Insurance Bytes

Online shopping has become a way of life for many. Increasing penetration of smartphones and reduction in data charges have made it possible for companies to reach out to a much wider audience. Realizing this and seizing the opportunity, most life insurance companies have started selling their products online. Some companies have even designed products to be sold exclusively online such as ICICI Prudential i-Protect Smart Online Term Insurance Plan, LIC’s e-Term Plan, Aegon Religare i-term plan etc . According to Digital@Insurance-20X By 2020, a Google-BCG report, by 2020, six per cent of all insurance sales in India will occur online*. As more people go online due to the flexibility it offers, it is imperative to know the pros and cons of purchasing life insurance online so that one can make an informed decision. Pros of Online buying : 1)      Vast choice – You can review products of various life insurance companies on aggregator websites lik...

Life insurance companies use every method of communication at their disposal to remind policyholders to make timely premium payment. From emails, SMSs, physical notices, phone calls by contact centre employees, agents etc various methods are employed to collect premium within the due date or the grace period. One has to really work hard to miss these alerts and intimations. Yet, many policyholders do not pay on time resulting in policy lapsation. So, if you are such a policyholder, how do you revive your lapsed policy? Read on to find out. When does a policy lapse? The date on which the policy premium is to be paid is called the due date. If you are unable to pay by the due date, do not worry. Companies usually provide a grace period within which you can pay. The grace period is generally 30 days for Annual, Semi-annual and Quarterly payment modes and 15 days for Monthly mode. In case you do not pay within the grace period, the policy lapses. Why do lapsations occur? T...

Raising a child is no child’s play. Last year, IITs increased their undergraduate education fees from Rs 90,000/- p.a. to Rs 2,00,000/- p.a. Similarly, IIM-Ahmedabad increased the fee of its flagship two-year diploma programme from Rs 18.5 lakh to Rs 19.5 lakh. This is 400% more than what the B-school charged in 2007. If the fees of the management course continues to rise by 20% every year, it would touch Rs 95 lakh by 2025.* Every parent wishes the best for their child. They visualize a doctor, an engineer or a MBA from a premier institute when they think of their child’s future. However, parents need to realize that this is going be a very expensive affair. Hence planning for this needs to start at the earliest, right from the child’s infancy. Life insurance companies have realized this need and we come across many advertisements for child plans. What is a child plan? A child plan is a life insurance cum investment plan which helps a parent to specifically plan and earma...

Most of us are aware that premium is the amount one pays the insurance company for getting the benefits under a policy. But questions such as do you have to pay premium in advance or do you get a discount on premium or does the premium increase with age may draw a blank with most people. So, let’s try to understand some lesser known facts about life insurance premium: What is life insurance premium? Life insurance is a contract between the insurance company and the policyholder whereby the policyholder transfers his risk to the insurance company. Premium is the consideration that the policyholder pays the insurance company for assuming his risk. Premium is payable in advance: Let’s assume that Rahul has a term life policy for which he pays annually. His next due date is on 25 Dec 2017. This means that Rahul has to pay by Dec 25, 2017, for insurance coverage for the period 25 Dec 2017 – 24 Dec 2018. Various modes available: Life insurers offer annual, semi-annual, qu...