Published in Mint on 15th July 2015, Written by Abhishek Bondia I recently applied for a very high sum assured for term insurance. During the medical underwriting, I was diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. The insurer raised the premium by 150%. Is it common to put such a significant loading for pre-diabetes cases? —Aravind Insurers commonly […]
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Investment products don’t require medical underwriting
Published in Mint on 29th July 2014, Written by Abhishek Bondia How do I go about changing the nomination in my life insurance policy? —Farah Mohammed You have to visit the branch of the particular insurance company and fill a “change request form”. You need to submit an identity proof and original policy copy for […]
Have at least a 10-year horizon if you buy an endowment plan
Published in Mint on 12th Aug 2014, Written by Abhishek Bondia Can a life cover work as collateral security for a loan? —Thomas George Theoretically, life covers that acquire a surrender value can be conditionally assigned to a bank and used as collateral. The collateral will kick in if the loan is not paid. In […]
Usually, individual terms plans work better than joint plans
Published in Mint on 26th Aug 2014, Written by Abhishek Bondia Will my life insurance be in force even when I travel abroad? —Harsh Vashist Life insurance has worldwide coverage. So even if an untoward incident happens abroad, you are covered. Do note that when you buy a policy, you should declare all planned travels […]
If premium is overdue after grace period, the policy lapses
Published in Mint on 9th Sept 2014, Written by Abhishek Bondia I missed paying past few months’ premiums. Can I start paying my premium again? Are there any charges? —Shaheen Jamal If premium is overdue after the grace period, the policy lapses. You can start paying the premium again after reviving the policy. Fill a […]
Provide accurate information in insurance proposal forms
Published in Mint on , Dec 12 2011, Written by Kapil Mehta The period between January and March is the busiest for the insurance sector. People rush to purchase insurance policies to save income tax. However, the insurance proposal form remains a mere formality. Often a blank form is signed for the agent to fill later. […]
Insurance regulations steering industry in right direction?
Published in Mint on, Oct 18 2011. Written by Kapil Mehta Over the past 10 years, there have been scores of regulatory guidelines, notifications and orders issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda). Each change is widely reported in the media and discussed and debated within the industry. The discussions typically tend to […]
Focus is shifting to disclosure, Service
Published in Mint on , Mar 22 2010, Written by Kapil Mehta It has been almost two years since DLF Pramerica came into being, but we see no ads or publicity of the products. How do you reach out to customers? We are primarily selling policies in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. We would like to solidify […]
Get started on retirement planning
Published in Mint on , Feb 10 2010, Written By Kapil Mehta Retirement planning is often perceived as a complex and distant exercise. Paralyzed by the effort involved, many choose to give it a complete pass. Short-term needs often trump long-term considerations. This is a big mistake. Some planning is better than none and a few […]
Claim settlement ratio of insurer should be above 85%
Published in Mint on 23rd Sept 2015, Written by Abhishek Bondia I’m a 25-year-old male and am planning on buy a term insurance plan for Rs.1crore. The claim settlement ratio of the insurer is 66%. Should I choose it? My doubt is why would any insurer reject the claim if we had given them the […]