Published in Mint on 13 May 2015, Written by Kapil Mehta Earlier this year Vijay (who wanted to be identified only by his first name), a blue-collar worker who has a medical insurance, suffered chest pains and was rushed to a prominent hospital in New Delhi. Vijay’s insurance was verified and was immediately admitted. Vijay […]
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How the world looks at insurance
Published in Mint on 8 April 2015, Written by Kapil Mehta I am glad March is over. Financial year-end is hectic for insurance. People buy life and health insurance to claim their income tax benefits under sections 80C, 80D and other such. Surprisingly, companies also buy most of their insurance in this month. There is […]
Insurance amendment bill: necessary but not sufficient
Published in Mint on Mar 11 2015, Written by Kapil Mehta If all goes as planned, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which has been approved by the Lok Sabha, will become law over the next few weeks. The first version of this bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha seven long years ago. The most […]
Making insurance a development tool
Published in Mint on Feb 28 2015., Written by Kapil Mehta For insurance, the past few years have been gloomy. Between 2011 and 2014, life insurance funds reduced from Rs.2,10,100 crore to Rs.1,99,600 crore. Life funds as a proportion of household financial savings reduced from 20% to 17%. Penetration fell from 4.6% of gross domestic product […]
You cannot opt out of EDLI insurance offered by your employer
Published in Mint on 11th December, 2017. Written by Abhishek Bondia Do I get compulsory life insurance with my provident fund (PF)? Do I need to buy a separate life insurance cover if I am already a PF subscriber? What is EDLI insurance by an employer? Can I opt out of it if I don’t […]
Standard motor insurance policy excludes consumables such as engine oil and tyres
Published in Mint on 4th December, 2017. Written by Abhishek Bondia I met with a road accident and there was extensive damage to the car’s engine and windshield? Can you tell me what all will be covered by the insurer? Will the policy also pay for tyres and all the motor fluids in the engine, […]
The many confusions and disputes in COVID-19 insurance settlements
Published in Moneycontrol. Written by Abhishek Bondia. “Make sure you assess your viral load based on the CT value,” Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw suggested in her blog about ways to manage COVID-19 after successfully recovering from the illness. The Hindu was quick to declare shortly after Shaw’s blog was published that there is “no correlation between CT […]
The benefits of renewing your insurance plans
Published in Livemint. Written by Kapil Mehta. Last month I was reviewing a life insurance claim. The policyholder had died after paying premiums for several years. Unfortunately, as things turned out, the last premium was unpaid and the claim was denied. I was disappointed because the lost benefit ran into lakhs. Often, insurers and intermediaries […]
Presenting insurance facts effectively
Published in Mint on 11th February,2015, Written by Kapil Mehta The way information is presented has a dramatic effect on decisions. This is certainly true in insurance. The impact is positive if a buyer is guided sensibly, and negative, if salient points are buried deep in documents and legalese. A friend manages a trust that […]
Critical illness riders give the survival benefits to you, and not your beneficiaries
Published in Mint on 27th November 2017. Written by Abhishek Bondia I have a critical illness rider with my life insurance policy. I was recently diagnosed with cancer and the doctors say that the tumor has spread to vital organs. In how many days can I get the payment? Will the money be paid along […]