Ping Ganesh A. Dalvi

Sensex Losing 15% to Birla Sun as Costs Hurt Stocks

2011-01-27T03:01:00.000-08:00

India’s benchmark stock index, Asia’s worst performer this year, may drop a further 15 percent within four months as rising costs trim earnings and prompt higher interest rates, said Birla Sun Life Insurance Co.’s Vikram Kotak, who predicted 2010’s rally.

Read on: Sensex Losing 15% to Birla Sun as Costs Hurt Stocks
Source: Businessweek.com

Being busy..? Not really, just being lazy :)

2011-01-17T21:20:00.000-08:00

Just checked .. my last posting was on Dec 21, 2010!!
So from Dec 21 till today was I busy .. ? not really. I guess I was being lazy.
Belated Happy New year 2011!!!
Hope your New Year's resolution is still intact and you are working on it.
For this year, I am planning to work out on some left over resolution from last year and and few new... wish me good luck!!

Insurance is foresight not hindsight

2010-12-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

HINDSIGHT is always a great thing. It explains, in a lot of situations, what foresight could have prevented.

How often do we hear people saying, "Oh, if only I had bought a home before prices surged!" or "Why didn't I sell those shares at their highs?"

Oddly this retrospective insight into our human frailties doesn't seem to help much where the insurance industry is concerned.

The apartment complex blaze that killed at least 58 people in Shanghai on November 15 is a case in point. It turns out only a handful of residents had insurance policies covering their homes and contents. Insurance compensation can't bring back the life of a loved one, but it can go a long way in staunching the kind of material losses almost all of the families now face.

The combined property losses of the reported 156 families living in the building have been estimated at 500 million yuan (US$75.2 million), based on the average market price of 30,000 yuan per square meter for residential space in the area, said earlier media reports. By November 23, insurers in Shanghai paid more than 8.3 million yuan in claims related to the fire, according to the Shanghai Bureau of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the nation's top industry regulator.

Of the 8.3 million yuan, 5 million yuan came from a publicly financed community insurance fund, indicating the low penetration of the private insurance sector.

Life, property and casualty insurance is still a relatively new concept in China. I still remember the sneer from one of our business reporters, a frequent flier, who was asked if he bought flight insurance. "What's the use of money if one is dead?" the reporter replied.

That misses the point. Insurance aims to provide relief for survivors in case of death.

I did a quick, informal survey among 12 colleagues on the subject of buying insurance. Only one said he has insurance to protect his family from "the uncertainties of the future."

"I bought insurance to cover illness, pension and accidents," said the 30-year-old married guy, whose monthly salary is around 7,000 yuan. "I don't want my family to suffer a deteriorating quality of life if anything happens to me."

The other 11 all said they had no insurance at all, including a reporter covering the insurance industry.

"My own experiences showed me that insurance agents are always quick to boast about all the things they can offer when they are selling policies, but when it's time to file a claim, it's a tedious and complex process to try to collect on any of those promises," said the mother of a three-year-old boy, recalling her unhappy experiences when she claimed reimbursement under the employer's group medical policy.

Difficulty in claiming compensation, the lack of third-party agencies to provide an impartial guide to insurance products and lack of trust in insurance professionals have topped the list of why my colleagues aren't rushing out to buy insurance.

Hu Shi, the esteemed Chinese philosopher and essayist who died in 1962, once said that insurance is to prepare for tomorrow today, prepare for death while one is still alive, and prepare for children when you're parents.

His wisdom seems to be particularly well received by the well-off.

It appears the more money you have in China, the more you are aware of insurance protection. Buying protection to cope with major diseases, protect pension funds and savings, and guarantee enough money for children's education top the list of needs when the wealthy consider their risks, according to a survey conducted by HSBC Life Insurance Co.

The survey centered on people in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing who had financial assets of 500,000 yuan or more.

Thus, a dilemma: the most vulnerable are the least concerned about financial protection. In many instances, lower-income families just can't afford to face another cost, especially during a period when high inflation is already eroding household spending power.

"For the rich, the main concern is protecting their wealth; for the poor, the main concern is how to increase their wealth," said a former Shanghai retail banking officer now working in the news media.

The insurance sector in China is still small by comparison with the nation's huge economy and population. Since China embarked on its market reform and opening-up policies three decades ago, sea changes have occurred. China is now the world's second-biggest economy after the United States, and family incomes are rising rapidly.

The financial sector, too, is growing by leaps and bounds. But insurance professionals in China still lack the prominence of their counterparts overseas.

In China, insurance agents are often treated like salesmen peddling milk. Insurance industry personnel complain that their salaries are nowhere near those of bankers or securities brokers.

True, China's insurance industry is growing almost three times as fast as the economy at large, but that gain comes from a very small base in a country with 1.3 billion people.

In the first three quarters of this year, insurers in China pulled in premiums totaling 1.13 trillion yuan, up 32 percent annually. In the same period, China's economy surged 10.6 percent to 26.8 trillion yuan, giving an insurance penetration of only 4.2 percent. Actually, the insurance industry is growing ahead of the government's forecasts.

China's 11th Five-Year Plan, which ends this year, envisioned insurance premiums per capita doubling and contributing to 4 percent of gross domestic product.

Per capita premiums are forecast to reach 750 yuan this year, compared with just 367 yuan, or 2.7 percent of GDP, in 2005, according to data compiled by Swiss Reinsurance Co.

China is also ahead of its five-year target to triple domestic insurance assets to 5 trillion yuan by the end of this year and to more than double premiums to 1 trillion yuan.

The potential of the market is tantalizing to overseas insurers. However, many of them have held back because their operations in China are restricted and their returns on investment poor, an industry survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers found in late November.

Foreign insurers continue to find China a tough market to operate in, said the PwC report. Regulations, shortage of professionals and fierce competition from domestic insurers are cited as stumbling blocks, according to the survey. The accounting firm's survey covered 21 of the 28 overseas life insurers operating in China, and 10 of the 18 property and casualty insurers.

China is trying to encourage the growth of the domestic insurance industry to trim the government's burden in a cradle-to-grave social welfare system. The government also wants to expand the investment vehicles insurers are allowed to offer to help them earn higher returns and prepare for the future needs of a burgeoning crop of middle-class customers.

China introduced its modern insurance law in 1995, and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission was set up three years later to supervise the growing industry.

A healthy insurance industry can deepen attention to cutting risk exposure. I still remember how a risk-control officer at an overseas insurer said he won the trust of clients by advising a company to increase ventilation in an engine room and thereby cut risks of situations that might lead to claims.

Source:Shanghai Daily

Planning Ahead: Top 8 Life Insurance Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

2010-12-21T08:41:00.000-08:00

Life insurance mistakes are common. Almost one-third of people in the U.S. carry no life insurance whatsoever, and millions more waste money by paying into a life insurance policy for years (appropriate or not) and then canceling the policy. Of those remaining, most buy insurance in amounts that simply do not match their needs.
So, what is a savvy life insurance shopper to do? How do you know how much life insurance you need and what life insurance mistakes should you avoid?

Read on: Top 8 Life Insurance Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Source: www.creditloan.com

Life Insurance: Lost and Found

2010-12-20T12:21:00.000-08:00

New centralized web-based service offered to life insurance policy holders to register and track insurance policies. Free to register and inexpensive to search for unclaimed or lost policies.

PRLog (Press Release) – Dec 17, 2010 – An easier way to track and find lost life insurance policies is now available to the general public. Any insurance policy holder can track their own policies in this new centralized database making it easier for beneficiaries to streamline the collections process. Founders of http://www.findyourpolicy.com, Michael and Edmund Hartmann were left to settle the affairs of their father’s estate after he died of cancer. They quickly became frustrated in attempting to research their father’s insurance policies. Not knowing which insurance company to contact and then not receiving adequate customer service seemed to make the process impossible. Michael and Edmund Hartmann decided to create a simple solution to keep track of and research insurance policies of loved ones. They have created a centralized database where insurance agents and individuals can register the policies for free. When it comes time to research the policies a nominal fee is charged to retrieve the information. A portion of this fee is donated to cancer research in honor of their father.

An estimated 1 out of every 4 life insurance policies go unclaimed each year for various reasons, the most common of which is misplaced policy information. Unclaimed life insurance policies are retained by the insurance companies until proper claims are made by the beneficiaries. If no claim is made then no payout is expected. It is the responsibility of the beneficiaries to submit claims. If the beneficiaries are not aware of who or where to make claims, it can become a very frustrating process, as experienced by Michael and Edmund.

To register is easy and free. The process requires basic information on the policy holder and the company name which holds their life insurance policy. A social security number or policy number is never required. Policy owners can always reenter the site for free to make any updates or changes as they wish, while loved ones looking for their information can retrieve it by searching the database for $9.95 (US). Thus avoiding the painstaking process of searching through over 1500 insurance agencies trying to find out which one held the policy. The simple, easy to use, centralized database provides peace of mind to policy holders by securely storing the information for later retrieval.

When it comes time to retrieve your information, www.findyourpolicy.com is very helpful even if you are not registered with them. First, if you are registered with them, then they will provide you with your stored information. You are also given instructions on what to do next. If for some reason your deceased loved one did not register with www.findyourpolicy.com, you will receive a 17-point checklist on what to do, a list of the top 100 insurance companies, and links to correct contact information within those companies. Plus you will receive instructions on a 5 step process on how to work with the insurance company and to make a claim. It is clear that keeping track of your valuable insurance policies is important. What better way than to secure it in an organized database. www.findyoupolicy.com will help them be able to quickly receive what you have been paying for.

Contact: info@findyourpolicy.com

www.FindYourPolicy.com

1-888-461-7333

Source: www.prlog.org

Insurance firm told to refund Rs 50K

2010-12-20T12:20:00.000-08:00

CHANDIGARH: UT district consumer disputes redressal forum has directed Aviva Life Insurance to refund Rs 50,000 to the complainant along with Rs 10,000 compensation. The complainant, Surinder Kaur, a resident of Mohali alleged that she got a policy for Rs 50,000 issued from the respondents. As per the terms and condition, the refund could be claimed within the free look period of 15 days. The complainant requested the respondents to refund the amount within this period and returned the original policy to them. After several requests, the complainant received a letter on December 20, 2008, intimating that a cheque for Rs 49,950 had been issued in her favour. The complainant alleged she never received the cheque.

Initially, an advocate appeared on behalf of the respondents and the case was fixed for their reply and evidence. However, when no one turned up from the respondents? side the court started ex parte proceedings against them.

Forum stated that the complainant has not received the cheque sent by Axis Bank and the respondents have not responded to the notice issued to them, which proves that the cheque in question has not been credited to the complainant?s account. It seems that the respondents are well aware of the fact that the amount had been encashed by a third party, forum added.

Forum directed the respondents to refund Rs 50,000 to the complainant along with an interest of 12% per annum along with Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment and the costs of litigation.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Through Canada’s insurance loophole

2010-12-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Lynne Rae Zlotnik had insurance in her blood.

Her father, Harold, began selling policies in 1945 and eventually she followed in his footsteps. “Insurance,” Harold Zlotnik liked to say, “is the business of financing dreams.”

But when insurance regulators began looking into Vancouver-based Lynne Zlotnik Wealth Management Inc. this year – a firm she created in 2006 to sell life insurance and other investment products – they were troubled by what they found.

Several of her clients had invested a total of more than $1.4-million in her company on the promise of a lucrative return. The clients included 96-year-old Katie Sturhahn, who cashed out a $200,000 segregated fund, an investment fund that comes with insurance guarantees, and instead put her faith in the insurance agent.

It was a questionable financial strategy, since the payout on the fund – which she intended to leave her five children – was assured. Soon after the elderly woman died in March, the agent declared bankruptcy, and the money was gone.

“That was our inheritance,” says her son, 71-year-old Walt Sturhahn. “We’ve got none of it.”

But an even more disturbing discovery had yet to be made: When regulators went looking for someone responsible for overseeing such a risky financial transaction, there was no one to answer for it. The regular checks and balances that are designed to oversee an insurance agent had failed.

The insurance company that administered the policy had no direct oversight over Ms. Zlotnik. In a practice that is increasingly common throughout the industry, she dealt with a middleman company called a Managing General Agent, or MGA, which is an unregulated wholesaler of insurance products to independent agents that few consumers know about. That made it difficult for regulators to scrutinize her conduct.

Read on: Through Canada’s insurance loophole

Source: www.ctv.ca

Total premium of life insurance sector rises 23% in H1

2010-12-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

Looking at the article just below this I was bit worried.. at least this article shows some ray of hope...

Despite an uncertain environment, the total premium of life insurance industry increased by 23 per cent to Rs 1,25,254 crore, from Rs 1,01,973 crore for the first six months of the current fiscal.

Read on: Total premium of life insurance sector rises 23% in H1
Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Life insurance cos cuts loss by 80%

2010-12-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

The 23-player life insurance industry in the country made a total loss of Rs 988.82 crore in the financial year 2009-10, according to the latest annual report of Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (Irda). But the more pertinent point is that the industry has reduced its loss by a whopping 80 per cent from net loss of Rs 4,883 crore in 2008-09.

Read more on: Life insurance cos cuts loss by 80%
Source: www.deccanherald.com

Message from Mindtree Executive Chairman to his employees

2010-12-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

Email from Mindtree Executive Chairman Ashok Soota to his employees.
Pretty interesting.....

(Thank you Narasimhan for sharing this)

Dear MindTree Minds,

Points on How to Improve Your Life

Many of you may be aware of the speech given by Randy Pausch entitled “Guide To a Better Life”. He had been diagnosed for cancer and when he made this wonderful speech, he knew that he had been given only a finite span to live. I am reproducing below the extract from the speech which gives 30 valuable lessons for all of us.

Personality:

1. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment
3. Don't overdo; keep your limits
4. Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does
5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
6. Dream more while you are awake
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more
14. You don't have to win every argument.

Community:

15. Call your family often
16. Each day give something good to others
17. Forgive everyone for everything
18. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
19. Try to make at least three people smile each day
20. What other people think of you is none of your business
21. Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

22. Put GOD first in anything and everything that you think, say and do. 23. GOD heals everything 24. Do the right things 25. However good or bad a situation is, it will change 26. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up 27. The best is yet to come 28. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful 29. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it 30. If you know GOD you will always be happy. So, be happy.
To the above, I would add:

31. Never do something which you would not like to see in newspaper headlines.
32. “When you say something you shouldn’t have said – something that you didn’t mean or that was unkind – apologize right away. The longer you wait the harder it will be.” Many of you will recognize this as a quote from the “Thought of the Day”. Subroto describes it very well in his book when he says that in most instances the hurt caused is unintended, but for the person who feels the pain it is real.
33. We need an optimistic approach to life. I am a strong believer that things will invariably work out for the greater good of all concerned and it is an attitude to have whenever things don’t appear to be going the way we would like (Point 27 flows from above).

On a lighter side, please see No.18 of Randy’s points. In a couple of years from now, you will be able to fulfill one half of this by meeting me now and then!

Hope these points help you to lead a happier and more contented life.

Regards,

Ashok

LIC pension funds — IRDA clarification

2010-12-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

The recent clarification by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman that the Life Insurance Corporation of India did not break any rules and certainly it would not transfer money from one account to another in violation of the existing guidelines had brought cheers to millions, but it left them also wondering. “What is meant by transfer of money from one account to another? Why it is not permitted and does this restriction apply to LIC? To answer these questions, one has to understand the structural difference between LIC and private insurance companies.

Read on the complete article: LIC pension funds — IRDA clarification
Source: www.hindu.com

Life insurance ‘protection gap’ revealed

2010-12-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

First it was observed in US ... now in UK..
More than half of UK adults have no life insurance policy in place, according to new research – despite the fact that two thirds of the people who took part in the survey had financial dependents.

Read on: Life insurance ‘protection gap’ revealed
Source: www.which.co.uk

U.S. life insurance lowest in 50-years

2010-12-12T00:48:00.000-08:00

... and I was under impression that since there are now more avenues of "knowing" what exactly life insurance is about and how does it helps, the overall awareness and sales would increase!
Study by LIMRA proved me wrong!!

Read on: U.S. life insurance lowest in 50-years

Source: www.todaysthv.com

More benefits for paid-up life insurance

2010-12-12T00:43:00.000-08:00

An article with good example of paid-up life insurance.

By way of review, a person who has owned a cash-value life insurance policy for a while can choose to stop paying the premium, maintain the cash value, and accept a guarantee that the insurer will pay a reduced death benefit whenever the insured dies in the future. The policy is thus paid-up.

Read on more on: More benefits for paid-up life insurance

Source: news.cincinnati.com

Bharti AXA Life launches Aajeevan Anand

2010-12-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: Private sector insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance today launched Aajeevan Anand plan that provides guaranteed regular payouts after every 5 years and life cover until the age of 100 years.

"Aajeevan Anand is a powerful financial solution that provides guaranteed regular payouts to meet various life stage needs until the age of 100," Bharti AXA Life Chief Marketing and Operations Officer (CMOO) Mark Meehan said.
In addition to these lifelong paybacks, the product provides customers with life cover and hence is an ideal savings cum protection plan, he said.

This whole life plan is apt for salaried people since all premium payments are made in the first 10-15 years of the policy, he added.
The nominee of the policy holder would get sum assured in case of death during the policy period which is 100 years.

Bharti AXA Life is 74:26 joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and AXA of France.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

GEICO Releases Windows Phone 7 App

2010-12-09T02:17:00.000-08:00

At the end what matters is the customer service... With the release of Windows Phone 7 app, GEICO is now several steps ahead of its most of the competitors in terms of customer service.

Chevy Chase, Md.-based P&C carrier GEICO has released a version of its GloveBox mobile application for Microsoft's recently released Windows Phone 7 mobile OS. The GloveBox app for policyholder services is already available for iOS and Android. “The application for the Windows Phone 7 was created to provide a great customer service experience as well as ease of use for our policyholders," Dave Weaver, manager of mobile applications for GEICO, says in a statement.

GloveBox allows GEICO policyholders to bills, access ID cards, record accident information, reach the carrier by phone, view videos and TV commercials and access the company's social media pages. It is also available for Apple's iOS, which powers the iPhone and iPad; as well as Google's Android mobile OS. Esurance launched a Windows Phone 7 app earlier this year.

Source: www.insurancetech.com

IRDA Warnings and Penalties

2010-12-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

List of IRDA(Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) Warnings and Penalties issued to Life Insurance Companies in India.

Read On: IRDA Warnings and Penalties

Source: www.irda.gov.in

Life insurance applications decline for sixth straight month

2010-12-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

U.S life insurance application activity fell slightly in November, marking the sixth straight month of declines.

The monthly MIB Life Index found that application activity for individually underwritten life insurance declined 1.6% in November compared to the same month in 2009.

So far this year, declining months have outnumbered gainers, 8-3, with the last gains coming last January and March.

Because of the declines, the January-November period shows a 1.2% decline from 2009.

On the bright side, November’s activity exceeded October’s numbers by 2.1%, making it four straight months of monthly increases.

The age 60 and above age group showed the best numbers, with a 6% increase over November 2009. Ages 0-44 filed 3.4% fewer applications, while people age 45-59 filled out 1.5% fewer applications than in November 2009, according to the index.

Source: ifawebnews.com

Google Gets U.S. Government Cloud Contract

2010-12-08T12:27:00.000-08:00

Google or Microsoft .. Google or Microsoft .. Google or Microsoft ..
..... and the contract goes to Google!!!

Here is the news -

* Google wins contract to provide email to federal agency
* Google poses threat to rival Microsoft's pricing-analyst

The U.S. General Services Administration awarded a five-year, $6.7 million contract last week to Unisys Corp , with Google as a subcontractor -- a relatively small dollar amount but an important initial foothold.

Read on: Google Gets U.S. Government Cloud Contract

Source: www.insurancetech.com

Financial Institutions and Social Media

2010-12-07T14:24:00.000-08:00

In the span of a few short years, social websites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have attracted millions of users. Today, three out of every four global consumers who go online visit social networks or blogs and the average visitor is spending two-thirds (66 percent) more time on these sites than a year ago.1 The use of social websites has become a part of many consumers’ everyday lives, making them a channel financial institutions can no longer ignore.

Read on the complete white paper on : Financial Institutions and Social Media

Source: www.fiserv.com

Gartner Identifies Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2011 in Insurance space

2010-12-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here is the top 10 list, with some of Gartner's analysis of the impact of these developments:

Cloud Computing -- "Gartner expects large enterprises to have a dynamic sourcing team in place by 2012 that is responsible for ongoing cloudsourcing decisions and management."

Mobile Applications and Media Tablets -- "Gartner estimates that by the end of 2010, 1.2 billion people will carry handsets capable of rich, mobile commerce providing an ideal environment for the convergence of mobility and the Web."

Social Communications and Collaboration -- "By 2016, social technologies will be integrated with most business applications. Companies should bring together their social CRM, internal communications and collaboration, and public social site initiatives into a coordinated strategy."

Video -- "Gartner believes that video will become a commonplace content type and interaction model for most users, and by 2013, more than 25 percent of the content that workers see in a day will be dominated by pictures, video or audio."

Next-Generation Analytics -- "It is becoming possible to run simulations or models to predict the future outcome, rather than to simply provide backward-looking data about past interactions, and to do these predictions in real time to support each individual business action."

Social Analytics -- or, "the process of measuring, analyzing and interpreting the results of interactions and associations among people, topics and ideas."

Context-Aware Computing -- defined as "the concept of using information about an end-user or object's environment, activities, connections and preferences to improve the quality of interaction with that end user."

Storage Class Memory -- As flash memory proliferates, "Given the cost premium, simply building solid state disk drives from flash will tie up valuable space on all the data in a file or entire volume, while a new explicitly addressed layer, not part of the file system, permits targeted placement of only the high-leverage items of information that need to experience the mix of performance and persistence available with flash memory."

Ubiquitous Computing -- or, "the coming third wave of computing where computers are invisibly embedded into the world."

Fabric-Based Infrastructure and Computers -- defined as, "a modular form of computing where a system can be aggregated from separate building-block modules connected over a fabric or a switched backplane."

Source: www.insurancetech.com

Insurance Companies are spending on Document Capture technology

2010-12-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

According to a study done by a market analyst firm, insurance companies are spending more on document capture as compared to last year. This include investing in technologies/hardware like scanner, OCR and intelligent document recognition software.

The growth in insurance spending largely can be attributed to more property and casualty insurers investing in document capture solutions, says Harvey Spencer, the East Northport, N.Y.-based firm's president. "P&C is becoming more important" to the document capture market, he relates, noting that a growing number of carriers are adopting transaction, or in-process, document capture. "These carriers are beginning to recognize the importance of acquiring information at the point of capture," Spencer comments.

"More value is being moved to the capture process from the back-end process. If you can start understanding documents at the point of capture, you can process them more easily," Spencer explains. "Truncating at the point of creating or acquisition of a document is key. The longer something exists as paper, the more risk you run of someone changing it or copying it -- then you can't process it as efficiently."

Source: www.insurancetech.com

December 2010

2010-12-05T02:10:00.000-08:00

Well Friends... New year is just around the corner and it's now time to tick off all the new year's resolutions you made last year :) . Seems like an awkward situations right ?!!

Don't worry, we still have 26 more days to go... and if you are really serious about the resolutions you made last year and want to keep them no matter whatever it takes, it is time to show the world/yourself what you are capable of.

Two things mentioned above are worth introspecting...(and I have started realizing it myself as I write)

1. Is putting efforts in these last 26 days of year would resolve this real problem ? Wasn't the real issue more related to - making and following the schedule, making it as a habit, doing things on on-going basis.. ? Just by putting all the efforts at the end, would it really solve the underneath problem (of being lethargic, lazy) ?

2. Are the resolutions made for the world or for yourself ? Do you want to show it to the world or you want to show it to yourself and raise the bar for yourself?

Wake up Sid!!!

Kamlesh Rao, MVP

2010-10-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

Glad to share that my friend Kamlesh Rao is now Microsoft's one of the most valuable professional (MVP).

Wow, such a great feeling to see his name as - Kamlesh Rao, MVP

This zest about having "MVP" next to our name started quite sometime back...(yes, even I was dreaming about it long back :)) but while it was just a dream for me, Kamlesh's dream was backed-up by hard work and burning desire.
I kind of moved away from it and Kamlesh pursued his dream all the way through... What a dedication!! I really admire that.

C-O-N-G--R-A-T-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S KAMLESH !!!!!!

Here is the announcement: New MVPs Announced–October 2010

Life Insurance Hiring Is Reborn

2010-09-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

The hiring is not a response to positive results. In fact, sales of death benefits have been morbid in recent years. But insurance executives see potential in consumers rattled by the crisis and possible tax increases that would make life insurance an attractive hedge. And they need fresh bodies to make their case.

Read on: Life Insurance Hiring Is Reborn
Source: www.fins.com

CSC's Mobile Apps, Web 2.0 Software Extensions to Improve Life Insurance Customer Experience

2010-09-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

CSC today announced the availability of mobile insurance enhancements and Web 2.0 and service-oriented architecture (SOA) extensions to its Customer Service Accelerator (csA) software to escalate insurance agent and policyholder self-service and improve the customer experience. A comprehensive customer service automation tool, csA combines a policyholder's contact history and policy portfolio in a single view for life insurance and annuity providers and orchestrates customer service workflow processes across a provider's diverse systems, locations and lines of business.

Read on: CSC's Mobile Apps
Source: www.marketwatch.com

Prudential, MetLife Are Japan Rivals as AIG Retreats

2010-09-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Prudential, which entered Japan in 1987, agreed to buy AIG’s Star Life Insurance and Edison Life Insurance units for $4.8 billion, AIG said in a statement today. MetLife expects to complete a $15.5 billion deal for American Life Insurance Co., known as Alico, on Nov. 1. Both firms sidestepped the worst of the financial crisis and are expanding in the world’s second- largest life-insurance market as bailed-out rivals retreat.

Read on: Prudential, MetLife Are Japan Rivals as AIG Retreats
Source: www.businessweek.com

40 Blog Posts About Common Life Insurance Myths and Misconceptions

2010-09-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Found this interesting link ....40 Blog Posts About Common Life Insurance Myths and Misconceptions
Good collection of myths!! Guess has collection of almost all the common myths.
Here is the complete list -

1. Saving You Money For Life A leading provider in term life insurance for people across the U.S. Dedicated to providing you with valuable information from experts on the topics of insurance, financial planning and personal finance.

2. Life Insurance – 5 Common Myths & Misconceptions In this series of myths and misconceptions, highlight/demystify various false notions associated with Personal Finance.

3. Busting the top 6 Life Insurance myths These life insurance myths and misconceptions can result in too little coverage causing financial hardship for families suffering the loss of a loved one.

4. 7 myths surrounding life insurance Any mistake you make when buying a life insurance policy can have long-lasting consequences. And if your family is not provided for the way you intended, you won’t be around to fix it.

5. Five Common Myths About Life Insurance If you really want to provide for your family’s well-being, you’ll need more than that. The good news is that this extra coverage won’t set you back as much as you might think.

6. Top 10 Life Insurance Myths Discover the technical aspects of life insurance are far less difficult for most people to deal with than trying to get a handle on how much coverage they need and why.

7. The Top Ten Insurance Myths You Need to Know! Insurance is designed to protect one from catastrophic disasters. An insurance rule of thumb: If you can pay for the loss or damage without a financial hardship then pay it.

8. 7 Life Insurance Myths That Can Cost You The misunderstandings about life insurance cause many people to skip the coverage altogether, putting their families at great risk for financial hardship. Set the record straight on seven common myths about life insurance.

9. Dodge These Five Life Insurance Myths Term or whole life? Universal or variable? Decisions about what kind of life insurance is right for you — and whether you need insurance at all — may not be keeping you up at night.

10. Life Insurance Myths People who choose life insurance policies based on myths about insurance could end up making a costly decision.

11. Debunking Life Insurance Myths And Mistakes #1 Read about being underinsured with permanent life insurance may be the biggest single mistake that people make in buying life insurance.

12. 7 life insurance mistakes to avoid For most people, talking about life insurance sounds almost as fun as eating rotten fish. And while ignoring it can compound a family tragedy by turning it into a financial nightmare, more and more people are doing just that.

13. How (and Why) to Buy Life Insurance But getting life insurance simply because you think you might need it, without really understanding how much to get or the options you have is a mistake

14. 8 life insurance myths Would you drop a load of money on a new car but fail to learn how to operate it — and then lose track of where you put it? Of course not, but it happens all the time with life insurance

15. Four Life Insurance Myths for the Young Family Whether or not you work, your family will miss your contribution to the household if it disappears.

16. Myths about cash value life insurance Some of the things you will hear when an agent is trying to sell whole life, universal life, or variable life insurance.

17. Life Insurance Myths There are many myths surrounding life insurance, but ten in particular seem to be most common.

18. 4 Types Of Life Insurance Compared: Term Life, Whole Life, Variable Life, And Universal Life Life insurance is a confusing topic. You’ve got death benefits, life expectancy, surrender penalties, term risk, and any number of contract riders to obsess over and worry about.

19. Personal Finance Blog Many questions that you need answers to about life insurance are all here in this blog

20. Seven Insurance Myths That Can Cost You Much of what you’ve been told about insurance is flat wrong. And common misconceptions and half-truths about insurance can cost you serious money.

21. Buying Life Insurance: Debunking Myths and Mistakes All kinds of half-truths, myths, and common mistakes are associated with buying insurance.

22. Beware of Medicaid Myths Medicaid is the largest source of government funding for nursing home care. Despite what many people think, the government health care program for the elderly, Medicare, covers very few nursing home costs.

23. Clearing Up Insurance Myths Learn about the truth to life insurance benefits and what to beware of.

24. Debunk some common myths about life insurance Many people wouldn’t think twice about insuring the full value of their car or home. But when it comes to life insurance, 60% of families with dependant children do not have enough insurance to cover household expenses for a year if the family breadwinner was to die.

25. 12 Life Insurance Myths Here are a few life insurance myths that are commonly believed yet largely untrue.

26. Life Insurance Myths & More Life insurance isn’t exactly the kind of thing people like to talk about, but it is important. That’s why, when it comes to shopping for a good policy, it’s important to separate fact from fiction.

27. About InsureMe A free referral service that helps people find the most competitive insurance rates in the business.

28. Most Common Life Insurance Myths It is necessary to be educated about the realities of life insurance, and the myths that surround it.t

29. Know About Insurance Why people need Life Insurance in the first place. An insurance policy is primarily meant to protect the income of the family’s breadwinners.

30. Understanding Life Insurance From A-Z The best way to understand life insurance is to educate yourself. Buying a life insurance policy to fit your needs is easy once you avoid making decisions based on some of the most common myths surrounding life insurance.

31. Life Insurance – Myth versus Fact There is a lot of misinformation and outright myth when it comes to life insurance. Unfortunately, many people who would benefit from obtaining an affordable life insurance policy delay or avoid the issue simply because they don’t know the facts.

32. Five Common Myths About Life Insurance The majority of American households still are clueless when it comes to life insurance and are misled when the time comes to prepare for that time

33. Insurance myths There’s a few misconceptions about life insurance – like ‘insurers don’t pay claims’, or ‘insurance is too expensive’. Some people even think ‘insurance isn’t for me – I don’t need it!’

34. Biggest Life Insurance Myths Think you don’t need life insurance? Think again-we’ll dispel the biggest myths about coverage here.

35. Five Common Myths About Life Insurance American households do have some variety of life insurance. But some of us understand how to get the most out of it

36. Common misconceptions about life insurance policies dispelled. Life settlements* provide 300% of the cash surrender value on average.Most people don’t realize that there are options to giving up a life insurance policy or getting only the life insurance cash surrender value and 85% of all life insurance policies are never used.

37. 10 myths on life insurance Your questions are answered in this article about life insurance!

38. Nine Financial Planning Myths The Financial Planning Association reports that 86 percent of Americans believe financial planning is important to them personally, but less than half (46 percent) actually have developed a financial plan of their own.

39. Common life insurance myths In case you’re single, don’t plan to have children, have enough cash to cover your medical or funeral expenses, and don’t have any relatives depending on you financially, then this is mostly true.

40. Top 5 Life Insurance Myths Debunked Life Insurance is a very important step for the economic growth of any individual and this is one aspect that every working individual should give a lot of thought to. It insures economic security and in these very hectic times it is a must have.

Source: www.termlifeinsurance.org

Reliance Life Insurance assets cross Rs. 15,000 crore

2010-09-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

“RLIC would be amongst the fastest private sector life insurance companies to cross this milestone in a span of less than 5 years”
That's what Mr. Malay Ghosh, President and Executive Director, Reliance Life Insurance says.
I would say, crossing figures is easy, what customer would look at is the quality and promptness of the service.

Read the complete article - Reliance Life Insurance assets cross Rs. 15,000 crore
source: www.orissadiary.com

Globe Life Insurance Offers $50,000 Life Insurance for $1

2010-07-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Seems almost unrealistic .. but check out this site and see it yourself.

Quite funny .. when I visited Globe Life web site, I found following text for this scheme in the bottom of their site with the most faint shade of gray.
It read as follows -
"*$1 pays for the first three months children’s coverage, except in FL and MI where $1 pays for the first month of children’s coverage. Then the rate is based on your child’s present age and is guaranteed to stay the same for the rest of their life. †Policy Form #GWLC/GWLP, GWL2000 or GWLA000 *$1 pays for the first month’s adult coverage. Then the rate schedule is based on your current age and is guaranteed for the life of the policy. ††Policy Form #GRTG or SRTCV **A.M. Best Company rating as of 6/10. For the latest rating, access http://www.ambest.com/."

Full story: Globe Life Insurance Offers $50,000 Life Insurance for $1
Source: http://www.damego.com/

CSC Receives 'Positive' Ratings in Life Insurance Policy Administration MarketScope Report

2010-07-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

CSC is one of 11 insurance software vendors whose 12 policy administration systems were evaluated by Gartner. No system received a higher rating than "Positive."
The fact that CSC signed five new policy administration systems deals in 2009 indicates insurers are looking to simplify their systems environment, speed and enhance support for new products and services, and improve customer service," said Michael W. Risley, president of CSC's Life Insurance and Annuity Division.

Read on: CSC Receives 'Positive' Ratings in Life Insurance Policy Administration
Source: www.marketwatch.com/

IRDA proposes tougher norms for agents

2010-07-19T01:30:00.000-07:00

Jul. 18, 2010 (The Hindu Business Line) -- Hyderabad, July 18

Life insurance agents may lose their licences if the annual persistency ratio of their clients' policies is less than 50 per cent.

In an exposure draft on persistency in life insurance policies announced on Saturday, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority proposed norms for enhancing the performance of agents.

Conditions
It has proposed a minimum of 20 policies per agent a year and the first year premium income to be procured by an agent at Rs 1.5 lakh per annum.
If these two conditions were not met, the agent would have to achieve proportionately more in either one to make up for the shortfall in the other.
Spouses and close relatives of employees of insurers should not be engaged as agents.

Disincentive
Further, there should be a disincentive for lapse in the form of commission clawback by the insurer, on a proportionate basis, the draft said.

“These proposals would be a step forward in protecting the interests of policyholders, who stand to gain if persistency is high, both in terms of protection of life and profitability of the life insurance business,'' Mr A. Giridhar, Executive Director, IRDA, said.

Feedback on the proposals could be sent to the Authority on or before, July 31.
Persistency is the percentage of business retained without policy lapse or surrender.

Source: newsystocks.com

Symantec to Buy VeriSign's Security Business

2010-05-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO - Symantec Corp agreed to buy VeriSign Inc's widely used technology for securing payments over the Internet in a deal worth $1.28 billion, the companies said Wednesday.
The acquisition gives Symantec, the world's biggest maker of security software, VeriSign's Internet security business including its crown jewel -- the SSL technology for securing electronic payments and other Internet transactions by scrambling the data when it travels over the Web.

Read on: Symantec to Buy VeriSign's Security Business
Source: www.insurancetech.com

SBI Life - Sabse Bada Income !!!

2010-04-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well ..... SBI still stands for State Bank of India ... but the way they have posted their profit and growth, I feel the new expansion - "Sabse Bada Income" suites more :)

SBI Life Insurance has posted a whopping Rs 276 crore net profit in 2009-10, as against a net loss of Rs 26 crore in the previous year.

The private life insurer crossed the Rs 10,000 crore mark in gross written premium, growing by over 40% during the year. Its assets under management jumped 96% to Rs 28,551 crore and new business annualised premium equivalent (APE) rose 37% to Rs 6,358 crore. It reported a 31% rise in new business premium of Rs 7,040 crore.

So... how much commission my agent is getting ?!!

2010-04-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

No kidding.. as per the IRDA new circular, Life insurance firms will now have to spell out to customers the commission they pay to agents on each policy. This will be effective July 1, 2010.
Guess what ..?! customers will start asking more cut on the premiums they pay :) !!!

Read on more on - Disclose agent commissions to customers: IRDA
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Goldman Sachs charged with fraud by SEC

2010-04-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

The government has accused Goldman Sachs & Co. of defrauding investors by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold as the housing market was faltering.

Read on: Goldman Sachs charged with fraud by SEC
Source: MSN News

Practice makes one Outstanding

2010-03-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

Truly amazing teamwork !!!
Body and mind coordination at it's best !!!
I am totally speechless....

Watch it to believe it: Practice makes one Outstanding

Top 10 M&A Deals in Insurance Sector

2010-03-03T00:33:00.000-08:00

The following list ranks the top 10 M&A deals in the insurance sector: Britain's Prudential said it would buy AIG's Asian life insurance arm for $35.5 billion, in a deal set to make the insurer the undisputed leader in one of the world's fastest-growing financial services markets.

Date -- Target Name -- Acquirer -- Value
1. 03/01/10 -- American International Association (AIA) -- Prudential -- $35 bln
2. 04/03/01 -- American General -- AIG -- $23.39 bln
3. 06/19/98 -- General Re Corp -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. -- $22.30 bln
4. 04/17/00 -- Allied Zurich PLC -- Zurich Financial Services AG -- $19.39 bln
5. 08/20/98 -- SunAmerica Inc -- AIG -- $18.11 bln
6. 10/13/97 -- BAT Industries PLC-Financial -- Zurich Financial Services AG -- $17.05 bln
7. 11/17/03 -- Travelers Ppty Casualty Corp -- St Paul Cos Inc -- $16.13 bln
8. 10/19/08 -- ING Groep NV -- Netherlands -- $13.41 bln
9. 09/27/01 -- Fortis(NL)NV -- Fortis SA/NV -- $12.46 bln
10. 12/19/01 Travelers Property Casualty -- Shareholders -- $12.21 bln

Source: ThomsonReuters (Compiled by Carl Bagh, Bangalore Editorial Reference Unit; Edited by David Cutler)

Copyright 2010 by Reuters. All rights reserved.

Prudential P.L.C. in Talks to Buy A.I.G. Asia Unit

2010-02-28T00:56:00.000-08:00

Prudential P.L.C., the British financial services firm, is in talks with the American International Group over a potential deal for the American firm’s giant Asia life insurance operations that could be worth more than $30 billion, people briefed on the matter told DealBook on Saturday.

Read on: Prudential P.L.C. in Talks to Buy A.I.G. Asia Unit
Source: http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com

Allianz Life Reports Solid Operating Profits and Premium for 2009

2010-02-28T00:41:00.000-08:00

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) today posted the highest operating profit in the company's 110-year history at nearly $800MM for its 2009 financial year. The results can be attributed to strong operational performance coupled with rebounding economic conditions, including rising interest rates and narrowing credit spreads, which may not continue or be as impactful in 2010.

Read on: Allianz Life Reports Solid Operating Profits and Premium for 2009
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com

AIG to take a big hit

2010-02-28T00:11:00.000-08:00

After two straight profitable quarters, AIG is expected to report a substantial loss for the fourth quarter when the troubled insurer announces its latest financial results Friday morning.

Read on: AIG to take a big hit
Source: http://money.cnn.com

A New American Life Insurance Company is Launched: IA American

2010-02-27T23:56:00.000-08:00

Although some of us thinks that US insurance market is kind of saturated and there is very little scope for new player to gain recognition and market, there are business groups who believes in their strategic long term plans and knows how to get recognition.
Here is a news - Headquartered with the Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company ("IA Pacific") US division in Scottsdale, Arizona, IA American is the next phase of the Company's long-term growth strategy in the United States.

Read on - A New American Life Insurance Company is Launched: IA American
Source: http://www.prnewswire.com

New Year, New Life-Don’t be trapped by the calendar. Create the life you want right now. Here’s where to start

2010-01-21T04:51:00.000-08:00

Here is an excellent video from Tony Robbins on New Years resolutions.
Guess this is what we all needed... a push, or a punch or whatever you would like to call it.

As Tony rightly said - "Wake up and take action-a New Year and a New Life doesn’t just happen on January 1."

Watch online: New Year, New Life-Don’t be trapped by the calendar. Create the life you want right now. Here’s where to start

Source: http://tonyrobbinstraining.com

A.I.G. Unit May Be Sold to MetLife

2010-01-19T23:08:00.000-08:00

Breaking news!!!
MetLife, where Robert H. Benmosche made his mark as an insurance executive, has emerged as the lead bidder for a major subsidiary of the American International Group, where Mr. Benmosche is now chief executive.

Read on: A.I.G. Unit May Be Sold to MetLife
Source: The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com)

Life Insurance: An Interview with Insurance Expert Anthony Steuer

2010-01-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

Back to the basics...
Although discussed many times, still many of us tend to misunderstand the basic need of life insurance and get easily caught with questions like - "How do I know how much life insurance do I need" or "Term Vs Whole Life insurance" or "Should children have Life Insurance" etc.
Here is an interview with an Insurance Expert Anthony Steuer who answers the above questions (and many) in layman's language.

Read on: Life Insurance: An Interview with Insurance Expert Anthony Steuer
Source: http://insurance.lovetoknow.com/

Money-Minder criticizes life insurance comparison sites

2010-01-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

Comparing life insurance product is not always as simple as it might seem; here is an article that talks about the "watch-outs" of the sites those compares the Life Insurance products -
Comparison sites can make buying financial products on the web transparent and hassle-free. But when it comes to comparing life insurance, not all comparison sites are what they seem.
Read on complete article - Money-Minder criticizes life insurance comparison sites
Source: http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/

S&P Cuts Manulife Rating To A+, Outlook Negative

2010-01-05T05:59:00.000-08:00

hummmm.......
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its long-term credit rating on Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC) to A+ from AA- and withdrawn its ratings on John Hancock Financial Services Inc. (JHF) following the completion of Manulife's planned subsidiary reorganization on Dec. 31.

Read on: S&P Cuts Manulife Rating To A+, Outlook Negative
needs registration though :(
Source: Wall Street Journal

OSWEGO, NY: Local School District Partners with Insurance Company to Offer Free Life Insurance

2009-12-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

Truly amazing!!!
A local school district is partnering with insurers to offer free life insurance to pay for a child's education in the event of a parent's death!!!

Read on complete news: Local School District Partners with Insurance Company to Offer Free Life Insurance

Source: www.publicbroadcasting.net (WRVO)

Max India: Funding long-term growth - Profits are still some time away

2009-12-30T08:23:00.000-08:00

Max is trying its best balancing expansion, profitability and expenditure. This article states that the operating expenditure of the company is on higher side (well ..highest in the industry) and unlikely to come down in near future as company continues to expand its business.

Read on - Max India: Funding long-term growth
Source: www.business-standard.com

An introduction to General (Non-Life) Insurance Companies of India

2009-12-26T06:35:00.000-08:00

In today’s age of consumerism, insurance requirements have expanded to keep pace with the increasing risks. Gone are the days when life insurances ruled the roost; today we have a wide assortment of risk coverage commencing from health insurance to travel insurance to theft insurance to even a wedding insurance. With affluence and spending capacity on the surge there is a growing trend to fulfill needs, deal with responsibilities and secure one’s possessions, be it good health or wordly wealth.

Read on more on Introduction to General Insurance companies of India

Source: www.medindia.net

IRDA allows products combining life and health insurance

2009-12-24T00:29:00.000-08:00

Very appreciative step by IRDA (India). IRDA has approved products combining Life and Health Insurance. I am sure the products will be very competitive and consumer will get a good package combining both.
The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) on Wednesday allowed a new product class Health plus Life Combi Products for promoting the combined products of pure term life insurance offered by life insurance companies along with standalone health insurance products offered by non-life insurance companies under the single product umbrella.
.... Read on IRDA allows products combining life and health insurance

Life insurers out of slump

2009-12-22T00:55:00.000-08:00

Mumbai
Dec. 21: The Indian life insurance industry appears to be coming out of recession on the back of a 21 per cent growth in premium collections.

According to Mr S.B. Mathur, the secretary-general of the Life Insurance Council, "During October 2008 to March 2009 period the new premium collection witnessed negative growth. In this scenario, we can say that life insurance industry has come out of recession. For the April-October period, single premium policies witnessed a surge of around 42 per cent, with investors preferring non-linked policies signifying a clear trend towards traditional policies."
The total premium during first seven months of this fiscal rose to Rs 1,20,503 crore from Rs 99,310 crore in the corresponding period last year, Mr Mathur told this newspaper.

The latest data released by the Life Insurance Council, the industry body for all the life insurance companies in India, reveals that the renewal premiums increas-ed by around 24 per cent to Rs 73,952 crores, while new business premiums increased by around 18 per cent to Rs 46,551 crores on y-o-y basis.

Mr Mathur further said: "Total benefit paid to policyholders was Rs 34,021 crores, a rise of over 25 per cent as compared to Rs 27,179 crores last year. Private life insurance companies paid total benefits of Rs 6,996 crores a rise of 101 per cent from Rs 3,469 crores last year."

Source: AGE CORRESPONDENT (www.samachar.com)

IRDA - What is new (August 2009)

2009-08-23T00:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the new regulations/guidelines/publication posted at IRDA site for this month (August 2009):

This might be a partial list, please visit IRDA site and click 'What is New?' for the complete list.

Mutual or publicly owned: Which is best insurance company

2009-08-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

Did you ever care if you are buying the policy from Mutual or publicly owned insurance company ? I know after what happend to AIG, people are more careful now a days.
Okay let me ask you this, do you know the what is Mutual insurance company and Publicly owned insurance company.

Simple definition:
Mutual insurance companies are owned by policyholders.
Publicly owned insurance companies are owned by stockholders.

Article below brings some interesting points about what to consider before you choose an insurance company -
Read on - Mutual or publicly owned: Which is best insurance company for you?

Insurance Company accused of fraud

2009-08-22T23:53:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how an Insurance companies can give reasons such as 'not compatible with the system changes' for switching funds...!! Specially when this is one of the policy provisions. System limitation is clearly insurance companies problem, why customer should suffer.

The insurance company, Aviva Life Insurance Co India Pvt Ltd, has been accused by Dr Ram Kapoor of fraud as the company, he alleged, changed his policies, resulting in a major financial setback for him.
Read on the complete article - Insurance Co accused of fraud

Is whole life really whole life?

2009-06-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Most people don't wake up in the morning with the thoughts of implementing a life insurance policy. It might take the motivation from a spouse, possibly an insurance agent or an attorney. Or maybe you just experienced a death of a close friend or family member. If you look in the obituary section every day, you'll find the people passing away aren't all in their 80s and 90s. Possibly you realize something could happen to you and you want your family protected, financially.
Read on: Is whole life really whole life?

Should you prepay your home loan?

2009-05-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

I have seen people spending years in thinking "Should I prepay my home loan" ? Well, I would say it depends on various factors, like your priorities, Children's education, other obligations etc.
Here is an artical that describes what you will save if you plan to prepay your home loan.
Read on - Should you prepay your home loan?
Thanks to msn.bankbazaar.com

Is your insurance safe ?

2008-11-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2008-10-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-05-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-04-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-03-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-02-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-25T06:07:00.000-08:00

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...

Life insurance grows 47 % in FY07

2007-11-30T05:35:00.000-08:00

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%

2007-11-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-08-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-11T05:54:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-18T20:13:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-25T00:16:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-11T21:42:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2007-01-05T03:01:00.000-08:00

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 ?

2007-01-05T02:14:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-02T01:15:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

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