With the tax-planning season in progress, you should brace yourself for a lot of 'noise' that you will soon be subjected to. The noise will come from various quarters. Mutual funds will hawk tax-saving funds (also referred to as equity linked saving schemes), while insurance companies will pitch in for ULIPs (unit linked insurance plans) and endowment plans.
In order to push more long-term products, insurers are trying to push long-term unit-liked plans by giving incentives to agents who sell Ulips with higher tenure.
In what would make unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) more investor friendly, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) on Tuesday proposed to cap surrender charges and standardise the revival period for polices that had lapsed.
Tata AIG India Life Insurance has tied up with Fanklin Templeton Investments to introduce a new plan InvestAssure, a unit linked insurance plan to provide security cover with the opportunity to get high returns on insurance premium.
Concerned over the ongoing public spat between the two regulators, the government on Wednesday asked Sebi and Irda to move court immediately on the contentious issue of who will regulate unit-linked insurance products.
Understand the cost of taking a ULIP. Sometimes a pure life insurance and mutual fund combination may turn out to be more cost effective.
Interesting twists but the bottom line is the same: it does not work for you.
As stock markets boom again insurance companies are pitching hard to sell ULIPs. 5 important points to consider before buying them.
Endowment policies give better returns than most fixed income products in the long run.
The present norms do not specify the death cover according to the tenure of Ulip. According to existing norms, the minimum sum assured for a single premium should be 125 per cent of the single premium, while it should be five times the annualised premium for a regular premium irrespective of the tenure chosen. With the opening of the insurance sector, Ulips have emerged as popular investment products contributing more than 70 per cent of the new business premium income.
Unit linked insurance plans, though, a best selling product may not be actually best suited for you, says financial expert Amar Pandit.
Individuals therefore need to bear in mind that a ULIP needs to be evaluated on various parameters before zeroing in on a particular life insurance company.
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.
A standard trick by insurance agents is to tell customers that they need to pay premium for only 3 years and the policy will continue for the remaining tenure. Here's why they do so...
Investing in a Unit Linked Insurance Plan increases your life cover and also helps you save tax, says Vivek Jain.
Surrendering a ULIP after having paid the premiums for the first three years may be an unwise option.
In the last few years, unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) have quietly become one of the largest players in the Indian stock market. With a total investment estimated at Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, they are almost close to the investment made by equity mutual funds.
We advocate that all individuals (HNI or otherwise) buy a term plan for an amount that can be considered reasonable given their life style, income, expenses and contingent expenses among others.
Switches are options given to policyholders of unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) to move their investments from one fund to another, within one plan.
Investors in unit-linked insurance policies can look forward to some more transparency. But costs, though not front-loaded, will be spread over the lock-in period.
Here is an evaluation of the two investment avenues on certain common parameters and how they measure up.
Though some schemes have outperformed the Sensex, higher costs ensure that the numbers do not work out in your favour.
It is that time of the year when you have to declare your investments to claim deductions. Take well-considered decisions.
It is that time of the year when you have to declare your investments to claim deductions. Take well-considered decisions.
Here's what you must know about filing your tax returns.
What makes unit linked insurance plans attractive to investors? Here are 4 reasons that make ULIPs irresistible.
HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh on Monday chose to voice the unspoken concerns of the investor community about over-regulation that had created problems for the Indian financial sector.
Life insurers have decided to pass on service tax to customers. The chief financial officers of life insurance companies met last Wednesday and have decided to pass on the service tax burden to customers, confirmed officials of various life insurance companies.
Here are some of the most important reasons why ULIPs score over endowment plans.
Have money? Here's what not to do with it. . .
To determine the amount of coverage one should purchase, first add up all of your financial obligations, such as student loan, credit card debts and your mortgage balance.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) may allow up to 25 per cent investment to a single group of companies as part of the group exposure norms for unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips).While in the normal course, the regulator is likely to cap the investment of such polices at 20 per cent, the ceiling can be relaxed by another 5 per cent with prior approval of the board through what is called discretionary limits.
Do you think equity linked saving schemes, ELSS, are a better option than unit linked insurance plans, ULIPs? What are the pros and cons of investing in both? Which scheme gives better returns in the long term?
Get Ahead financial planning expert Vetapalem Sridhar advises you on how to look at unit linked insurance plans as an investment.
Endowment plans are life insurance plans, which not only cover the individual's life in case of an eventuality but also offer a maturity value at the end of the term
The latest data released by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) show that during April and May this year, premium from the sale of new policies rose to Rs 8,119 crore (Rs 81.19 billion) compared with Rs 7,331 crore (Rs 73.31 billion), representing a rise of 10 per cent.
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