rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Life insurers, on the prodding of global reinsurers, are set to hike premiums on term plans because rising mortality after the second wave of the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of settlements. Some will do so next month while others may wait till January. Global reinsurer Munich Re had nudged its insurance partners on the hike in September and insurers have been engaged in negotiations with the reinsurer on the amount of the increase. Term plan prices in India were among the lowest in the world for a long period but in the past couple of years, they have been increased a few times.
Twenty years after India's insurance sector was opened up, unshackling the control of state-owned companies, as many as 50 private players have set up shop. Along with their foreign partners, private players have brought about a sea change in the product offering, distribution and underwriting processes, and services levels. Yet, India's insurance penetration needle has not moved much.
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Younger people, who usually have a longer investment horizon which allows them to handle the interim volatility, may go for them.
Bharti will move FIPB soon for increasing Axa's stake to 49%
HDFC Bank, the country's largest private-sector lender, lost to competition wholesale loans of around Rs 50,000 crore after it increased interest rates in May, said Chief Financial Officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan in an analyst call. "There were some customers who were offered lower rates by other market participants. "But we decided not to cut back on our rates," he said while addressing analysts after the announcement of the bank's Q1 earnings.
Top Indian private sector lender ICICI Bank, which owns nearly 68 percent of the insurer, is selling up to 181.34 million shares in the IPO.
But there are challenges, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
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'Margins will be an outcome of that. They will likely remain somewhat range-bound.'
While the proposed new tax regime is optional for taxpayers, the finance minister has said the government eventually wants to do away with all exemptions with a lower tax-rate simplified structure.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance has posted a 65 per cent growth in premium income at Rs 66 crore (Rs 660 million) during the first half of this fiscal, its CEO Deepak Satwalekar said on Tuesday.
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Inflow of more funds is likely to widen the reach of insurance and drive M&A activities in the sector where growth has stalled.
While a giant, it's a nimble-footed one, and is growing at a speed that even some of its private sector peers find enviable.
Between FY18 and FY24, it doubled its balance sheet. Despite being a late entrant in some segments, it has been able to grab market share, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Gautam Adani-owned Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will replace IT major Wipro in the 30-share BSE Sensex from June 24, according to an official announcement on Friday. This marks the first inclusion of any Adani Group firm in Sensex. The group has 10 listed firms with a combined market valuation surpassing Rs 17 lakh crore.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased by nearly 48 per cent over 6 years due to elevated medical inflation and increased demand for higher coverage policies among policyholders. According to data by online insurance broker PolicyBazaar, the average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased to Rs 26,533 so far in FY24, up 48.22 per cent from Rs 17,900 in FY19.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance will hike its capital base by over Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) to about Rs 300 crore (Rs 3,000 million) this fiscal and targets to become the leading private player in the next five years.
HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd expects a first premium income of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) from individual policies, even as it plans to raise its capital base by Rs 75-80 crore (Rs 750-800 million) in the fiscal 2003-04.
From April 1, when we buy insurance for a car or take out a health cover, insurance companies can offer a product totally customised for us.
Moving to a new company means losing out on continuity benefits
The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most valued firms surged Rs 1,21,270.83 crore last week, with Reliance Industries becoming the biggest gainer, in line with an outstanding rally in benchmark equity indices. Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,027.54 points or 1.21 per cent. The BSE Sensex hit its record high of 85,978.25 on Friday.
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Amitabh Chaudhry, who will now head the merged entity, will manage assets under management of about Rs 1.10 lakh crore and an employee base of 23,620 after the completion of the deal
India's financial sector is dominated by large government-owned and private-sector banks.
Brokerages expect a further slowdown in Indian firms' revenue and earnings growth in Q4FY25, following low single-digit growth in the preceding three quarters, as factors like weak consumer demand and credit growth linger on.
Unit linked insurance plans are probably the hottest selling product for most life insurance companies today.
The Rs 6,145-crore initial public offer of electric two-wheeler company Ola Electric Mobility got fully subscribed on the second day of bidding on Monday, driven by demand from retail investors and non-institutional investors. The initial share sale received bids for 49,43,63,610 shares against 46,51,59,451 shares on offer, translating into 1.06 times subscription, according to the NSE data.
'There is more expansion in the industry happening in retail lines, so we will continue to focus on those lines.'
The budget is a responsible and pragmatic one with announcement of several initiatives that should spur growth, says Sanjay Tripathy.
New Irda rules open the way, with 5 entities getting okay to set up as repositories; firms preparing structures for switch
'If you want it to grow well and serve the true needs of the economy, it needs a lot of freedom and flexibility, which comes in terms of the reform objective set by the regulator.'
Core retail segments like motor and health continue to report strong growth of 19-20 per cent with competitive intensity still visible in the motor OD (owner driven) segment. Commercial lines reported muted growth. Group health remains a key driver. Among the listed companies, ICICI Lombard continues to trail in the motor section while Star Health has lost its Y-o-Y retail market share although its better on a sequential basis.
Buoyancy in the equity market and the soft interest rate regime have prompted insurers like the LIC to focus on unit-linked products that provide life cover as well as tax benefits and capital appreciation to investors.
HDFC Bank is recruiting Insurance Advisors for its branches in Mumbai.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank's initial public offering attracted heavy investor demand on the final day of bidding on Wednesday as the issue was subscribed a whopping 126.36 times.
Life insurance companies assert that the blockchain being created has strict protocols to leave no room for manipulation and exploitation, or unauthorised use of customer data and personal information.
With at least three IPOs in the offing this year, stock market investors have a lot to look forward to.
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