Life insurance grows 47 % in FY07

While LIC observed around 47% of decline in there first year premium, overall Life Insurance sector in India is in full swing ...check this out ... so the interesting question would be who ate LICs first year premium ??

The article goes...
The life insurance industry, which consists of Life Insurance Corporation of India and 15 private players, has grown by 47.38 per cent in total premium, including group business for FY07.

The total industry had a total premium including group business ( addition of regular premium, single premium and renewal premium) of Rs 156001 crore upto 31st March 2007 as against a total premium of Rs 105841 crore for FY06.

LIC premium declines by 47%

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has registered a decline in first year premium by 47 per cent in September this year compared to a year earlier, albeit on larger base.

According to the data released by Irda, the public sector behemoth mopped up a first year premium of Rs 2,554.84 crore in September this year compared with Rs 4,853.87 crore in September 2006.

AAA for New York Life Insurance Co. and New York Life Insurance & Annuity Corp.

Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) Ratings Services on Thursday raised its credit and financial strength ratings for New York Life Insurance Co. and New York Life Insurance & Annuity Corp.
The credit rating agency said the upgrade reflects the companies' top position in the market for life insurance, high earnings and measured risk management.
S&P raised its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings for both companies to 'AAA' from 'AA+.' Companies rated 'AAA' have the highest levels of reliability and stability. The outlook for the insurance companies is 'stable,' according to S&P.
More on cnnmoney.com.

Google goes desi, starts online Hindi software

Now it's time for some non-insurance stuff .. check this out .. looks interesting to me! ... These products comes from namma Bangaluru ;-) ..

The world’s hottest search engine has gone desi. Now you can type in English and get the script in Hindi on Google. You can also search for local content in Hindi and 13 other Indic languages. Engineers at Google have developed software that helps online usage of "Indic" language scripts.

Term Insurance vs. Whole life or Permanent Insurance - A Car Analogy

Interesting article ....
Think of a term life insurance policy as leasing a car. When you lease a car you get the benefits of using the car, but when you stop paying you don't have a car anymore. As with term insurance as long as you pay your premiums you get the benefit of the term life insurance policy, but when you stop paying, you no longer have any coverage.

10 Key Reasons Why A Person Needs Life Insurance

Here is again some basics -
Insurance is designed to protect a person and the family from disasters and financial burdens. There are many kinds of insurance of which, the basic and most important is considered to be life insurance. It provides for the dependants after your death.

Investing with insurance: a bad risk

Is it a good idea to attach an investment account to your life insurance policy?
See what experts says on this.
Walter Updegrave has a simple answer: Don't do it.
..and I do agree with Walter .. keep investments separate from life insurance... you bet you will get more returns.

Accenture Releases Enhanced Life Insurance Platform with New Product Configuration Engine

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) has introduced the Accenture Life Insurance Platform, an enhanced version of the former NaviSys policy administration and new-business processing platform featuring flexible new product configuration tools designed to help insurers develop and launch new products more quickly and efficiently.
The new product configuration capability leverages Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), a technique for developing interactive web applications, to allow users to drag and drop new-product rules at any point in the insurance policy administration process.

Read on Enhanced Life Insurance from Accenture.

How do I pick a life insurance company?

Tricky question ! :-)

Roughly 1,000 life insurance companies sell life insurance in the U.S., but many are members of groups of companies and so aren’t really competitors with each other.

Learn on the points to ponder when selecting a life insurance company.

Maruti - Jindagi ke saath bhi .. jindagi ke baad bhi ..connection

The government today approved the sale of its remaining 10.27-per cent stake in passenger car maker Maruti Udyog in which India's largest insurer, Life insurance Corporation (LIC) emerged as the second-highest shareholder with a 12.5-per cent stake behind Suzuki's 54 per cent.

Why should I purchase permanent insurance?

If you have the above question .. I would say why not ??
A permanent life policy provides lifelong insurance protection. The policy pays a death benefit if you die tomorrow or if you live to be a hundred. (hundred.. hummm :-))...
Let me give you some more facts -
- You can lock the premiums when you purchase the policy (premiums will not increase with your age)
- The policy will accumulate cash savings.
- You can use this cash value to pay your premiums
- Borrow from the insurance company using the cash value in your life insurance as collateral.

Read on some key points on Why should you purchase permanent insurance?

SBI Products - One for micro one for health

With 88% increase in net profit at Rs3.83 crore this year as against Rs2.02 crore last year, SBI is planning to come up with two more products in the by July this year.
Look at the increase in premium, total premium is increased by 172% at Rs2,928.49 crore in 2006-07 compared to Rs1,075.32 crore the previous year.
I would say SBI is shining for sure !!!

Insurance companies plans to hit IPO

India is one of the fastest growing insurance markets with companies clocking in triple digit growth.
For most of the players it is the crucial investment stage where they have to pump in money to build their distribution network and also to meet regulatory requirements.
So the next time you get an insurance cover you may also get to check its stock price to find out how well it is doing.

Check this out ... Insurance companies plans to hit IPO

The changing face of insurance

Investment and insurance are usually considered to be inversely proportional. This is mainly because insurance is meant to cover your life. So even if insurance products may not offer higher returns, it always makes sense to have a cover.

On the other hand, investment is viewed as a vehicle that will help you multiply your money. Therefore, one always discusses investment in terms of returns offered.

Read on about the changing face of insurace.

Insurance for the lady of the family

When the whole world seems to be riding on 'woman power', can insurance companies remain far behind? More so at a time when even banks and financial institutions are regularly churning out innovative schemes to woo the dames? No wonder, lots of insurance schemes targeting the fair sex have been launched recently, which boast of having been designed specially for them.

In India, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance came up with products targeting the lady breadwinner/earner of the family.
Here is an article that tells why and how Insurance for the lady of the family is important.

Confused Yet? Life Insurance Explained

Automobile insurance, which is required by state law, helps cover drivers in case of crashes. Health insurance is important because it helps cover the cost of medical care.
But life insurance? Is it necessary? And what is it exactly, since every life will eventually end?
Here are some sincere attempts to get you out of the confusion.

Read on - Confused Yet? Life Insurance Explained

9 Good Reasons For Buying Life Insurance

In the estate planning process, life insurance can provide substantial benefits at times, and at other times it is a waste of money and can actually be injurious to overall wealth planning and protection.
In defense of life insurance, here are 9 situations where life insurance can be a boon in the estate planning or family wealth management process.
Check out 9 Good Reasons For Buying Life Insurance

I hope your are convinced now!!! :-)

Sybase - DBlib to CTlib Migration Guide

Now something for techies!!!

I came across this migration guide when I was assigned a task to dig more on dblib to ctlib migration.

The book, the Open Client Client-Library Migration Guide, contains
information on how to migrate Open Client™ DB-Library™ applications
to Open Client Client-Library™.

Source : http://infocenter.sybase.com

Insurance Plans You Can Avoid

I am sure many of us are already in the "net" of the insurance "marketing people" who try to convince us to buy Mortgage Insurance, Life insurance for young kids etc.
Yes, I am calling some of our insurance advisers the marketing people, coz now a days instead of studying and understanding the financial need of the customers, they are more focused towards marketing and selling their insurance products which customers might not need.
How about some awareness on how you can avoid some of the insurance plans and plan them in a better way.
Insurance is necessary to protect you against financial calamities, not every small loss and hazard of life. So what you really need to have, financial experts say, is a term life insurance policy, as well as coverage for health and disability, your home, and autos. Still, marketers have come up with a slew of insurance products that, for the most part, are costly and unnecessary.

Unhealthy eating and Life Insurance

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure that the life insurance industry uses to asses a person’s shape and therefore health, when applying for a life insurance or critical illness policy. If an individual’s BMI is considered high, then they may be charged more for a policy due to the increased risk of ill health.

Plus, as a bonus, article also gives Top healthy eating tips for maintaining a healthy weight.
Take a look at How unhealthy eating can affect your life insurance cover.

Worried about Web Application Security ?Get it audited by the Experts!!!

No .. I was not trying to write entire post in Title :-)

Are you in some business that is about to introduce an online store or something that deals with extremely confidential and critical client data e.g. credit card, ssn no etc. How do you take care of online transactions, your Web servers, database servers ?? How do you make sure that your site is not a hacker's paradise ?
It is observed that even after taking lot of efforts in securing the sensitive data, there are some loop holes (let it be tiny one's) that serves as a canal for hackers to your vital information.
How about getting the site scrutinized by the experts in this field ?
The expert - SPI Dynamics is there you help you out in this.
SPI Dynamics is widely known as the web application security experts. They are the only company that focuses exclusively on Web security.

BMI : What is it ?

We hear a lot about BMI but what is it exactly and why is it important when trying to buy life insurance? BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is the ratio of an individual’s height to their weight.
So buddy .. you better get in shape before you buy Life Insurance or else you will be charged more!!!
Follow the link to know more about Body Mass Index.

Life Insurance FAQs and Glossary

Many of us look blank when come across questions like - Do I need Life Insurance ? If so, what should be the criteria of selection ? How do I select policy that is right for me ? What are my options etc.
This article answers many of this basic questions with comprehensive Glossary following the Q & A section.
Here is my published doc - Life Insurance FAQs and Glossary

How Life Insurance works

You know when I was a kid, I always used to wonder why in world people need life insurance, what's fun in opting for something like life insurance that gives you money when you are no more there!!!
I would have kept my mouth shut if I knew that some day I am going to work for Life Insurance people !!! :-)
Here is an Article that Illustrates - "How Life Insurance Works"

Top 10 Things to Know About Life Insurance

We all recognize the importance of life insurance. After all, we want to make sure that our loved ones are taken care of when we die. But before you run out and purchase a policy, do some research ahead of time. That way, you'll be sure to get the best possible coverage at the right price.
Here are some helpful tips to get you started - Top 10 Things to Know About Life Insurance