Is your insurance safe ?

• What is the gurantee that my policy is safe with say xyz insurance ?
• How do I know if my insurer is financially strong ?
• What if my insurance company goes out of business ?
  
  I am sure with the current market situation many of us have similar questions.
  Here is an article that tries to answer the above questions.
  Read on - Is your insurance safe ?

Diwali (Deepawali) .... 3 days to go!!!

One of the biggest festivals of Hindus, Deepawali or Diwali in India is celebrated with lots of enthusiasm and happiness. This festival is celebrated for five continuous days, with the third day being celebrated as the main Diwali or as 'Festival of Lights'. Fireworks are always associated with this festival. The day is celebrated with people lighting diyas, candles all around their house. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening to seek divine blessings of Goddess of Wealth. Diwali gifts are exchanged among all near and dear ones.

Diwalifestival.org talks about how Diwali celeberated all over India and world.

The Right Insurance Rules

With number of stringent regulations already in place for insurance companies .. I am just wondering how blunders like AIG could have happend. Do we have to make to those regulations more rigorous or bring in the "right" rules ?

Here is an article from Ted Mathas that discuss about - "The Right Insurance Rules".

The writer is president and chief executive of New York Life Insurance Co., the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States.

SBI Life launches health plan

SBI Life Insurance Co on Thursday launched its first group health insurance plan ‘Criti9’ for State Bank Group customers. Criti9 provides protection against nine critical illnesses, including cancer, heart-attack (myocardinal infraction) and major organ transplant, the company said.

Read more here - SBI Life launches health plan

Farmers Life Insurance Company Number 1 in California Life Insurance Sales

Farmers New World Life Insurance Company has taken the number one spot in California in life insurance sales according to Paul Patsis, president of Farmers Life.

CVAT & GPT – What’s It All About?

This simple pdf answers almost all the questions related to CVAT & GPT.

I like the way they have used the simple language and their approach of explaining the term.
Thank you owR OPINION, L.L.C. !!!

Read - CVAT & GPT – What’s It All About?

IRDA fines 10 insurers

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has fined 10 insurance companies, including both the insurance arms of the Bajaj Auto Group, Reliance General, United India, Iffco-Tokio, New India Assurance and Shriram Life for non-compliance with various guidelines.
More on - IRDA fines 10 insurers and Watchdog penalises top insurers

One might ask .. what is IRDA anyways ?
IRDA is established by Parliament(India) to protect the interests of the policyholders, to regulate, promote, and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry.

To know more about IRDA, visit http://www.irdaindia.org/

Celebration of springtime and harvest - Gudi Padwa (Maharashtra, India)

Now something off the insurance subject ...

In Maharashtra, the new year is celebrated as Gudi Padwa - a festival that heralds the advent of spring (March-April). Early on the morning of the first day of the Chaitra month, people finish their ablutions, wear new clothes and decorate their houses with colorful "rangoli" patterns. A silk banner is raised and worshipped, and greetings and sweets are exchanged. People hang "gudis" on their windows on this day to celebrate Mother Nature's bounty. A "gudi" is a decorated pole with a brass or a silver vessel placed on it.

It's Ugadi in Andhra & Karnataka!The Telugu and the Kannada New Year falls on the first day of the month of Chaitra (March-April). People in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states in the South of India believe that Lord Brahma began the creation of the universe on this auspicious day of Ugadi.

More on Usher in the New Year and Gudi Padwa

How your insurance policy is underwritten

Wondering how insurance company assesses risks ? Here is an article that gives a layman's overview on how the insurance policy is underwritten, risk considerations, factors on which premiums are based on etc.

When you purchase a life insurance policy, you maybe aware that the premiums that you pay will depend on the insurance underwriter's calculation of risk, and how much they believe you will cost the policy. However this is not the only factor to influence how much you pay for your policy.

Want to know more ? Read on - How your insurance policy is underwritten

China Life Insurance - Exceeding Expectations

What a whopping business!!! Profits almost double!!
China Life Insurance Co, China's largest life underwriter, posted a 42 percent gain in second-half profit on strong investment returns, topping analysts' expectations, but said it faces a more turbulent market environment in 2008.

More on - China Life profit beats estimates

Which Life Insurance Is The Right One To Pick?

Term and permanent life insurance policies offer different paths to the same goal: Making certain your loved ones can meet their financial needs should you die.
Many families have no life insurance protection, or they do not have enough, according to LIMRA International, a research and consulting organization that counts as members more than 800 insurance and financial services companies in 60 countries.

Read on more - Which Life Insurance Is The Right One To Pick?

How India Earns, Spends and Saves

I found many interesting points in this article ..

Few like -

• India saves but does not invest
• India saves for long-term goals such as emergencies, education and old age.
• The average household savings are Rs. 16,139 (is that true?? show me the moneyyyy)

And few scary one's...

• Financial vulnerability is not limited to poor households; even prosperous households are financially vulnerable.
• Wise savers but unwise investors
• The study found 96 per cent of the households cannot survive beyond a year on their current savings in case of loss of income due to some eventuality such as death or disability of the chief earner.

Read the full survey here.

Your kids don't need life insurance

Amazed by the heading of the article itself ??!!
Someone might be thinking .. so why so many insurance pushing for it ?!!
Well, I would say, our judgement should be based on what we need rather than what they want to sell ...
humm.. now it makes sense!!!
Don't be misled by advertisements promising a high cash value for a small premium. There are better steps you can take to secure your child's future says Money Magazine's Walter Updegrave.
Read on..

SBI Life Insurance posts record profit of Rs 37.74cr

SBI Life Insurance Company Limited, the first private sector life insurance company in India to make profit, today announced an impressive 101% growth in total premium collections to Rs 2748.28 crore during the first nine months of FY 2007-2008 and posted a Net profit of Rs 37.74 crore for the quarter ended December, 07.
Read on...