Published in Mint on 23 June 2015, Written by Abhishek Bondia What is a free look period? Why is it important? —Bhargav In a free look period, a policy can be canceled without penalties. Typical premature withdrawal or surrender charges associated with life insurance are not applied during the free look period. When a policy […]
Articles Tagged: Life Insurance
Life insurance industry loses 5 lakhs agents in 5 years
Published in Cafemutual on 24th April, 2017 Agent attrition has been an ongoing issue in the life insurance industry. Recent data provided by Life Insurance Council (LIC) shows that over 5.20 lakh agents left the distribution of life insurance policies in the last 5 years. LIC is a trade body of the life insurance industry. The […]
Critical illness diagnosed in waiting period is not covered
Published in Mint, December 4th 2013, Written By Kapil Mehta What is the criterion to determine the eligibility of loan and repayment thereof under a life policy? —Ketan There are five requirements for determining the eligibility. First of all (and the most obvious), the insurance should have a loan facility. This feature is most common […]
Standalone plans are available at prices similar to riders
Published in Mint on May 20 2014, Written by Kapil Mehta While buying a money-back policy, agents usually give a benefit illustration. How genuine are these? —Kamini Ghoshal When I hand a Rs.500 note to a shopkeeper, she invariably peers at it suspiciously. If she finds the right ink marks, holograms and dates, I get […]
Are life insurers equipped to sell indemnity health plans?
Published in Livemint. Last week, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) formed a committee to look into the feasibility of allowing life insurers to sell indemnity health plans. The payout from these plans is limited to the expenses incurred up to a predetermined sum insured. Irdai had first allowed them to sell […]
Why should one take riders with term life insurance
Riders are add-on covers insurers provide to enhance the scope of a life policy. Riders cover risks that are beyond the scope of the main life policy, resulting in a more comprehensive protection. The most common riders cover critical illness (or dreaded diseases) or personal accident (or accidental death and dismemberment). These add-ons step in […]
Consumption of large amounts of alcohol might deny you cover
Published in Mint on 25th February 2014, Written by Kapil Mehta I will be going abroad for around seven years. I want to know whether I can pay my premiums through cheques from my account there. —Jayanti Bose Insurers generally prefer that you pay in Indian rupees. Paying in foreign currency is possible but comes […]
As insurance payouts rise, so could your premiums
Published in Mint, on 10th April 2017 From this financial year, your insurance agent is eligible to get a higher payout for selling you a policy, but did you know that this may increase your premium as well? Last month, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) in a series of circulars has […]
Life insurers are settling more claims
Published in Mint on Feb 02 2015 According to the latest annual report published by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (Irdai), life insurance companies have done a better job of settling death claims in financial year (FY) 2014 than in FY13. In terms of the number of policies settled, 12 life insurance companies […]
Nominee has to pass money from insurer to deceased’s heirs
Published in Mint on 11th February 2014, Written by Kapil Mehta Do critical illness protection riders offered by life insurance companies serve the same purpose as health insurance? —Avik Health insurance is a broad term that covers several types of insurance products—mediclaim or indemnity-based, critical illness, hospital cash or accidental injury. Generally health insurance is […]