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eServe Newsletter July 2012
Spot thy bother
19-Jun-2012 | Source : The Telegraph
Don't just blame the agents. The onus is on you as well to buy the right insurance policy, says Srikumar Bondyopadhyay.
At the third annual seminar on 'Policyholder Protection and Welfare' of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority earlier this month, a retired police officer from Bhubaneswar stood up to get his complaint heard right across to the insurance cop. A private life insurance company missold him a policy with a single premium of Rs 2 lakh around four years ago; the investment value of the policy now stands at Rs 1.5 lakh.
Misselling is a rampant complaint in the insurance industry. But, whether missold or wrongly bought, it is the consumer who loses the money in the end. So, you just can't blame the agent who had missold the policy. It's your responsibility, too, as you were not able to clearly understand the product.
The insurance regulator, thus, decided to redesign the proposal form itself so that neither can the agents missell nor can you blame the agents for mis-selling a policy. To view full story click here.
IRDA slaps a fine of Rs 1.47 cr on HDFC Life
29-Jun-2012 | Source : PTI
Insurance sector regulator IRDA has imposed a hefty fine of Rs 1.47 crore on HDFC Life Insurance for violation of various regulatory provisions. "... hereby direct the insurer (HDFC Life Insurance) to remit the penalty of Rs 1.47 crore," IRDA said in a strongly-worded order. "A penalty of this nature is a regulatory necessity in order to impress upon management of any insurance company that regulatory prescriptions have to be complied with at all times and failure to do so will entail appropriate regulatory action," the order signed by IRDA Chairman J Hari Narayan said.
The maximum penalty of Rs 1.05 crore was imposed in a case of death claim under home loan protection policies. The claim was denied in a case where death occurred within 90 days from the date of commencement of the policy despite the IRDA advising the insurer to delete this exclusion clause. "...the insurer had no business inserting a clause of 90 day waiting period knowing fully well that the Authority had specifically directed that such clause may not be included," the order said. "This clearly shows the scant regard paid by the insurer to the directions of the Authority on a matter which critically affects the policyholder welfare," it said. The regulator also said that penalty should be remitted by the insurer within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this order.
Life insurance premium collection rises 4.2% in May 2012
27-Jun-2012 | Source : Capitalmarket.com
The first year premium income of the life insurers increased 4.2% to Rs 7491.8 crore in May 2012. The new premium collection of 23 private players together surged 27.7% to Rs 2088.8 crore in May 2012 compared to Rs 1635.8 crore in May 2011. About 15 private players reported increase in the premium collection during May 2012 in the range of 0.2% to 300%, while eight private life insurers reported decline in first premium collection in the region of -2.4% to -34.8%.
Among the private players, the SBI Life, which emerged as the largest private player for 2011-12, in terms of new premium collection, posted 26.0% surge in premium collection to Rs 497.0 crore in May 2012. The new premium income of ICICI Prudential increased 12.4% to Rs 276.0 crore, while that of HDFC Standard Life zoomed 67.5% to Rs 313.7 crore. Further, Bajaj Allianz Life and Birla Sinlife recorded strong growth in new premium collection at 49.9% to Rs 190.0 crore and 39.8% to Rs 132.4 crore, respectively during May 2012.
Aviva Life and Metlife posted robust growth in premium collection at 300% to Rs 124.7 crore and 155.8% to Rs 80.7 crore in May 2012. The first year premium income of Reliance Life rose 1.2% to Rs 80.5 crore, while that of Canara HSBC moved up 13.2% to Rs 46.2 crore.
On the other hand, the premium collection of Max New York Life and Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life dipped 12.1% to Rs 96.2 crore and 2.4% to Rs 50.5 crore in May 2012. Tata AIG and ING Vysya also recorded dip in premium collection at 34.8% to Rs 41 crore and 8.3% to Rs 27.8 crore in May 2012 over May 2011.
Birla Sun Life Insurance launches new unit-linked whole life plan- 'Wealth Secure'
26-Jun-2012 | Source : PTI
Private insurer Birla Sun Life today announced the launch of its new unit-linked whole life plan, BSLI Wealth Secure.
"With three investment options to choose from, the plan can meet the demands of the diverse investors. BSLI Wealth Secure plan combines long-term savings and whole life cover in such a way that it allows customers to focus on their goals and maximise savings for their future," Birla Sun Life Insurance Chief Actuarial Officer Niall O'Hare said in a release issued here.
With a built-in savings component, BSLI Wealth Secure plan can help accumulate sizable returns with every premium paid, owing to its long tenure and equity market participation, he added.
The plan enables a customer to fulfill his family's dreams with prudent investments and also financially secure their future with a whole life cover.
The company, it said, is positive that the product will induce many more customers to achieve a balanced growth on their investments while they benefit from advanced investment strategies and also a whole life cover.
The plan offers customers a choice to select the premium amount, based on the current age and the premium amount that the customer opts for, the company will determine the life cover applicable on the policy.
Wealth Secure plan also provides tax benefits, it said. BSLI is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial Inc, one of the leading international financial services organisations from Canada.