The government on Thursday issued an ordinance for setting up a full-fledged Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority akin to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Securities Exchange Board of India.
The Hinduja group is learnt to be looking at alternative means of financing, including private credit, to fund its Rs 9,661 crore all-cash offer to acquire Reliance Capital. The regulator, Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India (Irdai), had earlier rejected the collateral offered by the group to raise funds. The Hinduja group was in talks with Barclays, JPMorgan, Cerberus Capital Management and Apollo Global Management to raise up to $850 million.
The market regulator had last month allowed bourses to set up debt segments to develop the country's languishing corporate bond market.
Motor insurance is expected to generate largest claims for the companies whereas for crop insurance, the Agriculture Insurance Company is expecting claims of about Rs 15-16 crore
Though COVID-19 will wreak more damage to the finances of the Indian population, the insurance sector is unlikely to get hurt.
'As our per capita income increases and various demographic segments emerge, the need for various kinds of protection and risk covers will become even more explicit.'
Customers frequently sign without reading the terms and conditions, resulting in a poor understanding of coverage, and eventually leading to partial payouts
The discount should be equal to interest rates on savings bank account deposit of State Bank of India.
Irdai will maintain a centralised list of the details of all agents appointed by insurers.
'I am very happy to see that the work is starting to bear some fruit now.'
2010 was indeed an eventful year from the personal finance perspective. The year had its share of controversies, forward looking policies as well ones which will pinch your pocket more in days to come. Here is a look at top 10 news items (in no particular order).
LIC's product will be a hospital cash product (that is for major listed surgeries and procedures, LIC will pay the insured a predetermined lump sum amount, depending on his premium payment). LIC's product will also be a long-term product of over 10 years. For claim payouts, the public sector behemoth has tied by with Axis Bank, Syndicate Bank and Bank of America.
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.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday proposed relaxations for asset management companies (AMCs) to serve pooled non-broad-based funds, giving an opportunity to fund houses to expand their business.
'We have opened 100 branches in the last one and a half years. Our manpower is also in place.'
The Sebi, on Friday, banned 14 life insurance companies, including Reliance Life, SBI Life, ICICI Prudential, Tata AIG and HDFC Standard Life, from raising fresh money in ULIP schemes that invests a major chunk of funds in stock markets.
Questions market regulator's showcause to insurers on conceptual, legal, structural grounds.
RBI Governor cautioned against more volatility.
Development officers and agents of LIC are promoting Money Plus claiming to offer astronomical returns
Currently, the Department of Agriculture runs two crop insurance schemes, one of which is weather-based.
Private insurance firms say, over the past few years, they have been investing on digital technologies to reach semi urban and rural areas.
Numbers could be classified further into (140) marketing and (160 or 161) for service calls to easily identify the purpose of the call in the future.
'With a very stable technology with limited functionalities, a large network has spanned out.'
'Marathwada is the suicide capital of Maharashtra.' 'To stop such man-made disasters, the government should immediately come up with a rightful package, not this charitable approach to compensation.'
The Ola Money and Uber tie-ups demonstrate how insurance companies, including even government-run ones, are forging partnerships with every possible service company to offer products.
The insurance regulator wants the removal of the minimum entry capital requirement of Rs 100 crore for setting up an insurance business in a bid to facilitate the entry of multiple players such as standalone micro insurers and niche players. Debasish Panda, chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), said it should be left to the regulator instead to decide what should be the entry fee for interested players, depending on the size of the business and operations. According to the current norms, insurers are required to have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 100 crore.
Advait Rao Palepu reports how a recent Supreme Court order will impact motor vehicles insurance policies.
Such products in insurance parlance are called acturial-funded products. The ban would require Aviva Life Insurance to withdraw all its 14 ULIP products, while Bajaj Allianz one of its ULIPs called Capital Unit Gain.
Insurance and investment are two different needs. Then, there are Ulip pension plans with no sum assured. No wonder, there is confusion.
The government on Monday said that the two regulators, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, have agreed to maintain the status quo that existed before market regulator's ban on 14 life insurers from raising funds for unit-linked schemes.
The implementation of this toll collection system, which will eventually eradicate toll booths, necessitates the fitting of an on-board unit (OBU) in every vehicle that can track a vehicle's location in real time.
Life Insurance Corporation of India has said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's requirement that extra 50 per cent solvency margins above regulatory norms be maintained was unfair and unwarranted.
'Splitting must result in tangible benefits for the customer, otherwise it will only mean more work for them in maintaining the policy and for their nominees.'
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has decided against filing a joint application before a court to resolve its dispute with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority over unit-linked insurance plans.
The total benefits paid by private life insurance companies to policyholders rose by 5.98 per cent to Rs 1.57 trillion during 2022-23. This figure stood at Rs 1.49 trillion in the corresponding year-ago period. On the other hand, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) paid out 4 per cent fewer benefits at Rs 3.39 trillion from Rs 3.53 trillion in 2021-22.
Irda asks insurance companies to increase risk cover from July 1
