance Life is the only private life insurer in India, which does not have a foreign partner and is completely owned by Reliance Capital Ltd.<br/><br/>Japan’s Asahi Newspaper today reported the deal. This information has not been made public yet by the both parties. Representative for Reliance Life in Mumbai as well as Nippon Life has refused to comment on the subject. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=58InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:56:26 GMT Now it’s good news for those who are investing in the unit-linked pension plan. They have various new options because IRDA is planning to come out, very near in the future, with four to five types of pension plans with assured guarantees.<br/><br/>Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is planning to revise a rule that will authorize insuring companies to offer guaranteed benefits on ULIP plans to promote sales of these policies as the current policy holder get a minimum 4.5 percent return per annum which is not appealing for investors. So, for boosting the sales of these products, IRDA will bring out new guide lines on pension policies offered by insuring companies, which will come into force from April 1 of this year. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=57InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:48:01 GMT India’s largest financial institution and the state-owned insurer, Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) has dropped its plan to issue infrastructure bonds worth Rs. 5,000 crore.<br/><br/>LIC already has a huge stake in the infrastructure sector and is worried that more exposure possibly will lead to bad assets and may hinder its responsibilities towards policy holders. LIC has already communicated its decision to the government.<br/><br/>The government has allowed LIC and several other companies to issue tax free infrastructure bonds and collect money to put in its infrastructure projects. These bonds give a return of 7 to 8 percent. They have tenure of ten years with a minimum lock in period of 5 years. A person can invest up to Rs. 20,000 every year in these tax-free bonds. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=56InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:56:20 GMT SBI Life Insurance has launched a new ULIP which guarantees, from the very beginning, a pre-determined NAV (net asset value) applicable at the closing of the ten year term. By choosing Return Guarantee Fund, the policy holder can form a long-run term investment amount based on lowest pre-determined NAV or prevalent NAV at the maturity date, whichsoever is higher. Furthermore, the policy holder can choose from Equity Fund or Managed Fund. <br/><br/>CEO and MD of SBI Life Insurance, M. N. Rao said, "Our aim is to build a sizeable and attractive suite of “Simple and Smart” products so as to allow our customers to choose relevant solutions that best meet their needs, aligned to their income and risk profile. <br/><br/>“Smart Wealth Assure” also offer policy holders non-obligatory Accidental Death benefit. With the launch of this single premium ULIP, SBI Life now has eight ULIPs in its stable. <br/><br/>According to the latest IRDA report, SBI Life stands first among private players in new business premium having a market share of 18.9 percent among private players and a total market share of 5.6 %. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=55InsuringIndia News Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:59:30 GMT According to reliable sources, American investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffett will be coming to India soon to publicize his charity ‘Giving Pledge’. Warren Buffet has requested a meeting with the chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Mr. J. Hari Narayan. <br/><br/>Warren Buffet owns Berkshire Hathaway, which is the parent company of many insurance and reinsurance companies all over the world. Berkshire Hathaway is reportedly set to move into India’s insurance market as a corporate agent for Bajaj Allianz General Insurance products. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=54InsuringIndia News Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:39:59 GMT In year 2009-10, out of total premium collected by insurance industry in India, Health segment had contributed over 21%. The total premium collected was over Rs. 8,000 crore. It is expected to multiply at the rate of 30% over the next five years. <br/><br/>Notwithstanding the growth potential, good healthcare quality is limited in the private sector. Out of India’s total population, only 16% has any form of medical cover.<br/><br/>The break-up of this coverage is as follows: <br/>? Employers contribute 14% <br/>? Voluntary insurance/for-profit schemes accounts for 18%<br/>? Community insurance schemes accounts for 38%<br/>? Compulsory health schemes/Govt schemes/Social insurance policies contribute 30% http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=53InsuringIndia News Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:38:50 GMT The non-life insurers are going to lose nearly threefold the profit it made yesteryear due to extra provisions for third party motor insurance claims. The authorities also said that the non-life insurance industry may collapse if motor insurance premiums are raised. <br/><br/>Previous year, non-life industry’s profits were approximately Rs. 1204 crores. This year, insurance companies would lose about Rs. 2,500-3,500 crore on account of extra provisions for third party motor insurance claims of which a significant percentage will be borne by the public sector insurance companies. <br/><br/>The reason for this loss is because the companies had grossly under provisioned for third-party claims by underestimating the compensation granted by the courts. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=52InsuringIndia News Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:45:55 GMT The country’s second largest public sector bank, Punjab National Bank on Thursday declared that it is planning to buy stake in a domestic life insurance company to start a new beginning in the insurance sector. Presently, PNB is the only prominent public sector bank, not having a life insurance subsidiary. It had tried to enter the life insurance sector through a joint venture with Vijaya Bank and Berger Paints, but it was not successful.<br/><br/>In a statement, the bank said, “The bank has decided to participate in the life insurance venture through a corporate agency tie-up, along with equity participation in an existing Indian life insurance company.” <br/><br/>For this purpose, the bank has invited proposals from ten life insurance companies. The short listed companies include Aviva India Life Insurance, Birla Sun Life Insurance, Aegon Religare Life Insurance, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, DLF Pramerica Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, Future Generali Life Insurance, Met Life Insurance, Reliance Life Insurance and Max New York Life Insurance. <br/><br/>The quotations will be accepted only till March 25 and the tie-up will be finalized during April-June, 2011. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=51InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:31:46 GMT Life Insurance Corporation’s new Unit Linked Insurance Plan 'Samridhi Plus' has proven to be a big success. Within just four days of its launch, LIC has sold around 54,000 policies and collected premium of over Rs. 213 crores. This product would be available only for a limited period.<br/><br/>Samridhi Plus’s premium ranges from Rs. 2,500 (monthly) to Rs. 30,000 (Single premium).<br/>This policy is for those people who want to guard their investment from market fluctuations, besides insurance protection, safety and growth http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=50InsuringIndia News Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:59:07 GMT Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is all set to move into India’s insurance market as a corporate agent for Bajaj Allianz General Insurance products. Berkshire India, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway will distribute and sell general insurance products through its on-line delivery portal and a tele-marketing channel on behalf of Bajaj Allianz. The initial focus will be on motor insurance.<br/><br/>The company is planning to extend top notch services at attractive rates in selling insurance products. If the results are good, Berkshire India will expand its portfolio to life, health and travel insurance, besides other products.<br/><br/>In a statement, Berkshire India's director Kara Raiguel said, “We’ve been tracking the Indian insurance turf for years and are thrilled about the emerging retail insurance opportunity. Berkshire Hathaway has a successful online and direct distribution model in the US and as corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz, it would like to replicate that success in India.” http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=49InsuringIndia News Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:57:06 GMT On Monday, while delivering the country's 80th and his 6th budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee stated that the economic sector reforms initiated in 1990s have given good results, and he intends to continue with them.<br/><br/>The Central government also announced the launching of a string of legislations that would raise the FDI (foreign direct investment) in the banking, insurance and pension sectors. Currently, the FDI limit is 26%, which will be raised to 49% when the new insurance legislation will come into force. The LIC bill would also raise the share-capital of LIC to Rs. 100 crores from Rs. 5 crores.<br/><br/>Pranab Mukherjee declared that the government aims to move Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, LIC Amendment Bill, Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Bill, and the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=48InsuringIndia News Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:31:00 GMT Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is pressing Central Government to cover all farmers as a unit under various crop insurance schemes. This winter, almost 35,00,000 hectare of MP’s pulse crop has been affected by frost-like conditions. This accounts to almost half the total pulse crop. The CM has already raised this issue before the Centre and is keenly awaiting the Centre’s answer.<br/><br/>The total losses have been calculated at Rs. 7,624 crores. The state government has arranged Rs. 700 crores and has already distributed Rs. 353 crores.<br/><br/>Until July, tehsil was considered one unit to calculate crop damage due to unfavourable weather conditions. Chouhan has decided to treat “Patwari Halka” as the unit for crop insurance in Madhya Pradesh.<br/><br/>In a meeting, Chouhan said, “In fact the Centre had left it on us to adopt Patwari Halka as a unit for crop insurance and my government was the first to consider it, but the irony is that we cannot help it out and farmers get nothing as compensation from insurance companies that mint money on their premium,” he further added, “For several years we are raising this issue with the Centre so that farmers can get adequate compensation. Members of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh had also raised the issue and lobbied support at the Central Government level.”<br/><br/>“I am concerned about those two million farmers who have lost their crops, the Central government must take immediate steps in the interest of the farmers,” he said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=47InsuringIndia News Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:02:03 GMT Poor awareness about state government's Rajiv Gandhi Student Accident Insurance Scheme for students has prompted the school education department of the PMC (Pune Municipal Corporation) to issue a circular propagating information on advantages under this scheme.<br/><br/>This step has been taken in an attempt to raise awareness among the students. Around 350 schools, including private, non-aided, aided and corporation’s school will benefit from this school. Education officer of the PMC, Mr. Ramchandra Jadhav said, "The decision to issue a circular for raising awareness about the benefits of the scheme was taken on Friday. The circular will be sent to schools within the next eight days, http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=46InsuringIndia News Sun, 27 Feb 2011 03:00:15 GMT Life Insurance Corporation today launched a new Unit Linked Insurance Plan by the name of 'Samridhi Plus'. Its minimum monthly premium will range from Rs. 2,500 (monthly) to Rs. 30,000 (Single premium). <br/><br/>This product is for those people who want to safeguard their investment from market fluctuations, besides insurance protection, safety and growth. This ULIP product has flexible payment options, the flexibility to change premium paying term and five investment funds. The policy is available for age group of 8 to 65 years and the term is fixed for 10 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=45InsuringIndia News Sat, 26 Feb 2011 09:56:32 GMT On 22nd of this month, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee declared in Rajya Sabha that cashless medical facilities for people insured with State owned general insurance companies are now available in 560 hospitals in four cities- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore and this will be expanded to cities of Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chandigarh very soon.<br/><br/>New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance are the four PSU insurance companies. These four companies have a preferred provider network (PPN)-a network of hospitals, which offers cashless facility for people insured under them.<br/><br/>In July last year, these four PSU insurers had blocked the cashless facility in many private hospitals, citing fraudulent over-billing by them. They also said that some of the hospitals were charging the patients having health insurance at higher rates. <br/><br/>In Mumbai region, Cumballa Hill Hospital and three hospitals from Fortis group have agreed to be part of the PPN programme of PSU companies for cashless facility. Apart from Fortis, the other main hospitals in the network are Jaslok Hospital, MGM, Sterling Wockhardt, Jupiter Hospital, Kohinoor Hospital and Seven Hills. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=44InsuringIndia News Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:25:35 GMT State owned general insurance companies- New India Assurance, National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance have decided to launch a dedicated TPA (third party administrator) with a joint venture partner. These public sector general insurers control over 70 percent of the individual health market.<br/><br/>Two TPAs had responded to the public sector companies' request for joint partnership, one of which will be finalized this week. Since 1996, when IRDA started giving permission to intermediaries, twenty-nine TPAs have set up their shop in India. <br/><br/>As compared to private insurers, state-owned insurance companies suffer as they are powerless to get better terms from hospitals because the health insurance claims administration is not streamlined. To give better and cheap services to customers and get better bargaining power, government-owned companies have decided to float their own TPA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=43InsuringIndia News Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:43:50 GMT Private insurer ING Life India has launched a traditional insurance product by the name of “ING ACE” (Pension and Life) having features such as limited premium pay, tax benefit under Section 80 C of the Income Tax Act and high guaranteed additions.<br/><br/>This new plan has two variants - “ING ACE Life” and “ING ACE Pension”. <br/><br/>“ING ACE Life” offer seven percent guaranteed additions per year, depending upon the premium paid.<br/><br/>“ING ACE Pensi on” offer clients a guaranteed addition of 8.75 percent per year throughout the 10year term of the policy.<br/><br/>ING Life’'s Sales, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Uco Vegtor, said, "ING ACE (both variants) offers high guaranteed additions, tax benefits under Section 80 C and is available with low commitment from their (customers) side, as they need to pay only three annual premiums. It is convenient to buy as it does not require medical check-ups, and has a fairly simple proposal form to be filled." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=42InsuringIndia News Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:36:32 GMT According to IRDA, life insurers will only be permitted to dilute up to 10% stake through initial public offers. The insurance watch dog is determined to limit the stake dilution by life insuring companies in the initial three years of listing. The market regulator, SEBI (Securities & Exchange Board of India) authorizes up to 25% shares of a listed company to be held by the public. <br/><br/>Private life insuring companies such as ICICI Prudential, HDFC Life, SBI Life and Reliance have showed interest in tapping the capital markets. IRDA in all likelihood will release the IPO guidelines inside the next 45 days. At present, only those companies having 10 years of operations are allowed to bring IPOs, but IRDA may also allow companies having a record of seven years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=41InsuringIndia News Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:50:56 GMT In a move to fight illiteracy among underprivileged children, the private sector insurer, Reliance Life Insurance has pledged to donate Rs. 25,000 for every six scored in the World Cup. <br/><br/>In the first match between India and Bangladesh, ten sixes were scored, seven by India and three by Bangladesh. Reliance Life Insurance would be donating Rs. 2.5 lakh for these ten sixes to around 300 underprivileged children. Experts believe that total amount could come close to Rs. one crore for all sixes that could be scored in this international cricket tournament. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=40InsuringIndia News Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:06:58 GMT The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India has filed a case against United India Insurance Co Ltd in the Bombay high court for increasing the premium amount on a group insurance policy after its expiration. The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India has approximately 25,000 members.<br/><br/>In March 2009, 1173 society members applied for a one-year Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy from the company. The policy furnished a cover of Rs. Five lakh and Rs. Ten lakh and a fixed premium was calculated according to the risk exposure of each member. The total insured amount was Rs. 72.40 crore. <br/><br/>The policyholders were asked to cough up an extra amount of Rs. 3,453 per member from policyholders with a Rs. Five lakh mediclaim cover and Rs. 6,907 from policyholders with a mediclaim cover of Rs. Ten lakh. The reason cited-an incurred loss ratio of Rs 1.67 crore. The insurance company also warned that the policies would be cancelled if the amount was not paid. <br/><br/>A division bench comprising of Justice K. K. Tated and Justice D. K. Deshmukh has admitted the petition and stayed the notice issued by the Insurance Company. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=39InsuringIndia News Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:01:46 GMT In the year 2009-2010, the state of Maharashtra led the country in filing of medical insurance claims, suggesting higher levels of public consciousness about the issue. According to a report compiled by IIB (Insurance Information Bureau), more than 2.96 lakh in Maharashtra applied for reimbursement and cashless claims with insurance companies offering health cover in the financial year 2009-2010. In contrast, policy holders in Delhi applied for just only 1.16 lakh claims. <br/><br/>An insurance expert assigned this difference to public awareness degrees. He said, "In Delhi and Maharashtra, particularly in cities like Mumbai and Pune, awareness about insurance products is comparatively higher than in rest of the country. A large number of people are buying health insurance policies. Obviously, with a sizeable number of people getting insured, the claims are also going to be high." <br/><br/>Nevertheless, the multitude of insurance claims does not mean big amount of money. For example, Delhi, which had filed fewer claims than many states, had the highest amount of compensation paid by insurance companies in the country.<br/><br/>However, there are many experts in industry, who attribute this increase in claims due to fraudulent practices. It has been seen that in many cases, policy holders file fraudulent claims with extra billing and extended hospitalization. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=38InsuringIndia News Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:32:30 GMT Because of proposed M&A rules and regulations for non-life insurance firms, general insurers Reliance General and Royal Sundaram will have to file their application once again. They had applied for a merger in the month of July 2010 and were awaiting the regulator’s clearance. <br/><br/>As per the proposal, the United Kingdom’s RSA group was expected to have a 26 percent stake in Reliance General. At present, Reliance Capital owns 100 percent interest in the company. Sundaram group, holding 74 percent in Royal Sundaram General Insurance, was likely to exit through this merger. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=37InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:20:29 GMT Milestone Capital Advisors Ltd’s IPO (initial public offering) received a setback as it got stalled for about 8 months due to expostulations by capital market regulator SEBI. The reason given by SEBI is that this IPO may expose small investors to too much risk. Edelweiss Capital Ltd., ICICI Securities Ltd. and IDFC Capital Ltd. are the merchant bankers to the IPO issue. <br/><br/>Milestone wishes to sell a 30 percent stake for an undisclosed number, which will be invested as seed capital for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and infrastructure. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=36InsuringIndia News Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:19:55 GMT IRDA is soon going to release IPO (Initial Public Offer) roadmap for life insurance companies. IRDA is expected to order all life insurance companies to abide by all the SEBI disclosure norms for Initial Public Offer.<br/><br/>In a statement, IRDA said that guidelines for the initial public offer of life insurance companies will be out within the next eight days. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had given approval to insurance companies for coming out with a public float in October, 2010. IRDA, in all likelihoods, will allow only those companies to come out with a public float, which have been in the insurance business for at least last ten years and have a good profit record of three consecutive years. <br/><br/>The insurance regulator has also told the life insurance firms to segregate their balance sheet. The companies will have to declare their profitability of their different products like ULIPs, pension, endowment or annuity in their balance sheet. The companies will have to get their IPO draft inspected from IRDA before submitting to the SEBI. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=35InsuringIndia News Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:14:31 GMT Bharti AXA General Insurance has become the first insurance company in India to offer road-side Assistance all across the country. In the beginning, the network will cover 1500 locations in 22 states. Bharti AXA General Insurance has tied up with AXA Assistance to provide road-side assistance for private cars at Rs. 1 per day or Rs 365 (plus taxes) for a year.<br/><br/>Bharti AXA is selling this product as an add-on cover that will provide emergency assistance to its customers as well as others in the case of breakdown of their vehicle. <br/><br/>This service will be available 24 hours, 7days a week with multi-lingual support. The service includes: <br/>• Changing of flat tyre. <br/>• Repairs for minor breakdowns. <br/>• In case of major breakdown, vehicle towing to the nearest garage. <br/>• Help in case of lost keys/lockout. <br/>• Arranging emergency fuel in case the vehicle runs out of fuel. <br/>• Transport assistance to the closest safe place for the passengers of the vehicle. <br/><br/>The roadside assistance service will cover all private cars up to five years of Age. To use this service, customers have to dial a toll free number 1800-1020-100. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=34InsuringIndia News Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:24:00 GMT During the period from April to December 2010, Life insurance industry paid total commission of Rs. 10,954 crore to insurance agents. There has been a decrease of 5.88% of the total premium collected as compared to 6.41% in the same period last year. Total premium, including renewal premium as well as new business collected by life insurance industry in the April-December 2010 was Rs. 1,86,285 crore.<br/><br/> After the new ULIP regulations came into effect in September, 2010, the sales of insurance products have fallen sharply. Total commission paid to agents in the October-December 2010 quarter was Rs. 4,142 crore as compared to Rs. 4,198 crore in the same period previous year, according to Life Insurance Council data. Industry insiders say that commission paid has come down due to cap on charges in unit-linked policies levied by IRDA. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=33InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:17:45 GMT The IRDA has announced new guidelines addressing minimum performance for life insurance agents.<br/><br/>The agents will now have to ascertain that at least 50% policies sold by them are renewed in the subsequent year, failing which they will not be able to get their license renewed. The rate of renewal of policies will be a deciding factor in renewing licences of agencies. The new rules will come into effect from July 2011.<br/><br/>According to the new rules, the agents should get more than half the policies sold by them renewed in the subsequent year. Two years henceforth, it should increase to 75%. Only then the agents will qualify for the renewal of their licence. Agents are required to maintain complete records of various policies sold by them and their persistency on the yearly basis.<br/><br/>In a statement, IRDA said, "Low persistency of life insurance policies is a cause of concern for regulators worldwide, the industry, intermediaries and policyholders. Early lapses and surrenders are not desirable for any of the stakeholders in the sector."<br/><br/>Responding to the directive, LIC’s chief executive, S. B. Mathur said, that although the insurance industry is not against guidelines on "persistency", but should be a roadmap for achieving this. He said, "The guidelines if enforced overnight will discourage people and bring down numbers," He also pointed that the number of agents has reduced approx. 27 lakhs from over 29 lakhs a year ago.<br/><br/>IRDA has also asked insurance companies not to appoint any relatives of its employees as agents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=32InsuringIndia News Tue, 15 Feb 2011 12:56:24 GMT The Board of Control for Cricket in India has insured Indian Cricket Team for Rs. 2.3 crore for each player for personalaccident policy during the World Cup championship.<br/><br/>The BCCI has also made a premium deal of around Rs. 130 crore to protect financial losses in case of a match being affected by bad weather with the Oriental Insurance company.<br/><br/>Oriental Insurance Company’s DGM Reena Bhatnagar said, “BCCI has purchased the group personal accident policy with $500,000 or Rs 2.3 crore for each player for the period during Feb 10-April 9.”<br/><br/>The policy will cover permanent partial disability, death or total disability and temporary total disability to a player or a support staff member. The policy will also come into play if a player or support staff member becomes a victim or sustains an injury due to a terror attack. The policy is allowed under the International Cricket Council's norms. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=31InsuringIndia News Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:25:46 GMT Now, you don’t have to be afraid if your finances dry up in case of losing your job. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company is near future is going to dole out various groundbreaking products, which will address such kind of anxieties.<br/><br/>Bharti AXA Life Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti group of India and the AXA Group of France. The share is 76:26 respectively with total worth of $370-million. The company has promised to launch these first-of-its-kind risk cover products in India by the third quarter of this year.<br/><br/>Besides job loses, the company will also cover such contingencies such as funeral expenses. The group's CFO, V. Srinivasan said, "We are planning a funeral expense plan as part of life insurance policy, which will pay the funeral expenses within 48 hours of an intimation of a death-claim, even if the full settlement takes more time."<br/><br/>Srinivasan told IANS, "As regard the job-loss rider, it will compensate a policy holder for a specified period if he loses his job suddenly." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=30InsuringIndia News Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:19:08 GMT The premium aggregate collected by the life insurance companies in the calendar year 2010 has come to Rs. 1,86,285 crore as compared to Rs. 64,399 crore in the previous year. This is an increase of 13% from previous year, according to the Life Insurance Council. This growth became possible due to many important regulatory changes made in profile of unit linked insurance products (ULIPs) in year 2010.<br/><br/>“This gain is credited to the fact that the insurance industry saw a zoom in new business premium collections before the new ULIP regulations came into force on September 1, 2010,” the Council said.<br/><br/>According to data released by the Life Insurance Council (Apex industry body of all life insurance companies in India), all insurance companies are in the process of trimming costs. LIC has cut down its broker strength by 62,956. All over the industry, the number of agents also reduced to 27, 10,301 in the 2010 from 29,84,285 in 2009. The number of immediate employees has reduced from 2,67,819 to 2,49,635.<br/><br/> "The life insurance industry is evolving post-reformative initiatives by the Irda (insurance regulator) and the companies are now focusing on quality growth," Life Insurance Council Secretary General S B Mathur said.<br/>"If you compare the new business premium collected in rupee terms, then there is a fall in the collection by Rs 4,135 crore on a quarter-on-quarter basis. This is due to near non-existence of pension products in the offerings of private insurers. Post-introduction of new ULIP guidelines, private life insurers are reluctant to launch pension products that have to compulsorily offer 4.5% return guarantee," the council said. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=29InsuringIndia News Sun, 13 Feb 2011 10:46:53 GMT IRDA edict gifting unhappy health insurance customers the choice to switch insurers elicited mixed response from the companies.<br/>Some insurance companies are of the view that the guidelines may have some untoward impact on the insurance sector.<br/><br/>CEO of Apollo Munich Health Insurance, Antony Jacob said, "Portability can be genesis to various frauds and misuses. We need to evaluate the pros and cons of the move, but we are confident that in the long run, it would be the company with the better services and integrity that would stand to gain in the market dynamics,"<br/><br/>According to the guidelines, when a person wants to switch, the previous health insurer will have to share the particulars of policy in maximum seven days. Nonetheless, many industry people feel that there can be logistical issues as all insurers do not have a centralized data processing facility.<br/><br/>Many industry experts think that the new system will demand strong underwriting and selection process by the insurance companies, since the new system can be misused by some policy holders. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=28InsuringIndia News Sat, 12 Feb 2011 10:31:04 GMT The committee set up by IRDA on electronic issuance of insurance policies is scheduled to deliver its report by March 4; the deliberation is still on whether the present insurance infrastructure can support such a system. There are some significant technicalities that make online issuance a complicated business.<br/><br/>For example, a customer wants to renew a car insurance policy online, it will be convenient to him, but for this to work, the insuring company must have all the data, like vehicle registration certificate and previous policy. This can only be possible if you choose the same insurer year after year. If you change the insurer, there can be holdups.<br/><br/>Experts feel that for online system to work, it needs to be flexible. <br/>In health insurance, problems generally arise when the customer requires medical tests. In this case, the policy is not instantly activated on online purchase. The insured has to undergo additional tests.<br/><br/>The main objectives of the new committee are to determine the operational, reduction in cost and legal complexities. There are many complexities involved are issues such as client database, customer privacy, need for foolproof digital signatures, etc. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=27InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:03:29 GMT There is good news for medical policy holders, IRDA has decided that from July 1st onwards those policy holders who are not happy with their insurance companies, can transfer their policies to other companies.<br/><br/>Medical policyholders can change over their insurers like mobile phone service providers from July 1 this year. IRDA today issued guidelines for portability of health insurance policies. <br/><br/>With this portability coming from this July, the insured person will get the total credit for the period of cover besides no-claim bonus with the former insurance company and if you want to raise the sum assured, you will have to pay a higher premium. <br/><br/>The Portability will also help you if you are getting transferred. Individuals shifting from one area to other areas are often at disadvantage because of lack of insuring company providing essential services in the new region. Also, employees changing their jobs from one employer to another loose insurance cover due to lack of portability of the health policies. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=26InsuringIndia News Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:01:37 GMT US Trade Representative Ron Kirk has said that the US was very disappointed with the sluggish pace of opening up of Indian economy, in spite of this issue being raised at the highest level. <br/><br/>At present, US companies can only own up to 26% of the value of an insurance firm within India. US companies want to increase this number to 49%.<br/><br/>Ron Kirk said "As you know, (the US) President (Barack) Obama led in exports and a mission to India as part of his Southeast Asia trip last year and I will be honest, we have been extraordinarily frustrated at the slow pace of opening that market." <br/><br/>Kirk said, "I lead a trade sort of policy forum in which we have raised these issues of them opening up their economy for more. "This would be a case that when we can finish our mid-review we are also looking to perhaps get India to sign a bilateral investment treaty which would remove those caps not only in insurance but liberalise their markets across the board." <br/><br/>There's great opportunity for Americans in the retail, in the agriculture and in the manufacturing sectors, he said, adding "some of this US was trying to address if we can get, frankly, the right balance in the Doha round. “The rest of it we're going to continue to see if we can't find the right buttons to push in our bilateral engagements." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=25InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:23:15 GMT BCCI has taken an event cancellation insurance cover and one against terrorism for Cricket World Cup which will begin on February 19th. The total sum assured is of Rs. 246 crore. <br/><br/>The policy would kick in if there was a loss in BCCI’s revenues because of unfavourable weather. This will also apply in case of non-appearance of teams. The starting matches are insured for Rs. 1 to 1.5 crore each. The semi-finals are insured for Rs. 10 crore and the final have been insured Rs. 15 crore. BCCI has also taken a Rs. 123-crore insurance policy against terrorism. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=24InsuringIndia News Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:21:25 GMT Future Generali has launched a distinct promotional initiative – “Sign Karo Mukti Paao”. The aim of this campaign is to attract new clients. The reason behind this campaign is the low penetration of insurance in India. <br/><br/>Keeping this in view, the Future Generali rolled out a campaign to remove this roadblock in insurance. The aim was to convince the main earning member (Karta) of the family about the necessity of insuring himself. <br/><br/>Brand and corporate communications Head of Future Generali, Abraham Alapatt said, "We wanted to do it in a way that delivers the message without losing the edge, but in a manner light-hearted enough for the consumers to accept it." <br/><br/>The company has launched an “Insurance Week from January 29 to February 6th to ensure accessibility to users. For this campaign, the company has tied up Big Bazaar, to accomplish maximum reach. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=23InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:03:07 GMT The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) have advocated increase of deduction under section 80 D from Rs. 15000 to Rs. 25000. <br/><br/>The justification given by ASSOCHAM is "In the context of the sharply increasing medical expenses, medical insurance premiums are escalating every year. Also, there is need to increase the penetration ratio of insurance by providing encouragement through tax reliefs for opting for medical insurance." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=22InsuringIndia News Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:02:37 GMT The Life Insurance Corporation internal investigation committee has as yet found anything improper in its housing branch. Talking to newsperson in Murshidabad, LIC chairman T.S. Vijayan declined to comment on whether the panel has already presented its report. <br/><br/>"I cannot comment on the status of the committee, but we have not found anything wrong so far".<br/><br/>After the arrest of some top level LIC Housing officials for their alleged involvement in kickback for loan scam by the CBI, LIC had set up a high-level committee composing of three executive-director rank officeholders to look into the matter and recommend corrective steps, if needed. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=21InsuringIndia News Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:28:35 GMT LIC said in a statement that it has crossed the target of 2.5 crore policies in the present year as of 29th January. "LIC has completed 2,52,44,846 policies and received Rs. 34,137.12 crore in First Premium Income in the current financial year." <br/><br/>Under the new IRDA guidelines, the ULIP Plans has helped boost the numbers considerably. Its product “Endowment Plus” has collected 1,017,560 policies in just over four months with First Premium Income of Rs. 4,804.12 crore. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=20InsuringIndia News Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:27:36 GMT Indian public sector bank, Syndicate Bank has tied up with Tata AIG Life Insurance Company to provide insurance solution to its clients all over its branches in the country. According to the agreement, it will offer its clients, group insurance product Tata AIG Life Group Term Life at a very attractive rate. <br/><br/> Under this policy, the clients of Syndicate Bank can avail a life insurance cover up to Rs. 25,000 at a low-priced premium. <br/><br/> Syndicate Bank Executive Director Ravi Chatterjee said, 'In the line with our financial inclusion initiatives, we continue to develop products and services that meet the need of this segment. The partnership with Tata AIG Life will enable us to provide the much needed life insurance cover at an affordable cost to vast sections of disadvantaged and lower income groups.' http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=19InsuringIndia News Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:37:07 GMT SBI Life Insurance is now India’s biggest private insurance company. It has overcome ICICI Prudential to turn into the country's biggest private insurer in terms of 1st year premium amount of Rs. 4,698 crore for the period April-December, 2010-11. <br/><br/> ICICI Prudential is slightly behind with the premium collection of Rs. 4,651 crore until December, as per the data released by IRDA. SBI Life Insurance is a JV between SBI and BNP Paribas Assurance with SBI owning 74% of the total capital in the Joint Venture. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=18InsuringIndia News Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:35:10 GMT Aegon Religare Life Insurance, a combined venture between Religare Enterprises Limited of India and Aegon of Netherlands, is targeting to achieve a premium income of Rs. 240 crore in this fiscal year. <br/><br/> Aegon Religare Life Insurance which started its business in year 2008 has assets of approx. Rs.550 crore, 7,000 insurance advisers and more than 50,000 clients. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=17InsuringIndia News Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:32:48 GMT India is home to the 3rd largest number of people suffering from HIV/AIDS in the world. There are 23.9 lakh HIV+ people in the country (prevalence rate of 0.31%). <br/><br/> Presently, there is no insurance policy in India which covers HIV/AIDS and this goes against the government’s directive of providing stigma-free health care and support services. <br/><br/> With a view to address this issue, the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) held a meeting with Insurance Regulatory Development Agency and insurance companies on 3rd of February to make insurance inclusive and universal for PLHIV (people living with HIV) and we will be able to see a national medical insurance policy for PLHIV. <br/><br/> According to Union health ministry officials, “AIDS was in the beginning thought of as an incurable disease, but now is a "manageable health problem" and, therefore, should be included in medical insurance policies.” <br/><br/> Presently, only Allied Insurance and Star Health has an insurance policy for PLHIVs in the four states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. <br/><br/> Recently, national health insurance scheme, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), was launched for BPL in 366 districts of 29 states. HIV has been excluded from the exclusion list making it possible for poor PLHIVs to be covered under this health insurance scheme. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=16InsuringIndia News Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:28:53 GMT Private insurance firm Bharti AXA Life Insurance has brought five products into the market; three traditional products and two unit-linked. The ULIP schemes are named “True Wealth” and “Bright Stars Edge” while “Aajeevan Anand”, “Family Income” and “Secure Future Champs” are traditional plans. <br/><br/> Bharti AXA Life CMOO, Mark Meehan said in a statement, "Post the new guidelines by IRDA, we have developed our new portfolio of insurance products to suit various life- stages of the customer and provide them with great value." He also added, “The new child, regular income and traditional plans together provide a powerful suite of products catering to the needs of various segments of the customer base.” <br/><br/> The company is planning to launch a series of more products tailor-made to fit respective customer segments. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=15InsuringIndia News Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:26:42 GMT The IRDA has issued some guidelines regarding outsourcing and core processes like investment and grievance redressal. It has asked insurance companies not to outsource these activities as it may reduce internal controls. Some of these activities are customer identification, underwriting and fund accounting, among other things. <br/><br/> In a circular to all companies, it said, "The insurer shall ensure that outsourcing arrangements neither diminish its ability to fulfill its obligations to policyholders nor impede effective supervision by IRDA.”<br/><br/> "Accordingly, insurers should not engage in outsourcing that would result in their internal control, business conduct or reputation being compromised or weakened," it added.<br/><br/> The non-core activities defined by IRDA are claim processing over overseas medical insurance, payroll management, call centre and housekeeping. These guidelines will come into effect right away. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=14InsuringIndia News Sat, 05 Feb 2011 10:22:42 GMT Life Insurance Corporation of India is planning to launch a pension plan for its agents. This move is seen as an attempt by LIC to keep its half a million force of agents from crossing over to private insurance companies. This special pension plan is for agents who earn commissions of more than one lakh every year and the scheme will be introduced in the next few weeks.<br/><br/> Managing Director of LIC, AK Dasgupta said, "Currently, there is a scheme for agents who earn less than 1 lakh of commission per annum, but there are no schemes for agents who earn more than a lakh. This scheme will be on the line of the central government's new pension scheme and will be contributory in nature."<br/><br/> The insurance company, a few days back, has also introduced a new scheme "City Career Agent" to attract new talents. This scheme offers a regular monthly payment to agents. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=13InsuringIndia News Sat, 05 Feb 2011 10:13:33 GMT Insurance company LIC has launched two new insurance products; ‘Bima Account I’ and ‘Bima Account II’. Both these plans are the first Variable Insurance Plans under the new IRDA regimen.<br/><br/> The plans guarantee minimum returns and provide ample risk cover. The minimum premium is Rs 600/ month under ECS mode for Bima Account I, while it is Rs 1,250 under Bima Account II. The minimum age required for the Bima Account I is 11 years to 50 years while it is 8 years to 60 years for Bima Account II. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=12InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:24:54 GMT The national consumer forum has ruled that an insured person can claim damages for burglary in the cases of only Forcible entry into premises. The NCDRC decreed on the appeal by New India Assurance Company against a cooperative credit society's claim for reparation for theft from its safety deposit box by its own staff members.<br/><br/> "In the facts and circumstances, the insurance company had rightly repudiated the claim of the complainant on the ground of lack of actual forcible and violent entry as also the involvement of the employees of the establishment of the complainant in the incident in question," said the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=11InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:21:53 GMT Insurance regulator IRDA has set up a functional committee to lay down rules for online issuing of insurance policies. This move will usher in demat of insurance policies. The committee will submit its recommendations before March 4, 2011.<br/><br/> The panel will also analyze technicalities in issuance of electronic policies, legal implications, required amendments and MO besides operational procedures for policy servicing and cost benefit analysis.<br/><br/> This demat form idea was floated by APJ Abdul Kalam, when he was the President of India. The members of the committee are: A Giridhar, member(IRDA), Sandeep Bakshi (ICICI Prudentail Life Insurance), Jayant Dua (Birla Sun Life Insurance), V Philip (Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance), besides HDFC Std Life Insurance’s Amitabh Choudhary, TATA AIG General’s Gaurav D Garg, CDSL‘s P. S. Reddy and others. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=10InsuringIndia News Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:18:11 GMT Life insurers are downsizing employees and closing branches as cost-cutting measures due to the slump seen in the life insurance sector this year.<br/><br/>Life insurers in India closed down at least 450 branches for the period ending in September 2011, against 11,899 branches at the end of September 2010. The number of employees also fell by almost 17,000 as per the data available with the Life Insurance Council.<br/><br/>According to IRDA, private life insuring companies shut down 593 branches in year 2010-11. The largest private insurer, ICICI Prudential Life, itself closed down 100 branches in the past year.<br/><br/>As the last quarter of the fiscal year set to start, the private life insuring industry is hoping to get big business. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=365InsuringIndia News Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:44:55 GMT IRDA has set up a committee under chairmanship of M Ramaprasad to look into issues associated with third party insurance cover for motor vehicles. The committee is constituted of 12 members together with representatives from non-life insurance industry.<br/> <br/>The agenda of the committee is to re-examine the existing arrangement and analyze the possibility and modalities to ascertain the availability of third party liability cover to all commercial vehicles in addition to the driver of the vehicle. The committee will submit its recommendations in three months. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=9InsuringIndia News Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:43:31 GMT Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company, a JV between Edelweiss Capital and Tokio Marine has received the R1 approval from IRDA to start its business as a life insurance company in India. <br/>Tokio Marine is one of the world's leading insurance companies having its headquarters in Japan and Edelweiss Capital is India’s leading diversified financial services company.<br/>Deepak Mittal, Director of Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance said in a statement, “Life insurance premiums are likely to increase from the present level of Rs 2 lakh crore to about Rs 10 lakh crore in the next decade. We are excited by this opportunity and are confident of bringing a differentiated offering leveraging product development capabilities, understanding of Indian consumer needs and our partners' global experience," http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=8InsuringIndia News Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:42:29 GMT Insurance company Aviva Life Insurance has launched two new insurance products; ‘Life Shield Platinum’ and ‘Aviva Dhan Varsha’ on 27th of this month. <br/>Life Shield Platinum has options to choose the protection need ranging from loan protection, life protection and income replacement. <br/>Aviva Dhan Varsha is a traditional protection cum investment plan which will give a guaranteed addition of 6% to 9% of the life cover along with life protection to assure secure future. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=7InsuringIndia News Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:41:33 GMT As the cases of spurious calls offering attractive policies are on the rise, insurance watchdog IRDA has asked insurance companies to tackle this threat in the interest of general public. IRDA has received complaints about certain spurious callers identifying themselves as IRDA employees in a bid to sell insurance policies. <br/>IRDA has issued a caution notice for public about such fake callers and has also filed a police complaint to stop this threat. The regulator has also directed the insurance companies to take necessary action to purge this menace. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=6InsuringIndia News Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:41:11 GMT The solvency margin norms for insurance firms offering health insurance schemes have been slackened by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). This latest move by insurance watchdog will assist insurers to conserve precious cash. Solvency margin is the surplus assets that a life insurer has to keep over its liabilities.<br/>The regulator now will allow a maximum period of 180-days if the solvency margin falls below the specified 1.5% due to holdup of receivables from Government. Until now, IRDA didn’t distinguish between receivables from non-Government and Government bodies for computing the solvency margin while the insurance companies faced substantial delays in receivables from Government. <br/>While explaining the rationale behind the move, Chairman of IRDA, Mr. J. Hari Narayan said, “The Authority has received representations from various insurers for relaxing the provisions of regulation for the receivable from the Central/State Government, since they experience considerable delays in receipt of the dues which in turn may adversely effects their solvency position." http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=5InsuringIndia News Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:40:04 GMT The ULIPs controversy between IRDA and SEBI has resulted in IRDA coming up with new rules for ULIPs structures. These new rules are applicable from the month of September, 2010. Some of the major changes in the rules are: <br/>The minimum number of premium paying term and the lock in period has been increased from three years to five years. <br/>The charges will now be equally distributed over the term of the investment. <br/>For people below 45 years of age, the top up plans will have cover of 125% and 110% of the premium for people above 45 years of age. <br/>The patrons now can take a loan of 40% of NAV value from a ULIPs fund with 60% equity component while the loan can be 50% if the equity component is 40%. <br/>A guaranteed return of at least 4.5% for pension products. <br/>Surrender charges have also been reduced to 15% in the first year to 5% in the fifth year with gradual reduction. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=4InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:39:07 GMT Future Generali India Life Insurance Company has launched ‘Nivesh Preferred’, a single premium ULIP. It has four term options of 7, 10, 15, and 20 years and is available for age group of 7 to 68 years. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=3InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:38:45 GMT Today, Clients are more and more purchasing insurance policies from the online aggregators, short-circuiting the agents. Health insurance, motor, travel and baggage policies are increasingly being purchased online as it is cheaper and convenient for both the client and the insurance company. There is increasing trend of online sales of those policies which require no health check-ups. As incentives to customers, insurance companies are giving discounts to those who prefer to renew policies online. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=2InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:38:14 GMT HDFC Life has launched a new Unit Linked Insurance Plan by the name of ProGrowth Flexi. Its minimum monthly premium will be of Rs. 2,500. This product is for those people who are seeking a life insurance plan that is flexible and affordable. This ULIP product has flexible payment options, the flexibility to change premium paying term and five investment funds. http://www.insuringindia.com/Global/NewsBlog.aspx?ID=1InsuringIndia News Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:35:44 GMT