BUSINESS
New IRDAI rules: Life insurance policyholders to get higher early-exit payouts from October 1
The IRDAI had asked life insurance companies to ensure that existing endowment policies comply with the new norms by September 30. So, all products sold to customers from October 1 will have to offer special the surrender value right from year one.
BUSINESS
Hospitalisation costs in India surge 13% in FY24; cancer, heart disease risks higher among 41-50 year age group: ACKO Insurance
Average angioplasty claim sizes have increased from Rs 1-1.5 lakh in 2018 to Rs 2-3 lakh in 2024. Similarly, kidney transplant costs have doubled from Rs 5-8 lakh to Rs 10-15 lakh, the study, based on the company’s internal claims, said.
BUSINESS
Mpox Clade 1B strain in India: Will your health insurance pay for treatment expenses?
Like any other infectious disease, if the treatment involves hospitalisation, the expenses will be reimbursed by regular health insurance policies.
BUSINESS
Exiting your organisation? Check if you can convert your group health cover into a personal plan
Employees can migrate to their group health insurer’s individual health insurance policy, but it will be up to the insurer to accept the proposal and also determine premiums. The terms and conditions could also vary. However, for employees, who have elderly parents, the reduction in waiting period for pre-existing illnesses is the key benefit.
BUSINESS
NPS Vatsalya: Why children’s pension cannot be priority over education or parents' retirement plans
For children’s higher education, which is the top goal for parents, equity mutual funds constitute a better vehicle, say financial advisors. Even amongst government schemes, PPF and Sukanya Samriddhi score over NPS Vatsalya as they make funds available when education funding needs arise.
BUSINESS
NPS Vatsalya: How to invest in this scheme? Understand the features, benefits, eligibility and more
NPS Vatsalya is targeted at parents who want to secure their children’s financial future by creating a large corpus over the long term. FM Sitharaman released the details of the children focused investment instrument, which was first announced in Budget 2024.
BUSINESS
NPS Vatsalya for children: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to launch the scheme shortly; Know the features, benefits, eligibility and more
NPS Vatsalya is targeted at parents who want to secure their children’s financial future by creating a large corpus over the long-term. The scheme was first announced in Budget 2024. FM Sitharman will release the children-focussed investment instrument’s details today.
BUSINESS
Ayushman Bharat scheme: Why senior citizens over 70 need separate health insurance covers despite PM-JAY
Ayushman Bharat: The Rs 5-lakh cover can be a viable back-up to a primary, base health insurance policy, but not a substitute. Long queues for treatment, diagnostic tests, limited choice of hospitals and shared accommodation are causes for concern for senior citizens who are above 70 years, Insurance officials and independent experts say,
ECONOMY
Ayushman Bharat scheme's expansion not enough. Quality & choice of care also important
At 1 percent of GDP, India spends among the least on healthcare. Ayushman Bharat is well-intentioned, but it needs to evolve to provide people with quality — and not cheap — healthcare.
BUSINESS
TCS India employees get tax demand notices; company asks them to wait before paying up
The company expects the department to revisit the notices and issue to be resolved soon. According to experts, there's a possibility that tax authorities committed a mistake while processing the filed returns
BUSINESS
Most companies offer group health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh, maternity benefits of Rs 50,000: study
Close to 57 percent companies offer coverage to employees' parents. This cohort accounts for 60 percent of claims received under group health insurance policies, Prudent Insurance Brokers’ annual employee benefits scorecard has found.
BUSINESS
Nearly 78% affluent Indians want kids to study abroad, but only 53% have investment plans in place: HSBC study
Close to 90 percent well-heeled Indian parents say they want to fund their child’s education overseas, despite the costs involved making up 64 percent of their required retirement corpus. Over 58 percent plan to work even post their retirement.
BUSINESS
Awaiting your deposit insurance claim? Check the status easily with Daava Soochak
The online tool can be accessed through the DICGC website by keying in the bank’s name and your mobile number.
BUSINESS
Deadline for health policies to comply with IRDAI norms draws closer: Here's how policyholders will benefit
The moratorium period after which insurers cannot call policies into question will shrink from eight years to five years, which is in favour of policyholders. The onus of proving a fraud – if that is cause of rejection ground – will be on the insurer.
BUSINESS
IRDAI mandates shorter claim settlement timelines, need analysis in policy documents to check mis-selling
The insurance regulator has also asked insurers to collect premiums only after the policy is issued and passed strictures against the (mal) practice of selling multiple policies with lower sums insured to the same policyholder.
BUSINESS
Star Health chief pitches for lower GST levy of 12% on health insurance
“Obviously, we are a protection-driven organization. Health insurance is a protection plan. Life insurance protection plans will be something that we will be interested in. Similarly, on the non-life side, we are evaluating multiple things like motor and two-wheeler and so on,” Roy said.
BUSINESS
Assess whether savings-cum-insurance policies suit customers’ needs before issuing them, says IRDAI
However, the insurance regulator has allowed insurers to appeal against insurance ombudsman orders, which were binding on companies so far.
BUSINESS
Health insurance premiums can rise 10%-15% due to high medical inflation, says Star Health MD and CEO
The standalone health insurer has increased the premium under one of its health products by 10 percent and is evaluating similar hikes in two other plans. It has also rolled out a new product targeted at visually-impaired individuals.
BUSINESS
I-T dept’s e-Dispute Resolution Scheme: Will the process become simpler and quicker?
Central Board of Direct Taxes’ new dispute resolution scheme has set a timeline of six months to pass orders involving taxpayers whose total income is less than Rs 50 lakh and the disputed amount does not exceed Rs 10 lakh.
BUSINESS
Peak XV-backed Kenko shuts operations; ran out of funds, taken to NCLT, founders tell staff
In a series of emails exchanged with employees, the founders said despite injecting Rs 9 crore of their personal funds to cover salaries, the startup ran out of capital, forcing it to shut down. They also addressed allegations of financial misconduct raised by some employees
BUSINESS
Moneycontrol MF Summit: Mutual funds can help ensure better corporate governance standards in listed cos, says SEBI's Amarjeet Singh
SEBI has directed AMCs to maintain structured institutional mechanisms, which can proactively identify and deter instances of potential market abuse including front-running, Whole-time director Amarjeet Singh said
BUSINESS
72% SEBI orders, 73% grievances against registered investment advisors who provide trading calls: ARIA analysis
This apart, 97 percent of SEBI enforcement orders were passed against unregistered investment advisors. In the registered investment advisors (RIA) group, a small proportion – 10 percent – accounts for 94 percent of complaints filed by investors, says an Association of Registered Investment Advisors (ARIA) study.
BUSINESS
Now, dollar-denominated insurance policies for overseas-bound students, parents saving for children’s foreign studies
HDFC Life International CEO Rahul Prasad says that NRIs and resident Indians with global mobility will be able to buy dollar-denominated policies to fund their children’s overseas education and international travel needs, while their rupee-related requirements can be taken care of by India-based insurance entities. Here’s how it helps them.
BUSINESS
LIC’s advertisements negate SC order, could amount to contempt of court, says ACESO founder
Despite its advertisements cautioning policyholders against assigning policies to third-party entities (like ACESO), LIC has been registering policy assignments, says Ketan Mehta, Founder, ACESO.
