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The first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, Smt. Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced to provide health insurance coverage of Rs 1, 25,000 each for artistes and technicians of Tollywood. Tollywood refers to the Tollygunge-based Bengali film industry in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Speaking to the reporters, Smt. Banerjee said, “We are announcing a health insurance scheme with coverage of up to Rs 1, 25,000 for performing artistes and workers in the film industry.”

Shri Gautam Ghosh, one of the most acclaimed film directors of modern India was also present with the Chief Minister at the media briefing. Welcoming the move, he said, “This is an extremely worthwhile move. I thank the CM for this. This was a long-standing demand of technicians, who find it very difficult to meet their medical expenses.”

Apart from this, the Chief Minister also announced to provide monthly allowance of Rs 750 each to various folk artistes.

“At present, we are providing an annual allowance of Rs 7,000 each to nearly 156 such folk artists. There are nearly 3,000-4,000 such artists. We plan to provide Rs 750 a month to each of them,” Smt. Banerjee said.

ORIENTAL INSURANCE REFUSES INSURANCE COVERS FOR 3 TAINTED IPL PLAYERS
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Thursday, May 23, 2013 5:59 PM]

After the Rajasthan Royals, an IPL franchise terminated the contracts of its three tainted players- S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, the franchise’s official insurer Oriental Insurance Company too has cancelled the insurance covers provided to them.

A senior Oriental Insurance official said, “We took the advice of the franchise Rajasthan Royals on cancelling the insurance policy of the three players facing spot fixing charges, and after their nod have cancelled the policy. This is because if the players are jailed or something adverse happens to them, there would be claims.”

Fast bowler, S Sreesanth who is an auctioned player had a personal accident insurance cover of Rs 18 crore, a medical insurance policy of $1 million and baggage insurance of Rs 2,00,000. In case of a mishap, the medical insurance policy even allows an auctioned player to air lifted and flown to a foreign country for medical treatment. While, the other two players had a personal accident insurance cover of rupees one crore, medical insurance cover of Rs 5,00,000 and baggage insurance cover of Rs 2,00,000.

The insurance covers had commenced from March 25 and would end on May 31, after the finals.

The three players were arrested last week on charges of spot-fixing in the ongoing IPL matches. The police claimed that they received money from bookies that have underworld connections abroad.

XPRESS MONEY TO PROVIDE FREE LIFE INSURANCE TO INDIAN EXPATS
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 2:15 PM]

Xpress Money has tied-up with Union Insurance in Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region to launch remittance industry's first free life insurance cover for blue-collared Indian expats working in the region. This life insurance cover will be offered to the people using Xpress Money to send money to India from markets like the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.

This monthly renewable free life insurance scheme is specifically designed to suit blue-collared population – e.g.-electricians, mechanics, steel workers, highway workers, etc. The scheme will provide a life insurance protection of AED 15,000 Dirhams (approx INR 2,26,350), including AED 5,000 Dirhams (approx INR 75,450) of repatriation expenses of the mortal remains, the company said in a statement released on Monday.

“The insurance benefit will be available to any person remitting money through Xpress Money for a period of one month, from the day the customer makes a transaction. A remitter can avail this life insurance free of cost irrespective of the amount transacted”, said the statement.

Shri Sudhesh Giriyan, Vice President and Business Head of the Xpress Money, said, “This product was launched because majority of the Indian expats from blue-collared category, residing and working in the GCC region, generally work in hazardous conditions at construction sites and factories. This policy will benefit that category and give them life protection too".

“This life insurance is also a critical value addition to our services and will create a new milestone in the remittance industry”, he added.

Further, the statement said, “Over the next few months Xpress Money plans to offer this service to a wider range of customers and will add more corridors to the existing list, based on the response that the service receives from the target audience.”

IndiaFirst Life To Enter Into Health, Micro Insurance Segments
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 2:29 PM]

Private sector insurer IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited is all set to launch health insurance and micro-insurance products by the end of this fiscal year, Managing Director-cum-Chief Executive Officer, Shri P. Nandagopal said on Monday.

Speaking to the reporters, Shri Nandagopal said the company will achieve break-even sooner than expected. At present the company is doing very well in the country and Andhra Pradesh in particular.

Currently, IndiaFirst Life’s product range covers term insurance, saving plans, education and retirement. It has a range of group insurance products in forms of credit, life, term and employee liability (gratuity and leave encashment) plans as well.

“We have registered a growth rate of 34 % last fiscal year in spite of the slowdown during the past two years affecting the industry. During the current year too we expect a growth rate of more than 20% on a larger base. We are confident we will achieve break-even in much less than the originally expected eight years,” Shri Nandagopal said.

The company is tying up with regional rural banks to sell health insurance and micro insurance products, he added.

“The company is in a position to issue an insurance policy to an applicant within half-an-hour. Most of the policies in the range of Rs 5-10 lakh do not require medical examination. We can easily give the policy in that time,” he further said.

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between two of India’s state-owned banks-Bank of Baroda with 44% stake and Andhra Bank with 30% stake, and UK’s financial and investment company, Legal & General with 26% stake.

Standardisation Of Life Insurance Plans Likely By August: IRDA
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Monday, May 20, 2013 1:19 PM]

With a view to speed up product approval process, the actuarial department of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has attempted to unveil standard parameters for five key life insurance products.

The regulator, after consultation with the Finance Ministry last year, had set up four working groups which included representatives from the life insurance industry and IRDA for standardisation of 18 products.

Under the IRDA’s ‘use and file’ process, life insurers filing products based on standard parameters will automatically be deemed to have been approved after 15 days of intimating the regulator.

According to a senior official from IRDA, the working group committees were expected to set up the benchmark for products by April this year, but parameters for only one product could be standardised. Hence, the actuarial department of IRDA has attempted to standardise five products, which will be released to the industry for their views shortly.

“The regulator has conveyed to us that expediting product approvals is a priority and the whole process of standardising 18 life insurance products will be completed by August this year,” said an actuary from a life insurance company.

Firms can opt private insurer for group insurance cover: EPFO
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Friday, May 17, 2013 5:14 PM]

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has allowed firms to ensure higher group insurance of Rs 1.32 lakh for each employee by choosing ‘Edelweiss Tokio Life-Group Life Protection’ in lieu of Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme provided by EPFO.

EPFO has engaged the private sector insurer Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company to provide this group term insurance plan in lieu of EDLI Scheme- 1976. According to a circular issued by EPFO to its field offices, the benefits under the ‘Edelweiss Tokio Life-Group Life Protection’ plan are better than those under the EDLI Scheme -1976.

Under the existing scheme, an EPFO subscriber gets insurance cover of up to Rs 1,00,000 before superannuation.

All those employers who would opt for the ‘Edelweiss Tokio Life-Group Life Protection’ would be given exemption from the EDLI scheme -1976, said the circular.

Employers contribute 0.5 % of basic pay of an employee as insurance premium to the EDLI scheme every month. The benefit under the scheme is given on the basis of the provident fund balance in the subscriber's account.

The subscriber gets the benefit equivalent to the balance in the PF account; if the balance is up to Rs 50,000. But if the balance exceeds Rs 50,000, the benefit is the account balance plus 40 % of the balance, subject to maximum of Rs 1, 00,000.

The maximum benefit under the scheme was enhanced from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1, 00,000 in year 2010.

HDFC Life unveils a comprehensive health insurance plan
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Thursday, May 16, 2013 2:25 PM]

Leading private sector life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Co. has announced the launch of its new health insurance product – HDFC Life Health Assure Plan, aimed at providing comprehensive health insurance cover to the policyholders.

Speaking on the launch, Shri Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Life Insurance said, “Customer centric product innovation has been our prime focus at HDFC Life. In line with our philosophy, we are proud to announce the launch of Health Assure – a health insurance plan that will provide long term protection to our customers while offering a 50% NCB (No Claim Bonus).”

“The addition of the Health Assure Plan will strengthen our product offerings in this segment”, he added.

The product comes in two variants-Gold Plan and Silver Plan. It offers reimbursement of medical expenses incurred in a hospital. It also covers 200- Day Care Procedures, Pre and Post Hospitalization Benefit and offers a host of other benefits. It allows coverage for families on floater cover basis.

The Gold variant of this plan offers comprehensive mediclaim cover with added benefits of Hospital Cash, Wellness and Maternity Benefit (for family cover). The plan comes with a 3-year premium guarantee, which means that the premium remains same even if you claim. The Multiplier benefit increases the Annual Limit by 50 % after one claim free year and doubles the annual limit after two consecutive claim free years.

The minimum entry age for this plan is 18 years (91- days for dependent children), and maximum up to 70 years. There is no exit age which enables policyholders a lifelong renewability. Plan can be taken either as an Individual or Family Floater. Under Family Floater, one may cover spouse, children, both parents and parents- in- law too.

The minimum and maximum sum assured under Silver Plan-Individual is fixed to 3 lakh while in case of Family Floater; maximum sum assured may be opted up to 5 lakhs.

For Gold Plan-Individual, the sum assured is fixed to 5 lakh while for Family Floater the minimum sum assured is 7 lakh and maximum is 10 lakh.

HDFC Life Health Assure Plan provides flexibility to pay premium either Annually or in Single mode.

HDFC Life has tied-up with more than 4,500 hospitals for cashless claims.

HDFC Life is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation and Standard Life, the leading provider of financial services in the United Kingdom.

IRDA to set up depository for paperless policies
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 12:15 PM]

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is thinking over a proposal to set up a depository that will allow customers to hold policies in paperless form much like investors holding equity shares in demat accounts.

"We are thinking of having an insurance depository like the one in the stock market. It is still in a formative stage," Shri Sudhin Roy Chowdhury, Member (Life) IRDA, told reporters on the sidelines of the Insurance Summit held in Kolkata, adding, “Instead of holding policy bonds in paper form, the customers would hold them in demat paperless form.”

However, unlike stock market, it would not be mandatory for insurance customers to switch over to paperless form. It would be an optional and the customers may choose to stick with the traditional one, Shri Chowdhury said.

IRDA would set up a separate autonomous body to operate the depository. It will also lay down the regulations.

Shri Chowdhury also said insurers should take steps to stop mis-selling of products by their finanancial advisors.

PM Favours A Mechanism To Provide Immediate Funds To Disaster Affected People
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 6:00 PM]

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday favoured setting up an institutional mechanism for providing immediate funds and contingent credit facilities to people affected by natural disaster to help them recover from losses.

Addressing the first session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Delhi, Dr. Singh said, “Such steps of immediate funding would reduce suffering of people after any calamity.” The conference is being organized to review the status of preparedness of dealing with crisis situations resulting from the southwest monsoon and to discuss other disaster management related issues.

“There was need for greater attention about arrangements for providing funds to people so that they are able to cope with the losses they suffer due to natural disasters”, he added.

"The current systems, particularly at the national level, lack institutional incentives and do not promote mechanisms such as risk insurance and contingent credit facilities. The development of such ex-ante arrangements is particularly important because they typically serve as a primary source of immediate funding that would reduce human suffering, economic losses and fiscal pressures in the aftermath of natural disasters," Dr. Singh said.

Further, the Prime Minister said managing disasters was necessarily a collaborative and complex exercise, involving not only several departments of the government at the centre but also state and local governments, civil society organizations, local communities and the people at large.

The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of involving local communities in disaster risk reduction activities asking authorities to pay special attention in making full use of Panchayati Raj institutions in disaster mitigation and risk reduction efforts.

New India Assurance Sets Rs 15K Crore Premium Target For FY' 14
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Monday, May 13, 2013 5:29 PM]

Public sector insurer New India Assurance Company Limited said it has set a target of Rs 15,000 crore for premium collection in the fiscal year 2013-14.

The Chairman and Managing Director of New India Assurance Shri G Srinivasan said the company would launch a series of measures to surpass its target and grow above the market growth rate.

New India Assurance is also planning to recruit 25,000 agents in the current financial year with a view to increasing its presence significantly in rural, social and micro-insurance sectors, he added.

Furthermore, he said 16 more micro-insurance products have been added to the company’s stable and revised health insurance products are also in the offing. The company would settle large number of Motor Third Party (TP) claims through compromise and conciliation.

The company had opened 48 micro offices in Tier II and Tier III cities and rural areas, and had adopted two villages in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.

The company is also planning to enter insurance business in Qatar, Myanmar and Canada.

IRDA Releases Fresh Guidelines For Banks In Insurance Broking Biz
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Friday, May 10, 2013 5:54 PM]

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on Wednesday released fresh guidelines on insurance broking. According to the guidelines, banks doing insurance broking, or planning to do so, will have to form a separate broking arm which would be an independent accountable unit. The segregated unit shall have at least two persons with the requisite qualifications, mandatory theoretical and practical training and having passed the examinations required by the examining body.

“The remaining staff shall meet with the training requirements specified under clause...of the code of conduct, in addition to participating in relevant insurance seminars, workshops and continuing education programmes organised by the broking association and other stakeholders in the insurance sector,” said the guidelines.

Further, the guidelines said that banks acting as brokers would enable use of the entire network of branches and increase insurance penetration, plus adding to competition in rendering services. Bank should have a board-approved policy to address issues with regard to conflict of interest between the bank and clients receiving banking services vis-a-vis insurance broking. The said policy would have to be filed with the regulator at the time of seeking an insurance broking license and the revised policy at the time of renewal.

“Since banks are regulated separately by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it shall be a measure to enhance the efficiency in the conduct of procurement of insurance business and also accountability to the policyholder as compared to the agency channel,” the guidelines said.

The banks will have to keep the minimum deposit of Rs 50 lakh, 2 crore and 2.5 crore with IRDA’s lien for Direct Broking, Re-insurance and Composite Broking respectively.

The annual fees should be reduced to 0.4% of the preceding year's revenue. Further, the ceiling on business from a single client is proposed to be increased a flat 50% for any single group. Business emanating from a government body or a public sector unit is excluded from this provision, said the guidelines.

HDFC Life Insurance Eager To Buy Out Competitors
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Thursday, May 09, 2013 11:10 AM]

Private sector leading life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company on Tuesday said it is interested in acquiring competitors which are up for sale and it would buy out the entire company rather than just one of the stakeholders.

"It makes sense to acquire a company because the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) does not allow one promoter to hold two licences," said Shri Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO, HDFC Life, adding "We would like to acquire the entire company and merge with us.” .

Shri Chaudhry's response comes after the strong speculation that it may buyout HSBC's stake in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Company. Without naming a company, he said any transaction is possible only when all partners are looking to exit. HSBC is selling its 26% stake in Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance joint venture to focus on its core banking business. Two public sector banks Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce hold 51% and 23% stakes respectively in the insurance JV. .

For the fiscal year 2012-13, the insurer registered a net profit of Rs 451 crore, an increase of Rs179 crore from previous fiscal year. The total premium income increased by 11% while, the new business premium income increased by16%..

HDFC Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between India's top mortgage lender HDFC Ltd and British insurer Standard Life.

IRDA Advises LIC To Join Energy Insurance Pool For Iran
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Wednesday, May 08, 2013 7:11 PM]

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has suggested Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, the largest insurer of the country to join the Indian Energy Insurance Pool proposed by the government to provide insurance cover to domestic refineries that process crude oil imported from Iran.

Suggestion came after general insurance companies and oil firms raised concerns that the proposed Rs 2,000 crore energy insurance pool may not be sufficient to provide risk cover to Indian refineries processing Iranian crude oil.

The State-owned Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals (MRPL) is the worst affected by the sanctions imposed by re-insurers as it is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil. India has cut down import of Iranian crude oil by over 26.5 % in the previous fiscal year.

"We are aware of the observations made by IRDA. It is too early to say that LIC will participate in the proposed pool. The company will take any decision after considering the interest of its policy holders," a senior LIC official said.

Under the proposed mechanism, the insurance pool will be created from the premiums collected by general insurance companies from such contracts and a matching contribution will be provided by the oil ministry. This will reduce the need for Indian insurers seeking re-insurance from the bigger global re-insurers as any claim that may arise could be settled from this pool.

However, another LIC official said that it is an unviable business proposal and since LIC is a commercial firm it will not participate in the proposed pool.

DLF Pramerica Life Unveils Savings-Cum Protection Plan
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 3:01 PM]

Private sector insurer DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited (DPLI) on Tuesday unveiled a new savings cum protection plan-- Sahaj Suraksha.

The plan is designed to meet the essential expenses of customers and to help them continue with their lifestyle without making any compromises with their lifestyle, particularly during their retirement, the company said in a release.

Shri Pavan Dhamija, MD & CEO, DLF Pramerica Life Insurance said, "At the age of 75, one is most likely to see a dip in savings and an increase in unexpected expenses, which could result in a person compromising on his or her style of living. An increase in cost of living, combined with unexpected expenses, primarily health-related, increases the need for additional financial support. This is where DLF Pramerica Sahaj Suraksha can fit by supplementing their retirement savings.

According to the release, one can buy ‘Sahaj Suraksha’ policy as late as 55 years of age. And, the policy matures when the policyholder turns 75.

DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd is a joint venture between DLF Ltd, an Indian real estate company and the US-based Prudential International Insurance Holdings (PIIH).

Punjab To Provide Medical Insurance Cover Of Rs 1.5 Lakh To All
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Friday, May 03, 2013 3:02 PM]

The Punjab Government has decided to increase the range of ‘Bhai Kanahiya Scheme’ and is extending a Medical Insurance cover of Rs. 1.5 lakh to each and every citizen of the state.

On Thursday, 2nd May, in Chandigarh, the Health Minister of Punjab, Shri Madan Mohan Mittal said that earlier, the medical insurance cover was provided only to members of co-operative societies, which has now been extended to each citizen of the state. "The premium supposed to be paid under this scheme has also been pruned to a lower level", Shri Mittal said. Besides, the state government has decided to provide medical insurance cover of Rs 30 thousand to 5.23 lakh BPL (Below Poverty Line) families of the state under the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Furthermore, Shri Mittal said that a new medical insurance scheme would soon be started for the 10 lakh families covered under Atta-Dal scheme. And, the premium of Rs 400 supposed to be paid per family would be borne by the state government. .

According to Shri Mittal, the state government has set aside a budget of Rs 20 crore for these new schemes.

United India Insurance Net Profit Rises 36% In FY’ 2012-13
[Posted by: InsuringIndia News on Wednesday, May 01, 2013 1:56 PM]

State-run insurer United India Insurance Company has registered a 36% rise in its profit after tax (PAT) at Rs. 527 crore in fiscal year 2012-13 from Rs. 387 crore in the previous fiscal year. The board has proposed a dividend of 70% for the FY’ 2012-13.

The insurer’s gross premium income during the fiscal grew to Rs 9,266 crore from Rs 8,179 crore in the previous fiscal, posting a growth of 13.29% with an increase of Rs 1,087 crore.

Shri Milind Kharat, Chairman-cum-MD, United India Insurance said, “United India could manage the claims ratio at 84.61% during FY' 2012-13 as against 88.5% during FY' 2011-12 thanks to better underwriting practices and other claim control measures.”

The company’s net premium income grew by 10.47% at Rs 7,489 crore as against Rs 6,780 crore in the previous fiscal year. And, the net worth grew 9% at Rs 4,952 crore as on March 31, 2013.

The claim ration during the FY’ 13 was at 84.61%, as compared to 88.5% in the previous fiscal year.

For the current FY’ 2013-14, United India Insurance is targeting a premium income of Rs 11,000 crore with a profit after tax of Rs. 600 crore.

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