BUSINESS
Budget 2024: NPS employers' contribution limit should be hiked from 10% to 12%, says PFRDA chief
Ideally, employer’s contribution of up to 14 percent should be eligible for tax breaks, in line with the rules for government employee. However, to start with, it needs to be brought on par with the employees’ provident fund (EPF) contribution limit of 12 percent, feels the pension regulator.
BUSINESS
Will mis-selling of insurance stop after consumer affairs ministry’s proposal? Unlikely, say experts
IRDAI’s higher surrender value proposal and rejigging of the current front-loaded commission structure could be more effective when it comes to reducing mis-selling and boosting renewal rates, say industry watchers.
BUSINESS
Should the basic tax exemption limit be raised in Budget 2024?
Despite being a vote-on-account and most of the changes having come through in 2023, individual taxpayers could expect some concessions in this election-year Budget. However, any changes would be limited to the new tax regime, as the government seems determined to look past the old one
BUSINESS
IRDAI annual report 2022-23: Marginal dips recorded in insurance penetration, female policyholders' share
The proportion of life insurance policies sold to women was the highest in Karnataka, Kerala and Mizoram, while Ladakh, Haryana and Jammu&Kashmir reported lowest shares, according to the insurance regulator’s annual report. It also shows that the prevalence of partial payout of health insurance claims is high
BUSINESS
Received notices or alerts from Income Tax Department? Here’s how you can respond to them
Several taxpayers have received messages from the Income Tax Department alerting them about possible non-disclosure of high-value transactions such as property sales and purchases, foreign investments and remittances overseas, investments of over Rs 10 lakh in mutual funds, and capital gains made on the sale of equity shares.
BUSINESS
Year-end special 2023: Budget shocker, IRDAI expense regulations defined 2023 for insurance industry
In 2024, the draft product regulations issued in December 2023 will be implemented. It remains to be seen whether IRDAI sticks to the higher surrender value proposal or waters it down in response to the life insurance industry’s concerns.
BUSINESS
Showered with gifts at your wedding? Here’s how they will be taxed (or not)
Gifts received on the occasion of a wedding from relatives, friends and acquaintances are tax-free. However, if exemption is claimed on gifts received from a relative or friend well in advance, be prepared for queries from the income tax department.
BUSINESS
IRDAI’s higher surrender-value proposal is good for policyholders, but a double-edged sword
Lower surrender charges would put more money in the hands of policyholders who were either mis-sold policies or couldn’t keep paying annual premiums. But those who choose to continue paying premiums till the end of the tenure could see their returns squeezed.
BUSINESS
Self-employed now find it easier to buy term insurance, says Policybazaar study
In a departure from the past, term insurance issuance to the self-employed has gone up; Policybazaar internal sales data showed an increase of 25 percent between July 2021 to September 2023.
BUSINESS
Lookback @ 2023: How Budget tax setback, IRDAI’s expenses and commission regulations affected the life insurance industry this year | Simply Save
The life insurance industry also saw a shift towards launch of guaranteed returns traditional policies due to higher government securities (G-sec) rates prevalent currently
BUSINESS
Where to invest Rs 10 lakh? Invest the bulk in equities, says Srikanth Subramanian of Kotak Cherry
Interest rates could soften towards the second half of calendar 2024, but for now, the Reserve Bank of India will continue on pause. If you have Rs 10 lakh to invest today, deploy 60-70 percent in equities, 25-30 percent in debt and the balance 10-15 percent in alternative avenues including gold, says Srikanth Subramanian, CEO, Kotak Cherry.
BUSINESS
Why LIC’s Jeevan Utsav is not for everyone
Jeevan Utsav is meant to generate regular income over the long term, after the premium-paying years. The 10 percent on sum assured may sound stellar, but the internal rate of return is 5.7-6.04 percent, depending on age, sum assured, and premium-paying term.
BUSINESS
LIC launches Jeevan Utsav, promises 10% of sum assured as regular income
The guaranteed benefits product offers two payout options – regular income and flexi income – that will start between 11th and 19th policy years, depending on the premium paying term chosen
BUSINESS
Standalone health insurers see more complaints than general insurers: Mumbai ombudsman
One of the reasons for higher number of complaints against standalone health insurers is that an increasing number of retail policies are now being sold by them - these companies command a larger market share in the retail health insurance segment compared to general insurers. In general, insurers often reject claims, citing non-disclosure of pre-existing diseases, but they also have to prove this by furnishing relevant treatment documents, says Mumbai and Guwahati insurance ombudsman Somnath Ghosh
BUSINESS
Now, insurance ombudsman offices can adjudicate complaints up to Rs 50 lakh
However, industry-watchers believe even the enhanced limit is inadequate as many buy term insurance and critical illness covers of over Rs 50 lakh.
BUDGET
Budget 2024: Filing tax returns now easier but capital gains tax rules continue to be a pain point
Budget 2024: The government has made the process for filing returns easier and accessible, but more reforms are needed, particularly with respect to long term capital gains tax. Also, over the last decade filing returns has become completely automated but getting timely redressal remains an issue.
BUSINESS
Moneycontrol-SecureNow Health Insurance Ratings: Your one-stop guide to choosing the right policy | Simply Save
The exercise involved sifting through more than 78 products offered by over 22 companies and analysing nearly 10,000 data points. The result? An easy-to-use guide with all the complex data around pricing, features and claim settlement neatly transformed into three product lists – A, B and C – to help you choose the most suitable health insurance policy. To discuss the nitty-gritties of this mammoth exercise, Moneycontrol caught up with Kapil Mehta, Co-founder, SecureNow.in. Listen in
BUSINESS
Suffering from diabetes or hypertension? Inform insurer before buying health insurance cover
Insurers can reject your claims, even if unrelated to the ailment, and cancel the policy if the illness is discovered later through medical or insurer’s investigations when one is hospitalised.
BUSINESS
NPS’ new systematic lump-sum withdrawal rules: Should you opt for it?
Go for systematic withdrawal if you are looking for regular income with higher returns that come with staying invested in equities. But if you wish to move your corpus to fixed income instruments, choose lump-sum withdrawal, say financial advisors.
BUSINESS
How the new health insurance customer insurance sheet (CIS) will help policyholders
Insurance companies will have to start issuing the new, updated customer information sheet (CIS) from January 2024. Turnaround time for claim settlement, a guide for grievance redressal, and porting health insurance policies will form part of the document.
BUSINESS
Insurers rejecting claims after branding them as ‘unreasonable’ a key cause of heartburn | Simply Save
IRDAI has set up a committee to recommend simpler policy wordings in insurance contracts. In a conversation with Moneycontrol, Shilpa Arora, COO at InsuranceSamadhan explains why clauses such as ‘reasonable and customary’ charges, proportionate deduction due to room rent capping and co-pay should be spelt out prominently in the insurance contract, and in an easy-to-understand language, instead of technical jargon. Tune in
BUSINESS
Overseas student travel insurance policies to get bigger and better. Here’s how
Education counsellors say that overseas universities often advise students to purchase insurance policies with more comprehensive terms and a broader network of cashless hospitals and clinics in the host country. Meanwhile, Indian insurers believe that the reluctance to accept their policies is influenced by the universities' partnerships with local insurers in their respective countries.
BUSINESS
Sending over Rs 50,000 abroad? Banks could ask many questions, seek additional documents
Any alarm over tight scrutiny is unwarranted, as financial institutions carry out elaborate checks even now. However, the threshold of Rs 50,000 that the finance ministry has specified is quite low, say legal and tax experts.
BUSINESS
Stranded in war zone: Travel insurance to cover hospitalisation for illness, but not evacuation to India
War and war-like situations are exclusions – that is, expenses that insurance policies will not pay for – and in any case, only government-operated evacuation flights are likely to be permitted to carry out operations under such circumstances, say insurers
